FA Cup Final: Will Haaland break the easy peasy “60 goals” barrier

[Coach]

Dubious Pen by old money, bog standard by VAR. 1-1. Had United 3-2 long odds, big dosh.

[green4life]

Haha. The establishment in full effect doing all they can to give ManU a chance to nick the trophy from City especially with the 115 FFP charges looming in the background.

[Coach]

IlKaiser Erdogan at the double. Erling Ekoku needs the difficulty level turned to down to easy peasy to get the haul needed to equal the truest of truths William Archibald d#$% “Dixie” Dean, OBE.

[mcal]

...the winner is a foregone conclusion. May not worth watching, make I go ready for FE match tomorrow.

[Coach]

Ekoku with a sitter passed back to De Gea. Dixie Don’t, evidently.

[Coach]

...the winner is a foregone conclusion. May not worth watching, make I go ready for FE match tomorrow.

Far from it. United growing back into it. 3-2 looming.

[kajifu]

...the winner is a foregone conclusion. May not worth watching, make I go ready for FE match tomorrow.

Far from it. United growing back into it. 3-2 looming.

Which united?

[mcal]

...the winner is a foregone conclusion. May not worth watching, make I go ready for FE match tomorrow.

Far from it. United growing back into it. 3-2 looming.

...well?
City is a club we love to hate. They did well, hope they choke at Champion league, a different ball game.

[Coach]

Hate, for what reason? City are a joy to watch. United, long odds, fair wager. Big wins, huge losses. Devil’s bargain. All in, how far in? All the way in.

Erling easy peasy, 1 in 8. City will be hoping Inter drop the difficulty level.

[ohsee]

If Pep and City do the business on Saturday against Inter, we must all agree in the interest of truth that the man should be called Pep Geniusdiola. Enough of the nonsense about chequebook manager. This was a great derby. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just don't tell my son who hates Pep and City.

[mcal]

If Pep and City do the business on Saturday against Inter, we must all agree in the interest of truth that the man should be called Pep Geniusdiola. Enough of the nonsense about chequebook manager. This was a great derby. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just don't tell my son who hates Pep and City.

...hate the man too, but he is a genius.

[wanaj0]

If Pep and City do the business on Saturday against Inter, we must all agree in the interest of truth that the man should be called Pep Geniusdiola. Enough of the nonsense about chequebook manager. This was a great derby. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just don't tell my son who hates Pep and City.

You will be a genius when you are competing with people that their total team is not worth ONE player

After they bought Mahrez, who was the best player in the league and put him on the bench then I know that the other teams are in trouble.

Don't even get me started on the amount spent on the 3 goal keepers.

Congrats too him and City but the NEWS will be if they did not win!

And yes people like Lampard will coach same team and win NOTHING

[ohsee]

If Pep and City do the business on Saturday against Inter, we must all agree in the interest of truth that the man should be called Pep Geniusdiola. Enough of the nonsense about chequebook manager. This was a great derby. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just don't tell my son who hates Pep and City.

You will be a genius when you are competing with people that their total team is not worth ONE player

After they bought Mahrez, who was the best player in the league and put him on the bench then I know that the other teams are in trouble.

Don't even get me started on the amount spent on the 3 goal keepers.

Congrats too him and City but the NEWS will be if they did not win!

And yes people like Lampard will coach same team and win NOTHING

Chief, thank you for helping me with the above statement. Chelsea is spending but not winning. Liverpool nko? Before Pep came, was City winning like this?

[The YeyeMan]

If Pep and City do the business on Saturday against Inter, we must all agree in the interest of truth that the man should be called Pep Geniusdiola. Enough of the nonsense about chequebook manager. This was a great derby. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just don't tell my son who hates Pep and City.

You will be a genius when you are competing with people that their total team is not worth ONE player

After they bought Mahrez, who was the best player in the league and put him on the bench then I know that the other teams are in trouble.

