Captain America Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Sounds like Pellegrini has lost the plot in the post match presser. Referee made a mistake against Barca and was making up for it tonight?? CONSPIRACY!!! (Barca had a perfectly good goal chopped off. Shhhhhh...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 City were very disappointing tonight. They decided from the off not to take the game to Barca and allowed them to look as comfortable in possession as they have against any top side away from home in recent years. Even under Pep I don't think there was a time Barca were in such a strong position after an away first leg. The penalty was a a clear foul and red card but whether it should have been awarded as inside or outside the box is debatable. It is, however, another example of how that rule is overly harsh. A red card and a penalty is an over the top punishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Mean Gene doing the post match interviews would be amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsum_Fantastic Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 More celebrations like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 City were very disappointing tonight. They decided from the off not to take the game to Barca and allowed them to look as comfortable in possession as they have against any top side away from home in recent years. Even under Pep I don't think there was a time Barca were in such a strong position after an away first leg. The penalty was a a clear foul and red card but whether it should have been awarded as inside or outside the box is debatable. It is, however, another example of how that rule is overly harsh. A red card and a penalty is an over the top punishment. I actually thought City did well after they were down to 10 men and were a bit unlucky to lose the second goal. That said, the goal that was chalked off shouldn't have been. Fabregas was onside when he received the pass. I think that it doesn't matter that the guy who scored was in an offside position when Fabregas got the pass but it is quite difficult to follow the intricacies of the offside rule these days... I noticed Micah Richards was on the bench. I forgot he existed. Does he ever get a game these days? He was to to be the next big thing a few years ago but he's barely ever played for England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 More celebrations like this. I'd forgotten about that. Nutcase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Brilliant to see City get done over, Barca looked solid for the most part and going forward they can beat anyone, good to see them back to a bit of form again. City were as i expected, sadly lacking in the CL, they always are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 It was a shame City were forced to take Negredo off. Without him up top, they couldn't make anything stick. His hold up play is the amongst the best around. I was disappointed Barca didn't go for the kill at 1-0 against 10 men. Away goals, guys. And they've got Joleon Lescott in defence, who is only marginally better than Trainwreck Demichelis. Marginally. They should have gone for it. Is Messi still unfit? I can't remember seeing him do anything more than a jog last night. He used to always press quickly and high up the pitch, but he seemed to be doing a bit of a Ronaldo, just walking around when Barca didn't have the ball. Is he still pissed about the Ballon d'Or? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I still struggle to understand how Mascherano got signed by Barca. I understand the job he does and it's something no other Barca player really wants to do, but it always seems like a weird fit. His tackle for the booking was pretty ridiculous and unnecessary. Joleon Lescott is another of the Micah Richards mould - he was supposed to be a great future star for England etc. He's turned pretty shit really. He was lucky he was alongside Kompany last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Mascherano is a pretty solid centre back, despite not being tall. He's good at defending when the ball is on the ground, and he loves sticking the boot in. I don't like him one bit, but he's a good player. He always looks excellent whenever I manage to watch Barca. Not much this season, but he was immense the last two seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Yeah he is a fantastic player, who plays a very unorthodox position for Barca, he is not really a centre half or a defensive mid, he kinda plays inbetween those two positions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 PSG are practically in the next round already and Zlatan scored another missile last night. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 His form hasn't been great this season but otherwise his signing has actually been very successful. It took him a while to settle but by the end of his first season he'd made the transition to centre back and was playing excellently and starting most games due to injuries. His signings was the one thing Pep often got criticised for at Barca but Mascherano was a good one. I thought Messi looked okay last night but he was playing coming too deep too often. A great couple of matches tonight, I hope Atletico play their best and beat Milan like they should. I really hope the Arsenal - Bayern match is very open, loads of goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Don't get me wrong - I totally get what he does at Barca and it's an important job and he does it well. I just still find it weird that a club with Barca's ethos ever signed him. I think it was actually a good signing - just a weird one. (If that makes sense) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 What in their ethos would mean they wouldnt sign him?If anything he is a typical barca player. Good passer of the ball, is able to turn defense into attack very quickly, can retain the ball well, can tackle ok. