Other Football 2021/22

[an tha]

37 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

We have a far bigger cosmopolitan fanbase now so many of them dont feel what it means to be the national champions entering and competing in the Champions League as such.

 

For me, the league title trumps the CL every day. Well, until we've won 3 to 5 more league titles anyway!

 

I think that poll is skewed though because it says whichever you want to win city wins the other. Fuck that!

 

Id be genuinely interested to know what portion of fans for clubs like Real, Bayern, Juve etc would put winning the CL ahead of their national title.

I think for example Real Madrid and Barcelona as clubs certainly do - whether the majority of their fans do or not is open to debate, but I feel from seeing their celebrations on the streets after winning the European Cup that there is a case to be made that they do.

 

 

[Aventus]

1 minute ago, an tha said:

I think for example Real Madrid and Barcelona as clubs certainly do - whether the majority of their fans do or not is open to debate, but I feel from seeing their celebrations on the streets after winning the European Cup that there is a case to be made that they do.

 

 

Real and barca win plenty of league titles between them, so the champions league is the bigger novelty. 

 

We must be the only team that has been champions of Europe more than champions of their country in the last 30 years 

[3 Stacks]

Winning in Europe is what makes you bigger. 

[Jairzinho]

8 minutes ago, 3 Stacks said:

Winning in Europe is what makes you bigger. 

Yes, we're pretty unique in that we're one of the biggest clubs in the world and have won one league title in the last 30 years. Hence a league title having more significance to us than it does for Juventus, Real Madrid or Bayern. 

 

I think our league is probably slightly unique as well in that it's harder to win (although not by the magnitude our country's pundits like to think) than other major European leagues. 

[TheHowieLama]

12 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

Yes, we're pretty unique in that we're one of the biggest clubs in the world and have won one league title in the last 30 years. Hence a league title having more significance to us than it does for Juventus, Real Madrid or Bayern. 

 

I think our league is probably slightly unique as well in that it's harder to win (although not by the magnitude our country's pundits like to think) than other major European leagues. 

In this century:

Bayern = 15

Juve = 11

Barca = 10

RM = 7

Inter=6

 

Add in Chelsea 5 I think and Porto probably a dozen or more and fuck United.

 

Think that is all the CL winners there.

 

[an tha]

21 minutes ago, Aventus said:

Real and barca win plenty of league titles between them, so the champions league is the bigger novelty. 

 

We must be the only team that has been champions of Europe more than champions of their country in the last 30 years 

I can absolutely see how that is the case.

 

Fans become blase about winning league if doing it all the time - look at us in 80's...got to stage where it was hardly an 'event' so to speak....once we stopped though and went on that fucking drought it became the holy grail!

 

I have always personally felt league or the european cup are more or less level and either represent the pinnacle for any given season....everything else (whilst still great) is below them.

 

For me this year if had to choose just one i'd choose league - simply to get to 20 and level with the mancs and because we as fans and our brilliant team and management team missed out on being able to celebrate and share the joy of No.19 properly.

 

[Scott_M]

If we win the league and then lose in the CL Final, it would be upsetting.

 

Luckily we’re winning all 4.

 

I have to admit, I’ve been less excited by the CL than I have in recent seasons. I know the group was tough on paper, but in reality it wasn’t and we’d won the group as soon as we won in Madrid on match day 3.

 

I never felt Inter thought they could beat us and considering we were playing the Italian champions, they were largely comfortable games. You could tell we were miles better than Benfica after 10 mins in Lisbon. 
 

Without wanting to sound arrogant or a big head, I can assure you I’m not, we’re at the point I fully expected us to be comfortably at. 
 

Maybe the ties we’ve got haven’t been the most glamorous and I’ll fully admit, given I was really, really excited about going to Munich, Villarreal feels significantly less exciting. 
 

I’m not complacent. Villarreal will be tough. Watching them v Bayern, it was like a Benitez performance v Juventus or Chelsea in 05. I’ve barely thought about Villarreal yet, we have 3 huge game before then.

