Re: Man City to go through

by Zealous Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:13 am

Villarreal will play their B team against Napoli lol

by Zealous Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:14 am

:lucas:

by Forza Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:17 am

Zealous wrote:Villarreal will play their B team against Napoli lol

Villareal can get nothing from this game and desperately need points in La Liga. It makes perfect sense.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:17 am

VivaStPauli wrote:Awwww my poor baby, you're missing half of Bayerns stars shine. I'm sorry.

I'll send you naked pics later to cheer you up.

by Zealous Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:29 am

by Harmonica Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:43 am

Forza Rossoneri wrote:
Zealous wrote:Villarreal will play their B team against Napoli lol
Villareal can get nothing from this game and desperately need points in La Liga. It makes perfect sense.

Well, they get 800k bonus from the win in CL Group Stage, so that's something.

by The Messiah Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:37 am

Neuer
Rafinha, Van Buyten, Badstuber, Lahm
Luiz Gustavo, Tymoshchuk
Muller, Alaba, Ribery
Olic

You can not underestimate this line-up.

by BarrileteCosmico Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:43 am

City win - Napoli win: Napoli go through
City win - Napoli draw: City go through
City win - Napoli lose: City go through
City draw - Napoli win/draw/lose: Napoli go through
City lose - Napoli win/draw/lose: Napoli go through

There's a 7/9 chance of Napoli going through, and City need to win. Napoli only needs to win if City wins.

by Giovanni10 Wed Dec 07, 2011 5:49 am

When a relatively aged Milan side made their way through the competition a few years back, youth bolstered only by Kaka, they were labelled as a bunch of hasbeens who would never be able to avenge throwing away that 3-0 lead against Liverpool a couple of years before when they were apparently in their collective "prime" the first time around. Milan proved that year, 2007 if i'm not mistaken, that experience counts for a lot in European competition.

City have great players yes, but the majority of them do not have real Champions League pedigree, barring perhaps the Toure brothers.

They went to Naples with the same inflated egos that saw them lose in Germany just a few weeks before and had learnt nothing.

If they had experienced campaigners, they would have realised that "One does not simply walk into Naples"

They should have been more humble, they should have played all their DMs and not try to control the game in Italy, played for the draw or tried to snatch the win on the counter.

This they did not do, and they lost. It is a learning curve for those players and they will come back stronger, but this year they've cooked their own goose and they're going out tonight.

by dostoevsky Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:18 am

A lot is being made of Manchester City's naivety and lack of experience in the Champions League, however equally Napoli lack any experience of the Champions League whatsoever. City at the very least possess players such as Yaya, Silva, Dzeko, Nasri, Aguero, Clichy and Balotelli who have all participated in the Champions League before. Just as City completely underestimated the Neapolitan experience, so Napoli lack the experience to guarantee a smooth passage now that they hold the advantage in the group as they head to Spain.

I still trust Napoli to go through tonight however, that loss last season in the Europa League in the same stadium will be have been a precious lesson for Mazzari, who is an excellent tactician and with the spirit this side has they should be able to hold on.

Not to mention that if Bayern Munich play Gustavo and Tymoschuck in midfield they're far from a push over, though they'll certainly be under far more pressure with a reduced ability to control possession. I do fear a repeat of Bayern's group stage game against Roma last season however, when they lost from a position of great strength in a match which meant very little to them.

by Giovanni10 Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:39 am

dostoevsky wrote:A lot is being made of Manchester City's naivety and lack of experience in the Champions League, however equally Napoli lack any experience of the Champions League whatsoever. City at the very least possess players such as Yaya, Silva, Dzeko, Nasri, Aguero, Clichy and Balotelli who have all participated in the Champions League before. Just as City completely underestimated the Neapolitan experience, so Napoli lack the experience to guarantee a smooth passage now that they hold the advantage in the group as they head to Spain.

I still trust Napoli to go through tonight however, that loss last season in the Europa League in the same stadium will be have been a precious lesson for Mazzari, who is an excellent tactician and with the spirit this side has they should be able to hold on.

Not to mention that if Bayern Munich play Gustavo and Tymoschuck in midfield they're far from a push over, though they'll certainly be under far more pressure with a reduced ability to control possession. I do fear a repeat of Bayern's group stage game against Roma last season however, when they lost from a position of great strength in a match which meant very little to them.

