***city v barca official match thread***

[gillie]

Shame football doesn't run off your rule book.
That's the rule.
If it was the other way round you'd be screaming for a red, don't deny it.

No i wouldn't . I think a tackle from the side is quite legit . Demich was damn unlucky and just a shade too slow. Does that deserve a red ?
Edit :

Howard Webb. Rule bender extraordinaire.

IF A FOUL STOPS A CLEAR GOALSCORING OPPORTUNITY IT IS A RED CARD.
That's the rule. End of story. Like it or lump it.
Yes it does deserve a red. Doesn't matter how unlucky DM is. Or how slow he is. It doesn't matter if there was no malice in it or if DM's dog just died. It's a red card. The rule is clear.
Once again, check the rules.
I even posted them for you.
Clear red card.

We know it's a red card mate but then they get another award a pen.Should they get a chance to score and then play against a weakened team?

[gillie]

By the letter of the law DM had to go fair enough the ref does his job.But by that same letter of the law so should Kolarov in the first half for his 2 footed lunge ref did'nt do his job only gave AK a yellow.

[Bridge'srightfoot]

Shame football doesn't run off your rule book.
That's the rule.
If it was the other way round you'd be screaming for a red, don't deny it.

No i wouldn't . I think a tackle from the side is quite legit . Demich was damn unlucky and just a shade too slow. Does that deserve a red ?
Edit :

Howard Webb. Rule bender extraordinaire.

IF A FOUL STOPS A CLEAR GOALSCORING OPPORTUNITY IT IS A RED CARD.
That's the rule. End of story. Like it or lump it.
Yes it does deserve a red. Doesn't matter how unlucky DM is. Or how slow he is. It doesn't matter if there was no malice in it or if DM's dog just died. It's a red card. The rule is clear.
Once again, check the rules.
I even posted them for you.
Clear red card.

We know it's a red card mate but then they get another award a pen.Should they get a chance to score and then play against a weakened team?

Tough one but yes. If not then players would bring them down and just pick up a yellow and hope they miss the pen.
It would make it worthwhile to hack a player down when through on goal otherwise.
However it doesn't matter what we think the rule should be. It matters what is is and until they change it it's a red card offense.

[gillie]

The bad news is all the rags are'nt dead as they have all surfaced on twitter tonight.Yet we are the ones obsessed?

[Ted Hughes]

Kompany insisted that the Catalans, who by no means overwhelmed City, were given too much respect by the home team. “They weren’t the best team we have faced this season,” he said. “Maybe we had too much respect for them. They were there for the taking but you realise the individual quality was phenomenal. Whenever we went forward we were dangerous.”

Couldn't agree more, so why the fuck were you & Demichelis shitting your pants every time the ball came to you first half, & passing it straight to Barca ?

Had no problems whatsoever defending v them 1st half, in fact our defending was almost perfect; Barca had no ideas & were completely average. But we didn't have the balls to play football whe we got possession. We passed it better with 10 men.

Big question marks about the team & manager for me after that, & not because of the sending off or the result; because we started with a gutless team selection & played gutlesss football.

We were Crystal Palace playing Arsenal.

Bayern were fantastic & asked us loads of questions.

The only question Barca asked was 'do you deserve to play us ?' & the answer was a resounding 'no'.

[Goataldo]

Kompany insisted that the Catalans, who by no means overwhelmed City, were given too much respect by the home team. “They weren’t the best team we have faced this season,” he said. “Maybe we had too much respect for them. They were there for the taking but you realise the individual quality was phenomenal. Whenever we went forward we were dangerous.”

Couldn't agree more, so why the fuck were you & Demichelis shitting your pants every time the ball came to you first half, & passing it straight to Barca ?

Had no problems whatsoever defending v them 1st half, in fact our defending was almost perfect; Barca had no ideas & were completely average. But we didn't have the balls to play football whe we got possession. We passed it better with 10 men.

