₦airaland Forum

Semenyo has been off form for almost two months now minus the Liverpool game. Even when he was scoring goals he wasn't doing much now he's not scoring or offering anything.

Nico on the ball ability Is soo below Rodri. The things that Pep alluded to recently were on display today. Too slow, too negative, too easy to bypass and takes too many touches. That performance is why Pep doesn't trust him and Kovavic will take his spot from henceforth.

I Don't play with my boy. Superb goal

Dokkkkuuu

Bluelines69:
Doku no be G/A merchant but no worry e go stress you, this RB done almost faint for 25mins

Doku has 25 Goal and assists this season and no fullback can handle Doku One v One.

typicalgamer:
So it’s pep fault now 😏

Yes Pep messed up the Madrid 1st leg. Kush at right back, Semenyo as a 10 and no Cherki. Glad he has settled on his preferred Eleven.

fredoooooo:
O reiley... bernardo... wow 👌

He is the Bernardo Silva replacement for me. Gvardiol, Guehi and Kush next season in our back 4 is almost unstoppable.

typicalgamer:
Same Diaz that has been Marshall in defense for years and years now

Hypocrisy at it’s peak

We all saw how shaky guehi was in the big leagues now it’s Diaz that’s the problem lol

Nothing sweet pass fans when they self sabotage their own team 🤣

If you don't watch city games regularly please keep quiet when am talking. Pep decision to mess up the Kush and Guehi partnership by bringing in Dias was why we lost to Madrid. Dias has lost form for a while now.

Guehi has improved our defense soo much and he is comfortable stepping out wide when Nico goes into the midfield. Dias would have made costly mistakes in our last 4 games.

swiz123:
Pep has shown nothing but wickedness to Arteta since he left his school.

He had his chance last season.

Semenyo shite, Doku drifting into the middle shite, Haaland not running at all shite and Donnarumma can Bleep off

I hate this donnarumma soo much. Has cost us Soo many times with his flapping crosses and poor passing.

Cc Android17


I wouldn't mind cashing in on Dias this summer. With Guehi,Kush, Gvardiol and Reis retuning from Girona we are good.

popizaino:
I thought Pep guardiola was going to build his team around Cherki when he first signed him and it's why i didn't write man city off earlier, but seems pep had other plans.

No it took a while for cherki to adapt and he wasn't working as hard earlier In the season but now he has settled in fully and understands what to do. It's amazing how we replaced De bruyne with someone who might actually be more talented. Missing out on Wirtz is turning out to be a blessing.

popizaino:
Cherki is on 10 assists already.
Excellent player.

I am sure he has played lesser minutes than Bruno.

He has also gotten more assists from open play than Bruno. Has to be one of the contender for player of the season. Nico O'Reilly is clear favorite for young player of the season.

Leyqute:
Doku is a better chance creator than Semenyo? You clearly don’t know ball. Not going to waste my time with you.

Doku has created more chances than Semenyo in half the minutes and even beside that every city fan knows Cherki and Doku are the two main creators in this team but a United fan that doesn't watch my team is telling me bullshit.

This is the Cherki someone here was claiming wasn't direct lol and shout out to Nico O'Riley. Shut out Salah, frimpong and Ngou easily. Hopefully we keep Trafford for next season.

Leyqute:
Doku is so useless mehn. Making senslsess runs and dribbles in areas that won’t hurt the opponent. Semenyo is miles ahead of him, especially in football maturity.

Just say you don't watch city games. Semenyo has better goal sense, positioning and finishing. Doku is the better chance Creator and always unlock defenses with his dribbling. They are the perfect pairing for us.

MorataFC:
i just dont know what to say, this is embarrassing .

...that’s why I always oppose making the team’s best player the captain.
captain should be the most mature player on the team, not necessarily the best player.

He's the captain. How exactly is it embarrassing for the team captain to ask for the armband?

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.