Agree on some levels but disagree on others. We are well aware that Napoli do not have much Champions League experience but they do have fairly consistent European experience on the whole. Everybody in the City camp would have been well aware of the statistic that Napoli had not lost a European game at home in 7 or 8 years. This is not to be taken lightly and they did. City took their high flying premiership swagger to Naples not knowing and I reiterate again:

"One does not simply walk into Naples" (My new catch-phrase)

Rightly you said that Mazzari will know el Madrigal all to well from last year... but lets be clear, that is not the same Villareal side from last year, more so than losing Carzola in the transfer window and Rossi through injury, they have a certain defeatist cloud hanging over their overall morale at this season and they may not be able to climb out of that funk without Garrido eventually losing his job.

To me the Bayern-City game is a formality really... City might play their hearts out and defeat Bayern 3-0 on the night but that will still mean diddly as Napoli will be returning from Spain with a yellow scalp in hand.

by BarrileteCosmico Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:42 am

There is too much talk of Bayern and not enough of Villareal. The Bayern game could turn up to be insignificant, after all, Villareal has lost 5/5 games this season so far in the CL. They are 15th in the league, and playing like a broken team. All so that Cazorla could warm the Real Madrid bench, too.

by Guest Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:47 am

Villareal's B team >>>>> Villareal's A team.

At least the B team will have a point to prove

by dostoevsky Wed Dec 07, 2011 7:03 am

Giovanni10 wrote:Agree on some levels but disagree on others. We are well aware that Napoli do not have much Champions League experience but they do have fairly consistent European experience on the whole. Everybody in the City camp would have been well aware of the statistic that Napoli had not lost a European game at home in 7 or 8 years. This is not to be taken lightly and they did. City took their high flying premiership swagger to Naples not knowing and I reiterate again:

"One does not simply walk into Naples" (My new catch-phrase)

Rightly you said that Mazzari will know el Madrigal all to well from last year... but lets be clear, that is not the same Villareal side from last year, more so than losing Carzola in the transfer window and Rossi through injury, they have a certain defeatist cloud hanging over their overall morale at this season and they may not be able to climb out of that funk without Garrido eventually losing his job.

To me the Bayern-City game is a formality really... City might play their hearts out and defeat Bayern 3-0 on the night but that will still mean diddly as Napoli will be returning from Spain with a yellow scalp in hand.

Napoli's European experience has been roughly equal to that of Manchester City in the past five or so years. Both have played in the Europa League in two of the past three seasons prior to this current one. The statistic regarding Napoli not losing a European game at home for 7 or 8 years is far less impressive than you make it sound. 7 years ago, Napoli weren't even in Serie A. City at least made the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2008-09. Napoli at home last season in Europe had three 0-0 draws and a 1-0 win. Napoli's rise has been extremely sharp and they're vulnerable as City have been this season.

The experience of the Madrigal last season is precious all the same for a Napoli team who despite excelling under duress then proceeded to crumble when presented as favourites or pressure built outside of the context of the match tended to shrink away from the challenge and play within themselves. Mazzari has begun to accustom his players to stepping up to the plate when necessary and showing no respect for the name of their opponents and last season's game is key to Napoli winning a mental battle with themselves before they even step on the pitch.

Also Zealous, we expect to see a massive "Hello Goal-Legacy" sign in the stands.

by Giovanni10 Wed Dec 07, 2011 7:46 am

dostoevsky wrote:
Giovanni10 wrote:Agree on some levels but disagree on others. We are well aware that Napoli do not have much Champions League experience but they do have fairly consistent European experience on the whole. Everybody in the City camp would have been well aware of the statistic that Napoli had not lost a European game at home in 7 or 8 years. This is not to be taken lightly and they did. City took their high flying premiership swagger to Naples not knowing and I reiterate again:

"One does not simply walk into Naples" (My new catch-phrase)

Rightly you said that Mazzari will know el Madrigal all to well from last year... but lets be clear, that is not the same Villareal side from last year, more so than losing Carzola in the transfer window and Rossi through injury, they have a certain defeatist cloud hanging over their overall morale at this season and they may not be able to climb out of that funk without Garrido eventually losing his job.

