₦airaland Forum

popizaino:
Barcelona Top UCL scorers.

1. Lionel Messi: 120 goals
2. Rivaldo: 25 goals
3. Luis Suárez: 25 goals
4. Neymar Jr: 21 goals
5. Patrick Kluivert: 21 goals
6. Robert Lewandowski: 21 goals
7. Luis Enrique: 20 goals
8. Pedro Rodríguez: 15 goals

No Eto?

I have always said if the playing ground was level,there was no way he was better than Drogba.

Eto scored 16 for Barcelona so that list is definitely wrong plus scoring in two finals.

raumdeuter:
They dribble unnecessarily and waste opportunities to get the ball to the striker

So untrue. You won't find 3 players in world football more direct than Doku and Cherki.

raumdeuter:
I didnt like it. Cherki is more into showboating and he needs to change City is used to purposeful players like KdB Bernardo and Silva. All these showboaters are a departure from it like Doku and Cherki

None of them are showboaters unless that word has developed a different meaning. They are two of the most direct players we have.

Katcall:
what are your thoughts on sherki juggling the ball against arsenal and pep shaking his head

Nothing wrong with it. I loved how it pained and rattled Arsenal fans.

raumdeuter:
When will you see a fit Rodri again. That version of 2023 is it ever coming back? He has tried and still not at that level plus he is getting older

Rodri is already getting to his peak form. By next season he should be at least 90% there.

larride:
Olise starting ahead of Cherki should not be a debate

Cherki can play as 10 so he doesn't need to bench olise. The problem is Deschamps prefers a 3 man midfield.

raumdeuter:
I am thinking they see signals that Pep will be leaving soon and he figured that the City project is over for him and he has done as much as he can

But in Madrid he has Tchouameni and Camavinga to contend with

Come on a fit rodri is levels above Camavinga and Tchoumani. He is exactly the kind of player Madrid midfield is crying out for.

I don't think it's about Pep leaving, am hoping he sees out his contract and leave with a league title. It's just a Spanish player who wants to return home after achieving all he could in England. If he wants to leave he should say it now so we can sell him and plan ahead on who to get.

With the way in which rodri is twerking for Madrid he obviously has no plan on signing that contract extension. We need to plan ahead tell him to resign now or sell him this summer to rebuild.


Cc Androd17

MorataFC:
Your response is based on a shalow understanding and ignorance of the law, not on a strict interpretation of the rules.
First, “abandonment” or “refusal to play” in football regulations is not judged by temporary disruption alone; it is judged by intent and outcome.
The key question is: Did the team ultimately refuse to fulfill the match?
In this case, Senegal returned and the match was completed. That alone weakens any claim of outright abandonment.
Abi you dont understand the meaning of “abandon” ni?

“Abandon” means to leave something completely and not return to it. but if you have another definition, feel free to share it with us.

Second, you argued that they left the pitch without the referee’s permission. That may amount to misconduct, yes, but misconduct is not automatically equivalent to withdrawal, which carry far heavier sanctions.
Abi you also don’t understand the meaning of “withdrawal”?
“Withdrawal” means formally removing participation from something entirely. ó mà ṣe o.
So in this case, neither abandonment nor withdrawal applies to Senegal.
Did they complete the game, yes or no?
How can a completed game be termed as abandonment or withdrawal? SMH

Third, the timing of the referee’s final whistle is not a trivial point; it is central.
In sports law (especially at tribunals like the Court of Arbitration for Sport), decisions are based on procedural precision, not sentiment.
If the referee allowed the match to resume and then officially completed it within regulation time, CAF’s argument that the match was “abandoned” becomes legally inconsistent.
How can a sane person you claim to be said Senegal abandoned a game that was played for over 120 minutes?
So the real legal questions are not: “Did they leave the pitch?”, Yes, they did, and they later returned.
The real questions are:
Did they abandon the match? No.
Did the referee officially terminate the match due to their actions? No.
Did the match resume and conclude under the referee’s authority? Yes.

That last point is critical: the match resumed and was completed under the referee’s authority, which is recognized within the rules and acknowledged by CAF.
If the match resumed and ended properly with CAF officials present, then calling it “abandonment” becomes legally UNSUSTAINABLE.

Please I don't have time for this back and forth. Here's the rule below.


"If, for any reason whatsoever, a team ... leave the pitch before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered looser [sic] and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition".

Did the Senegalese team break this rule.....yes.

What is the punishment for any team that breaks that rule .... Forfeiture and disqualification from the competition.

You can argue the punishment was harsh but don't come here to gaslight anyone with this childish explanation that Senegal didn't break the rule or that they came back so they should not been punished. Its honestly not worth my time..

MorataFC:
Many people just like to argue without properly understanding the rule of the game, in this case, CAF goofed big time.

