alpal78

Taken off for Malouda. Didn't offer much except one shot that narrowly missed and oddly enough did not run into space when others had the ball. Doubt he will play from the start again in the tournament.

No man,we should offer whatever the amount the selling club wants. In fact better if we add a 10-20% premium to the asking price so that we come out smelling roses!

Glad the decision not to take Richards is paying off. Well done Roy!

Typical excuse that everyone else to be blamed except himself. That's his biggest problem actually.

What??

Can someone pls clarify what effect Spurs joining the Europa league has on us? Do we now need to join the competition at an earlier stage in which case Spuds lost is ours too??

Disappointed that Downing got in ahead of Johnson, in terms of end product, they are miles apart. Johnson can dribble, shoot and is not too bad with crosses, all attributes that Downing don't have. He is probably one of the most useless wingers around.

Same here, all this Pardew reverting to 442 just to please Ba is absolute unsubstantiated rubbish, pisses me off!

All this talk/hype about Parker being the new defensive midfielder is just gonna end up the way Barry did at the last WC. Neither has the pace or intelligence to deal with forwards who play in the hole or AM who create havoc between the forward and midfield lines.

we've already said regardless of whether we play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 it;s basically a 4-5-1 when out of possession or variation thereof, be it the swansea style with cabaye pushing on and the forwrds dropping deeper as some other form, it's still the some basic format regardless of how we line up when in possession. You're probably right bout the 451 when we don't have the ball but you're missing the transition from attack to defense. Pardew thinks (whether he is right or wrong is another issue) that 442 makes us more solid because when we do loose the ball (through playing hoof ball), it's easy to go 451 (all we need is for one striker to drop into midfield). When we play 433, it takes more time to transition into the 451 especially as we usually have more players committed going forward and strong teams can exploit this time lag. This is not to say that Pardew is right or that I like the 442 (I don't), but that reverting to 442 has nothing to do with Ba which some seems to be implying and are using as a basis to say that we're better off without him. i dont think hoof ball (which i don't think we played nearly as much as some make out) had any effect defensivly. lets face it when a move breaks down we may have 4 up, could be 5 or even 6 so the idea that in a certain formation it takes longer to get back is moot or did we just lump it up and stand back waiting for our gallant front two to fight it out with the opposition 6 ? defensivle we've tucked into a 451 all season at various depths and with diffring people doing the 'point' work....always think though, ther besdt way to stop therm scoring is if we have the ball and 442 lumping it with our personnel wont help. as it stands we should be a 433 pass, move quick break (WBA away) team, away with a best/shola option at home if need be!!!, then an all over team at home, pressurining and quick on the break. Madras, you're still missing the point, I'm with you and yes I don't support 442 or the hoofball tactics for the same reason that you don't. BUT what I am saying is that this what Pardew believes in and that is why he changes to 442 against better teams and that has nothing to do with Ba. Don't argue with me, go convince Pardew.

Why is Richards not going??

we've already said regardless of whether we play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 it;s basically a 4-5-1 when out of possession or variation thereof, be it the swansea style with cabaye pushing on and the forwrds dropping deeper as some other form, it's still the some basic format regardless of how we line up when in possession. You're probably right bout the 451 when we don't have the ball but you're missing the transition from attack to defense. Pardew thinks (whether he is right or wrong is another issue) that 442 makes us more solid because when we do loose the ball (through playing hoof ball), it's easy to go 451 (all we need is for one striker to drop into midfield). When we play 433, it takes more time to transition into the 451 especially as we usually have more players committed going forward and strong teams can exploit this time lag. This is not to say that Pardew is right or that I like the 442 (I don't), but that reverting to 442 has nothing to do with Ba which some seems to be implying and are using as a basis to say that we're better off without him.

Before you shoot your mouth with "nonsense", you'd do well to ask some Man Utd fans whether they think Fergie mistreated Tevez in the last few months at Man Utd. There's a reason why the fans were cheering his name to get Fergie to put him on when he was on the subs bench. Many Man Utd fans still disagree with Fergie selling him off but then Fergie has a track record of selling off any players that show even the slightest sign of dissent (Beckham, Stamp...etc) and just like in the Tevez case, this selfish act of putting his ego before the interest of Man Utd usually comes back to haunt him. If there ever was a Saddam Hussein in football it has to be Fergie!

Completely with you on this. Don't even think this is debatable except for the dummies in the FA

he played, and everyone has been saying how he doesn't look fit or happy. as the seasons went on he's looked less happy so i guess it'll come down to his happiness as opposed to anything we do. i don't want us busting the bank to keep a player who may not suit our preferred formation and has injury worries. It's amazing that now he's on a goal draught, how people are finding reasons to put him down. Where's all this "break the bank coming from" and despite whatever "injury worries" label that he seems to be stuck with, I don't remember him being out for any significant amount of time. As for his role in the 433, he was very close to scoring in quite a few of those games (remember him hitting the bar/post at least 3x) and even without scoring, he played well in majority of those games. If anything this is the time for the club/fans to support him so that he can regain the confidence to hit top form again