Big question marks about the team & manager for me after that, & not because of the sending off or the result; because we started with a gutless team selection & played gutlesss football.

We were Crystal Palace playing Arsenal.

Bayern were fantastic & asked us loads of questions.

The only question Barca asked was 'do you deserve to play us ?' & the answer was a resounding 'no'.

I think that's a tad harsh. If we'd gone completely gung-ho, all hammer and tongues, and conceded two in half an hour, we'd look like mugs; all guts and no sense. We got suckered punched - losing a player and a goal obviously ruined it. Who's to say our passing wouldn't have improved with our belief that we could get something/win as the game progressed, with 11v11 - as you rightly say we passed it better with ten men. Could easily have developed as the game went on equal numbers, and obviously with an increased chance of scoring/not conceding. All speculative but kinda goes with the territory eh.

[Ted Hughes]

Kompany insisted that the Catalans, who by no means overwhelmed City, were given too much respect by the home team. “They weren’t the best team we have faced this season,” he said. “Maybe we had too much respect for them. They were there for the taking but you realise the individual quality was phenomenal. Whenever we went forward we were dangerous.”

Couldn't agree more, so why the fuck were you & Demichelis shitting your pants every time the ball came to you first half, & passing it straight to Barca ?

Had no problems whatsoever defending v them 1st half, in fact our defending was almost perfect; Barca had no ideas & were completely average. But we didn't have the balls to play football whe we got possession. We passed it better with 10 men.

Big question marks about the team & manager for me after that, & not because of the sending off or the result; because we started with a gutless team selection & played gutlesss football.

We were Crystal Palace playing Arsenal.

Bayern were fantastic & asked us loads of questions.

The only question Barca asked was 'do you deserve to play us ?' & the answer was a resounding 'no'.

I think that's a tad harsh. If we'd gone completely gung-ho, all hammer and tongues, and conceded two in half an hour, we'd look like mugs; all guts and no sense. We got suckered punched - losing a player and a goal obviously ruined it. Who's to say our passing wouldn't have improved with our belief that we could get something/win as the game progressed, with 11v11 - as you rightly say we passed it better with ten men. Could easily have developed as the game went on equal numbers, and obviously with an increased chance of scoring/not conceding. All speculative but kinda goes with the territory eh.

I didn't ask to go gung ho, just play football.

We parked the bus & kicked the ball out aimlessly assuming Barca were about to 'get us' which they weren't; they were wide open for the counter attack but we were shitting it that badly that we couldn't see it.

Kompany was right; Barca weren't the best team we have played & were there for the taking. We were scared & didn't have the balls to do our job.

Not been this annoyed with a City team since the takeover.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Kompany insisted that the Catalans, who by no means overwhelmed City, were given too much respect by the home team. “They weren’t the best team we have faced this season,” he said. “Maybe we had too much respect for them. They were there for the taking but you realise the individual quality was phenomenal. Whenever we went forward we were dangerous.”

Couldn't agree more, so why the fuck were you & Demichelis shitting your pants every time the ball came to you first half, & passing it straight to Barca ?

Had no problems whatsoever defending v them 1st half, in fact our defending was almost perfect; Barca had no ideas & were completely average. But we didn't have the balls to play football whe we got possession. We passed it better with 10 men.

Big question marks about the team & manager for me after that, & not because of the sending off or the result; because we started with a gutless team selection & played gutlesss football.

We were Crystal Palace playing Arsenal.

Bayern were fantastic & asked us loads of questions.

The only question Barca asked was 'do you deserve to play us ?' & the answer was a resounding 'no'.

I think that's a tad harsh. If we'd gone completely gung-ho, all hammer and tongues, and conceded two in half an hour, we'd look like mugs; all guts and no sense. We got suckered punched - losing a player and a goal obviously ruined it. Who's to say our passing wouldn't have improved with our belief that we could get something/win as the game progressed, with 11v11 - as you rightly say we passed it better with ten men. Could easily have developed as the game went on equal numbers, and obviously with an increased chance of scoring/not conceding. All speculative but kinda goes with the territory eh.

