Sevilla v Man City - Tues 3rd Nov - 19:45

[SALTIRE]

It's good to see Bony get on the scoresheet. He's been struggling a bit lately and that will do his confidence the world of good.

He is a good player and I thought he'd suit City, but he looks the type that needs to play games to run into form.

 

[GodsGift]

It's good to see Bony get on the scoresheet. He's been struggling a bit lately and that will do his confidence the world of good.

He's scored 4 in his last 6.

 

[silkyman]

It's good to see Bony get on the scoresheet. He's been struggling a bit lately and that will do his confidence the world of good.

He's recovering from Malaria from the summer apparently. Extra fitness and a bit of confidence will do him the world of good.

Nice to see Sterling on the scoresheet too. Now for a cameo from Delph ready for his match winning performance on Sunday!

 

[The Iron]

He's scored 4 in his last 6.

really? I've watched him miss chance after chance recently, especially against Norwich. I wasn't aware of that.

 

[SALTIRE]

Should be 4 - 1 City after that shot.

 

[SALTIRE]

Sevilla have been poor, but take nothing away from City here, they have been excellent, and this is without De Bruyne, Silva and Aguero.

 

[The Iron]

City are passing the ball around really well at the minute, and they look very comfortable.

 

[silkyman]

Lovely move between Bony and Toure there.

 

[JimJams]

Sevilla defended like lunatics pushing out far too much at times and giving City all the space they could possibly want. Add to that the fact that everyone in a City shirt put in a good shift and Sevilla did well to come away with a 3-1 loss.

 

[silkyman]

And yet I still can't get excited about the Champions League.

I enjoyed the booing though.

 

[Nath]

Have to say, City looked superb in the highlights.

 

[G-Dragon]

City top of the group, top of the league without Aguero and Silva. They look really strong this year.

 

[Nilsson]

And yet I still can't get excited about the Champions League.

Why not?

 

[Stevencc]

Why not?

Because they don't have a realistic chance of winning it, of course!

 

[G-Dragon]

Because they don't have a realistic chance of winning it, of course!

tbh apart from Barca, Bayern and maybe Madrid (heard they got dominated by PSG today) no one has.

 

[silkyman]

Why not?

No one thing really, but a building combination of factors which seems to be added to hear on year. I know a lot of City fans feel the same.

Possibly because for so long it's been essentially an impossible concept that City would ever get close to it while having the idea that a home match with FC Clunje is the GREATEST NIGHT IN FOOTBALL by the sky media machine. I've (we've) been conditioned for nearly two decades to class it as 'oh, do fuck off you overblown, pompous bunch of wank'.

Then actually getting there and seeing a seeding system clearly designed to keep the riffraff at bay, and arranged for the benefit of TV rather than sport, leading to playing the same flipping sides year on year in 'groups of death', then throw in a general dislike and distrust of UEFA, for their attitude towards racism (fining City more for being a minute late out after half time than other clubs got for racist abuse, and the whole CSKA debacle that led to the whole 'anthem booing' thing) not forgetting UEFA's pompous reaction to fans booing their corporate ditty.

And yes, FFP where they moved the goalposts to ensure a failure to throw more obstacles into the path, after the entire thing was hijacked away from something to stop clubs going into debt by an individual with an agenda who has since been accused of corruption in part at the behest and championed by a club run by a convicted tax fraud.

All so you can have the honour of watching the best players in Europe fall over and wave at the ref for 90 minutes.

Or it might be that a guy who has supported City since 1992, through all of the darkest days, is actually just a glory-hunter.

One of the two!

Obviously, I'll always rather City win than lose, last night was a very good match to watch, and it's obviously good for the club, but if City beat Hull, or even win in the FA Cup Third Round, but I'll be more interested in the League Cup semi final draw or the FA Cup fourth round than whether City are going to be lumbered with Barca (again).

It'd be nice for the fans to get the chance to boo the anthem at the final though!

 

[silkyman]

tbh apart from Barca, Bayern and maybe Madrid (heard they got dominated by PSG today) no one has.

That's part of the problem. The whole thing is actively designed to make sure the same select clubs make it through, and to maximise the games, and money. A straight knockout would be great.

 

[Whitechapel]

Well done City, I'll be cheering for any of our teams going through from the Prem. Though will still laugh if you get knocked out.

 

[Christian Slater]

That's part of the problem. The whole thing is actively designed to make sure the same select clubs make it through, and to maximise the games, and money. A straight knockout would be great.

It really isn't, they're just the best teams. It pisses me off when City fans cry victim at the seeding system. City had no presence in Europe at all and were thrust in at a sudden moment because of an incredible cash influx. Then, because they're drawn against some of the more established teams it's a conspiracy. Not satisfied with being bought players they couldn't afford via someone else's money they want UEFA to bend over and make life easier for them too. Benefit club leading to benefit fans.

 

[Tesl]

Well said Silky, I agree completely. I thought this match was Wednesday night and not Tuesday and missed it completely. But ... not really bothered. It's nice to win but the league is 10x more important than the CL.

 

[JimJams]

I would be better if it was a straight knockout though Slater. Then early upsets would be great as the sides would be dumped out rather than say losing to a minnow but plundering the subsequent group games to top the tables anyway rendering an 'upset' pretty worthless. Ok that doesn't mean that the best sides will always go on to win it, but despite the name it is a cup competition and not a league one, so it's accepted that the best sides don't always win.

