Media thread 2022/23

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I have said many times that our current team would absolutely destroy the 99 United side, just as the 99 United side would absolutely destroy the 1970 Brazil team.

Football moves on. And these comparisons of our potential treble (before it even happens) to United’s are laughably stupid.
Agree that team comparisons are absolutely ridiculous and pointless but a comparison of the stats (wins, goals etc.) is valid.
 
Whats the point doing a combined team between City now and the Rags a quarter of a century ago

The game has changed dramatically

I don't entertain any of that hypothetical shite for a second

Do people think that if we win on Saturday night I'm not going to enjoy it as Alex Ferguson may have been a better manager than Pep, or David May may get on a combined XI ahead of John Stones?

Fuck them and their treble
The media have been desperate to make "it all about them" and try and keep them relevant. Their treble was 25 years ago FFS. Despite all the hype about them having such a great season they are still a club in severe decline. They are fixated on the past just like the LFC fans they used to mock for the same reasons.
 
As valid as it all is save and post later ,
I think the use , twice, of the word ‘if’ is sufficient grounding.

It’s a cup game anything could happen, same, as we saw, with the FA cup and at least 3 ‘decisions’ that could have changed the course of the game - Grealish unintentional and no advantage handball (result: united gain) Casemiro ankle assault (result: united gain), De bruyne taken out by Fred in penalty area (result: united gain)

So, it’s still an ‘if’
 
If we win the CL it completely smashes United’s ‘treble’ achievement.
1. We would win the champions league as the previous seasons PL champions, unlike them.
2. The route to the final has seen us dispatch far bigger teams than United did, with more games played and a higher win percentage.
3. The route to winning the 3rd PL in a row has had us win epic season long tussles with Liverpool and this season Arsenal, compared to the drab boring (for all but united fans) united wins. During which we’ve scored far more goals against far better opponents than united had.
4. The route to winning the FA cup saw us see off the previous winners and Chelsea, then play our cross border rivals in a cup final for the 1st time ever on the 100th anniversary of the 1st FA cup at Wembley.
5. We also gave the LC a go, and probably should have progressed. Can’t remember what United did in 99, so maybe that could swing it for them!
6. United had far and away the biggest spending power in the league in 1999 and prior. And The absolute myth spouted by beckham about it all being English united academy youth…Compare with City being the 15th highest net spenders over the last 5 years in the PL (united 2nd, Chelsea 1st).
7. As demonstrated to all the world in the FA cup, they are ‘assisted’ to the nth degree in red cards to others, penalties to them, no penalties to others, license to hack and dive at will, no yellow fouls for them, out of nowhere time added on if they are losing, minimal added time if winning. If there was VAR in 99, they’d have romped the league, the cup, the CL, Ferguson would have won Strictly… etc.
Whereas City almost every game, unless we went 3-0 up in 15mins were at the mercy of ref infield bias and off field VAR bias. The reams of examples we could all think of …
8. The background ‘noise’ of the media, It’s bad enough the difference in how we are refereed but the difference in media reporting is off the scale. I doubt you’d find any article from 99 that criticised United in anyway , or asked whether their opponents ‘need’ to stop it.

So taking all that… and it’s obviously just the footballing side that should decide, we are far and away heading for a better ‘treble’ IF we do it.

Edit: it will be some achievement by Inter to beat us. If they do, (and it’s done cleanly), then so be it, they would have done it against the odds , against the greatest league team ever.

Edit: forgot
9. Pep has revolutionised football ,played out from the back (as done by everyone down to U8 level, bar united), false 9 (no attacker for a year, but still scored more than anyone else), CB as a skilful midfield ball carrier . Compare to the static, hoofball and kick & rush of Ferguson who changed nothing other than proving that bullies can win if no-one stands up to them
I agree.

But definitely point 1.

Given they qualified as runners-up, I think that if we win, their treble has to be downgraded to "a treble", rather than "The Treble" ;)
 
Last night I watched back the entire BBC coverage from the start of the build-up to the end of the programme.

Tonight I’m currently watching the entire ITV coverage.

Both have been very good at showing City’s history in the FA Cup, especially the BBC who had better pre-match videos in general (that poem at the start with footage from derbies and last FA Cup finals for both clubs was brilliant!). Both have added in some good Manchester music clips.

What I noticed is there was absolutely no treating City as an inferior club by any of the four presenters and pundits on either channel, that I have felt from the media for years. They were all very fair and treated the final as if it was between two giants of football.

I especially liked this quote from Sam Matterface on ITV, [the atmosphere was electric at that point as the teams were about to come out];

This is terrific! Well, the old Merseyside occasion of 1986, the Treble Busters of ’77, and ’96, remember that? That was huge… but might this be the biggest FA Cup final of all-time? Definitely, maybe! It is a special occasion and Wembley is absolutely thronging. A city split red and blue; a city steeped in culture, music and industry, and steeped in football heritage.

‘Well, the dominant teams of Busby and Sir Alex to the defiance of the Joe Royle era, and the ’60s success of Joe Mercer. Two iconic clubs that gave us moments from Agüero, Ronaldo, Robson, Summerbee, Best, Yaya and Cantona and who both at times embraced Tevez, Law and Kidd.

It is the first ever all-Manchester FA Cup Final’.


Top banana, that!

BBC’s coverage has a worse picture and sound quality. ITV has much sharper visuals and audio, but you have to deal with adverts.

Overall, I think both did a cracking job and were very good about City.
 
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Goldstein bottled Drivetime......Townsend standing in.

The shithouse rag ****

I can't stand Talk Sport, but did see a clip of Townsend where he said "fingers crossed they win it" about the treble. He was on co commentary for the Madrid home game and was cheering City on when the goals went in, nice to see. Would much rather have him on than Ferdinand etc on BT.
 
I can't stand Talk Sport, but did see a clip of Townsend where he said "fingers crossed they win it" about the treble. He was on co commentary for the Madrid home game and was cheering City on when the goals went in, nice to see. Would much rather have him on than Ferdinand etc on BT.
I listen to quite a bit of it. Jim White, Simon Jordan, Alan Brazil, Martin Keown, Jamie O’Hara, Gabby Agbonlalour & Sam Matterfsce have all said they hope we win it in the last few days. Cundy has said he hopes we don’t, only because he doesn’t want to see an English club besides Chelsea winning it.
 
Trebles from the last Century shouldn’t count…only 21st Century Trebles for me…let’s get the first and only.
Anything from before FFP should have a giant asterisk next to it. If breaching FFP is such a calamitous act of cheating, everything before it's introduction should be considered as basically won by cheating, no?
 
Anything from before FFP should have a giant asterisk next to it. If breaching FFP is such a calamitous act of cheating, everything before it's introduction should be considered as basically won by cheating, no?
If anyone needs an asterisk it’s Bayern from 1975 when they won it by blatant cheating on the pitch with the collusion of the referee and linesmen.
 
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