IMO, the chavs shot themselves in the foot when they let both Torres and Lukaku leave. Mourinho has brought Drogba back, who looks past it, as Costa can't play in every game. I'm sure they will recover, and equally sure Mourinho will go shopping in January.
To be fair a few players form both sides have been slipping on this pitch so far. I think it also shows the underrated quality of the likes of Totti and Pirlo (I'm not excluding myself from that group of underraters!), who at 38 and 35 respectively are still the main men for their clubs, yes partly because they are nowhere near being replaced but also because they remain top quality players with fantastic technique and ability. I think the hyperbole so often repeated about the Italian league being awful in our media has been and is only partly true, and that it masked the fact that in any case the Italians themselves produced a true golden generation of Italian players who won a World Cup, and that 2006 WC final side still has 4/5 players with domestic records comparable to anyone in the game as well as international success still playing at the highest level of the game.
The speed that Roma have played thru MF has been good. Gervinho seems to be a different player now free of the Goon "world class" MF.
I think he's back with the manager - Rudi Garcia - who got him playing his best football at Lille before he went to the Goons as well, which is probably helping.
10,000 empty seats at the Etihad last night, apparently. What's going on? Is it City's pricing structure? Or have half their fans dug out their red shirts again, now Moyes has gone and God has taken over??
City had an average attendance of over 28,000 in the third tier in the '98/99 season, so I assumed that it was ticket prices. Having had a quick browse of their site though, I no longer have any idea. http://www.mcfc.co.uk/news/tickets-and-travel/2014/september/ucl-group-stage-ticket-details £35-40 and various concessions for kids and the elderly? Doesn't seem too extortionate for a Champions League game against a big team like Roma. Looks like they have some sort of required purchases for some of their season ticket holders, though. Might see the numbers through the door drop a little if they can't get to it. Still seems a bit short, to me.
"Sky reported City attendance as 46,000 exactly - which is capacity isn't it?" Ah, they are adopting the Goon "attendance" measure (seats "sold" for the match) .
So all the season ticket holders are deemed to be in attendance even though vast numbers didn't shell out the extra for a ticket!
What, the manager that we should have signed three or four managers ago? (refer to many of my posts going back to the old 606 days). Not that I'm anti Poch, I think he will come good but if we had signed Garcia years ago I thing we would be top four certs and even challenging for the league now.
"So all the season ticket holders are deemed to be in attendance even though vast numbers didn't shell out the extra for a ticket!" This has been an-oft discussed topic with Goon 606s. Why do the BBC show attendance stats as full house when the TV shows red seats aplenty ?? I have argued that from the elf and safety viewpoint there surely must be legal implications.
'Pool are getting ripped a new one by lowly Basle. Looks like they'll be joining us in the Europa, very soon. Just as I predicted.