Bit different like. Putting Tevez' public display into context. It was in response to Fergie's well aimed & barbed 'over my dead body' line. A public declaration ( amounting to player and club X won't achieve much from here on), or put-down jibe, has well & truly bitten SAF on the arse. From that moment SAF painted a bullseye on his chest, in the event of City (and Tevez) winning a league title. Fergie's original comment in the press, as a put-down, is not dissimilar to Souness' 'Dyer will score more goals than Bellamy' jibe. There's a difference when comparing the goals achieved, and what the players' would be having a crack at. However if Bellamy ever decided to display a similar placard (ie. My goal total vs Dyer's total of f*** all...... Nice one Graeme), as a premeditated act, i would'nt take offence to it at all. Bold & premature put-down statements have a habit coming round full circle, just like this one offered by Fergie, and the many by Souness. Tevez is a complicated player to man-manage, and has gotten some deserved stick during his time at City. But as to the public furore created over this incident. There's alot of people frantically running around with their moral compass' calibrated to the extreme setting. Tevez wasn't exactly lynching and setting fire to a red-nosed prop (complete with United replica kit) from a lamp-post, while draped in KKK gear (in sky blue colours). I'm with you and your context is right. Anything that puts Fergie in his place is always welcomed, despicable man!

First of all the investment had some limits. Their spending for the 2012 season is less than half of what they spent for the 2011 season and I imagine not far off from the other top 4 and probably less than Liverpool. You'll need facts to convince me because words can be twisted. I'll ask again, how much has City's Dubai consortium invested into City vs the amount that Man Utd got when they went IPO (+ monetary inflation due to time difference)?

The distinction is obvious, it lies in one club using money they've earned from their Footballing successes to create more success vs one that's just been given unlimited funds on the whim of a bored billionaire "here buy the league". If you have no problem with that then fine (though I certainly do because IMO it devalues the entire sport) but don't try to claim there's no difference between Man U's success and Man Citys. You're just repeating the same mantra. How much did Man Utd get through the IPO (and don't forget to factor in monetary inflation due to time difference)? A club as a business entity can raise funds either by selling it outright to a private party (selling price as determined by City's BOD would include value of club and investment required for City to be successful) or through a public ownership of IPO. This is basic finance.

That's crazy overreaction right there. He hasn't turned shit in the last few months. In more than a handful of those games, he was a whisker away from scoring. And what's all this tosh bout him being not a team player, how many times oes he have to say he has no issues with others scoring as long as we win and that he is apply despite his barren run?

Two seasons, man. They signed Robinho nearly 4 years ago. When did the Arab investors come into the picture. That was probably the start of their mad spending. Edit: Ronaldo makes a fair point although my post was a lot more than the number of years they've spent mega bucks It seems according to (http://www.transferleague.co.uk/premiership-transfers/manchester-city-transfers.html), their net transfer spending over the years has been: 2009 season: 118M 2010: 99M 2011: 117M 2012: 48M Based on that, looks like their net spending for 2012 season has indeed reduced significantly.

I don't get the distinction between what Man Utd has done by investing heavy over a few years vs City's mad purchase over two seasons, it's just a matter of time period. And why is getting a billionaire foreign investor not a legitimate way of raising funds? It's no different from an IPO which in total got Man Utd big bucks too, the only difference is that in an IPO, ownership is dispersed vs one owner (consortium). The amount of money raised/obtained can't be too far off. To attract whoever it is from Dubai, City (or an investment banker engaged) would have needed to sell the club to them, that this is a wise investment for them to throw in the cash in the first few years and slowly bring down spending in subsequent years. There is no way that City will be spending in excess of 100M every year. In fact I fully expect their spending to reduce significantly next season. If we are honest, in the current climate this is the ONLY way for a new team to get anywhere near the title (besides the big 4 who have already invested significantly over a few years). If you want to win the premier league you need world class players which surprise surprise don't come cheap. This whole comparison with cheating in FM is tosh too. Sure they've got almost unlimited funds, but it's not like they can just turn up for every game and win by default. In such a competitive league, Mancini still need to manage all the big egos (including the Tevez affair), keep their motivations up for big and small games, get his tactics and formation right, be able to deal with the advantage of the incumbent that Man Utd has and loads more. The fact that the title will likely be decided by goal difference is testimony of this. It's not like he just needed to press the play button to win the title. I for one will hold no grudges against them when/if they win tonight. Anything that makes Fergie turn all red in anger pleases me no end. I also don't believe one bit those who say that they will not celebrate the title if we were to win the title the same way that City is attempting to.

Your worst? From one blatant lie to another. At least others have the courage to hold their hands up and admit that they were wrong, clearly that is too much to expect from you

Really? He was excellent earlier in the season, I went on RAWK and many were saying he was their best signing in a while. What changed? Been a bit s*** the last few games. Looked of the pace since January to me. He's really got it bad. Left us convinced that he will be joining a better team to play CL, had a hissy fit bout the way we were going about things and 12months on, he finds his new team 16 points below us and seeing his performance dropped from the high standards that he used to play for us and probably further away from the international call up he so crave. Serves him right!

Love those two guys, hope they're with us for many years They're both 26 too so technically should have a few more good years ahead of them! I also think that their friendship helps their on the field understanding

Well by golly it's a damn sound thought. This has made the difference to our season and to the way we play. It's not just Cisse, but also Ba. When defenders are tracking back with those 3 running straight at them they will panic. 4 defenders on 3 attackers, they won't who to double team, as one incisive pass will open them up completely. Simple but deadly from our point of view. especially when HBA can dribble all four in one stride!