Manchester City vs Liverpool pre-match thread

[mat]

New badge for Sunday.

 

[Champions2012!]

Keep the faith lads, keep the faith...

Beautiful navas pass

 

[Mr Ed (The Stables)]

Not sure why, but these last couple days, my own nerves have pretty much gone, the arse has been torn out of this game, already.

I've gone from thinking a draw would be an incredible achievement to firmly believing we WILL go there and win.

For me, the more I read and hear others speak about Liverpool, the more it turned them into this behemoth of a team, a Barcelona on steroids in terms of their capacity to close down opponents at will, with Suarez applying the sheen.

The fact is, in a one-off game, as this league has shown, anyone can beat anyone.

But when I really take a step back from all the hyperbole, this Liverpool team are still a good middleweight punching against a light heavyweight, in the truest sense.

Seven times out of ten, this current Liverpool team doesn't lay a glove on City.

And for that reason, I will sit down this Sunday and be relaxed, trusting in our superior players to just do their jobs.

Sometimes I forget how bloody good our own players are.

This Sunday won't be the end, it will not even be the beginning of the end, it will merely be the end of the beginning of the REAL title countdown.

Love it absolutely love it, as long as before and after the game we are not:

Fighting on the beaches, on the landing grounds, in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!!

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure why, but these last couple days, my own nerves have pretty much gone, the arse has been torn out of this game, already.

I've gone from thinking a draw would be an incredible achievement to firmly believing we WILL go there and win.

For me, the more I read and hear others speak about Liverpool, the more it turned them into this behemoth of a team, a Barcelona on steroids in terms of their capacity to close down opponents at will, with Suarez applying the sheen.

The fact is, in a one-off game, as this league has shown, anyone can beat anyone.

But when I really take a step back from all the hyperbole, this Liverpool team are still a good middleweight punching against a light heavyweight, in the truest sense.

Seven times out of ten, this current Liverpool team doesn't lay a glove on City.

And for that reason, I will sit down this Sunday and be relaxed, trusting in our superior players to just do their jobs.

Sometimes I forget how bloody good our own players are.

This Sunday won't be the end, it will not even be the beginning of the end, it will merely be the end of the beginning of the REAL title countdown.

Beautiful, just beautiful.

BTW ... I said earlier I don't mind the scousers ... but fuck me I'm beginning to see why people give them so much shit. I posted Stu Brennan's feature from today about the media thinking liverpool have already won it on Facebook and made the mistake of referring to Liverpool as the red dippers. Someone I've known for over 10 years who supports them posted "dippers? ah well was nice knowing you ... bye" before deleting me as a Facebook friend and blocking me completely from his page. This is a grown man with kids who is constantly giving it out about moneybags City on his own page. I've been laughing ever since!

 

[chris85mcfc]

It's so important that we don't give any silly, needless free kicks away on the edge of our box.

You can see their constantly looking for a touch so they can go down as they know Suarez and Gerrard hit the target 9 times out of 10.

I must admit its one thing that really bugs me about our defending, is the way we give daft free kicks away unnecessarily, sometimes we are so eager to win the ball back and its little margins like that where this game could be won or lost on Sunday.

 

[Matty]

Re: Liverpool Thread 2013/14 (continued)

Just posted this in the pre-match thread. Words fail me. Apparently, it's the crowd that our players need to worry about on Sunday and not their in-form team. Oh, and United fans on derby day aren't a patch on what Liverpool fans will be like on Sunday:

I really don't understand this attitude Liverpool fans seem to have about their home support. I'm sure the atmosphere will be fantastic, and that they will get behind their team on Sunday, but we play Liverpool at Anfield every season, it's hardly a new phenomenon for our players, plus we've played in a fair few big games over the last few years, in some pretty intimidating places, United at Old Trafford (which obviously for us is a derby game so more highly strung than your average match at Old Trafford), Barcelona at The Nou Camp, Bayern Munich at the Allianz, Borussia Dortmund at the Westphalia, CSKA Moscow at the Khimki (which, ordinarily, you wouldn't assume would be a tough environment but when you factor in that the players were on the receiving end of some pretty terrible racial abuse that makes it different), not to mention United, Stoke, Sunderland, Chelsea and Wigan all at Wembley for various domestic cup semi final and final appearances. Oh yeah, and the little matter of the QPR game, if the atmosphere, and the tension, in the stadium that day wasn't intimidating and didn't apply pressure on the players then I don't know what would be.