Don't even get me started on the amount spent on the 3 goal keepers.

Congrats too him and City but the NEWS will be if they did not win!

And yes people like Lampard will coach same team and win NOTHING

Chief, thank you for helping me with the above statement. Chelsea is spending but not winning. Liverpool nko? Before Pep came, was City winning like this?

Liverpool are neither spending nor winning, at least not this season.

But you're not seeing the 6000 tonne elephant in the room...

[ohsee]

If Pep and City do the business on Saturday against Inter, we must all agree in the interest of truth that the man should be called Pep Geniusdiola. Enough of the nonsense about chequebook manager. This was a great derby. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just don't tell my son who hates Pep and City.

You will be a genius when you are competing with people that their total team is not worth ONE player

After they bought Mahrez, who was the best player in the league and put him on the bench then I know that the other teams are in trouble.

Don't even get me started on the amount spent on the 3 goal keepers.

Congrats too him and City but the NEWS will be if they did not win!

And yes people like Lampard will coach same team and win NOTHING

Chief, thank you for helping me with the above statement. Chelsea is spending but not winning. Liverpool nko? Before Pep came, was City winning like this?

Liverpool are neither spending nor winning, at least not this season.

But you're not seeing the 6000 tonne elephant in the room...

Chief, can you help me see this elephant? Thanks in advance.

[The YeyeMan]

If Pep and City do the business on Saturday against Inter, we must all agree in the interest of truth that the man should be called Pep Geniusdiola. Enough of the nonsense about chequebook manager. This was a great derby. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just don't tell my son who hates Pep and City.

You will be a genius when you are competing with people that their total team is not worth ONE player

After they bought Mahrez, who was the best player in the league and put him on the bench then I know that the other teams are in trouble.

Don't even get me started on the amount spent on the 3 goal keepers.

Congrats too him and City but the NEWS will be if they did not win!

And yes people like Lampard will coach same team and win NOTHING

Chief, thank you for helping me with the above statement. Chelsea is spending but not winning. Liverpool nko? Before Pep came, was City winning like this?

Liverpool are neither spending nor winning, at least not this season.

But you're not seeing the 6000 tonne elephant in the room...

Chief, can you help me see this elephant? Thanks in advance.

Pep is a great manager, there is no doubt about this.

But could he dominate the PL with Liverpool? Could he dominate the Bundesliga with Dortmund? La Liga with Sevilla? What is it about Bayern and Man City that has helped him to keep "winning like this"?

[ohsee]

If Pep and City do the business on Saturday against Inter, we must all agree in the interest of truth that the man should be called Pep Geniusdiola. Enough of the nonsense about chequebook manager. This was a great derby. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just don't tell my son who hates Pep and City.

You will be a genius when you are competing with people that their total team is not worth ONE player

After they bought Mahrez, who was the best player in the league and put him on the bench then I know that the other teams are in trouble.

Don't even get me started on the amount spent on the 3 goal keepers.

Congrats too him and City but the NEWS will be if they did not win!

And yes people like Lampard will coach same team and win NOTHING

Chief, thank you for helping me with the above statement. Chelsea is spending but not winning. Liverpool nko? Before Pep came, was City winning like this?

Liverpool are neither spending nor winning, at least not this season.

But you're not seeing the 6000 tonne elephant in the room...

Chief, can you help me see this elephant? Thanks in advance.

Pep is a great manager, there is no doubt about this.

But could he dominate the PL with Liverpool? Could he dominate the Bundesliga with Dortmund? La Liga with Sevilla? What is it about Bayern and Man City that has helped him to keep "winning like this"?