I didn't ask to go gung ho, just play football.

We parked the bus & kicked the ball out aimlessly assuming Barca were about to 'get us' which they weren't; they were wide open for the counter attack but we were shitting it that badly that we couldn't see it.

Kompany was right; Barca weren't the best team we have played & were there for the taking. We were scared & didn't have the balls to do our job.

Not been this annoyed with a City team since the takeover.

We had the wrong team out from the off mate...I said it to my mrs before we even kicked a ball.

I was fucked off, especially as the real city would have beaten that Barca team tonight.

[Goataldo]

Kompany insisted that the Catalans, who by no means overwhelmed City, were given too much respect by the home team. “They weren’t the best team we have faced this season,” he said. “Maybe we had too much respect for them. They were there for the taking but you realise the individual quality was phenomenal. Whenever we went forward we were dangerous.”

Couldn't agree more, so why the fuck were you & Demichelis shitting your pants every time the ball came to you first half, & passing it straight to Barca ?

Had no problems whatsoever defending v them 1st half, in fact our defending was almost perfect; Barca had no ideas & were completely average. But we didn't have the balls to play football whe we got possession. We passed it better with 10 men.

Big question marks about the team & manager for me after that, & not because of the sending off or the result; because we started with a gutless team selection & played gutlesss football.

We were Crystal Palace playing Arsenal.

Bayern were fantastic & asked us loads of questions.

The only question Barca asked was 'do you deserve to play us ?' & the answer was a resounding 'no'.

I think that's a tad harsh. If we'd gone completely gung-ho, all hammer and tongues, and conceded two in half an hour, we'd look like mugs; all guts and no sense. We got suckered punched - losing a player and a goal obviously ruined it. Who's to say our passing wouldn't have improved with our belief that we could get something/win as the game progressed, with 11v11 - as you rightly say we passed it better with ten men. Could easily have developed as the game went on equal numbers, and obviously with an increased chance of scoring/not conceding. All speculative but kinda goes with the territory eh.

I didn't ask to go gung ho, just play football.

We parked the bus & kicked the ball out aimlessly assuming Barca were about to 'get us' which they weren't; they were wide open for the counter attack but we were shitting it that badly that we couldn't see it.

Kompany was right; Barca weren't the best team we have played & were there for the taking. We were scared & didn't have the balls to do our job.

Not been this annoyed with a City team since the takeover.

They were no Watford in the first half, granted! I agree we were more tentative than we should have been, but it's obviously not that easy, or we wouldn't have been. I was far from pissed off at half time, although not exactly very confident. Do you think this team can learn from that and become better for it? Suppose that depends very much on Pellers.

[phips]

if Demichelis wasnt so bad we might have drawn 0-0 or maybe even won. Pellegrini got everything right tonight....except for Demichelis.

draw over. you cant win against the elite and progress in the CL with bad players. Demichelis is a bad player.

play subs in the return leg and stay healthy for the league.

[DoomMerchant]

play subs in the return leg and stay healthy for the league.

I can't even believe you think of yourself as a fan. Fuck right off with that attitude.

[aaron bond]

play subs in the return leg and stay healthy for the league.

I can't even believe you think of yourself as a fan. Fuck right off with that attitude.

I'm disappointed with the result last night but I firmly believe we can win the second leg.

We'll have Milner and Aguero back, plus Nasri and Fernandinho should be fully fit. With all 4 of them starting, plus Kompany-Lescott at the back, then I think we'll have a great chance.

We're not in these competitions just to make up the numbers. We're in them to win them! If we have the mentality that Barca are too good for us then we may as well give up now. I didn't see anything last night to suggest that Barca are significantly better than us, and if they can score 2 at our place, then we can do at least the same at theirs.

