Barcelona Vs City CL 2nd leg

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Tell you what, Boyata must be the luckiest young man in football?

He got a needless and hefty long-term contract when he first broke through, as our owners wanted to project to the wider football community that we would look after Academy prospects.

He's in the pictures for the 2011 FA Cup celebrations, last week's League Cup Final, on the sidelines for the QPR game.

I see him sat on that plane to Barca, having bombed on loan at Bolton, and I just think, 'is £30,000 grand a week really necessary for a mascot,'

Living in a fools paradise, albeit, he will have a great seat at the Camp Nou.

 

[jollylescott]

balls to the wall tomoz, have to get at them from start and give it a real go, no doing what the arses did tonight and sit back and hope for a break, like at etihad, we have to force the pace, i rather see us go down 3-0 but at least have a go than show no effort and 0-0. we are man city and the world knows us as an attacking giant, its time to live up to the hype and play like it

If we are to go out tomorrow I want us going out in a blaze of glory and giving everyone a taste of what Manchester City could be next season.

Guillem Balague reckons we should play two up top against Barca like Valladolid did on Sunday, and I agree, two of our strikers will cause their defence issues and it's their defence that is their biggest weakness.

I would go a little direct and get it up to Negredo and have Sergio playing off him, obviously mixing it up with a short passing game but against a team like Barca you need to get it into their weak areas as quickly as possible, and maybe a bit of long ball won't do any harm, even if it is branded anti-football.

We can do this.

We need to overcome the star struck factor that plagued us in the first leg. We need to play with self belief and confidence. If Kun turns it on we will be a huge chance. I actually think they will panic if we get the first goal.

In addition I think Ruben will play two strikers and just stand on the sideline and give Barca his death stare. That should give us the edge ;-)

 

[dancity19]

We will have to go with our strongest team

Hart

Zabba
Vinny
Lescott
Kolarov

Yaya
Ferny

Nasri
Silva
Milner

Aguero

I think it's really difficult to pick.

Kolarov over Clichy? I still think Clichy is better defensively.

Could we give Yaya full licence to attack all game and play Garcia?

Milner will nullify their full backs- but in terms of really going at them could it be better to play Navas ( assuming we do start with Yaya and Ferna 'deep')

Negredo current form - NO. On ability to strike up a match winning partnership with Aguero- has to be considered.

No obvious answer I don't think.

I can understand what your saying regarding Yaya

However, I think we need his power coming from deep and not just as a second striker.

I prefer to see Silva playing in the hole, and finding spaces between the lines to thread balls through to Kun.

I agree with that- Toure can play deep and attack- and when he does that properly there is no one better- and it allows us to have an extra forward thinking player on, effectively.
It's just how he will play there- as it is quite hit and miss.

We don't need someone clogging up the space Nasri and Silva operate in- obviously Nasri is deeper than Silva- but those two will be key tonight.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

balls to the wall tomoz, have to get at them from start and give it a real go, no doing what the arses did tonight and sit back and hope for a break, like at etihad, we have to force the pace, i rather see us go down 3-0 but at least have a go than show no effort and 0-0. we are man city and the world knows us as an attacking giant, its time to live up to the hype and play like it

If we are to go out tomorrow I want us going out in a blaze of glory and giving everyone a taste of what Manchester City could be next season.

Guillem Balague reckons we should play two up top against Barca like Valladolid did on Sunday, and I agree, two of our strikers will cause their defence issues and it's their defence that is their biggest weakness.

I would go a little direct and get it up to Negredo and have Sergio playing off him, obviously mixing it up with a short passing game but against a team like Barca you need to get it into their weak areas as quickly as possible, and maybe a bit of long ball won't do any harm, even if it is branded anti-football.

We can do this.

We need to overcome the star struck factor that plagued us in the first leg. We need to play with self belief and confidence. If Kun turns it on we will be a huge chance. I actually think they will panic if we get the first goal.

In addition I think Ruben will play two strikers and just stand on the sideline and give Barca his death stare. That should give us the edge ;-)

We should no way play two strikers tonight. Negredo just doesn't have the fitness to defend from the front in this game, nor Dzeko.

The solution has to be to play Aguero up front on his own, work the Barca backline over by dragging them out wide and use his pace.

Yaya must play further advanced, with Milner or Garcia giving us the legs in midfield - 4-2-3-1


..................Hart.......................

...Zabba.....Komps......Lescott.....Kolarov

............Milner/Garcia........Fernandinho

...........Nasri..........Yaya...........Silva

....................Aguero..........................

 

[Clarkey_78]

If we are to go out tomorrow I want us going out in a blaze of glory and giving everyone a taste of what Manchester City could be next season.

Guillem Balague reckons we should play two up top against Barca like Valladolid did on Sunday, and I agree, two of our strikers will cause their defence issues and it's their defence that is their biggest weakness.

I would go a little direct and get it up to Negredo and have Sergio playing off him, obviously mixing it up with a short passing game but against a team like Barca you need to get it into their weak areas as quickly as possible, and maybe a bit of long ball won't do any harm, even if it is branded anti-football.

We can do this.

We need to overcome the star struck factor that plagued us in the first leg. We need to play with self belief and confidence. If Kun turns it on we will be a huge chance. I actually think they will panic if we get the first goal.

In addition I think Ruben will play two strikers and just stand on the sideline and give Barca his death stare. That should give us the edge ;-)

We should no way play two strikers tonight. Negredo just doesn't have the fitness to defend from the front in this game, nor Dzeko.

