Re: Football Chat : Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:46 pm  

Enfield Exile wrote:

Fair points.

The club are investing more in youth – the amount we are spending each season is obviously not sustainable. The club have apparently looked at Barcelona’s model of youth development, and are looking at replicating that. I guess that will take several years to pull off. This will involve bringing in youth footballers from all over the world. That’s reflected in our current youth team squad – even though we had more players in the England U18 (or was it u17) squad than any other club in the PL. I think last year we had four international captains in our u18 squad.

One of the major changes the club had to make in order to improve the recruitment of players (including youth) was to improve the scouting network. I think I read somewhere that United and two or three other clubs in the PL had as many as four times more worldwide scouts than we did. If memory serves, Blackburn had more scouts than City. We now have more scouts and the scouting network said to be far better organised.

On a separate point, you made a good post on Bluemoon in the last day or so re Mancini. I thought you were spot on.

If only a divvy Citeh fan hadn't been tossing himself off over Citeh's magnificent youth policy a few years back. I seem to remember him trying to claim that Citeh finishing mid-table with home grown players was a far more satisfying and meaningful achievement than Chelsea winning the league with players they'd bought.

But then again, that Citeh div also has the temerity to whine that other clubs were jealous of Citeh's money after the Sheikh bought them.

Obviously that div will now claim that he was only joking in the past. It's just a coincidence that his joking happens to match whatever Citeh are doing at the time.

Re: Football Chat : Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:46 pm  

Dan_FC wrote:

Why can't you win the Carling Cup and finish 3rd or 4th?

United have won the CC the last two years and they haven't finished outside the top four.

Because we dont yet have United, Arsenal, or Chelsea's developed systems of play, running throughout the club.

If United play their 2nd/3rd team in the early rounds of the Carling Cup it will still look and play like a United team. Ditto when Wenger fields his youngsters its obviously an Arsenal team. Their reserves and juniors are all familiar with the club's style of play and can step easily into the first team.

The youngsters that played for City on wednesday are still learning Mancini's system. When we make wholesale changes we end up looking like a team of strangers. At this stage in our development, if we are to target one of the cups we have to play close to our strongest line up. That's not realistic given that the CL spot is much more important.

Re: Football Chat : Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:48 pm  

Paddy Evra wrote:

I thought Rio and Brown looked fairly shakey. Hernandez was wasted out wide, I do hope Fergie won't stick to chucking him out wide in games to accommodate him like he has done in the past with other strikers.

Macheda was unlucky not to have brilliant service, but he had one glorious chance which he should've taken. Ketchup should be chucked onto the scrapheap too, he had an absolute shocker.

Brown had a bit of a shocker and Rio didn't have the greatest of games but both are playing themselves back to full fitness so i'll give them the benifit of doubt there. As for Hernandez i think Fergie will play him outwide mainly to get used to the pace of premiership football and with the style of play, he's done this before with Fletcher and Rooney.

Ketchup is shocking that is all i have to say about him

Re: Football Chat : Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:48 pm  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

I disagree that it was a 50/50 ball. It was Shawcross's ball. He was involved in an earlier challenge, he had possession of the ball, he was involved in a collision with an Arsenal player which hampered him. Then Ramsey launched himself in the air to nip in to win the ball. Unfortunately for him he was nipping in to win the ball at the same time as Shawcross was swinging at the ball to play the ball down the Arsenal end.

As to whether my opinion would change if it was a Chelsea player. At the time of the incident I'm sure club bias would have made me see a viscous assault on a Chelsea player. But by the third or fourth replay I think I'd be able to say honestly that it was an honest challenge and just a collision that happens. IMO there are 20 challenges a week where a player swings in in a manner that legs could be broken. It's just that most of the time players hurdle tackles or jump to evade them.

It had been Shawcross' ball, but it broke loose sufficiently to be a loose 50-50. If you knock the ball that far away from you, you can't really claim it's still yours.

Either way, doesn't change what was just an unfortunate occurrence in a physically competitive sport, with no malice or intent involved.

Re: Football Chat : Sat Sep 25, 2010 7:03 am  

carl_spackler wrote:

It had been Shawcross' ball, but it broke loose sufficiently to be a loose 50-50. If you knock the ball that far away from you, you can't really claim it's still yours.

Either way, doesn't change what was just an unfortunate occurrence in a physically competitive sport, with no malice or intent involved.

What did you make of the Wilkinson "challenge"?

Re: Football Chat : Sat Sep 25, 2010 8:16 am  

Liverpool to fall into the hands of RBS? If this happens does this mean "we" would own Liverpool? There's great potential here for an Ebbsfleet United on a much bigger scale.

Liverpool to fall into the hands of RBS? If this happens does this mean "we" would own Liverpool? There's great potential here for an Ebbsfleet United on a much bigger scale.

Re: Football Chat : Sat Sep 25, 2010 11:52 am  

Carling Cup Draw:

Newcastle v Arsenal
Birmingham v Brentford
Wigan v Swansea
Aston Villa v Burnley
Leicester v West Brom
Man Utd v Wolves
West Ham v Stoke
Ipswich v Northampton

Re: Football Chat : Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:41 pm  

They never even showed a replay of it, but Chelsea should have had a pen in the 10th minute. Zabeletta was the wrong side of Drogba for a cross and stuck his arm across to stop the ball falling for Drogba.

Pretty even game, though I think we're shading it. It'd help if Ramires remembers that we're the team in the black shirts today because he's obviously struggling with that.

Re: Football Chat : Sat Sep 25, 2010 1:26 pm  

RedTez wrote:

What did you make of the Wilkinson "challenge"?

Not seen it yet.

Re: Football Chat : Sat Sep 25, 2010 1:28 pm  

City fans singing "one greedy bar steward" to Daniel Sturridge when came on. Oh the irony. Clueless as ever.

And City can have all the money and all the players in the world for the "style" of football they are playing. Dull as the dullest ditch water.