City fans' view towards the Champions League

[lonestay]

Well I think it's the greatest competition in world sport, any sport. But that's only because we are in the final !!!!

 

[Drewmanc]

Never liked it, loved the European cup when it was a straight knock out comp and not the seething mass of sponsorship it is now, allowing 3/4 teams in per league. What makes a 4th place team a champion to even play in the champions league? Its always confused me.

 

[malg]

It must be liked because the top 6 threads are devoted to the cup competition.

 

[BimboBob]

Prefer the League, the FA Cup, The League Cup and then the bloated cash cow that is the CL.

Be worse when the new format comes in...bye bye LC first team games.

 

[bluealf]

It is a pile of corrupt nonsense but as we are in the final it would be rude not to win it.

 

[supercity88]

There have been threads about City's top 5 moments.

Aguero and 2012
Yaya vs. Rags in the FA Cup semi
Gillingham in 99
Stoke FA Cup final win
Kompany v Leicester and then winning the league in 2019.

Lots of choices for various reasons. I like to go down memory lane and watch a few again because of what they meant. But winning the CL will be one I watch over and over just like 2012, it's that special and I think, regardless of fans views towards the CL we'd all be the same.

The clubs trophy cabinet would also have this centre stage. It wouldn't be tucked behind our league cups. They would be pushed aside for this one to take pride and place. Imagine seeing the players with both the league and CL on an open top bus. Unbelievable! They can take the league cup as well but that big eared trophy is the one they will all be fighting over.

 

[burning blue soul]

It's hard to be enthusiastic winning a competition none of the organisers, nor the other teams, want us to even be involved with.
Our history with this competition has been sour from the start, and when a 2 year ban gets thrown in, without due diligence being applied by UEFA in their fact finding, the whole competition is tainted for me.
Couple that with blatant money making at the expense of good football (yes, group stages, I'm talking to you!) and industrial levels of gamesmanship by the players, and the whole thing is fucking shit.
Only at the full knockout stages does anything remotely resembling "exciting football" break out.
UEFAs obsession with making money, at the expense of quality football, is as distasteful as the proposed ESL was/is.

If we win it, fantastic!! If we don't I will feel sorry for the owners, managers and players.... but I won't feel sorry for myself!

 

[EL APACHE TEVEZ]

I wonder if big mal’s looking down and thinking, I told you we would terrify Europe

 

[Deleted member 77198]

I want us to win it, it's the best knockout domestic competition in the world.

However, my feelings on the Champions League changed when non-champions were allowed in and then the ridiculous seeding...Nobody has a valid argument as to why Arsenal for all those years finishing 4th were in the group stage ahead of champions of their respective leagues.

It was pretty much a power grab by the rich clubs, change of format sure, but there was no need to increase the number of clubs from the richest leagues nor bin off the Cup Winners Cup.

The big clubs from the big leagues still usually ended up winning it, but we'll never see the likes of Brugge, Malmo, Red Star etc. win or even reach a final again. It's set up for a handful of teams to win it every year; Bayern, Real, Barcelona, 4 English teams, PSG and maybe 1 Italian team.

It'll be 11 years since an Italian team last won it, and 17 years since a team outside of those I've mentioned won it (Porto).

It's a con.

Some of these champions from other leagues don’t even make it into the CL because they have to go through qualifying rounds.

They and their leagues constantly miss out on money making them weaker and cementing other leagues in their place who are always getting stronger.

It was a disgrace what the G14 did back when they extended CL places to the select leagues they wanted it to. Clubs like Celtic and Rangers, Bucharest, and the ones you mentioned should have kicked up a fuss about this happening. How on Earth did these clubs just sit back and let it happen?

Your example of Arsenal is spot on. Their board had no ambition to win the Prem and no ambition to win the CL. They just wanted to spend as little money on the team as possible, just spending enough to make sure they finished in the top 4 and qualifying from the Group Stage so that every year they were coining all the money that came with doing that.

Thankfulky, eventually, that lack of ambition to win the Prem and CL saw them fall down the league table as other clubs with more ambition overtook them. For years they had advantages over clubs from other leagues (and our league). But because the faces of the clubs from other leagues didn’t fit with the G14, they were cast aside. Clubs like Legia Warsaw (clubs like this have huge potential to be massive clubs) will never win the CL.

There’s no reason why Legia Warsaw can’t do what some G14 clubs have done in their history. With evenly spread qualification and funds and sponsorship due to interest across Europe, there’d be more evenly spread competition.

However, City are one of those clubs whose face didn’t fit among the G14. They didn’t want us up there and when we got our investment we were seen as upstarts and a threat. This is where FFP came in and all the shit we’ve had flung at us over the last decade. We are one of the clubs who aren’t wanted, which makes me want to win this even more.

Let’s win it for us, but let’s also win it for all the clubs like Legia Warsaw out there, as a big fuck off sticking two fingers up to UEFA and the G14.

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

Some of these champions from other leagues don’t even make it into the CL because they have to go through qualifying rounds.

They and their leagues constantly miss out on money making them weaker and cementing other leagues in their place who are always getting stronger.

It was a disgrace what the G14 did back when they extended CL places to the select leagues they wanted it to. Clubs like Celtic and Rangers, Bucharest, and the ones you mentioned should have kicked up a fuss about this happening. How on Earth did these clubs just sit back and let it happen?

Your example of Arsenal is spot on. Their board had no ambition to win the Prem and no ambition to win the CL. They just wanted to spend as little money on the team as possible, just spending enough to make sure they finished in the top 4 and qualifying from the Group Stage so that every year they were coining all the money that came with doing that.

Thankfulky, eventually, that lack of ambition to win the Prem and CL saw them fall down the league table as other clubs with more ambition overtook them. For years they had advantages over clubs from other leagues (and our league). But because the faces of the clubs from other leagues didn’t fit with the G14, they were cast aside. Clubs like Legia Warsaw (clubs like this have huge potential to be massive clubs) will never win the CL.

There’s no reason why Legia Warsaw can’t do what some G14 clubs have done in their history. With evenly spread qualification and funds and sponsorship due to interest across Europe, there’d be more evenly spread competition.

However, City are one of those clubs whose face didn’t fit among the G14. They didn’t want us up there and when we got our investment we were seen as upstarts and a threat. This is where FFP came in and all the shit we’ve had flung at us over the last decade. We are one of the clubs who aren’t wanted, which makes me want to win this even more.

Let’s win it for us, but let’s also win it for all the clubs like Legia Warsaw out there, as a big fuck off stucking two fingers up to UEFA and the G14.

Spot on PC - it is heavily stacked in favour of a handful of leagues and teams which kills off any real investment / challenge from the others (with the odd exception which are then routinely stripped for parts).

Their is nothing 'Champions' about this league........