Chief, you know say I no sabi football like una, but let me suggest what I suspect has Pep dominating. Yes, his club's ability to buy whatever player he wants is one. But let us not forget that Pep picks a specific type of player, one that he expects to fit into his system and style of play. Then he takes these players, and makes them better or appear to be world class playing in his teams. Three very big current examples. I would strongly suggest that Kevin de Bruyne would not be the fantastic player he is if he were not playing in a Pep team. He would be very good; but not what he is today. Witness how ordinary he is playing for Belgium. Another is Akanji.I have watched Akanji play for Switzerland several times. He looked very pedestrian to me. Then he comes to City as a back up, and suddenly he is looking like a world class defender playing in nearly every game? What's that all about? And then there is Ake? How come these players seem to play out of their skin when playing for Pep?

And let us not forget that City has had oil money and the ability to buy whoever they want since 2008. Did they dominate anybody with Mark Hughes? No. Did they dominate with Mancini? Barely. They were lucky to win the title they won in 2012. Did they dominate with Pellegrini? Nope. Lucky to win the title again.

It is only with Pep that City started to look like a team capable of winning everything, and beating every team they meet. That is the real elephant in the room. My bros, give the man his props jare. With other managers, City always looked like a collection of talented players, but not a dominant team. With Pep, everyone is forced to take extraordinary defensive measures when facing them.

[Mr. Piffington]

If Pep and City do the business on Saturday against Inter, we must all agree in the interest of truth that the man should be called Pep Geniusdiola. Enough of the nonsense about chequebook manager. This was a great derby. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just don't tell my son who hates Pep and City.

You will be a genius when you are competing with people that their total team is not worth ONE player

After they bought Mahrez, who was the best player in the league and put him on the bench then I know that the other teams are in trouble.

Don't even get me started on the amount spent on the 3 goal keepers.

Congrats too him and City but the NEWS will be if they did not win!

And yes people like Lampard will coach same team and win NOTHING

Chief, thank you for helping me with the above statement. Chelsea is spending but not winning. Liverpool nko? Before Pep came, was City winning like this?

Liverpool are neither spending nor winning, at least not this season.

But you're not seeing the 6000 tonne elephant in the room...

Chief, can you help me see this elephant? Thanks in advance.

Pep is a great manager, there is no doubt about this.

But could he dominate the PL with Liverpool? Could he dominate the Bundesliga with Dortmund? La Liga with Sevilla? What is it about Bayern and Man City that has helped him to keep "winning like this"?

Chief, you know say I no sabi football like una, but let me suggest what I suspect has Pep dominating. Yes, his club's ability to buy whatever player he wants is one. But let us not forget that Pep picks a specific type of player, one that he expects to fit into his system and style of play. Then he takes these players, and makes them better or appear to be world class playing in his teams. Three very big current examples. I would strongly suggest that Kevin de Bruyne would not be the fantastic player he is if he were not playing in a Pep team. He would be very good; but not what he is today. Witness how ordinary he is playing for Belgium. Another is Akanji.I have watched Akanji play for Switzerland several times. He looked very pedestrian to me. Then he comes to City as a back up, and suddenly he is looking like a world class defender playing in nearly every game? What's that all about? And then there is Ake? How come these players seem to play out of their skin when playing for Pep?

And let us not forget that City has had oil money and the ability to buy whoever they want since 2008. Did they dominate anybody with Mark Hughes? No. Did they dominate with Mancini? Barely. They were lucky to win the title they won in 2012. Did they dominate with Pellegrini? Nope. Lucky to win the title again.

It is only with Pep that City started to look like a team capable of winning everything, and beating every team they meet. That is the real elephant in the room. My bros, give the man his props jare. With other managers, City always looked like a collection of talented players, but not a dominant team. With Pep, everyone is forced to take extraordinary defensive measures when facing them.

Some will never give credit where its due, simple as that. Look at Sterling at City versus Sterling at Chelsea, even at his worst in City he never looked as bad as he looks now. Money and the ability to buy players is one thing, but how they play and dominate is purely down to coaching. I suspect if Cucurella had gone to City and thrived the same people would have been moaning that City is stacking talent and yet the same Cucurella is having a horrid time at Chelsea.