[Cit.revenge]

I agree with Ted we went like we play against aliens. At list if he put Nasri for Kolarov in that place so we can play , but i can't see why we could not play with two up front , Jovetic can track back . We play at home to scared , i did not expect and did not see this kind of City since Bob . We have players to confront Barcelona yet Pelle'r place them like he still lead Malaga.But at the end ref did their job for Uefalona , it was red but not penno it's out of the box. If he at list give free kick then we could defend 0 0 at list and if De,i did not slide and get red we could press them really hard. We did not use advantage that Barcelona have problems with crosses in their box and yep we where to scared wioth team who play when they open neck to neck with 10 men.

[Blue Since 76]

I agree with Ted we went like we play against aliens. At list if he put Nasri for Kolarov in that place so we can play , but i can't see why we could not play with two up front , Jovetic can track back . We play at home to scared , i did not expect and did not see this kind of City since Bob . We have players to confront Barcelona yet Pelle'r place them like he still lead Malaga.But at the end ref did their job for Uefalona , it was red but not penno it's out of the box. If he at list give free kick then we could defend 0 0 at list and if De,i did not slide and get red we could press them really hard. We did not use advantage that Barcelona have problems with crosses in their box and yep we where to scared wioth team who play when they open neck to neck with 10 men.

How many did Barca have up front? If we play two up front, who gets dropped?

It was pretty obvious why he chose Kolarov out wide and I agree with it. It wasn't Pellegrini's fault that Kolarov didn't defend, was constantly on his heels and second to everything and didn't put the crosses in he was there for.

[Slim]

I would like to see Kolarov's passing from last night. Seemed every time he got the ball he was looking to pass it backwards, either that or fuck about on the ball and give it away.

[sheblue]

I would like to see Kolarov's passing from last night. Seemed every time he got the ball he was looking to pass it backwards, either that or fuck about on the ball and give it away.

The mitigating factor is that nasri wasnt fit for 90. if he was he would have been much better option.

[Hutch's Shoulder]

The mitigating factor is that nasri wasnt fit for 90. if he was he would have been much better option.

I think that is spot on. The guy sat next to me was on about Nasri should have been picked from the first minute, but he is just back from six weeks out and probably could not manage 90 mins high tempo against Barca. Bringing him on later when they were tiring was a better option given that we did not know there would be a sending off. Probably we would also have sen Jovetic if we had not had to use one sub on a defender.

[Cit.revenge]

We where Physically stronger team and with 10 players we press them high and take few balls an threth them more then in first half with 11 players. Why to go and wait them he 30 meters from our goal and when we take ball Negredo could not keep ball alone long enough for us to surge in counterattack , it is unclear to me if this year Valencia win them with a very open playing i do not know why we are not at least tried it to play our game. So I was waiting for this game to show how great we are team, we have shown to be just as as the Ted said, Crystal Palace against Arsenal . My opinion is that we could play Barcelona like we play Chelsea with two strikers ,but wait them at half and when they try to play press them hard. I think we have players to resist this Barcelona and that we play to defensive but that is just my opinion.I m proud do how we play with 10 men and yes i must say that ref fuck us with that penno. If he did not give penno to uefalona we could adopt and try to hold on 0 0 witch is not bad result on away goals rule, but what is done it's done . I hope we can score quick goal there and put fear in them and i hope we can show like we show against Chelsea few days ago how strong we are.

[gmercer1]

play subs in the return leg and stay healthy for the league.

I can't even believe you think of yourself as a fan. Fuck right off with that attitude.

Get an early goal and anything can happen......especially with Aguero back! Come on!!

[Hazy2]

I would like to see Kolarov's passing from last night. Seemed every time he got the ball he was looking to pass it backwards, either that or fuck about on the ball and give it away.

C'mon Slim you know better, Barca sussed him out One foot , never allow his head up he was finished, top players spot weakness, that is why they are players and we are fans.