[mancunian_mike]

I’d also say Southgate has actually done wonders for the national team. For those not old enough to remember the relationship between the media, the fans and the team used to be awful, with many players not actually wanting to represent the country for fear of being hounded or blamed for every little mistake – Southgate knows this as he was part of the squad for several tournaments at the time, missing a penalty in 96 that saw us go out. He has reshaped the way it all works and the way the media are handled so that the players can concentrate on playing now, that’s been a huge part of England’s upturn over recent years. He’s also been instrumental in not choosing the same old names and in giving any player in-form a chance, regardless of club (something that never used to happen). Give him a chance now that he has a new generation of talent to work with. He did take us to the semi-finals of the world cup 3 years ago, which England manager last did that?

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[mancunian_mike]

Steveo, I agree to some extent but international football is by its nature cagey; you’ve seen both Chelsea and Man City get to the CL Final by being solid defensively first and foremost; its even more so with international football where every team is capable of making the most of the weaknesses in your chosen system.
Forgetting the squad for a minute, what is everybody’s first choice eleven?

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[mancunian_mike]

Just a correction to the text 9’s. Leroy Sane wasn’t offside, it was a good goal incorrectly disallowed by that referee. Let’s hope we get fair refereeing this time round 😉

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[mancunian_mike]

Bit of sympathy for Leicester who miss out by a whisker again. No sympathy for Vardy though, another of several dives yesterday not picked up by VAR 🙄
Sad to lose Aguero, I was there for his debut, he came on with 30 minutes to play and scored 2, and I was there for his farewell game, he came on with 30 minutes to play and scored 2 😂🤣😂. We will miss you Sergio, thanks for everything 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

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[mancunian_mike]

Greatest striker we’ve ever had Sean. He will be missed 🥲

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I think buying a midfielder and waiting for the right striker is a real possibility Brian. I can honestly see City going for Grealish this summer and waiting for Haaland next summer.

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Agree with that Pagan, the biggest issue with every fan I know is diving and VAR has done nothing about it, numerous penalties given this season because of the most minimal contact, not fouls, just contact. It’s now become a race to the ground for forwards running into the box.

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That’s not a bad shout Mikus, it does seem like he’s left it a bit too late. Maybe Chucky gets his wish and Kane stays at Spurs. I think I’d like to see him stay at Spurs and be a 1 club legend; we don’t see enough of them in the game anymore.

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P.S. Loved the raincoat comment Brian, its throwing it down as I type 😂🤣😂

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Think Rogers has already said he’s staying at Leicester 9’s.
I really don’t see why City would buy Kane considering he will be 28 by the start of next season, and it has taken nearly every player we have signed under Pep 12 months minimum to learn the system – the only notable exception being Diaz – but all others, even those signed from other EPL teams like Mahrez, have taken 12 months minimum to fit in, learn their role, and achieve any sort of form – which means Kane would, in all likelihood, be 29 by the time he fits in at City – he would have no resale value whatsoever – he is as injury prone as Aguero has been these last few seasons, despite his relatively younger age, and he seldom plays much more than 40 games a season (48 this season is his most since 2015/16) – Man City will play 61 games again this season, and regularly do, and although no player plays all the games its likely that Kane would play 40-45, meaning he will not be available for probably 30% of City’s games. City need to look for a replacement for Aguero who was bought at 22 and has given his all over 10 years for the club; if we are gonna spend big I see no sense in buying a player who is at his peak now and only going to get worse over the length of his next contract. Buying Kane for big money looks just like when Utd bought Van Persie, a fantastic player who practically won them the title the very next season and then had little or no impact for the next few years as his age caught up with him and Utd couldn’t get him off the books. If City buy Kane (who is only 4 years younger than Aguero) it has to be for a good price (£75M tops) but if they intend to spend big it has to be Haaland or Mbappe for me (assuming of course either of them want to come to City). Don’t get me wrong Kane is brilliant and any club would jump at the chance, but for the money being talked about (£100M + players or £150M cash) it just doesn’t stack up for me. Sorry Chucky, no offence meant but I’d give you £75M + Mendy best offer. Because of that I think Utd are best placed to get him, they have a number of forwards who need moving on – I could see them bidding cash plus Martial, who may actually come good if he played week in week put.