[ohsee]

You will be a genius when you are competing with people that their total team is not worth ONE player

After they bought Mahrez, who was the best player in the league and put him on the bench then I know that the other teams are in trouble.

Don't even get me started on the amount spent on the 3 goal keepers.

Congrats too him and City but the NEWS will be if they did not win!

And yes people like Lampard will coach same team and win NOTHING

Chief, thank you for helping me with the above statement. Chelsea is spending but not winning. Liverpool nko? Before Pep came, was City winning like this?

Liverpool are neither spending nor winning, at least not this season.

But you're not seeing the 6000 tonne elephant in the room...

Chief, can you help me see this elephant? Thanks in advance.

Pep is a great manager, there is no doubt about this.

But could he dominate the PL with Liverpool? Could he dominate the Bundesliga with Dortmund? La Liga with Sevilla? What is it about Bayern and Man City that has helped him to keep "winning like this"?

Chief, you know say I no sabi football like una, but let me suggest what I suspect has Pep dominating. Yes, his club's ability to buy whatever player he wants is one. But let us not forget that Pep picks a specific type of player, one that he expects to fit into his system and style of play. Then he takes these players, and makes them better or appear to be world class playing in his teams. Three very big current examples. I would strongly suggest that Kevin de Bruyne would not be the fantastic player he is if he were not playing in a Pep team. He would be very good; but not what he is today. Witness how ordinary he is playing for Belgium. Another is Akanji.I have watched Akanji play for Switzerland several times. He looked very pedestrian to me. Then he comes to City as a back up, and suddenly he is looking like a world class defender playing in nearly every game? What's that all about? And then there is Ake? How come these players seem to play out of their skin when playing for Pep?

And let us not forget that City has had oil money and the ability to buy whoever they want since 2008. Did they dominate anybody with Mark Hughes? No. Did they dominate with Mancini? Barely. They were lucky to win the title they won in 2012. Did they dominate with Pellegrini? Nope. Lucky to win the title again.

It is only with Pep that City started to look like a team capable of winning everything, and beating every team they meet. That is the real elephant in the room. My bros, give the man his props jare. With other managers, City always looked like a collection of talented players, but not a dominant team. With Pep, everyone is forced to take extraordinary defensive measures when facing them.

Some will never give credit where its due, simple as that. Look at Sterling at City versus Sterling at Chelsea, even at his worst in City he never looked as bad as he looks now. Money and the ability to buy players is one thing, but how they play and dominate is purely down to coaching. I suspect if Cucurella had gone to City and thrived the same people would have been moaning that City is stacking talent and yet the same Cucurella is having a horrid time at Chelsea.

Chief, very true. Some people have a hard time seeing beyond their emotions.

[The YeyeMan]

Chief, thank you for helping me with the above statement. Chelsea is spending but not winning. Liverpool nko? Before Pep came, was City winning like this?

Liverpool are neither spending nor winning, at least not this season.

But you're not seeing the 6000 tonne elephant in the room...

Chief, can you help me see this elephant? Thanks in advance.

Pep is a great manager, there is no doubt about this.

But could he dominate the PL with Liverpool? Could he dominate the Bundesliga with Dortmund? La Liga with Sevilla? What is it about Bayern and Man City that has helped him to keep "winning like this"?

Chief, you know say I no sabi football like una, but let me suggest what I suspect has Pep dominating. Yes, his club's ability to buy whatever player he wants is one. But let us not forget that Pep picks a specific type of player, one that he expects to fit into his system and style of play. Then he takes these players, and makes them better or appear to be world class playing in his teams. Three very big current examples. I would strongly suggest that Kevin de Bruyne would not be the fantastic player he is if he were not playing in a Pep team. He would be very good; but not what he is today. Witness how ordinary he is playing for Belgium. Another is Akanji.I have watched Akanji play for Switzerland several times. He looked very pedestrian to me. Then he comes to City as a back up, and suddenly he is looking like a world class defender playing in nearly every game? What's that all about? And then there is Ake? How come these players seem to play out of their skin when playing for Pep?

