Cl 2011/12

[DEFchenkOE]

Good point for Napoli, and they played good football.

I hope this will shut some of the people up that stereotype serie a as being dull and boring.

And also it's showed that City aren't invincible.

 

[kishman]

Inler was terrific.

That was a good game.

 

[tobi]

Good game and a fair result.

Lille let a two goal lead slip, now 2-2.

 

[nuttynoah]

Good point for Napoli, and they played good football.

I hope this will shut some of the people up that stereotype serie a as being dull and boring.

And also it's showed that City aren't invincible.

City's over confidence (sometimes arrogance) will be their undoing this season

 

[kishman]

Have City raised their prices?

The stadium isn't full.

Do City have a big fanbase?

 

[nuttynoah]

Do City have a big fanbase?

could ask the same of Chavski last night.

 

[tobi]

Yes, at least that's the impression I got when I lived up there for a few years.

 

[kishman]

could ask the same of Chavski last night.

Saw that as well! Loads of empty seats.

Yes, at least that's the impression I got when I lived up there for a few years.

Then it's quite surprising they didn't sell out their first ever CL game.

 

[tobi]

3 The Champions League is not the fans' priority

City's supporters have endured some thin moments over the years, so it was surprising that their first game in the European Cup since 1968 had not sold out. There was a late push on sales, meaning a larger attendance than had been anticipated earlier in the week, even if the official figure of 44,026 fell short of the reduced 45,500 capacity. City had fully anticipated a sell-out when the draw was made and it is a strange set of circumstances given that they have been selling out in the Premier League so far this season.

There were 46,509 at Eastlands for the Wigan game on Saturday and the away allocation for Sunday's game at Fulham was gone 12 days in advance. A host of reasons can be offered, starting with the financial burden of being a football supporter these days. But perhaps the biggest issue is that, for all the hype, the Champions League at this stage no longer has the allure of old.

Taken from The Guardian, the last line is BS.

 

[Benny Foz]

The CL doesn't have allure. Fuck me.

 

[cwy21]

I can see it for Chelsea that their bandwagon fans are bored with the group stage but you'd think Citeh fans would go all out for their first CL.

 

[Yid121]

shit fans city are. their stadiums never full.

 

[THOWIG]

Do City have a big fanbase?

Yes and no. There is a real 50 50 divide through out the city depending on where you live.

The atmosphere was strange tonight, however the atmosphere outside the ground was very tasty.

 

[beats1]

It would nice to hear from din pomp on zagreb performance tonight

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

I haven't seen the games because they were in the middle of the night over here and I couldn't be bother to wake up for them, but it is interesting that both Manchester teams struggled a little.

In the Premiership they have both been rampant and yet in the Champions League in games you would have expected them to win comfortably on current form they didn't. No disrespect to Napoli or Benfica intended there but they were both big underdogs despite what people might say about Napoli being good.

Do you think that teams, players and managers in England have started believing the media hype a little too much and almost go into games scared or expecting to lose and then generally crumble when the pressure is applied? I'd imagine that both Napoli and Benfica put up more resistance than most Premiership clubs would bother with against them. Even we seemed to be defeated before we started against City, which is really a shame as despite them being excellent they certainly shouldn't be winning games before a ball is kicked.

 

[animal]

Maybe the Champions League isn't as important to City fans as it is to us. They won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1970 and that's it. We've won the UEFA cup three times and had a lot more involvement in European competition down the years.

 

[3Dnata]

In mitigation of the City fans they may have suffered the messing about with the "Eufa football family"with tickets etc like we did.

 

[dav3j]

What was the game like generally? Doesn't sound particularly eventful or interesting...

 

[ShelfSide18]

I haven't seen the games because they were in the middle of the night over here and I couldn't be bother to wake up for them, but it is interesting that both Manchester teams struggled a little.

In the Premiership they have both been rampant and yet in the Champions League in games you would have expected them to win comfortably on current form they didn't. No disrespect to Napoli or Benfica intended there but they were both big underdogs despite what people might say about Napoli being good.

Do you think that teams, players and managers in England have started believing the media hype a little too much and almost go into games scared or expecting to lose and then generally crumble when the pressure is applied? I'd imagine that both Napoli and Benfica put up more resistance than most Premiership clubs would bother with against them. Even we seemed to be defeated before we started against City, which is really a shame as despite them being excellent they certainly shouldn't be winning games before a ball is kicked.

I watched the Man City game and as I mentioned before I thought tactically Napoli were spot on. Man City struggled with Napoli's 3 man central defence which due to the hard work of their widemen soon became a back 5 when city had the ball, City had a few chances for sure but these were often down to individual errors. Napoli pressed the ball well and in midfield and closed off space between the lines which of course we failed so spectacularly at last week. The best thing about them though was their willingness to commit men forward on the counter and a few times they completely overloaded City one of which resulted on their goal, but they always worked hard to get back and find their shape quickly. In the end only a great free kick stopped a fine tactical victory.

I think a lot of sides from Italy/Spain etc may not match premiership teams for personnel but are far more tactically superior.

 

[Dinpomp]

It would nice to hear from din pomp on zagreb performance tonight

Please refer to them as DINAMO if you're going to use one name. :grin:

Mixed emotions. Really good effort, but in the end 0 points.

I think we really held our own. Real were better, had more chances, but we weren't without our own. Had 11 corners to their 6. Missed a one-on-one with Casillas. Ran all over the pitch. Battled. Can't fault the effort.

We went into the match without 3 of our standard defenders (Vrsaljko, Simunic and Cufre). That was a big fear before the match. But we coped very well.

It was great to see 17-year-old Mateo Kovacic get the start and play his game completely unfazed by the occasion. He just continues to impress. Domagoj Vida is a very good CB and will prove Leverkusen were unwise to give up on him (after only a season) without giving him a proper chance.

Sammir had a few moments, but for the most part was subdued and marked quite closely. Badelj was off with some passing, but overall helped the cause. Ran 11.5km, second only to Xabi Alonso. Always made himself available, continued to be the link between the defense and attack. And also had a number of nice turn-of-pace dribbles.

And the goalkeeper Kelava stood out as well. Some very good saves.

A good performance considering the opposition and the occasion, but again, no points to show for it.