***Treble Winners v Trophy Dodgers Official Match Thread***

[Redna]

Fat boy will get even fater, given the brown envilope.

[blues2win]

We won’t win anything conceding so often. It’s that simple, Pep has to sort the defence out. Really at 3-2 we should have kept the ball and seen out time. Quite incapable of it.

[Outcast]

I'm getting past fucking caring now.
City playing poorly, players making too many mistakes, City complacent. Team selection questionable Lewis and Ake worthy of starting yet ignored.
Everyone knows that Spurs are great on the break and we seem fucking unable to understand BUT TO BE HONEST WE GAVE THEM A POINT AND LOST 2.

Think i'll give myself a break from watching City live . Not enjoying this at all.

Final comment on the ref - poor game, poor decision at the end to blow up when Grealish was through, but to be honest , Grealish would not have scored

Fed up listening to Neville and Carragher . Merry Christmas

Villa will spank us big time next week

I feel the same.

[s1ty m]

Pep can't see that Alvarez isn't able to play this role. Plays it every game...the lad is a striker. I thought Bernardo had his worst game for us today. There were other crap piles too though.

[Indianablue]

Excellent decision to end this shit night.

Hopefully this game will ignite some fucking hunger in our players.

That's the best perspective right now.

Something needs to ignite them. Playing for our club, shirt, and fans doesn't seem to at the moment.
The players are still basking in the 'Treble' bollocks. Get over it, move on and fucking wake up. Great teams forget about past glories and start over with hunger and passion to do it again

[PeterParker]

About the ref: To be honest, until those last minutes, I had the impression Hooper was ok, not bad. But those last two decision were absurd. We've got some fuel to make a circus, like scouse did, like arse did. Are we going to do it? That is the question.

About us: It's been coming, to be honest, but I think we are pretty decent where we are at the moment. I've been expecting much worse than three points behind the leaders. We've played pretty average the whole season and we got confused a bit after beating a team full of clowns like the rags are. It's the way football is so I don't expect this season to be our usual selves.
My huge, huge worry is that we had a mediocre summer when we lost two world beaters in Gundo and the Prince and we got Nunes or Kova, players that are not at our level. Kovacic entered because we needed to keep the ball and he did fuck all. We need to get back at the drawing board and be smart.

[Blue Jam]

Excellent decision to end this shit night.

Hopefully this game will ignite some fucking hunger in our players.

That's the best perspective right now.

Something needs to ignite them. Playing for our club, shirt, and fans doesn't seem to at the moment.
The players are still basking in the 'Treble' bollocks. Get over it, move on and fucking wake up. Great teams forget about past glories and start over with hunger and passion to do it again

Yes. Hard to motivate when we've won everything.
We need this world club cup like a hole in the head tbh

[Dub City]

Why does Walker think jogging beside a man and letting the cross come in is a good idea recently, likes he decided once someone doesn’t get past him it’s ok for ball to come across and it’s cost that third goal. Far from only one at fault but I think he’s been guilty of it a lot recently, liverpool last week had a chance come and intercept but didn’t and let’s ball across.

Shambles of a performance. Should have been 4 up by half time. Probably worst performance I’ve seen form Doku, shocking on their opener along with Ederson but for all the time and space he had nothing came off today. Haaland could play another 90 and wasn’t scoring tonight.

6 points dropped from winning positions in 80 min or later in last 3 games is a shocking inditement on the side who would see out games so comfortably in other years, when stones isn’t playing we’ve looked too easy to get through. Not expecting a win at villa now midweek so have to hope the lead for those above us isn’t too big when we decide to start playing again and when KDB gets back

[ayrshireblue]

I've just seen a close up of Hooper at the incident late on. There was no sound but it looks like he may have given a foul and then pulled it back because the ball was moving when Haaland played it to Grealish. Or maybe not.

[Dubciteh]

Fuck the ref but grealish wouldnt have scored anyway.

What has happened our defence?

Nightmare all round.

Losing mahrez gundo kdb stones and rodri for a good chunk of games has really fucked us.

The squad and recruitment has been awful too. If as expected bernardo leaves this summer our midfield will be a joke.

[branny]

After the shit show of a first half on Tuesday Dias and/or Akanji should have been "rested" . I'm just hoping Pep is taking the same approach with Stones as he took with Dias last season. If we don't have a consistent back four of Walker, Stones, Dias and Aké for the last three months we can forget about winning anything.

