As a football club, do we have the will to win the League?

[aguerrrroooooooooooo]

Some right moaning old gits on this thread; questioning the best manager in the world because we slipped up against middlesbrough after beating barca is unbelievable.

Quite frankly I'm disgusted at some of the dross that has been written on here

 

[mayo31]

A lot of games to be played. We have drawn three at home which I sense is the big issue. Games we should and on any other day would have won, that is why I am not concerned. If this is how it is going to be as Pep beds in I ok with it.

Imagine if we had lost those three. Actually I cannot imagine as the world would have ended for some.

 

[SilverFox2]

I absolutely agree with you and hate it when people say *Well look where we were 10 years ago". It's irrelevant because we aren't owned by John Wardle, we're not managed by Stuart Pearce and we're not relying on Samaras for goals.

But I do think we took our eye off the ball under MP and it may take this season before Pep sorts out the wheat from the chaff and gets us playing with mentality we expect.

We may very well have taken our eye off the ball as you put it but we can still manage to generate chances to score if the stats are anything to go by.

Our problems this season stem from taking our eye off where the opposing goal is situated.
This may very well be lack of concentration or indifference but it should not be lack of ability. We have the best squad but for some reason they cannot or will not score goals. Am I being too simplistic in expecting the erring players to be fit for purpose or are they just going through a collective bad spell in this one area of our game that will fix everything.

I think this ´´look where we were 10 years ago´´ attitude by some supporters may very well be mirrored by some of our players.

 

[IanBishopsHaircut]

As a football club, do we have the will to win the League?

You mean as opposed to Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, United and Tottenham those regular league winners over the last few seasons?

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

Not Starting our 11 best players when we have a 2 week break coming up would suggest we don't.

Following on from playing our reserves in the LC playing a weakened team in the PL suggests to me it's all about the CL this season.

Whether that's down to Pep, the Sheikh or both who knows?

I think Kompany would have come on if we'd been 1-0 in a CL match and approaching injury time. Pep's less than pragmatic approach suggests to me that the PL isn't the top priority.

 

[The Pink Panther]

What would you class as huge underachievement? Anything less than winning the league? There are some very strong sides in contention including Chelsea and Liverpool that have no European commitments, Arsenal and Spurs look strong too, while we are revolutionising the way we play. Unfortunately, we are going to drop points while we adapt. I see fans that expect instant success more of a problem than ones who are prepared to offer Pep more time to bed in his style and philosophy to be honest.

It's not underachievement if you're preparing to succeed. Restructuring.

GM's original post that I replied to said he was happy to accept a top four finish. As far as I'm aware top four includes fourth place
Sorry, but with a squad as talented as ours (and I said this earlier in the thread) we have one of the best squads in world football and should be very fucking disappointed with ourselves if we don't win the league
It's not instant success. We've won the league twice in five years and a number of the players that did are still with us, now much more experienced and at the peak of their careers. They can't sit on their laurels and be complacent, which is a feeling I'm getting from them and from an element of our supporters
If we don't win the league this season or next, what's our excuse then, that the players are too old!!
Well they're the ones who are letting it drift away and some of our support seems quite happy that they are

 

[robbieh]

Following on from playing our reserves in the LC playing a weakened team in the PL suggests to me it's all about the CL this season.

Whether that's down to Pep, the Sheikh or both who knows?

I think Kompany would have come on if we'd been 1-0 in a CL match and approaching injury time. Pep's less than pragmatic approach suggests to me that the PL isn't the top priority.

If that is the case then we will heaping pressure on ourselves as no way will we win the CL this year . Personally hope we are targeting the League as that is what matters to most of us.

 

[cheddar404]

You're another who will accept huge underachievement

GM's original post that I replied to said he was happy to accept a top four finish. As far as I'm aware top four includes fourth place
Sorry, but with a squad as talented as ours (and I said this earlier in the thread) we have one of the best squads in world football and should be very fucking disappointed with ourselves if we don't win the league
It's not instant success. We've won the league twice in five years and a number of the players that did are still with us, now much more experienced and at the peak of their careers. They can't sit on their laurels and be complacent, which is a feeling I'm getting from them and from an element of our supporters
If we don't win the league this season or next, what's our excuse then, that the players are too old!!
Well they're the ones who are letting it drift away and some of our support seems quite happy that they are

I don't know what you've been watching if you've not seen the rot that has set in over the last couple of years. Pep has by far the most difficult challenge he has ever faced as a coach and a unique style of playing which the players aren't used to. It will probably take another couple of transfer windows and a season of assessing what he has here already before everything is bedding in so yes I do count expecting to win the league as wanting instant success.

 

[SilverFox2]

Your attitude is worse than the teams and your grasp on reality seems tenuous.
We've spent a fortune, we have the best team and squad of players in England and apparently the best manager in the world.
Our owners, not unreasonably, expect us to win the league.
Why wouldn't we win the league?
If we don't win the league it should be classed as a failure.

Not saying you are wrong, merely explaining what my addiction to supporting City means to me. Any other investment either in time or money I have been able to walk away from without any regrets but it is a lifelong connection when you talk about being a City fan.
I hope pray and worry about our results and can only be in charge of my emotions by lessening my expectations, the reality is of course as you describe and if you can hack it then go for it(especially if you ignore the City Factor).