And all of this is before we consider the high pressure, high profile games some of our players have played in prior to joining City, or whilst on International duty. Rome derbies, El Classico games, The European Championship Final, The Champion's League Final etc, I'd imagine most if not all of these are bigger occasions, and tougher atmospheres, than a league match at Anfield between Liverpool and Manchester City!

and the small matter of a World Cup Final for a couple of them

True, Navas came on as a sub, and played a good 50 minutes of the 2010 World Cup Final.<br /><br />-- Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:19 am --<br /><br />

It's so important that we don't give any silly, needless free kicks away on the edge of our box.

You can see their constantly looking for a touch so they can go down as they know Suarez and Gerrard hit the target 9 times out of 10.

I must admit its one thing that really bugs me about our defending, is the way we give daft free kicks away unnecessarily, sometimes we are so eager to win the ball back and its little margins like that where this game could be won or lost on Sunday.

Yeah, that's a concern for me too, Suarez and Gerrard are more than capable of beating Hart with a well struck free kick, we need to minimise the number of opportunities with give them to achieve this. This is an area where Clattenburg, if his paymasters have decreed it to be so, could try and affect the result. A few cheap freekicks in or around our box could give Liverpool just the lift they need.

 

[mancity111]

Not sure why, but these last couple days, my own nerves have pretty much gone, the arse has been torn out of this game, already.

I've gone from thinking a draw would be an incredible achievement to firmly believing we WILL go there and win.

For me, the more I read and hear others speak about Liverpool, the more it turned them into this behemoth of a team, a Barcelona on steroids in terms of their capacity to close down opponents at will, with Suarez applying the sheen.

The fact is, in a one-off game, as this league has shown, anyone can beat anyone.

But when I really take a step back from all the hyperbole, this Liverpool team are still a good middleweight punching against a light heavyweight, in the truest sense.

Seven times out of ten, this current Liverpool team doesn't lay a glove on City.

And for that reason, I will sit down this Sunday and be relaxed, trusting in our superior players to just do their jobs.

Sometimes I forget how bloody good our own players are.

This Sunday won't be the end, it will not even be the beginning of the end, it will merely be the end of the beginning of the REAL title countdown.

Beautiful, just beautiful.

BTW ... I said earlier I don't mind the scousers ... but fuck me I'm beginning to see why people give them so much shit. I posted Stu Brennan's feature from today about the media thinking liverpool have already won it on Facebook and made the mistake of referring to Liverpool as the red dippers. Someone I've known for over 10 years who supports them posted "dippers? ah well was nice knowing you ... bye" before deleting me as a Facebook friend and blocking me completely from his page. This is a grown man with kids who is constantly giving it out about moneybags City on his own page. I've been laughing ever since!

Their home record is good but they have been stuttering of late as sides within shouting distance often do because they forget why they got to be in the position they are in the first place.

Like any game it can go either way , we haven't played our best football home or away against Liverpool since we won 3-0 at home convincingly ( though some may disagree ) in the second game of the season a few years back on a week night.

If we go for the juggular and we get a bit of luck with the ref and the game itself we will come away with three points.

They have had all the favours this season without doubt after Suarez came back from suspension which is not to say they don't deserve to win the title if they finish on top that's just how it goes sometimes.

Lets see who wants it more over 96 minutes on Sunday and bring it on.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Not sure why, but these last couple days, my own nerves have pretty much gone, the arse has been torn out of this game, already.

I've gone from thinking a draw would be an incredible achievement to firmly believing we WILL go there and win.

For me, the more I read and hear others speak about Liverpool, the more it turned them into this behemoth of a team, a Barcelona on steroids in terms of their capacity to close down opponents at will, with Suarez applying the sheen.

The fact is, in a one-off game, as this league has shown, anyone can beat anyone.

