Would be massive for us if spurs can hang on here but they are fluffing real chances to finish City off.

I’m watching, but trying not to think about it too hard.

Spurs have missed so many chances you feel it’s inevitable City will score in the last minute. Even a draw is a good result though

Not allowing myself to hope until the final whistle blows. Spurs have disappointed too many time in the past.

I’m back into counting down the clock mode. Not enjoying it much.

Enjoying it even less now with the red card.

Here we go.

So far so good.....

Wow. Excellent result in the circumstances.

Amazing how these small teams raise their game when the big boys are in town.

Looking like a great result for us
Only downside is it narrows our comfort zone to champions league football to 11 points though we do have game in hand on spurs.
Bigger.picture though is city didn't take advantage to our result!!!!!
Still 5 points clear!!!

City surrounding the ref so much in that game. The charge they put on us is being made to look more and more questionable every week.

11 points and 2 games in hand on spurs. Win those 2 home games in hand and even if spurs go at 2.5 points per game (all but the form of the greatest prem sides ever) then we’d only need 8 wins from our last 16 games to finish above them.

Of course stranger things have happened but I can’t see this season being a 95+ point title win despite the 50 points we reached at half way. If you gave me 90 points now I’d snap your hand off for it

Is this the South African version of fingers crossed?

Precisely. I wasn't aware that it is SA-specific. It appears to be Dutch/German idiom that has migrated into SA English.

I love it. We used to do something like that at primary school. You’d stick your thumb between your first and second finger in a fist and say “Paxis” (we pronounced it pax-ees) and then you were safe in any game you were playing and couldn’t be caught. I can see now it probably came frm the Latin Pax meaning peace. Looking back we were 7years old or whatever and had no clue what it meant. How far back did that tradition go I wonder!!

Brings to mind ‘fainites’. A real blast from the past.

Check LTG.

Fingers crossed and shouted.

I was trying to google that but couldn’t spell it.

I agree and admit to being far more nervous about that Everton result than most. Everton did well but nothing startling from a tactical perspective. Doubling up on our wingers has been increasing in frequency and there doesn’t currently seem to a way around it. Expect Brentford to work just as hard as Everton but with a lot more of a scoring threat. My gut is saying that it’s going to be a bit of a roller coaster as the season winds on. Especially having to grind results and more draws than the first half. Arteta has proven that he can change things up to fix problems so fingers crossed he has another avenue that’s not so heavily reliant on the flanks.

I think Mané leaving was the tipping point. He had so much more room to move and a great strike partner to provide the assists. That plus the rather weak and very old midfield, he just isn’t getting the service he once did. Personally I think he just looks bloody knackered along with a lot of the Liverpool squad. Gegenpressing takes a toll I guess.

P.s. Henry was a superstar absolutely no doubt. But compare the physical toll then vs now. I was watching some of the invincible season the other day and was amazed at how wide open the game was with at times almost no pressure on the ball.

Utd and Spurs are the big winners of the weekend
We missed the chance to widen our lead
Good to have an off day at a time when the key chasers are off too

Perhaps even further back when they didn’t replace Winaldum, very underrated player in that Liverpool system, got through a lot of work. Henderson’s legs have gone. Thiago never had any legs, Fabinho’s form has dropped off a cliff, Keita gives the ball away too easily, Ox is either injured or not disciplined enough to play CM and the rest are kids…..meanwhile Klopp has spent millions trying to bring the next wave through in his attacking 3, Diaz, Jota and Nunez for £160m

After they scored I left the TV and went out to the mall. I did the same when Chelsea equalized in the 2nd tie of the ECL game in 2004. I knew...just knew...we weren't going to come back and it was too painful for me to watch it. Some may criticize not finishing to watch a game before its over, I really couldn't give an eff. We all deal with emotional things differently. It's not hurting anyone doing so.

I wasn't going to watch the Tottenham v City game because I was expecting City to seize that opportunity. I got a message to tune in to the game around the 76th minute and it was 1-0 and after the Tottenham red card, I turned it off again. haha.

Before the Man Utd game were not widely seen as probably champions. A decent amount of people thought we could but there were still plenty of people who thought City would catch us. That all changed after the Man Utd win. We were now seen as the team to beat for sure and likely champions.

People looked pass the cup defeat in some part because we were playing away and played a weakened side. Everton was the first game we were playing where the media and the players mentally I'm guessing were playing for a title in earnest instead of a 'lets just get past each game as they come' and what happens...happens.