 

[Akiva]

Some right moaning old gits on this thread; questioning the best manager in the world because we slipped up against middlesbrough after beating barca is unbelievable.

Quite frankly I'm disgusted at some of the dross that has been written on here

Most sensible post I've seen round here since Saturday.

 

[Kinkys Left Foot]

Ask me again in May 2017.
This side will get better as the year goes on under Pep.
In my opinion the first 10 games would be where I expected us to struggle the most.
The League isn't won before Christmas but can certainly be lost. We stand 2 points of the top so we're right in the mix.
Will we win it? I don't know, but if we don't it won't be because of any lacking in will to do so. On the players part or the fans.

 

[GortonBlue62]

Not saying you are wrong, merely explaining what my addiction to supporting City means to me. Any other investment either in time or money I have been able to walk away from without any regrets but it is a lifelong connection when you talk about being a City fan.
I hope pray and worry about our results and can only be in charge of my emotions by lessening my expectations, the reality is of course as you describe and if you can hack it then go for it(especially if you ignore the City Factor).

My City factor is probably at least as well developed (and as debilitating) as yours Silver Fox - I always fear the worst (similar generation I think) - but my logical side tells me that we need to be doing better.

 

[The Pink Panther]

I don't know what you've been watching if you've not seen the rot that has set in over the last couple of years. Pep has by far the most difficult challenge he has ever faced as a coach and a unique style of playing which the players aren't used to. It will probably take another couple of transfer windows and a season of assessing what he has here already before everything is bedding in so yes I do count expecting to win the league as wanting instant success.

OK, so we settle for a top four finish 2016/17
So now Aguero, Silva, Kompany and all four of our full backs are all a year older!!
What's the excuse if we don't win it next season?
Players too old
Perhaps we shift a number of players out
Too many new faces that need time to settle in
Quality of the Prem has improved

It's not instant success. The time to win it is now and this culture of settling for what is Arsenal esq mediocrity has to end and there should be a fire burning in everyone's belly, us the supporters, the players and the management

Oh and there's nothing unique in football about kicking the ball into the oppositions goal or defending properly

 

[SilverFox2]

My City factor is probably at least as well developed (and as debilitating) as yours Silver Fox - I always fear the worst (similar generation I think) - but my logical side tells me that we need to be doing better.

You are not wrong, stats produced by City Watch today from data generated by Sky indicate we are number one in all aspects of play in the PL. Stats on another thread so won´t copy again.

See post 2842 here

http://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/threads/guardiola-and-the-future.321735/page-285#post-9818580

Unfortunately we cannot score from creating the most chances.

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

If that is the case then we will heaping pressure on ourselves as no way will we win the CL this year . Personally hope we are targeting the League as that is what matters to most of us.

Never say never, mate! It's quite possible that we will win the CL this season. Far worse teams than us have in the past.

I think the PL is the second priority (for me it would be first) but that puts us at a disadvantage to Chelsea and Liverpool, although I don't really see Liverpool being good enough over a full season. I also expect we'll play similar, reserve type, teams in the FA Cup as we did in the League Cup this season. Not popular with traditionalists like me but just my reading of the situation. I could, of course, be wrong!

 

[Terra Passenger]

OK, so we settle for a top four finish 2016/17
So now Aguero, Silva, Kompany and all four of our full backs are all a year older!!
What's the excuse if we don't win it next season?
Players too old
Perhaps we shift a number of players out
Too many new faces that need time to settle in
Quality of the Prem has improved

It's not instant success. The time to win it is now and this culture of settling for what is Arsenal esq mediocrity has to end and there should be a fire burning in everyone's belly, us the supporters, the players and the management

This is Pep's first season. He inherited a dispirited squad who was not accustomed to pressing and playing it out from the back.

Under the circumstances - Pep is doing much, much better than I expected. We're - for the most part - playing Pep's system as he would like (pressing drops off in the 2nd half, could use upgrades at several positions, etc.).

At the beginning of the season I thought that the system change would just overwhelm us - moreover, as time dragged on, it seemed that we would be starting a keeper who wasn't comfortable playing it from the back - only very late on did we sign Bravo.

So, just before we signed Bravo, I thought that, this year, we would finish outside the top 4 in the EPL, and that we'd be out probably in the first knockout stage of the UCL and that we would not win any trophies.

But with Bravo signed... and with the much more rapid ability to play Pep's system than I thought - well, I now think that we could well challenge for the PL title this year (there's a huge amount of very talented competition so if we pull this off it's going to be amazing - still it's possible), and I think we might go deep into the UCL depending on whom we draw - in a two match playoff against any team on the planet we have a chance - maybe not favorites - but a good chance. Hell, we might even win the UCL this year if luck prevails.

 

[Ban-jani]

We've not been the same as a club since Sergio smashed in the winner 93:20.

That season every game was a cup final at The Etihad and every point dropped felt so much worse.

I just think most City fans have seen what they always wanted to and everything else is a bonus now.

 

[nellyonthewing]

Realistically this group of players should have had 2 more EPL Champions medals than they have. The obsession with the Holy Grail of the Eufa Champions Cup by our hierachy whilst ultimately our goal detracts from the bread and butter of the Premiership. How is the crowd expected to engage with this approach on a weekly basis if EPL matches are merely warm ups for the big competition.