Jude Bellingham

[Keeper!]

Well actually history wise we are quite similar. Both clubs have had huge success thanks to corruption. One thanks to a fascist dictator and...well I'm not sure about Real Madrid's!!!

Come on. Success and history are very different. The history of our football club is fantastic. And the players don't care about it anyway. You don't get a medal for past successes.

 

[DenisLawBackHeel74]

In all fairness they have been second banana to Barca throughout that time in their own country. They've won 4 La Liga titles in the time since the Sheikh bought City. In that time we've won 6 (possibly 7) Prem titles. We never slag off the league, they do so regularly. While reaching the CL semifinals they currently sit 3rd in La Liga, 14 points behind a Barca team that couldn't get out of group play in the CL and got bumped from the Europa League by a Man U squad who themselves got bumped in the next round. Take a closer look at their 14 CL titles. They've been league champions 4 times during those 14 seasons. 5 were won in the first 5 years when there were maybe only 2 or 3 other teams who could legitimately compete. By the way, they have never won the true treble, ever. There's no denying they've been massively successful in the CL over the past decade, but there's also no denying they don't go all in on everything else. Prioritizing a cup event at the expense of a league title doesn't necessarily garner any great level of admiration from me. If City played the way Real has played on a fairly regular basis over the past 3 or 4 years people on here would be losing their minds.

So here we are, one team who's gone 20 games unbeaten while relentlessly chasing down the front runners coming from 8 points down to 4 ahead while still getting to the CL semi and the FA Cup final and another who threw in the towel in their league in pursuit of more cup glory.

I'll say this in all seriousness, in a normal prem year where Liverpool and Chelsea are there and with Arsenal and Newcastle in the ascent this Real team would struggle to make top 4.

So Jude can choose between a team that has managed to dominate the best league in the world for the past 6 years while continuing to pursue the CL or a team that spits the bit at the first sign of distress in a less competitive league falling back on a 13 game cup competition to mask over the fact that on the whole they are not remotely close to being the best team in Europe.

JMHO

Great post!!

 

[JewelZee]

Great post!!

Thanks mate. I'm just a bit fed up with all the bowing down to Real and all the hype they garner that IMO is not anywhere near warranted in terms of their actual accomplishments. They've been blown out of the water in La Liga and yet because they succeed in the CL it doesn't matter. Well it does matter. City and Pep have never tossed the league aside to chase the CL. We go all in and if it hasn't worked out in Europe so far, all well then, but we're right back on it the next season. Pep gets stick for playing lesser, rotated squads in domestic cup games at times. Imagine if we were just fucking off the league. As much as I'd love us to win the CL, for me it wouldn't be the same if we did it while not winning the league. Like Chelsea 2 years ago. Not to take anything away from them, but what kind of champions of Europe finish 4th, miles off the pace in their own league? Fair play to Real as they were league champions last year in winning the CL but as I stated in my previous post it was only the 4th time they'd done so in winning the European title 14 times. Most supporters don't have a clue. If they ever want to return to "champions only" I know one team in the Prem who wouldn't be suffering, just sayin'.

 

[JewelZee]

Football wise, yes possibly. Location and history wise,
we are miles off.

Just a question, would you say that it's fair to believe that some people gravitate to the so called existing norm and some people gravitate to carving out their own path? A perfect example in sports is Michael Jordan. Prior to his coming to Chicago the Bulls had no "history" as many here refer to it. The Boston Celtics and LA Lakers were far and away the Real and Barca of the NBA. Jordan could have easily pressed his way onto either side and helped them continue making history. Instead he chose to commit to the Bulls and Phil Jackson, one the game's truly all time great coaches (sound familiar to anyone we know) and create his own lasting history. Make no mistake, City are in the midst of writing some long lasting history of their own as we speak. One can choose to go with what's happened or what's happening. To each his own, but it's not the simple choice some are making it out to be.

 

[JewelZee]

Having a big fan base, is detrimental to the hard core fan. The rags being a prime example. The glazers have raped that club for years, in the knowledge,that no matter how much that lack success, the seats will always sell, and the shop will always thrive.

From that standpoint, very true.

 

[JewelZee]

To play the devil’s advocate, I wonder if ‘fan base size’ could play into a player’s ability to negotiate contracts with companies and brands outside of the said club?

For example, if club A has ~10k fans (aka reach), and club B has ~5k fans, then maybe I as a player get a better deal with brand XYZ if I’m at club A because of higher reach for the brand?

Outside of fan base size, I can only assume players would view ‘history’ as another term for prestige? It’s not completely beyond the realm of possibility that a person would prefer getting employed at a relatively more ‘prestigious’ company if on the cards.

For example in most white collar professions people often pick ‘bigger’ companies in terms of brand even if they have top offers from promising start ups or really good mid sized companies, because of the prestige aspect on their resume.

I’m not suggesting these are the only two facets that determine a player’s decision (clearly not as we’ve signed several top players over the years), but could be how they look at it.

I don’t really know.

Or you take that chance and become a Bill Gates...

 

[eastmanc]

I hate it when City fans talk like this. It’s Likkle Cityitus.

City are a more attractive destination than Real Madrid now.

Well said David.

 

[eastmanc]

For a vast majority of players it's a job and about how much money they can gather in their career, the titles, medals and awards are all bonuses.

Happiness, lifestyle and location are all a huge part of any deal.

For the rest and a tiny minority, it's about becoming the best they can as an individual, titles and awards are EVERYTHING, fortunately we have had plenty of this type of player in our shirt over the last decade.

If you look at it logically the best move for him would be City. His parents and family live approximately 2 hours away he knows a lot of the players from playing for England and his best mate is here in Earling Haaland. He also doesn't have to learn another language. Oh and Real Madrd don't want to pay the asking price. So for me it all points to him signing for us.

 

[eastmanc]

Just a question, would you say that it's fair to believe that some people gravitate to the so called existing norm and some people gravitate to carving out their own path? A perfect example in sports is Michael Jordan. Prior to his coming to Chicago the Bulls had no "history" as many here refer to it. The Boston Celtics and LA Lakers were far and away the Real and Barca of the NBA. Jordan could have easily pressed his way onto either side and helped them continue making history. Instead he chose to commit to the Bulls and Phil Jackson, one the game's truly all time great coaches (sound familiar to anyone we know) and create his own lasting history. Make no mistake, City are in the midst of writing some long lasting history of their own as we speak. One can choose to go with what's happened or what's happening. To each his own, but it's not the simple choice some are making it out to be.

He is 19 he will not give a flying fuck about their history. Most 19 year old live in the now. He will not have clue about the Real Madrid of the early sixties or the likes of Di Stefano or Ferenc Puskas, he probably hasn't even seen Zidane play.

 

[John Wayne]

He is 19 he will not give a flying fuck about their history. Most 19 year old live in the now. He will not have clue about the Real Madrid of the early sixties or the likes of Di Stefano or Ferenc Puskas, he probably hasn't even seen Zidane play.

And he was 8-years-old when Aguero delivered the best moment of our lives. Jude Bellingham has not known City to be anything other than a top-four club. The new generation of player coming through sees City as one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Shankly, Busby, Puskas and Dalglish mean to these players what Herbert Chapman, Stan Cullis, Tommy Lawton and Billy Wright mean to me - names that command respect but have zero bearing on how I view their respective clubs.