The Title Race - 2024/25

[TinFoilHat]

It would be typical City to batter the dippers at Klanfield, but Give Soton their first PL league win first.

 

[MCFC1993]

Guaranteed Loss? Chin up !

Marked off as a loss every time the fixtures are announced, genuinely never expect anything there, so can never be disappointed.

 

[bluenova]

Marked off as a loss every time the fixtures are announced, genuinely never expect anything there, so can never be disappointed.

W D L D in our last four visits to Anfield.

Ever since those crazy Champions League games, which were seven seasons ago now, we've had much the better of our encounters against Liverpool.

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

I don't think it's healthy to see games against mid-table teams as "must win" at this stage of the season. I don't think it's healthy until there's about ten games left to be entirely frank.

Seems to me that City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are pulling away. Normally you'd expect one or two of them to drop off between bonfire night and New Year. The rhythm of the season is a bit different with the new CL format. All those teams still need to play each other (we've played two).

We just need to get points on the board, work out our system, get players up to full fitness. Within five points at Christmas we have a decent chance. If we don't win it it won't be due to a lack of passion or fight, and we can't win every year for the rest of time.

 

[mancboy]

But they still beat them

u mean like we did with fulham?

 

[bridgeno1]

Who’s said that? I don’t think anyone has at all.

Post 498

 

[ysmsa]

Without Rodri and de Bruyne we are only as good as the rest of the pack.

It wasn’t long ago that we had the strength in depth that we wouldn’t have even noticed that two of our best players were missing if they were out injured.

Having prime de Bruyne, Agüero, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Gündoğan, Fernandinho, Mahrez and then others like Sané, Sterling, Jesus and a young Foden shits all over what we’ve got now.

We’ve now got a prime Rodri, Haaland and Foden (fantastic trio befitting of that list above), then an older and past their primes (never said ‘past it’ before anyone starts!) de Bruyne, Bernardo and Gündoğan, then Kovacic, Nunes, a young McAtee, an unknown in this league and young Savinho, an inconsistent Doku and a young Bobb.

If any two of those best players from the first list were out injured, the gap in quality wasn’t that big that you’d notice them not being there. Take any two of our better players out now and the contrast is stark. It’s like we’ve drifted downwards in average squad quality through a number of transfer windows of buying poorly or not buying where needed.

We do not have enough players who are in their prime. They’re mostly either older or younger than prime years.

Yaya Touré, Barry, de Jong, David Silva, Nasri, Tevez, Agüero, Džeko is a higher quality and longer list of players in their prime than we have now. Imagine what Pep would do with these players.

Also, the current squad has slowly drifted away from Pep style players. That quick short passing game has looked so far away from this collection of players this season. We had absolutely no idea at all how to break Arsenal down, could you imagine de Bruyne and DSilva leaving two centre halves on the ball for most of the second half trying to break down a team with ten men sat in their own box? No fucking chance! Our midfielders did almost nothing against Arsenal in that second half. Some of our passing this season, even under no pressure, has been woeful. Yesterday, Foden must have run to find space where he was wide open to be passed to once every two minutes, and he hardly ever received that pass. Could you imagine Fernandinho not making that pass? No fucking chance!

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we don’t win the league this season.

Over thinking post!

You've gone back over 12 years picking out the best players from each season!

Early days and we are generally slow starters, unbeaten after playing some tricky games and lesser teams in great form!

Happy with where we are and the squad.

 

[Toulousain85]

A large chunk of fans (same for us or for other teams) do seem to be more critical of their own team and neglect the fact that the opponents are full of holes too and in most cases have inferior squad than ours. We are not perfect, nobody is, but if you look at our weaknesses only then DO NOT look at weaknesses of whichever team we face we seem to think they must somehow be better or on the same level as us. The reality is they aren't, even Liverpool, Arsenal, or Chelsea. We have our problems but they also have theirs, and most of the times their issues are bigger than ours. This is why we played average yesterday and still won.

In 2 months when we go to Liverpool without Klopp, I don't think it would be as daunting a task as recent times. And by the way we did really well against them in recent times as well.

Imo, to win all matches before facing Liverpool could be more difficult than going to Liverpool and get a result there this time.

 

[M23 Citizen]

Over thinking post!

You've gone back over 12 years picking out the best players from each season!

Early days and we are generally slow starters, unbeaten after playing some tricky games and lesser teams in great form!

Happy with where we are and the squad.

My point being is that we currently have very few players in their prime years of 24-29 (see the ‘Midfield’ thread) compared to previous teams we’ve had where there were more players in their prime years.

Players in their prime are more consistent than younger players and are at their peak in terms of skill and ability coupled with fitness and athleticism which wanes as you get older. In midfield, especially (where games are won and lost), we have a large number of younger players and a large number of older players and now with Rodri out injured we only have one player aged 24-29 whereas you look at the age of the midfielders in 2011-12 or 2018-19, most were in their prime.

Also we are not generally slow starters. We’ve only started slowly under Pep in 2019-20 and 2020-21. We regularly start like a house on fire under Pep.

 

[youngbob]

Just watching the highlights from the Arsenal-Southampton game.

For all the talk of us being fortunate yesterday, bloody hell did Arsenal get away with it.

Southampton hit the woodwork three times and Arsenal's last goal was literally passed to Saka in the box by a Southampton player.

And that's Southampton. Who are fucking hopeless. Liverpool the bigger threat to our title this year imo.