[J-V]

Well in West Ham.

 

If they win the Europa does the 4th place team lose the CL place.  Be funny as fuck if that's the case and they win it.

[Turkish Delight]

I want West Ham out of this as soon as possible and not playing their reserves against City at the end of the season.

[Aventus]

Jesus christ the state of barca

[3 Stacks]

Lyon mega naïve.

[J-V]

2 up now Rice.

 

That shot was shit as fuck.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

Hope West Ham go through, I've always liked Antonio.

[Anubis]

[Scott_M]

34 minutes ago, an tha said:

 

For me this year if had to choose just one i'd choose league - simply to get to 20 and level with the mancs and because we as fans and our brilliant team and management team missed out on being able to celebrate and share the joy of No.19 properly.

 

100% agreed.

 

Given the state of European football at the moment, IMO, winning the CL is easier than winning the Premiership.

 

City are so good (and so are we) it can’t be taken for granted being better than them over 38 games.
 

Either way, whatever we do / don’t end with come June, we should be adding more of the big ones in the coming years.

[Aventus]

9 minutes ago, J-V said:

Well in West Ham.

 

If they win the Europa does the 4th place team lose the CL place.  Be funny as fuck if that's the case and they win it.

Only if the CL winners finish outside the top 4 too. 

[Scott_M]

Just now, Aventus said:

Only if the CL winners finish outside the top 4 too. 

Although it’s not mathematically impossible for us to finish 5th, it would be a huge surprise. 

[Turkish Delight]

The Europa League final is 4 days after West Ham are due to play City. Can pretty much cross that off as a chance for City to drop points if they make it there.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Anton Ferdinand, it's fair to say, does not have an air of intelligence.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

And Trevor Steven said that Rangers "literally steamrollered" Braga in the first half, which I thought would be against the rules.

[dockers_strike]

31 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

In this century:

Bayern = 15

Juve = 11

Barca = 10

RM = 7

Inter=6

 

Add in Chelsea 5 I think and Porto probably a dozen or more and fuck United.

 

Think that is all the CL winners there.

 

Those numbers kind of re inforce my view: When a club repeatedly wins the domestic title, I can fully understand numerous fans becoming accustomed to it and seeing the CL as more important as they win it less or once if they are lucky. PSG for all their French titles have had one sniff at the CL and blew it.

 

All of which is why I said if we win another 3 or 5 titles but not the CL, I might see the CL as the bigger attraction at that point.

 

Some of those clubs mentioned have won numerous consecutive titles, Juve 9(?), Bayern 9 going on 10, with others winning 2 or 3 on the bounce. Once united got their 27 year drought sorted and racked up numerous PL titles, their fanbase transitioned to one wanting the CL.

 

 

[Bruce Spanner]

Well, the Europa League is fucking wild.

[an tha]

9 minutes ago, Scott_M said:

100% agreed.

 

Given the state of European football at the moment, IMO, winning the CL is easier than winning the Premiership.

 

City are so good (and so are we) it can’t be taken for granted being better than them over 38 games.
 

Either way, whatever we do / don’t end with come June, we should be adding more of the big ones in the coming years.

Feels like the time is very much now though for me - we have a squad arguably at or around its peak and if it is going to win more things it is over next couple of years.

 

I am not saying we can't or won't win more in years to come but the spine of this team are all around 30 - of course i believe we can refresh it and continue to build - but this is a special squad and has been for about 4/5 years now and these things often come in cycles....and of course they are led by a genius - a manager of the highest calibre....what happens when he goes?

 

It irritates the fuck out of me that he and his team have not won and may not win as much as they should because of the cheating bastards and their oil money.

[Jairzinho]

Some performance this from West Ham.

[DalyanPete]

7 hours ago, Scott_M said:

De Bruyne

You are kidding here? Irreplaceable.