And let us not forget that City has had oil money and the ability to buy whoever they want since 2008. Did they dominate anybody with Mark Hughes? No. Did they dominate with Mancini? Barely. They were lucky to win the title they won in 2012. Did they dominate with Pellegrini? Nope. Lucky to win the title again.

It is only with Pep that City started to look like a team capable of winning everything, and beating every team they meet. That is the real elephant in the room. My bros, give the man his props jare. With other managers, City always looked like a collection of talented players, but not a dominant team. With Pep, everyone is forced to take extraordinary defensive measures when facing them.

Some will never give credit where its due, simple as that. Look at Sterling at City versus Sterling at Chelsea, even at his worst in City he never looked as bad as he looks now. Money and the ability to buy players is one thing, but how they play and dominate is purely down to coaching. I suspect if Cucurella had gone to City and thrived the same people would have been moaning that City is stacking talent and yet the same Cucurella is having a horrid time at Chelsea.

Chief, very true. Some people have a hard time seeing beyond their emotions.

Thankfully, I'm not one of those people.

For every KdB, there's a Claudio Bravo.

Akanji, great. How about Mangala? Or how about Joe Hart?

Even Grealish. £100m worth of garbage in his first season. But City can afford to have him rot on the bench while he finds his way.

The likes of Klopp, Ancelotti, (and even early and late-era Mourinho) have often taken the tools they've been given and forged competitive teams out of them with limited budgets. Pep is great but he strikes me as a manager who needs all the conditions to be optimal in order for him to succeed. It's interesting that he finished 3rd in his first season in the Prem when he was still finding his feet with players he'd largely inherited.

The Sterling comparison isn't strong - he's played under bums at Chelsea (Lampard and Potter) - the test will be to see how he performs now Chelsea have a proper manager at the helm.

Like I said, Pep is great, but his greatness comes with dollar bills attached.

[ohsee]

Thankfully, I'm not one of those people.

For every KdB, there's a Claudio Bravo.

Akanji, great. How about Mangala? Or how about Joe Hart?

Even Grealish. £100m worth of garbage in his first season. But City can afford to have him rot on the bench while he finds his way.

The likes of Klopp, Ancelotti, (and even early and late-era Mourinho) have often taken the tools they've been given and forged competitive teams out of them with limited budgets. Pep is great but he strikes me as a manager who needs all the conditions to be optimal in order for him to succeed. It's interesting that he finished 3rd in his first season in the Prem when he was still finding his feet with players he'd largely inherited.

The Sterling comparison isn't strong - he's played under bums at Chelsea (Lampard and Potter) - the test will be to see how he performs now Chelsea have a proper manager at the helm.

Like I said, Pep is great, but his greatness comes with dollar bills attached.

Chief, I will not spend too much time arguing this because the argument that Pep is a chequebook manager is unfalsifiable. Yes, he buys the players he wants, but unlike his predecessors who were only able to create disjointed collections of talented players, Pep melds his players into a potent team that terrifies everyone it meets. If he wins a Champions League on Saturday--which is what he was hired to do--he will have won his "genius" medal,

[theDunamis]

Chief, I will not spend too much time arguing this because the argument that Pep is a chequebook manager is unfalsifiable. Yes, he buys the players he wants, but unlike his predecessors who were only able to create disjointed collections of talented players, Pep melds his players into a potent team that terrifies everyone it meets. If he wins a Champions League on Saturday--which is what he was hired to do--he will have won his "genius" medal,

Pep deserves his kudos without a doubt but I think this genius tag is taking things too far and not considering the full picture.

Ohsee, let's look at Pep's body of work in the Champions League where he gets to face Europe's best teams and let's see whether you still believe he deserves that tag.