 

[Christian Slater]

I disagree now the seeding has changed to the Champions being in pot one, we get to see more headline fixtures. City fans are only crying because they've had to work in Europe to build their coefficient up, work being a concept that alludes them. So instead of getting on with it they cry victim and claim the competition means little to them. Probably because they've been an embarrassment in it thus far.

 

[silkyman]

All I said was that the seeding system seems designed to make it harder for newcomers to succeed, and you can't argue that it does. It also makes it much harder for clubs from less successful nations to do anything of note, because they are always going to be in a tough group.

It would even be better if there was a totally open draw for the groups. Like jimjams said, the 'upsets' are meaningless because you can lose to FC Splat and still win the group.

Making it so the champions are top seeded does make more sense than using an individual club's history, because all that does it weight it towards the established sides. But I don't actually like seeding in any competition really, because it leads to more meaningless games and makes it so some sides will be perennial whipping boys.

 

[silkyman]

I disagree now the seeding has changed to the Champions being in pot one, we get to see more headline fixtures. City fans are only crying because they've had to work in Europe to build their coefficient up, work being a concept that alludes them. So instead of getting on with it they cry victim and claim the competition means little to them. Probably because they've been an embarrassment in it thus far.

Going out to Barca and beating Bayern two seasons running is hardly embarrasing. It's boring, but not embarrasing.

 

[Christian Slater]

I don't see the problem with rewarding success. It's more beneficial for European minnows to have the group system rather than a straight knock-out because they get a better experience and more money than they would one home game and then out. The way it's designed helps them grow. Obviously City don't need that, so they would rather have it set-up in their favour.

 

[Christian Slater]

Going out to Barca and beating Bayern two seasons running is hardly embarrasing. It's boring, but not embarrasing.

A couple of victories over a Bayern that had eased you aside when it mattered to them and lost when there was nothing at stake. City have failed miserably for the money Mansour has spent, fucking up the English coefficients for good measure.

 

[voltage]

Very good performance by City. And Fernandinho was playing more free and could really do well.

 

[G-Dragon]

All I said was that the seeding system seems designed to make it harder for newcomers to succeed, and you can't argue that it does. It also makes it much harder for clubs from less successful nations to do anything of note, because they are always going to be in a tough group.

It would even be better if there was a totally open draw for the groups. Like jimjams said, the 'upsets' are meaningless because you can lose to FC Splat and still win the group.

Making it so the champions are top seeded does make more sense than using an individual club's history, because all that does it weight it towards the established sides. But I don't actually like seeding in any competition really, because it leads to more meaningless games and makes it so some sides will be perennial whipping boys.

I don't think City should be complaining about being in tough group after spending so much money.

 

[JimJams]

You're saying all that CS but I'm not a City fan and I'd rather see it straight knockout.
You will still get the big fixtures and the minnows have a chance to progress. You say it helps them because they get more matches but they have no chance of progression. Also it wouldn't necessarily mean a financial loss because they could simply change the payout structure of the competition. That won't help with ticket sales but I doubt many clubs are bothered too much about the money made from filling the stadium compared to TV rights and prize money which can both be altered.
There's lots of things that would improve the CL. Being truer to its name would be a start.

 

[Nilsson]

No one thing really, but a building combination of factors which seems to be added to hear on year. I know a lot of City fans feel the same.

Possibly because for so long it's been essentially an impossible concept that City would ever get close to it while having the idea that a home match with FC Clunje is the GREATEST NIGHT IN FOOTBALL by the sky media machine. I've (we've) been conditioned for nearly two decades to class it as 'oh, do fuck off you overblown, pompous bunch of wank'.

Then actually getting there and seeing a seeding system clearly designed to keep the riffraff at bay, and arranged for the benefit of TV rather than sport, leading to playing the same flipping sides year on year in 'groups of death', then throw in a general dislike and distrust of UEFA, for their attitude towards racism (fining City more for being a minute late out after half time than other clubs got for racist abuse, and the whole CSKA debacle that led to the whole 'anthem booing' thing) not forgetting UEFA's pompous reaction to fans booing their corporate ditty.

And yes, FFP where they moved the goalposts to ensure a failure to throw more obstacles into the path, after the entire thing was hijacked away from something to stop clubs going into debt by an individual with an agenda who has since been accused of corruption in part at the behest and championed by a club run by a convicted tax fraud.

All so you can have the honour of watching the best players in Europe fall over and wave at the ref for 90 minutes.

Or it might be that a guy who has supported City since 1992, through all of the darkest days, is actually just a glory-hunter.

One of the two!

Obviously, I'll always rather City win than lose, last night was a very good match to watch, and it's obviously good for the club, but if City beat Hull, or even win in the FA Cup Third Round, but I'll be more interested in the League Cup semi final draw or the FA Cup fourth round than whether City are going to be lumbered with Barca (again).

It'd be nice for the fans to get the chance to boo the anthem at the final though!

Fair enough. But I must say, to me it just seems like you're desperately trying to hold on to that "down to earth, little old City" tag. When the owner spends more money and you're able to seriously compete in the competition I suspect you'll find it hard to not love every minute of it.