One thing this squad has to learn is that when you are in that seat, the cat bird's seat, the team that most people think will win it, the target on your back gets bigger. We were a decent scalp before the Man Utd game and City were the slightly bigger scalp. You beat us its great, you beat City its fantastic.

Of all clubs Tottenham gave us a get out of jail free card. They must have mixed feelings about that win. They may have handed us the title and they know it.

So, the games this weekend told the squad, that EVERY league game is a cup final. This squad has learned what the '98-'04 sides knew all too well. Everyone wants a piece of them.

The Tottenham v City game told us that quite possibly City aren't up to it. It's never easy going to Tottenham and winning. They are a good side, but we did it and they couldn't. City came out of that with not only a missed opportunity but there are doubts that they are up for this title run because they didn't capitalize. Not even a point.

Don’t know why the Everton home game hasn’t been re-arranged yet. Both teams are out of the FA Cup and in FA cup 5th round week (feb 28th) there are no prem games scheduled. So just slot the game in there. I’d much rather play the game now than try to squeeze it in midweek towards the end of the season. Most other postponed games have been re-arranged and played.

It’s still a big if but if we won that Everton game as our game in hand and beat City at home in 9 days time then we’d open up an 11 point lead. That would be really something.

Hi granty,

I think the league is so much harder now than in the Invincible days. The amount of money spent means that every single team have a few players that can hurt you. If you are not right at it every single week even the lowest teams can take points off you. Even if you are right at it the opposition invariably have a few players who on any given day can produce something extraordinary and if it happens to be on the day you play them then there's not a lot you can do.

The pace of the game has increased and the pressing has intensified, keepers are good with their feet and teams play out from the back. The only thing I would say is that players are a little better protected now than they were in the Invincible days.

I wonder if City will get a points deduction

I'd add Milner to that list who I think was also very underrated utility player as he could play almost anywhere and would do a good job at covering missing players. Not glamorous or super technical but he got the job done. He's in the Henderson category now.

Oh and Fermino is another one who isn't the same player without Mané. They were a great unit but I think Mané was the one that made them so much more as a collective.

Gidday Soc, I do wish you'd choose a new persona cos every time I watch tv and a documentary, history or something similar bloody Socrates pops up and I end up thinking of your avatar.

But I'd agree with what you've mentioned above. Everything about the game today is totally different. The modern players are faster, stronger, more technical, better tactics. Even the ball from back then probably feels like a medicine ball to current players.. Despite a truckload of pundit's being from that era and spouting "well in my day" while spitting tobacco (Sounnes, Keane, Neville, etc) they would get annihilated by all but the worst PL teams now.

They might get a fine. A points deduction they already have courtesy of spurs. Who I thought thoroughly deserved their win btw.

Edit: Oh you mean the news about FFP

Problems mounting for Abu Dhabi City:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64536785

and like the FIFA 'investigation' I highly doubt anything meaningful will happen. Their accounts will throw up a bunch of shell companies and super complex hierarchies of money flows to distance from the know fact that they were pumping billions of 'Etihad' dollars straight into the club.

Chelsea I thought were just as bad over the last 15 years with Abramovic writing cheques after transfer window.

You’re probably right, but we can hope.

Just the guilt by association issues denigrate their achievements; it’s nice to see the suspicions/knowledge backed up by an official investigation.

Just realised they’ve won 6 PL titles since being doped, would not have guessed that many, suppose that proves how disengaged I’ve become with the whole circus. It is kind of ironic that this should happen right after the chavs latest spending spree.

My money is on nothing happening.

I honestly think this one has legs.

Der Spiegel have been banging on about all this for years. Thanks to some Portuguese hacker, they have reams and reams of detailed and well-documented evidence. UEFA brought a case based on the findings but City were able to win an appeal based on statute of limitations. Those time limitations don't apply here.

Squeaky bum time at The Etihad.

A nice round of grubby articles that take the shine off would be nice. Hopefully the opposition supporters chime in with some annoying repetitive chants of “cheats”.

Let’s also hope that guardiola gets lots of questions about it and the team lose their focus because they’re worried the tax man is going to start poring over their inflated salaries.

City relegated, spending, endorsements, player recruitments limited, Pep walks away.

Under 18s live on AFC site FA Youth Cup action.

2-0 down at half time now 4-2 up with 15 mins of 2nd half to go.

They could teach the first team a few things

Now this is bang out of order. Too ridiculous.