To me the Bayern-City game is a formality really... City might play their hearts out and defeat Bayern 3-0 on the night but that will still mean diddly as Napoli will be returning from Spain with a yellow scalp in hand.

Napoli's European experience has been roughly equal to that of Manchester City in the past five or so years. Both have played in the Europa League in two of the past three seasons prior to this current one. The statistic regarding Napoli not losing a European game at home for 7 or 8 years is far less impressive than you make it sound. 7 years ago, Napoli weren't even in Serie A. City at least made the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2008-09. Napoli at home last season in Europe had three 0-0 draws and a 1-0 win. Napoli's rise has been extremely sharp and they're vulnerable as City have been this season.

The experience of the Madrigal last season is precious all the same for a Napoli team who despite excelling under duress then proceeded to crumble when presented as favourites or pressure built outside of the context of the match tended to shrink away from the challenge and play within themselves. Mazzari has begun to accustom his players to stepping up to the plate when necessary and showing no respect for the name of their opponents and last season's game is key to Napoli winning a mental battle with themselves before they even step on the pitch.

Also Zealous, we expect to see a massive "Hello Goal-Legacy" sign in the stands.

My initial stance on the lack of Champions League experience was not meant to drag a discussion about Napoli's experience into the argument anyway. Anyways, I can beef up the naivety argument concerning Man City even more because I do feel there was one when they traveled to Italy. The other obvious factor is that City are managed by Roberto Mancini, who is usually a fine tactician (proven by the ability to continually give SAF a big headache with each Manchester derby); and furthermore he knows Italy Dosto, he knows Serie A for crying out loud. He didn't want to exercise caution, in the press conference before the match he said, in that lovable poor English of his, something along the lines of "We go there to win." not "We need to be careful"

Anyways, I don't know why we're arguing or if we are arguing at all, we have the same view that it is near impossible for City tonight, just different logic that develops our opinions on it. Unless you want to tell me Villareal is going to beat Napoli? Really? surely not.

by dostoevsky Wed Dec 07, 2011 7:58 am

I'm not arguing any particular point, I was simply stating that I believe Napoli shouldn't be viewed as secure. There has been a general tendency on the forum to either state that Napoli are either home safe or that Villarreal are going to knock them off and neither express the precarious nature of the group still to my mind. I'm not applying this to you as an individual by the way.

Not that it's important, however I don't believe that there was anything wrong with Mancini's initial approach to the game, though I do take issue with his starting line up. Rather his team's response to the ten minutes of extreme pressure at the beginning of the second half was slow, amateur and costly.

I'm off on a tangent, so I'll conclude quickly. I simply think that even though I'm confident in Napoli's ability to win in Spain, that's separate from the way the match has been discussed previously. In the very least I should expect them to draw however, I don't believe Villarreal will win.

by VivaStPauli Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:31 pm

Apparently Godmez and Müller are back in, so I call City to be f*cked, Bayern will at least manage a draw imho.

by halamadrid2 Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:35 pm

if silva fails again today will he still be regarded as one of the most inform midfielders in the world???

by Raptorgunner Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:37 pm

Its over for Man city, Europa league is where they belong. Chaka

by The Messiah Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:50 pm

Bayern will flood City today, While I sit down and let the Butthurts flows through thee..

by VivaStPauli Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:53 pm

You're like some kind of dyslexic bible verse, I'm loving it.

by Raptorgunner Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:54 pm

I will become a Bayern fan when they beat down Man City. Chaka

by The Messiah Wed Dec 07, 2011 3:15 pm

VivaStPauli wrote:You're like some kind of dyslexic bible verse, I'm loving it.

I get where you are coming from......But I am not dyslexic, is just that I hardly ever pay attention when typing online, otherwise I do very well in my exams and when writing long articles I usually pay more attention.

Also I don't take this too seriously...

by Bellabong Wed Dec 07, 2011 3:44 pm

Bayern only team to keep a clean sheet so far against city :coffee:

by rwo power Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:41 pm

Phritz wrote:Bayern only team to keep a clean sheet so far against city

That's why Neuer rules ^^

by The Messiah Wed Dec 07, 2011 7:15 pm

Confirmed line-up for Bayern.

Butt
Contento, Badstuber, Boateng, Rafinha
Luiz Gustavo-Tymoshchuk
Alaba, Pranjic, Olic
Petersen

City should beat us easily

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