The solution has to be to play Aguero up front on his own, work the Barca backline over by dragging them out wide and use his pace.

Yaya must play further advanced, with Milner or Garcia giving us the legs in midfield - 4-2-3-1


..................Hart.......................

...Zabba.....Komps......Lescott.....Kolarov

............Milner/Garcia........Fernandinho

...........Nasri..........Yaya...........Silva

....................Aguero..........................

all day long , exactly what i was thinking RE team selection - I reckon Garcia will get the nod as well

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

Why has the whole squad travelled?

I'd have kept the core of the team who would be playing Hull at Carrington

What is the point of qualifying for the champs league if all you do in the end is throw in the towel. And there was me thinking that the Champions league is what the owners and players dream about. Silly me.

We're 2-0 down, meanwhile there are winnable games in the Premier League and we were in the FA Cup

The starting players, and the subs should be in Barcelona, the rest should be in Carrington preparing for Hull.

You can't argue with that. Barcelona is an important game, but its affect on our domestic form should be minimised

You know from my other posts that I think prioritising the long shot that is actually winning the CL to the point of jeopardising our entire
domestic season was the wrong decision but we are where we are. Pellegrini has, perhaps unwittingly, put a lot of our eggs in the basket
marked tonight's game. It's time to let Wigan go and worry about Hull later. At this point we've all got to get behind him and just hope that it
turns out to be a special night. I'm still totally pissed off about his team selection versus Wigan by the way.

 

[ElanJo]

My Team
Hart

Zabba
Vinny
Lescott
Kolarov

Garcia
Fernandinho

Yaya
Milner
Nasri (Silva on bench)
Sergio

I'd sack you on the spot for that

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

We can do this.

We need to overcome the star struck factor that plagued us in the first leg. We need to play with self belief and confidence. If Kun turns it on we will be a huge chance. I actually think they will panic if we get the first goal.

In addition I think Ruben will play two strikers and just stand on the sideline and give Barca his death stare. That should give us the edge ;-)

We should no way play two strikers tonight. Negredo just doesn't have the fitness to defend from the front in this game, nor Dzeko.

The solution has to be to play Aguero up front on his own, work the Barca backline over by dragging them out wide and use his pace.

Yaya must play further advanced, with Milner or Garcia giving us the legs in midfield - 4-2-3-1


..................Hart.......................

...Zabba.....Komps......Lescott.....Kolarov

............Milner/Garcia........Fernandinho

...........Nasri..........Yaya...........Silva

....................Aguero..........................

all day long , exactly what i was thinking RE team selection - I reckon Garcia will get the nod as well

I do think Milner would just give us that extra energy and willingness to cover the flank when Silva and Nasri just can't get back in on the cover, although both have a huge part to play to do just that.

I have a sneaky feeling Milner could start after missing out on Sunday, when there was no reason for him not to start v Wigan, and every reason for Garcia to be rested.

Barca want to see Yaya in a static role in the middle, where they can run off the back of him and pop the ball around him.

Sure, Yaya not playing deeper will curtail those 40-yard barnstormers, but no use having him shoot his load in the wrong areas.

Keep him up top, where he can run directly at goal within 20 yards, where his shooting can also be a factor, but he can also use his technique to play with Silva, Nasri and Aguero.

We need to have our match-winners playing as close together as possible.

I don't know why, but I see us winning tonight 4-2 and going through on the away goals, if we go 4-2-3-1.

 

[mad zab]

We should no way play two strikers tonight. Negredo just doesn't have the fitness to defend from the front in this game, nor Dzeko.

The solution has to be to play Aguero up front on his own, work the Barca backline over by dragging them out wide and use his pace.

Yaya must play further advanced, with Milner or Garcia giving us the legs in midfield - 4-2-3-1


..................Hart.......................

...Zabba.....Komps......Lescott.....Kolarov

............Milner/Garcia........Fernandinho

...........Nasri..........Yaya...........Silva

....................Aguero..........................

all day long , exactly what i was thinking RE team selection - I reckon Garcia will get the nod as well

I do think Milner would just give us that extra energy and willingness to cover the flank when Silva and Nasri just can't get back in on the cover, although both have a huge part to play to do just that.

I have a sneaky feeling Milner could start after missing out on Sunday, when there was no reason for him not to start v Wigan, and every reason for Garcia to be rested.

Barca want to see Yaya in a static role in the middle, where they can run off the back of him and pop the ball around him.

Sure, Yaya not playing deeper will curtail those 40-yard barnstormers, but no use having him shoot his load in the wrong areas.

Keep him up top, where he can run directly at goal within 20 yards, where his shooting can also be a factor, but he can also use his technique to play with Silva, Nasri and Aguero.

We need to have our match-winners playing as close together as possible.

I don't know why, but I see us winning tonight 4-2 and going through on the away goals, if we go 4-2-3-1.

I have also seen Yaya play poorly when played too far up front from the start TH. I still think he is at his best running from deep.

Whoever we play they need to be on the ball from the start and play at a high tempo closing down the Barca midfield quickly. Then make good use of the possession we get.

 

[Pigeonho]

Getting giddy now. Rioja open, tunes on, pub in a wee while. Just got this feeling in my ever increasingly-aching bones that we are going to score early and set up a real match. Even Brazil, or boiled bollock as he's known on here, was begging for an early goal to set the match up. Can see it happening via Aguero who, I believe, will have the game of his life tonight.

Better fucking pace myself on this here Rioja.