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I’m not too cheesed off 9’s, I was trying to check how many loyalty points I’ve got, I suspect they will have sold out all 5850 tickets before I qualify so not expecting to get one. Still got my fingers crossed but its a long shot 😉

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Agree with all those points folks, that’s the exact issue with VAR for me, it makes it pointless to go to the game if you are gonna remove the instant where fans celebrate goals. It happened so many times last season before lockdown that we just weren’t celebrating goals in the ground because you didn’t know if it would be ruled out or not. The typical scenario for me is this (sorry I’ll use City player names for ease)…Corner to the opposition…cross comes in, Diaz heads it out and its picked up on the edge of the box by Gundogan; he turns, beats a man, plays a through ball to the wing to the onrushing Foden; the crowd to a man glance at the linesman, he keeps his flag down as he tries to keep up…Foden races down the wing, cuts inside, plays a low ball straight across the box, the defender slides but can’t reach it…Mahrez arrives at the back post and smashes it past the helpless keeper; the crowd go wild…….oh wait…..VAR check…..possible offside in the build-up…..the crowd go silent and begin voicing there displeasure; both teams walk sullenly back to the centre circle whilst they await the outcome…some time goes by…it doesn’t really matter how much…and the referee confirms the VAR check is complete and its a goal…or its not a goal…who f@&$ing cares…certainly nobody in the stands. Scrap VAR now.

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I’ve just been on hold to City for a CL ticket for 124 minutes, in a queue from 120 to 1; the automated message said ‘you are no.1 in the queue and your call will be answered by the next available operator…goodbye’ and hung up on me. Aaaaaaaaarrrrggghhhhhhh.

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Agree with you Sean, as much as football on TV has helped get many of us through the lockdown, no crowds and VAR have made it very difficult to watch. I’ll be glad to be back at the game on Sunday but I recall VAR really affecting the enjoyment of being there and adding a negative atmosphere at the games before lockdown – I think the most sung song in the South Stand at the Etihad was ‘F— VAR’ 😂

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Great to see and hear fans back, even with 25% capacity it seemed like it was making a difference to the tempo of the games.

On the Kane issue I can’t see anyone paying £100M+ for him. He doesn’t seem to fit City’s profile in terms of age and I can’t see the parting with Jesus as part of a deal as we would effectively be down to one striker. I could see Utd buying him and exchanging Martial + cash, I don’t think Cavani’s recent 1 year extra signing would prevent it. Don’t see anyone else other than Chelsea being able to afford him and I doubt Chelsea would want him considering the profile of their recent signings (young promise).

P.S. Hope you have a speedy recovery Adlab 😉

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Yeah would definitely like to see some of the younger lads get a bit of time on the pitch in the last 2 games, Delap especially.

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Anyone get a ticket via the ballot for the Everton game? I got one but my lad didn’t. It’s a dead rubber but will be nice to get back. Fingers crossed for all you who applied.

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Yeah Ed I wouldn’t cash in your chips just yet. It’s been a weird season with no fans, lots of games felt like they played out without much passion or impetuous, so I wouldn’t read too much into it. I think everyone will be better next season and hopefully Leicester, West Ham and one or two others can continue to challenge the established order. The EPL is the most watched because there are so many good teams, that isn’t the case in any other major league in Europe. Bayern going for 10 straight…Zzzzzzzz 😂🤣😂. Anything could happen next season in the EPL and this is the best bit, the anticipation of what might be 😉

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Cheers 9’s 😉
Brian, fully agree about not expecting to win; my lad is 20 and whenever we lose I have to remind him how bad we were in the dark days. I remember being at Maine Road for the first home game in division 3 against Blackpool, we won 3-0 (I think) and one of my mates said ‘well that’s us 3 points clear of relegation’ 😂🤣😂. It’s the kind of humour the younger generation of fans need to learn and wouldn’t go amiss at a few other clubs.

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Yeah shame it’s sandwiched between other games but I’m really looking forward to the game nonetheless. Best of luck to both teams, I think Chelsea will edge it but I’m secretly rooting for Leicester; they’ve never won it so have to root for the underdog, sorry Chelsea fans, nothing personal.

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