[Nigels Tackle]

After the shit show of a first half on Tuesday Dias and/or Akanji should have been "rested" . I'm just hoping Pep is taking the same approach with Stones as he took with Dias last season. If we don't have a consistent back four of Walker, Stones, Dias and Aké for the last three months we can forget about winning anything.

think rico’s name needs to come into the starting xi conversation. we look so much more fluid with him playing.

[MIAMCFC]

No Rodri or J@ck v Villa 5 bookings each. That’s going to hurt.

[johnny crossan]

Par for the course - we shouldn't give them the chance though. Worrying lack of creative play, also agree that Alvarez is not a midfield natural and Gvardiol is struggling.

[PeterParker]

Par for the course - we shouldn't give them the chance though. Worrying lack of creative play, also agree that Alvarez is not a midfield natural and Gvardiol is struggling.

We seem to lose focus near the end of the games this season, something we usually were really good at last year.
Arse - Shield, conceided in extra time, Arse in the league in the 86th minute, Chavs 96 minute, murdering cunts 80, Today 89.

[nottsblue]

Par for the course - we shouldn't give them the chance though. Worrying lack of creative play, also agree that Alvarez is not a midfield natural and Gvardiol is struggling.

We seem to lose focus near the end of the games this season, something we usually were really good at last year.
Arse - Shield, conceided in extra time, Arse in the league in the 86th minute, Chavs 96 minute, murdering cunts 80, Today 89.

A very worrying pattern. Whilst our rivals are winning games in this period of games.

[s1ty m]

They've bought horribly.

Doku is odd. I called this when others gushed. He literally slows the attack...I watched the others stop and drop their heads when he receives the ball, as if they know fuck all is coming their way. 1 in 10 there is something. It is just not the football that has brought us unbelievable success. Kovacic and Phillips are a joke. Gvardiol is utter shit. Harsh? Maybe, but a left full-back he is not. The club don't learn with this weeping sore of a position.

The manager thinks the Alvarez position actually exists. It doesn't, it simply destroys the midfield and we look one player light. Lewis sits on the bench...mystery. Ake is our best fit defender...bench...mystery

The goalkeeper for me has undertones of Bravo in that he saves very little. The back-up is worse, far worse.

Stones and KDB will make an enormous difference, sure, but this shit show needs halting immediately. If Pep cannot see the Alvarez thing though, fuck me.

[Mase]

What does Pep say at halftime to deflate the team? We see it often where the players come out for the second half and you just know straight away they’ve been told not to get out of second gear. It’s annoying.

I’m getting sick of football to be honest. I don’t know what’s handball or offside anymore. I don’t know what classes as advantage. I’m sick of the 10 minutes extra time. Sick of VAR being shite.

That defence needs sorting asap. It’s clear to everyone that Dias and Akanji isn’t working. It might have worked last season at points, but it’s not this season. Josko isn’t a LB but is being forced to play there. Why?!

Haaland is on Nunez levels of donkiness at the moment. It’s pissing me off.

I feel like opening one of the kids advent calendars and smashing all the chocolates in.

[nottsblue]

We only have ourselves to blame. Today and the previous two matches. We had numerous chances in all the games to put the game to bed. Today should have been at least 3/4 at half time. And for the defence to suddenly become so porous since Chelsea is concerning to say the least. The constant chopping and changing is a large factor in this for me. A consistent, settled back four is what has been proven to work in virtually all successful sides. Yet it seems the defence is drawn out of a hat on the Friday morning.

I’m very worried about Villa away with no Rodri or Grealish available. Play like today and it’s another game without three points.

And the jaunt to Saudi for the World Club Cup is a distraction we can do without.

A very disappointing afternoon. Again. All we can do is try to get three points at Villa which won’t be easy.

[Mase]

Doku is odd. I called this when others gushed. He literally slows the attack...I watched the others stop and drop their heads when he receives the ball, as if they know fuck all is coming their way. 1 in 10 there is something. It is just not the football that has brought us unbelievable success..

This is spot on. He had one class game against a poor team and since then he’s struggled when teams have a decent full back. He’s 21 so likely will be good, but some of the OTT nonsense from City fans has been embarrassing. Making out he’s a world beater already.