I experienced a case involving a friend of mine having a case in court, where a single question from the judge knocked him out. 😂
Since then, I have great respect for lawyers,they really know how to interpret the law, they are highly skilled at interpreting the law and how to use, and exposing loopholes.

I can see many loopholes in that article that will favour Senegal if they proceed to CAS.

BUT someone here was defending CAF) by quoting an article, but even within that section that was quoted , I can see several lapses that will favour Senegak.

The article states that sanctions apply when a team withdraws from the competition.
Did Senegal withdraw from the competition?
The answer is No.

The second part says that if a team refuses to play or leaves the pitch before the regulation time without the referee’s authorization, it can be penalized.

Then a competent legal mind like lawyers, or judges, or sports arbitrator (or whatever names they are called) would ask a decisive question: at what exact time did the referee blow the final whistle?

If the referee officially ended the match at an irregular time (for example, 78 or 89 minutes), then CAF could justify its decision under procedural grounds, so it means Senegal refused or abandoned the game before the final whistle, so CAF will be justified by their action , but, if the final whistle was blown at the standard regulation time (90 minutes, or 120minutes including any added time), then it becomes difficult to argue that Senegal violated any rule.
So case Closed.

How can you argue that?

This is honestly a daft write up. The Senegalese players and coach walked off the pitch without the referee’s permission during the match and went to the dressing room for nearly 15 minutes disrupting the game. How is that not abandoning the game just because they eventually came back? How can any sane adult say Senegal didn't violate any rule.

A better punishment would be to ban them for the Next two edition of Afcon.

patrickmuf:
Is Gvardiol fit?

No, he has returned to training but won't be available till April. We are well covered in defense tho with Ake,Stones,Kush and alleyne as back ups.

Cc Androd17


With the amount of injuries to Madrid we should be ending the tie In the first leg. Glad am not Pep because Doku, Marmoush, Cherki, Semenyo and even Savinho all deserve to start tomorrow. I will go with Doku to terrorise Trent, Haaland/Marmoush and Semenyo. I will drop dias for the pace of Khush. We have a full squad to pick from for the first time this season even Kovacic is back in training. Quadruple race is on

raumdeuter:
When you bouday the ball anyhow they either use a high line to frustrate you. Bouday the ball is a low percentage tactics cos most cases the ball gets back to the opponent.

You are booting the ball into a situation of 4 defenders vs 2 strikers. Meaning 75% of times you lose the 1st ball

It was why Pep around 2009 to 2012 dominated football so bad. Most were still using the old tactics of playing long balls and he was using high line, press from front, passing from the back that he humiliated Ferguson twice in the final. In those games after the initial gragra,Man utd were left to be chasing shadows throughout both games

Ferguson and many Man utd players said that was the most powerless they have even been on the field

He humiliated Bayern too so much that our management said they want a team that plays like him

There is a reason everyone wants to play like Pep, how many coaches have you seen say I want to play like Mourinho or Allardyce despite that they have been coaching before him.

Peps tactics and modern tactics give you a statistical advantage, it seeks to create smart overloads, de emphasize 1v1 situations

Unpopular opinion but if you swap both coaches, Pep Guardiola still wins both finals with that United team vs Ferguson Barca.

I dislike this new proposed offside rule. It unofficially kills the high line tactics.

Fubara appears politically naive and out of his depth. He has been outmaneuvered at least three times already and it increasingly looks like the entire strategy was to lure him toward APC to humiliate him.

Ibime:
You are incorrect. Chelsea stadium cap is 40k and even if increased to 60k, you will not find tickets on general sale

Arsenal is 60k capacity and you will not find tickets on general sale not even Carabao Cup, nor Manure with 80k capacity even despite their recent slump. When City had stadium cap of 47k even after 2 league titles, I used to get tickets to matches like Barcelona, Bayern etc on general sale and even ghosted the opportunity to buy UCL semifinal ticket against Madrid there cos I know it will surely come around again.

Dem no born you well to see that kind ticket at Chelsea or Arsenal or Manure for love or money. The only ticket I have got for Manure on general sale was a Carabao ticket, and can only get normal league tickets there by paying season ticket holders to give up their seat for one game. There are levels to this. Arsenal is completely impossible without going outside the stadium and paying a tout 4x the ticket price even if they are playing Grimsby or MK Dons. Arsenal is actually the Baba for ticket unavailability and they have been virtually trophyless for 2 decades.

I think you are significantly overestimating your fanbase in London. I checked Spurs’ website and there are still tickets available on general sell for their game against Sunderland. That’s a club with double, if not triple, your fanbase in London, yet even their new stadium is experiencing the same issue City does. Chelsea, with a larger stadium, would face the same situation as well.