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I think it seemed a little odd at the time as he is more limited than the rest of their midfield but Milner is right that to play the role he ended up being given he had the attributes to fit into the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Jesus - I AGREE. It just seemed odd at the time. When he was at Liverpool he really just seemed like a little thug who liked to break up the play etc. Not the kind of player that Barca would seek out and sign. It's turned out well - and probably a stroke of relative genius by Pep in the end. I really don't remember him being a good ball player at Liverpool - in fact, in his early days at Barca I was often wondering what he was doing on the pitch as he was the only player in the team who ever gave the ball away and then had to follow it up with a two-footed lunge to win it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I guess Barca have always been prone to signing a player that falls outwith their philosophy now and again. Ibrahimovic and Neymar spring to mind. They'll always churn out technical footballers who have been brought up through the club, but it's a good balance to combine those players with other top players as well. Alot just aren't the right fit. Bringing in Ibra was a bit wild, especially considering how good Eto'o was at the time. I didn't think Mascherano would be the right fit for them either. I like how he's breaking the rules that all centre backs need to be 6ft4 brutes. Good on him. he's still got a totally annoying face though. I don't think he was a good ball player at Liverpool either. It's probably drilled into you when you join Barca. I remember when Pique was at United, one of the things that let him down was his first touch and his mobility. A few years on at Barca, he's probably a better passer than the entire United team, and he's excellent on the ball. He could probably play as a #10, and score 20 a season. Even Valdes is nifty with the ball at his feet. Probably better than most centre backs in the Premier League, who often look lousy on the ball. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I think it's a real shame that Pep and Ibra didn't get on and that move didn't work out. It's often forgotten how well he performed in the first half of his season. He scored in something like 10 consecutive matches in la liga and was key in big matches too. He did give the team the other option Pep wanted. He scored this great goal to win his first clasico. A great cross in from deep from Alves which isn't exactly the typical Barca move. He also scored two goals in the champions league match at the Emirates. Barca played some of the best football they ever have in the opening half hour but hadn't actually got the ball in the back of the net, then a more direct approach resulted in two goals from Ibra. It really was personal issues that led to his failure at the club and not any inability to fit into the team. It was really sad to see when by the time of their exit from europe against Inter Zlatan wasn't even trying. Valdes covered more ground than him in one if not both of the legs. On an unrelated note, I've decided what Arsenal need to do to win tonight. Bring back Dennis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 New Scotland squad announced. No Dons players despite 2nd in the league, cup final and quarter final. Fuck knows what our players need to do to get a call up. The obvious answer would be move to Celtic or Rangers I suppose... Andrew Robertson got a call up at 19 years old despite Utd being shit since Christmas and it's his first season in the top flight. Baffling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Andrew Robertson got a call up at 19 years old despite Utd being shit since Christmas and it's his first season in the top flight. Baffling.He's been outstanding himself though and arguably the most in form left back Scotland have to offer at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 New Scotland squad announced. No Dons players despite 2nd in the league, cup final and quarter final. Fuck knows what our players need to do to get a call up. The obvious answer would be move to Celtic or Rangers I suppose... Andrew Robertson got a call up at 19 years old despite Utd being shit since Christmas and it's his first season in the top flight. Baffling. Who's been shit since xmas? Certainly not Robertson, and lets face it, we are not exactly blessed with left backs. The only dons player you could argue for right now is Reynolds. The only other ones would be Jack who is injured, or Pawlett who is not better than the players in there, in his position currently, if he keeps his form up his time will come. Its also worth pointing out, there are no Rangers players in the squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) New Scotland squad announced. No Dons players despite 2nd in the league, cup final and quarter final. Fuck knows what our players need to do to get a call up. The obvious answer would be move to Celtic or Rangers I suppose... Andrew Robertson got a call up at 19 years old despite Utd being shit since Christmas and it's his first season in the top flight. Baffling. I don't get the baffling part of Robertson's call up. A player can be playing well despite the team not being on great form and Robertson has had a terrific season. It just sounds like sour grapes that a United player has been called up and a Don hasn't. You're playing great as a team but from what I can see your players who are standing out (Flood, McGinn, Hayes) aren't Scottish except from Pawlett and Reynolds. There are better players to pick in that position that Pawlett. I do think Reynolds has a case though. EDIT: Fucking Milner made all my points while I was typing. Dick. Edited February 19, 2014 by Captain America 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Scotland squad:Goalkeepers: Matt Gilks (Blackpool), David Marshall (Cardiff City), Allan McGregor (Hull City)Defenders: Phil Bardsley (Sunderland), Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town), Gordon Greer (Brighton and Hove Albion), Grant Hanley (Blackburn Rovers), Alan Hutton (Aston Villa), Russell Martin (Norwich City), Andrew Robertson (Dundee United), Steven Whittaker (Norwich City)Midfielders: Charlie Adam (Stoke City), Ikechi Anya (Watford), Barry Bannan (Crystal Palace), Scott Brown (Celtic), Chris Burke (Birmingham City), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), James Forrest (Celtic), James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion), Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic), Robert Snodgrass (Norwich City)Forwards: Steven Fletcher (Sunderland), Ross McCormack (Leeds United), Steven Naismith (Everton) Shows how highly Strachan regards Scottish football.I couldn't care less about the national team and I'm quite happy none of our players are in the squad with the cup games coming up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Russel Anderson should have been in every Scotland squad ever announced since he made his dons debut. And Strachan is going to look realyl foolish for not picking Pawlett once he's the 2015 Balon d'Or winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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