Regarding Messi. It was an answer to a specific point you made about Pep knowing how to keep him quiet.Like I said "with a strong squad in hand" and the form they are in at the moment, you would be surprised. You would also have to take into consideration the squad Messi had back in 2014 as compared to now. City was also very poor back then and Pep just started coaching them. Things change.
Just like how PSG and Juventus destroyed us, UCL is never about one man. As much as I acknowledge Messi's ability, he still will be cornered by strong teams if we dont play up to standard. Overall teamplay would also lift one another's performances. If team doesnt perform, Messi would be dragged down as well. Ucl is a long campaign. Messi cant do it every match.
But yes, I really hope Dembele is back soon. We still cant rush him even if he's recovered.
Regarding Messi. It was an answer to a specific point you made about Pep knowing how to keep him quiet.
This City team is not as good as some people make out... Everton held them, they got a late winner against Bournemouth, Liverpool matched up well against them with 11 on the field, West Brom troubled them, they didn’t win big against an off colour Chelsea. They’ve only hammered minnows... but they properly hammered them though. Let’s see against Napoli tonight.
This doesn't sound like Torn. More like DonAK.
I'm not the glorious President DonAK either. Nice try.
Having coached Messi, he knows. I'm sure he knows. He just didnt had a good enough squad and he had to deal with Neymar and Suarez back then. It would definitely makes it MUCH easier for him when he knows Barca squad now depends largely on Messi for goals and chances. Messi had a great start in UCL last year as well, but only to be beaten by City 3-1 and it all went downhill after that.
Come on, mate. We struggle against the likes of Getafe and Sporting and recently drew with Atletico. I just dont see Barca being better than City at the moment. At least City did win against Chelsea and Liverpool and seem to be cruising their way in the UCL. If consecutively beating EPL teams with a 5+ goal difference isnt good, I dont know what is.
Yeah, I know he hasn't proved it quite yet but has a strong potential to do so especially this season. It will be interesting to see.
I didn’t say Barça are better than City at the moment but you’re claiming that City would absolutely thrash us.
So what if we struggled against Getafe and Sporting? We beat Juventus and have thrashed our share of minnows too. City struggled against Bournemouth, Everton (at home) and Shakhtar (at home) too. Madrid have struggled against Levante, Alaves, Betis and Getafe too.
I think people are confusing City’s good looking football with effective football. It nice to watch yes but it can come unstuck. Barça fans should know this.
Oh lord. You are going in circles. I said IF Barca doesnt play up to par and only looking to Messi to produce something, then we might get dismantled by City. Good looking football that isn't effective? Aren't you describing what Barca is right now? They couldn't produce a win against Atletico. By your logic, Barca without Messi is almost like City right now.
And so what Madrid got a bad start? Look where are they now? Even better than Atletico. In any case, you wouldn't know City's true potential without having to see them pit against the likes of Madrid and Barca. Dont forget, they're missing Aguero.
Let's just see how they do against Napoli. You would have a far better gauge that way.
I'm sorry but City would. The lack of wingers and pace in our team is worrying although we have a better defence. Players like Sane is definitely a very dangerous threat. We have logheads like Suarez, Gomes, Rakitic definitely slow down the play alot. Even Iniesta seem a little faster than them although age does seem to catch up on him. As much as I hate Neymar's way of destroying the tiki taka system Barca once had, that fucker has what we generally lack which is injecting that bit of pace that would have ultimately gives us the edge over many world class teams. Look at PSG, City and Real Madrid. They are overloaded with strength and pace and definitely doesnt seem to lack midfield or finishing ability. That is what ultimately makes them so terrifying. Hell, even Atletico seems stronger than us at some point. We could have all the "world class" players for all I care but we still need that edge over other teams. Dembele's injury sure does take a toll on our performance.
We could have won 3-0 over Juventus but it is still largely Messi's work and other times players fail to step up. We still struggle against Sporting and the results says it all. Trust me, but this team wont go far in CL unless Messi and Iniesta can keep saving us.
Huh? What’s this then?
You keep bringing up Atlético as if they’re some Mickey Mouse team like Betis or Everton.
Further, Barcelona are not playing attractive football. Not by a long shot. City are, yet their results have been largely similar. Keep up.
Henias isnt a Barca fan. One of those glory hunters like that moron Hernandez in twitter who has become a City fan all of a sudden.
No Barca fan would say they 'cant wait' for Barca to get thrashed.
Lmao. Im talking about the board and how the results are in their favor atm. I'm pretty sure many people said tat in spite when Barca signed players like Paulinho, when they lost to Madrid etc. I want them to win but it will only further extend Barto's reign. The very reason why Lionel Messi refuses to sign.
If u do me a favor, shut ur filthy mouth and stop getting in my nerves? U accuse me of snide comments, and now u provoke me? Looks whos fkin talkin?
Saying 'cant wait to get see get battered' about Barca v other teams fucking idiot.
Go support City as you seem to want to.
I just cant wait to see Barca get absolutely battered again by the likes of PSG and Madrid again, and the same old story that gets repeated every year.
Yea u fking idiot. U grab that statement out of context and obviously it has a whole different fking meaning. Get the fk out of my face. U fking cunt.
There is no context. You 'cannot wait' for Barca to get battered to make some point about socios and board.
On top of your Messi choking for Argentina claims you are a great fan.