The Title Race - 2023/24

[the blue panther]

We are two points off the lead after 8 games in season where, so far, we haven’t played at our best in a single game, we have been plagued by injuries, we lost Rodri for 3 games after a moment of madness and Haaland has been missing sitter after sitter.

You can stick all the money you like on Arsenal, Spurs and the Dippers but my gut tells me we will hit form soon, we will be back to full strength, Pep will finally figure out the conundrum of how to play without Rodri and Haaland will start scoring again.

Last season we got to February, roughly half way through the season, without winning 3 games in a row.
We ain't doing too badly; early doors.

 

[waspish]

Weird how the fans of other clubs up near the top of the league get so giddy after just 8 games!

The media as well, you'd think they would know the league title challenge doesn't start till about 6/8 games left of the season!

Who thinks at worse we won't be no more than 4/6 points behind who ever is top if we ain't top with 6/8 games left of the season?

 

[Rochdale Blue]

The same media who have unanimously agreed the way to beat City is to get stuck in and let them know they are there seem a little bit miffed about City getting stuck in and red card not being issued while completely ignoring a City player being hauled around the area. Admittedly we got away with one, but even yesterday ESPN were still ranting about it and Clattenburg was on a five minute rant with red card being screamed every few seconds. At least I and most City supporters can be impartial and admit we got lucky with the card,but it seems impartiality only stretches one way.

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

The same media who have unanimously agreed the way to beat City is to get stuck in and let them know they are there seem a little bit miffed about City getting stuck in and red card not being issued while completely ignoring a City player being hauled around the area. Admittedly we got away with one, but even yesterday ESPN were still ranting about it and Clattenburg was on a five minute rant with red card being screamed every few seconds. At least I and most City supporters can be impartial and admit we got lucky with the card,but it seems impartiality only stretches one way.

The fucking endless parade of referee apologies haven't helped this either. Now fans seem to think that they're owed a report - with the release of audio and transcriptions and letters to the ref - after every other weekend. Kova probably got away with one, but those tackles are let go every fucking weekend and we don't need referees giving press conferences for their reason why something wasn't given. Another example of how VAR seems to have made things worse.

 

[wythenshaweblue£££]

Some City fans flapping as usual and the
media loving it that the goons have finally beat us. I have no doubt come end of the season we will be champions. We’ve lost players and have injuries at the moment. As always get to Xmas and then see where we are.

 

[simon23]

I don't disagree with any of those factors. I disagree with you saying a team's track record means "very little"...

well those factors are why i believe the teams track record mean very little as those factors could easily change (through no ones fault and are in no ones control)

 

[JewelZee]

well those factors are why i believe the teams track record mean very little as those factors could easily change (through no ones fault and are in no ones control)

For me track record is part and parcel to collective experience and weighs heavily into a team's mentality, mindset, psyche or whatever one wants to call it...

 

[simon23]

For me track record is part and parcel to collective experience and weighs heavily into a team's mentality, mindset, psyche or whatever one wants to call it...

Of course but those other very simple factors can destroy all of that instantly......unless the manager can control it...hence why the managers tract record is far more important

 

[LongsightM13]

Arteta’s arsenal remind me of Klopp’s cult in so many ways
They play very differently, but they are are a team who, under his stewardship, are like their fellow redshirts, are based on emotion
They are both teams who have made a conscious decision to base their very identity and to make their decisions from the heart
City, on the other hand, are a team who make their decisions from the head
Less romantic to external observers, maybe, but considerably more successful
The thing is, decisions from the head rather than the heart will always be better
That difference, imo, is why the cult make such a big deal of anfield and try to exploit that to their advantage, to try to make that squealing influence and intimidate opponents and referees
We just know in our heads we’re better than most teams. We don’t need some imagined grievance or to pretend we’re underdogs
The fact the head will always win out over the heart in the long run probably explains the cult’s single league title in the average footballer’s lifetime
The irony is that on the few occasions when these clubs went against form and actually let the head rule the heart - liverpool from the mid 70s to the late 80s, and arsenal under Wenger - they both enjoyed the most successful periods in their history
I have a theory that away from football, this head v heart debate probably defines the history and cultural difference between the people of Manchester and merseyside, but that’s probably for another thread

 

[supercity88]

Still think it's the dippers and not the tarquins we have to worry about this season. They're looking more defensively solid, and even when they're not they have enough to score goals and win games.

There will be a lot of dropped points this season, teams like Brighton, Chelsea and Villa are more than capable of taking points on a good day.

We've got a really tough run in March/April where we play rags h, dippers a, brighton a, arsenal h, villa h and palace a.

I still worry about the strength in depth that we have. The bench had Grealish and not a lot else in terms of attacking talent at the weekend. De Bruyne obviously makes a major difference, but feel like we should break the mould in January and try and get someone in if we can. 4 in a row is most certainly a big ambition of Pep's. He was the first to do it in Germany, with Bayern as well (not all his obviously)!