Topic: UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Season - page 1222. (Read 141744 times)

I must confess,the best team to me last season was Newcastle,they were the only team I was so scared of while facing Arsenal because the pressure and energy they put while playing against you is always too much,they have all it takes to be very successful in the champions league,and if they play in the kind of aggressive nature in which they normally play,it might surprise people because they may either get to quarter final or semi final,I am not doubting their abilities atall.Then talking about the kind of players they can attract in this transfer window,I see that as long as they are now playing in the champions league,any type of player in the world can actually choose to play for them because those boys are indeed good,and their coach is as well doing a great job there.

The worries that Pep Guardiola has about his team's achievements are completely normal. Manchester City have invested hundreds of millions of euros building their squad to win titles, and Pep Guardiola has repaid that faith by winning the treble last season. Manchester City won its first Champions League title because of the genius and ability of Pep Guardiola to manage the team, but that was also helped by the quality players he had.

The coach has a great responsibility in managing the team, of course that is a task that is paid handsomely by every football team. The success of the team is the success of the coach, it is interrelated.

He is a human being and I think that is how he demonstrates his failure when things are not going as he wants, did you notice how he does jump up over excitement when his boys do the scoring, that is the kind of person he is and he mode of satisfaction in every game. In addition, what might have contributed to all that could be that his mind was already there to take the Champions League, they were here last season only for Miracle to happen and got eliminated by Real Madrid and that is one of the worst elimination that ever occurs to them because they lead in the first leg and fumble in the second leg.

I notice that Pep doesn't care about what people have said about him claiming he was able to win the Champions League in the past because he had Messi on his side but he was able to prove the debate the other way about his ability and what he can do without natural born players, he was able to achieve treble with dedicated and hardworking players in 8 years of his life in Manchester City.

That said, Pep's confidence level is actually very good and worthy of praise I think.
He always allows his players to leave or stay at the club for as long as their contracts last and that's the case for Bernardo, Mahrez and Gundogan at the moment.
In the case of Gundogan for example, Pep wanted him to stay but when Gundogan wanted to leave with his status and self-awareness that he would have difficulties from the competition for the line-up Pep understood and did not give a difficult thing instead he allowed it well because he realised that being forced to stay would also be useless and I like Pep's personality like this.
Players coming and going for a club is normal and Pep knows this, but on the other hand he also immediately thinks about his squad whether it is still capable or not and when he feels he is still lacking he immediately buys quickly as a replacement but when he feels enough he doesn't do much and gives more confidence to existing players.
As for the replacement of Kyle Walker, there are currently some rumours about Pavard who really wants to leave Bayern. There is also the name Hakimi who is currently being discussed as one of the successors to replace Kyle Walker for Manchester City.

I hope I am not wrong but I believe Newcastle United is a kind of new entry in the Champions League region in recent times. The performance that they have shown in the English Premier League was obviously incredible. But to perform well in the Champions League they will have to bring in new and better players.

I absolutely agree with @hahay that Newcastle United is not going aggressive in the transformer market. At least not so far. If they do not get aggressive they will not be able to win matches in the Champions League in crucial times. I don't think that performance is going to be great for them in the Champions League, to be honest. And by that I mean they are not going to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

UEFA only cares about (in recent years) strangling its rival - the Super League, and FIFA generally just seems to make money and can organize any competition at any time of the year, as long as someone pays them. As for the fact that all their ventures are profitable, I strongly doubt that someone is seriously watching the League of Nations? Or the Conference League? Or will someone be seriously worried about the new club world championship? 

Anyway, if Newcastle are aggressive to bring in players who have a winning mentality, then i'm sure that Newcastle can get it. But unfortunately, so far Newcastle are not too aggressive to bring in players who have more experience who are also more qualified. But, that does not mean Newcastle must first win the Premier League title to bring in players with such criteria. Because the most important thing is, atleast Newcastle can play well in the Champion League, it seems it is also enough to get quality players to accept offers to play at Newcastle. But yes, let's look forward to what results Newcastle will get in the Champions League next season, because of course the hope is to qualify for the last 16 or maybe also the quarter finals.

Yes it makes perfect sense that Newcastle need time to build a squad that has a winning mentality like the UCL. Everyone is aware that the winning mentality is a very important factor and must be possessed by everyone in the club, from club officials, managers, staff to players. Of course to get it takes a long time, and patience in fighting whether you win or lose. Roman Abramovic waited for the Champions League trophy to be placed in the Chelsea cupboard for more than eight years, Sheikh Mansour had to wait for more than 15 years to get the trophy with Man City.

I think the two stories of the journey of the Elite EPL club can be a direct example for Newcastle and their fans. Everything takes time and as you said the club's finances can make it easier to sign players but can't make it faster to win trophies. The English Premier League trophy for Newcastle will be more realistic as a sign that they deserve to be reckoned with by other teams, the UCL will follow later.

In the last decade, only Real Madrid has been able to defend the Champions League title in 3 consecutive seasons, this is truly an extraordinary achievement. Not a single team has been able to match Real Madrid's current achievements even though they are good teams in their respective domestic leagues.

Manchester City have the opportunity to make great history in the Champions League if they successfully defend the title next season. But I agree with your opinion that defending the title is not as easy as say. Pep Guardiola certainly has enough understanding of the condition of his team, but he can't be 100% sure to secure the title even if he has a quality team.

