Beating Man City - How’s it done?

Chelsea lost 0-6 to City in the league and a week later shut them out at Wembley over 120 minutes.

 

It’s true, they don’t like it up ‘em. A good point has been made.

 

Last night’s win over Leicester means for the second season in a row City have beaten at least once every team they’ve faced over the campaign. A feat last achieved in 1890. Hmmm.

 

I doubt we would win zero. In City’s last 100 games they have lost to some right tinpot outfits like Palace. They can lose to this tinpot outfit.

 

Over 100 games there might be an occasion when they have an injury crisis, rest a lost of first team players, or have one or two players sent off. However, if all things are equal, Watford would never beat this current Man City side.....IMO of course.

On May 18th, we have to hope they have an injury crisis, rest a lot of players and have one or two sent off......then I'd back Watford.

 

Never say never Luke, stranger things have happened in FA Cup Finals. Sunderland beating the THEN equally mighty Leeds Utd, Wimbledon beating Liverpool and of course Wigan beating our opponents on the 18th Man City.

I would say that if we manage to beat City on the 18th it would be less of an upset than all three of those results, after all we are a Premier League team!

So stop running our team down and get behind them, we can win this!!!

 

There is plenty of footage available from when we last took on a big team on a big occasion.

 

I'll only be annoyed if we completely fold, let the occasion get to us and show them too much respect. We'll lose comfortably but a little bit of fight would be nice. Similar to the result at the Etihad for example. We gave it as good as we got.

Like you, the day out on the beers and the occasion is what im looking forward to. The match, not so.

 

I still think HH24 and a thermo nuclear device is a good option.
I'm happy to pay her train fare.

 

Yep, which is why the people suggesting we drop our superstars pereyra and deulofeu for defenders and try and keep it tight for 70 mins are speaking nonsense. We'll lose heavily either way, but at least with the big names on the pitch we'll have a shred of booze-given hope at kick off.

 

The big rhino running around knocking everyone over reminds me of someone, but I can’t quite think who.

 

There is only one way to beat them and there is a realistic hope. LUCK.
We won't be better team on the day, no chance. We all know the 90 mins stats for the game now. Possession MC 80% WFc 20%. Shots MC 24 WFC 4. On target MC 9 WFC 1. We just have to hope that we score with our 1 and they miss with or we save their 9. Unlikely but possible.
For me the formation we adopt is crucial but I don't know how to set ourselves up to be tight but retain a limited threat. Playing Chalo or Cleverley would be useful to provide added protection when they are camped outside our box. We must have some pace on the break so GD has to start. We can't drop TD. So does that leave us as 3-5-1-1 with Capoue, Doucs and Chalo in the middle, Doucs with permission to break forward when we have the ball. Femenia & Holebas wide. So Gray, Hughes on the bench.....what to do with Pereyra ? Bench him too ??

 

[QUOTE=" Wimbledon beating Liverpool.....[/QUOTE]

Although the Scousers played some of the finest football of modern times in 1987-88, it's often overlooked that Wimbledon did finish 7th that season. Not quite the shock it's made out to be - but I would agree it would need a similarly below-par Manchester City, and extra-determined show from us to make it happen.

City are light years ahead from the side they had against Wigan in 2013, just want (and EXPECT) our players to give it a go.....you never know !!!

 

The other thing is if they do win the league, you wonder how much that would take from them psychologically. Like us in 2015, had we not been promoted on the day we beat Brighton (because Middlesbrough and Norwich failed to win later in the day) then the players would not have been partying and lost impetus on the last day and we would have stuffed Wednesday to win the league.


No doubt it will take some luck and will require very hard work. It's not impossible, but there's no need to be so defeatist about it.

 

[QUOTE Although the Scousers played some of the finest football of modern times in 1987-88, it's often overlooked that Wimbledon did finish 7th that season. Not quite the shock it's made out to be - but I would agree it would need a similarly below-par Manchester City, and extra-determined show from us to make it happen.

City are light years ahead from the side they had against Wigan in 2013, just want (and EXPECT) our players to give it a go.....you never know !!![/QUOTE]

So we would have won had we finished 7th? Too bad. So close.

 

Miss those days , when men were men ,women were women and there were only two genders!

 

This thread reminds me of ...

 

There's only one way to beat them....

 

And people who didn't fit took their own lives!

 

Need to go with 3 in the midfield, Clev and Chalobah aren't quite ready, so that leaves only one choice...

 

I missed the earlier post.

Sounds like a one way ticket.

 

If we can't get the quoting right on this thread, how on earth can we expect to beat City?

 

Looks like he's left the coat hanger in.

 

I'd go with the green kit so that we blend in with the grass.

TD9 could be stood in their D all game, offside but invisible, chatting with Ederson.

When Caps/Hols hoofs it in his general direction, Troy strolls up & slots it home.

If the green stunt works, Javi could think about getting 12, 13, 14 players on the pitch.

 

As it was in '84

 

We could have been 3 up in the first 20 minutes on that day, not much has changed at Watford has it

 

Our gameplan at the Etihad worked well for the first 46 minutes (until Sterlings offside goal) which lead to us losing concentration and conceding again a couple of minutes later.

We played a 3 man central midfield with Cleverley, Capoue + Doucoure which sounds a good idea again depending on how fit Cleverley is (or we play Chalobah there instead). On the wings we had Kiko in front of Janmaat and Success in front of Masina. Reckon we do the same this time but maybe swap Success with someone. Deulofeu won't put in the defensive shift so maybe have him up top as the counter-attacking threat and the ability to create something out of nothing? Then maybe Holebas LB and Masina LM (or vice versa)...

 

No Pereyra or Deeney then ? I think 3 central midfielders is essential. Chalo, Cleverley or Hughes as the 3rd ?

 

I forgot about Pereyra (not hard with his recent performances), but yeah that's a good option down the left. Hughes, Capoue and Doucoure all in CM would be decent actually.

 

Pack the midfield, drop RP, get the fans pumped and show City absolutely no respect. Our players need to be absolute ***** for those 90 minutes, no smiling or joking with Aguero and Sterling, no giving the ball back to them for a corner or throw on, no chit-chatting with the opposition when there's an injury or substitution, a few solid tackles in midfield early on, a load of time wasting to frustrate them as much as possible etc.

 

I think if we do win it will go down as the greatest cup final upset of all time.

 

Never mind cup final, it will be the greatest upset of all time in any sport.

 

I think it will be the best thing that has ever happened in history.

 

Arguably the greatest Cup Final upset of all time came in 1881 when Old Carthusians beat the then highly rated Old Etonians 3-0. Is it coincidence that we were formed in the same year? I don't think so. It's our year! Believe!!