But when I really take a step back from all the hyperbole, this Liverpool team are still a good middleweight punching against a light heavyweight, in the truest sense.

Seven times out of ten, this current Liverpool team doesn't lay a glove on City.

And for that reason, I will sit down this Sunday and be relaxed, trusting in our superior players to just do their jobs.

Sometimes I forget how bloody good our own players are.

This Sunday won't be the end, it will not even be the beginning of the end, it will merely be the end of the beginning of the REAL title countdown.

Beautiful, just beautiful.

BTW ... I said earlier I don't mind the scousers ... but fuck me I'm beginning to see why people give them so much shit. I posted Stu Brennan's feature from today about the media thinking liverpool have already won it on Facebook and made the mistake of referring to Liverpool as the red dippers. Someone I've known for over 10 years who supports them posted "dippers? ah well was nice knowing you ... bye" before deleting me as a Facebook friend and blocking me completely from his page. This is a grown man with kids who is constantly giving it out about moneybags City on his own page. I've been laughing ever since!

And that my friend, shows you the levels of hysteria that Liverpool fans have whipped themselves into.

You see, when players can take the emotion out of it, relax, and trust themselves that they have prepared themselves the best they can, having left nothing to chance, talent generally wins out, barring bad luck.

This stuff we are seeing from LFC fans is nothing more than trash talk. Again, like a boxer at the weigh-in who feels the need to step on his tip-toes and puff out his chest, because they know deep down, it transmits a positive vibe to the wider public and inside their own heads.

But they are on their own in that ring, the crowd can't punch for you. If anything, it diverts due care and attention.

Anyhow, how kind of Liverpool fans to inform our team what is actually in store for them, beforehand.

If it was such a potent and decisive factor, surely they would want to keep it to themselves.

Piss and vinegar, people, piss and vinegar.

For the record, City players haven't got the time or the inclination to have their real focus diverted, they are too busy doing their actual jobs on the training pitch.

 

[mancity111]

Not sure why, but these last couple days, my own nerves have pretty much gone, the arse has been torn out of this game, already.

I've gone from thinking a draw would be an incredible achievement to firmly believing we WILL go there and win.

For me, the more I read and hear others speak about Liverpool, the more it turned them into this behemoth of a team, a Barcelona on steroids in terms of their capacity to close down opponents at will, with Suarez applying the sheen.

The fact is, in a one-off game, as this league has shown, anyone can beat anyone.

But when I really take a step back from all the hyperbole, this Liverpool team are still a good middleweight punching against a light heavyweight, in the truest sense.

Seven times out of ten, this current Liverpool team doesn't lay a glove on City.

And for that reason, I will sit down this Sunday and be relaxed, trusting in our superior players to just do their jobs.

Sometimes I forget how bloody good our own players are.

This Sunday won't be the end, it will not even be the beginning of the end, it will merely be the end of the beginning of the REAL title countdown.

Probably because your head is now ruling your heart.

If we are at our best and Liverpool area their best we win nearly everytime , decent ref or not.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Not sure why, but these last couple days, my own nerves have pretty much gone, the arse has been torn out of this game, already.

I've gone from thinking a draw would be an incredible achievement to firmly believing we WILL go there and win.

For me, the more I read and hear others speak about Liverpool, the more it turned them into this behemoth of a team, a Barcelona on steroids in terms of their capacity to close down opponents at will, with Suarez applying the sheen.

The fact is, in a one-off game, as this league has shown, anyone can beat anyone.

But when I really take a step back from all the hyperbole, this Liverpool team are still a good middleweight punching against a light heavyweight, in the truest sense.

Seven times out of ten, this current Liverpool team doesn't lay a glove on City.

And for that reason, I will sit down this Sunday and be relaxed, trusting in our superior players to just do their jobs.

Sometimes I forget how bloody good our own players are.

This Sunday won't be the end, it will not even be the beginning of the end, it will merely be the end of the beginning of the REAL title countdown.

Probably because your head is now ruling your heart.

If we are at our best and Liverpool area their best we win nearly everytime , decent ref or not.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sghncnGkFAo[/youtube]