That's the way I see it. Never say never as far stranger things have happened and both us and Arsenal are capable of winning the last 9 games on the bounce but with Liverpool winning at the weekend, it was a missed opportunity for both teams IMO and I can't see Liverpool slipping up (pardon the pun) enough to let either of us in.exactly this, it was their chance and they blew it. So did we as well
Not that I’d have Luton much hope anyway tonight :
Hardly. They've not broken any rules by doing thatCould do with buying your own GK having Brentford’s on loan to avoid PSR is cheating
Eh? Loans with obligations, loans with options to buy, are all perfectly legal. Or does loaning out the likes of Cancelo count as cheating?Could do with buying your own GK having Brentford’s on loan to avoid PSR is cheating
I think that's a bit harsh on this team. We weren't great last season until this time when we kicked up a level and went and won the lot. We were further from the top of the league than we are this time around.
We've always gone for quality over quantity when it comes to our squad. We've been without Haaland, De Bruyne, Stones, Grealish and Rodri at times. All key parts of the treble winning team. Pep would have hoped he could have taken the team from last season and made subtle tweaks but has had to continuously shuffle.
The game against Arsenal had us without two key defenders, with another then limping off. Ortega-Lewis-Akanji-Dias-Gvardiol at the back. Arsenal would have lined up with Ramsdale-Saka-Cedric-Tomiyasu-Kiwior!!! If fans want to be doom and gloom about things right now, good luck to them in the future. It's not always going to be like this. 3pts off top. CL QFs. FA Cup SFs.
Eh? Loans with obligations, loans with options to buy, are all perfectly legal. Or does loaning out the likes of Cancelo count as cheating?
Not quite, more like something like Ramsdale - Tomiyasu - Timber - Kiwior - Zinchenko (That's basically saying Arsenal's Stones, Ake & Walker equivalent would be Saliba, Gabriel & White).
Not that i'd fancy that defence vs City anyway that's for sure, still a decent difference in terms of quality in the 2 squads.
I'm just making the point that this doom and gloom about City is crazy considering where we are, what we have achieved before and the fact we lost Gundo and Mahrez who were pivotal and have had lots of injuries this season. We're doing alright. And considering Walker and Stones are key to how we play and Arsenal were on the back of what 8 or 9 league wins on the bounce, regardless of the fact we typically beat you at home, a point was decent and I think Pep knew it hence why we never threw caution to the wind and got too many bodies forward.
9 games left, plenty to play for. Liverpool have taken 22/27 in their last 9, Arsenal 25/27 and City 21/27. Based on points per game so far, 88pts is where things will end up subject to Liverpool winning all of their games (94pts) or falling off a cliff. Things get much harder from here on out. Teams dig in for a vital point. Pressure ramps up. It's tough.
I don't think City will win all 9 but to win the league I think we're going to have to win 8 and draw 1 and hope you and Liverpool do stumble.
It might be exciting to some, but to me it's bloody torturous.Every team should be optimistic, it's exciting, fans should be embracing it.
It might be exciting to some, but to me it's bloody torturous.
Very much so mate, there's plenty football left to be played, and given the fixtures left to be played, the quality you still have, City can still win every one, of that i am quite sure!
City are still the yardstick, still the benchmark, they've the experience, the quality, the know how. We are still a bit wet behind the ears in that regard, especially when Champions League comes back around, and we have some tough away games yet to come.
Liverpool might class themselves as favorites, but i think the maximum winning run in the league they've had all season is 5 games, they've dropped points in 6 out of 14 away games, (should have been 7 if it wasn't for that fecking Forest winner a couple of weeks back), so that's close to 50% of games, and they still have Utd, Fulham, Villa, Everton & West Ham away so they aren't a given.
Every team should be optimistic, it's exciting, fans should be embracing it.