1) 2008-09 Barcelona -- Winner (2-0 Man Utd)
2) 2009-10 Barcelona -- Semi-final (2-3 agg Inter)
3) 2010-11 Barcelona -- Winner (3-1 Man Utd)
4) 2011-12 Barcelona -- Semi-final (2-3 agg Chelsea)
5) 2013-14 Bayern -- Semi-final (0-5 agg Real Madrid)
6) 2014-15 Bayern -- Semi-final (3-5 agg Barcelona)
7) 2015-16 Bayern -- Semi-final (2-2 agg Atletico Madrid )
8) 2016-17 Man City -- R16 (6-6 agg Monaco)
9) 2017-18 Man City -- Quarter-final (1-5 agg Liverpool)
10) 2018-19 Man City -- Quarter-final (4-4 agg Tottenham)
11) 2019-20 Man City -- Quarter-final (1-3 agg Lyon)
12) 2020-21 Man City -- Final (0-1 Chelsea)
13) 2021-2022 Man City -- Semi-final (5-6 agg Real Madrid)
14) 2022-23 Man City -- TBD

And below are the teams he won his 2 CL titles with:

Barcelona 2008-09: Valdes, Pique, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta (Pedro Rodriguez), Eto'o, Messi, Henry (Keita), Sylvinho, Toure, Sergio Busquets

Barcelona 2010-11: Valdes, Dani Alves (Puyol), Mascherano, Pique, Abidal, Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Iniesta, Villa (Keita), Messi, Pedro Rodriguez (Afellay)

So ohsee, as a fair-minded person, does this record deserve a genius tag? Just curious.

[ohsee]

Chief, I will not spend too much time arguing this because the argument that Pep is a chequebook manager is unfalsifiable. Yes, he buys the players he wants, but unlike his predecessors who were only able to create disjointed collections of talented players, Pep melds his players into a potent team that terrifies everyone it meets. If he wins a Champions League on Saturday--which is what he was hired to do--he will have won his "genius" medal,

Pep deserves his kudos without a doubt but I think this genius tag is taking things too far and not considering the full picture.

Ohsee, let's look at Pep's body of work in the Champions League where he gets to face Europe's best teams and let's see whether you still believe he deserves that tag.

1) 2008-09 Barcelona -- Winner (2-0 Man Utd)
2) 2009-10 Barcelona -- Semi-final (2-3 agg Inter)
3) 2010-11 Barcelona -- Winner (3-1 Man Utd)
4) 2011-12 Barcelona -- Semi-final (2-3 agg Chelsea)
5) 2013-14 Bayern -- Semi-final (0-5 agg Real Madrid)
6) 2014-15 Bayern -- Semi-final (3-5 agg Barcelona)
7) 2015-16 Bayern -- Semi-final (2-2 agg Atletico Madrid )
8) 2016-17 Man City -- R16 (6-6 agg Monaco)
9) 2017-18 Man City -- Quarter-final (1-5 agg Liverpool)
10) 2018-19 Man City -- Quarter-final (4-4 agg Tottenham)
11) 2019-20 Man City -- Quarter-final (1-3 agg Lyon)
12) 2020-21 Man City -- Final (0-1 Chelsea)
13) 2021-2022 Man City -- Semi-final (5-6 agg Real Madrid)
14) 2022-23 Man City -- TBD

And below are the teams he won his 2 CL titles with:

Barcelona 2008-09: Valdes, Pique, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta (Pedro Rodriguez), Eto'o, Messi, Henry (Keita), Sylvinho, Toure, Sergio Busquets

Barcelona 2010-11: Valdes, Dani Alves (Puyol), Mascherano, Pique, Abidal, Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Iniesta, Villa (Keita), Messi, Pedro Rodriguez (Afellay)

So ohsee, as a fair-minded person, does this record deserve a genius tag? Just curious.

Yes.