Ibime:
This is how you know a small club, advertising match tickets everywhere on all Social Media and you can buy on general sale right next to the Dugout where Pep and co are sitting

You can hardly find this at any major club. Try to buy any Chelsea ticket now over the next mont h and you will only see Hospitality tickets costing hundreds or thousands of pounds. Arsenal tickets are even more impossible. Sometimes when Jarus is visiting UK he will ask me to source Arsenal tickets for him and nothing come out even Carabao tickets, he will have to go and buy from touts at jacked up prices. But Man City tickets, I can go there and buy at the entrance gate even if they are playing Barcelona or Bayern. Plastics.

You can’t realistically compare City with Arsenal or other established traditional clubs. City are still growing in fanbases. Chelsea stadium capacity is about 33k while Manchester City’s is roughly 54k which explains the difference. City simply do not operate from a small stadium like Stamford Bridge.

Nemesis0147:
Imagine giving Maresca the Man City war chest with a very calm fan base and supportive ownership Including giving him his desired set of professional players regardless of their ages…….what Pep did in his first 5years will be a child's play.

If we are getting Pep replacement it will be after the upper season and it's either Kompany or Arteta. Maybe Hansi Flick if he has left Barca.

Cc Android17

semid4lyfe:
Nigeria will become the most hated country in Africa if this scales through and we make it to the world cup.

Summary: In the DR Congo Constitution, you can't hold dual nationality. You gats renounce your other nationality to take up theirs.

Apparently, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and other dual-nationals never renounced their other nationalities. FIFA is currently investigating and a verdict is expected soon.

If congo says those players are eligible and FIFA approved their eligibility then Nigeria has no case.

Android17:
We just have to get the medical team to lie to Pep that Bernardo is injured otherwise he'll start him again vs Crystal Palace. Great player in his day but the mileage on his legs is like he's 38 years old.

Pep is asking too much of Bernardo. In today game he had about 3 to 4 different roles. I will honestly take more of Bernardo than reijnders. At least he's running and throwing himself around. We have no other serious midfield option at the moment and it seems lewis has fallen out of favor with Pep.

Carragher has always been team Mane so you know why he dislikes Salah.

Android17:
I

Elliot Anderson is a must but not sure Nottingham will sell in January except for £100m which we won't pay since we can get him for £65-80m in summer .

Are you certain of that? If he goes to the world cup and have a good tournament his price will definitely go higher and more teams will be interested. If we can get him in January for 90 to 95 then we should go all in.

andrewbaba44:
Buy Elliot Anderson for 100M and he won’t be a bench player ,then Nico game time will reduce

Mancity and pep too Mumu

They will be plenty of game time for Nico. Bernardo and kovacic will be leaving at the end of the season. No one can be sure Rodri will return back to peak form after his injury and his contract is also expiring in 2027 with rumours he might be heading to Spain. I think we have offered him a contract extension that he hasn't accepted yet.

andrewbaba44:
I wonder the job of a Gk ,if not for shot stopping

In the modern game the job of a goalkeeper is more than just shot stopping. Is dominating his box and claiming crosses not also his job? There's a reason Enrique was comfortable in getting rid of him. He's an excellent shot stopper but average in other areas.

Android17:
Anderson rumors are true but I doubt we go for him in January. Rodri isn't relapsing. I think Pep is focused on giving him more time to fully recover. We rushed him back if you recall. Its his thigh that has the issue. The hamstring has healed.

Reijnders, Bernardo, Doku are quite lazy OOP. Literal training cones. Cherki has been equally poor but today he was EXCEPTIONAL.

I really can't wait to have a fit Rodri back. Nico has been playing too much this past week which explains Pep taking him out at 5:2. A double pivot of Rodri and Nico might just be the way forward if we don't go for Anderson. We are also being linked with Semenyo in January. Thoughts on that.

Android17:
No need to entertain lazy spectators. You're 100% right. Infact, this was the exact reason I didn't want Donnarumma. He saves us but many times its because of a mistake he himself made.

I have been looking for you. What's your honest assessment of reijnders so far. I really don't like his defensive contribution.

Reijnders offers nothing defensively. I don't understand a Cm that cant get stuck in and challenge for balls. Cherki had more defensive contribution in those few mins he came on. With kovacic out till April and Rodri relapsing constantly, I am hoping those Anderson rumors in January are true.

popizaino:
This is a pure lie.

If there's anything pep guardiola has gotten right,it is the signing of Donnaruma. I watch city game and i am marvel at what he does on weekly basis.

How he still followed that Barnes first goal against Newcastle still dey surprise me.

Ok

To avoid another Palmer situation was why we didn't sell Savinho to Tottenham. I still have faith he will recover his girona and first season form.

Ibime:
How far your DM shipping 4 goals? What is the DM doing?

Just stop with this agenda. Nico left the game at 5:2.

andrewbaba44:
Current donnaruma is an upgrade to Ederson

No need to lie because of this bad game

He's only better than Ederson at shot stopping and even at that we are still conceding goals at a ridiculous rate. Dominating his box, collecting crosses, Calm under pressure Ederson was far better. Ederson was disrespected last season and scapegoated.