Guardiwala is no doubt the best manager so whatever decision he takes there must be good reasons behind it. Believing in him, Manchester City is essentially releasing one player after another. At the moment, Manchester City may be building a youth-oriented team where young players will lead the team in key positions. However, Manchester City has not given up all the experienced and older players, so far those players who can contribute a lot to the team and who can make a big impact in different matches to make the team win are still retained by Manchester City. That is, Guardiwala has released some players by thinking about which player will get the maximum performance from the next season and which player will not, and their release will definitely bring something positive for the team.

Until now, for me City remains the team with the most potential in the race for the trophy in this competition. even if some of his core players leave, Pep will soon be bringing in the ideal newcomer. also, City is still strengthened by several of its flagship players. without exception, they have second tier players who are just as good as the first team. Currently, Mahrez, Silva, even Walker, are rumored to be leaving the Etihad soon. of course, City will lose their core players. moreover, Gundohan has now joined Barcelona. but what is certain, Pep, only needs to bring in players who have characteristics according to the system he implements. financially, they have no problem signing the players they want in this transfer window.

However, we agree that it was not easy for Pep to lead his team to defend the title for the second time in this competition. only a few clubs, ever defended successive Champions League titles. but in any case, as I said at the start, that City have a pretty high chance of defending their title for a second time. because, in addition to having a team squad that is very competent on almost all fronts, the system that Pep implemented was part of the key to their success last season. and maybe, for the season to come. Regarding whether they can, let's just follow every development.

Before Pep Guardiola there was Jurgen Klopp who voiced his objections to the tight schedule of matches. Of the players, Toni Kroos, who was the most vocal, said the same thing.
I don't really understand the rules made by UEFA and FIFA, but the level of density of match schedules in several competitions is no longer comparable. The direction is running projects that generate profits for them.

Here, I am on the side of the players and coaches who criticized the tight schedule of matches. They are professionals, but they are people too. Don't make soccer players look like dolls.

I understand the surprise in the UCL can happen to any club. But, my assumption is, with Newcastle's current strength, they still need time. It's not about their financial or the rich club, but about their chances of bringing in players who have a winning mentality in the UCL. That's why I say, maybe not for now, until they can win the EPL, then it will be easier for Newcastle to really able to compete in the UCL. We'll see PSG, with their financial strength and also the quality of their players, they can't be champions yet, the same thing can happen to newcastle. Well going to round 16 is look make sense, but we have to see in the group phase

After successfully bringing home the UCL trophy last season, Manchester City certainly has the desire to defend the title. I admit defending the UCL title is not easy, only certain clubs have managed to do it. Manchester City are trying to position themselves always on the path to glory, Guardiola has made changes in his squad after several players left for other clubs. Of course it is not easy for Guardiola to complete this challenge because there will be fierce competition this season. The clubs that have qualified for the UCL have made major changes in their squads to provide competition to Manchester City who hold the title as defending champions.

Top European coaches have complained about the policy, but it seems that complaints are just complaints without much consideration. The more matches the players will play, the greater the risk of injury to the players due to fatigue or the like. Of course that would cost the club and the players themselves, but they can't do much.

Pep Giardiola is quite vocal about complaining about the large number of match schedules in several international competitions, but there has not been much positive impact from the policies he has taken by FIFA and UEFA.

It seems to me that FIFA and UEFA are experimenting too much lately with all competitions and that their main motivation is to increase earnings and not to increase the quality of the competition.
When you include more national teams or clubs in the competition, the quality of the competition decreases, but the earnings increase due to more matches.
However, this means that key players in the main teams in the Champions League will have to play a lot more games, will be more tired and there will be more injuries.
I believe that the coaches and players of the main clubs in the Champions League are not happy with the proposed changes to the competition, but no one asks them for their opinion, what is shame.
Klopp and Pep already complained last year about the fact that their main players have to play too many games in the season, but nobody listens to them and now there will be even more games per season.

Defending the title is not as easy as we say, even though Manchester City is very much closer to the potential for a trophy. But regarding the Champions League it feels quite difficult, it's not just about the ideal squad. At a time when several players who have helped Manchester City win trophies are now moving clubs, the game system will change slightly, even though options have been prepared. Picking up the UCL trophy next season is like rolling the dice. Therefore this competition is difficult to maintain, only a few clubs have won it successively and even then with a fairly long process.

Indeed, under Pep Guardiola's leadership, Manchester City is revamping its roster. It appears that the old has been replaced with the new. While it's natural to feel a void left by veterans like Yangel Herrera, Ilkay Gundogan, and Benjamin Mendy, the search for their replacements might be intriguing. There is a good likelihood that Guardiola has something spectacular in store for the upcoming season given his reputation as a tactical masterpiece. However, if they play differently, it could be a welcome change of pace for the other teams. Is this going to turn out to be a good thing for Manchester City's rivals?

Pep already prepared alternative plan once bernardo silva and mahrez will be leaving from the club. mahrez already reached personal agreement with al ahli while bernardo silva is waiting for barcelona to come. Barcelona already prepared de jong as a part of deal to get bernardo silva from manchester city. Barcelona shall have paid a lot to get him but i think that pep will be agreed caused by de jong is still young enough. Pep gonna try to find replacement for mahrez and silva.

Guardiola already prepared such option. The leave from silva and mahrez gonna be inevitable. I think that any players will always be interesting to join in a club that can be considered as the best club in the world right now.
Manchester city gonna face sevilla and i think that city gonna get another trophy again.