In our latest compendium of what we loved online this week, our former midfielder and a pair of the classiest football boots you’ll ever see feature.
Club Journalist Mark Booth rounds up the best of the web from the week that was…
Watch
The Sunday Supplement – Sky Sports
The Sunday Supplement panel described Pep’s impact at City as “frightening” (on several occasions) on the morning after our 4-0 win over Bournemouth.
There are some pretty spinetingling quotes in there which you might want to yum up, including this from the Daily Telegraph’s Matt Law.
Law said: “To have this impact so early in his reign is frightening for the rest. Watching that first half against United last week, it’s the best I’ve seen a team play in the Premier League.
“That could blow everybody away with the way they’re going. It’s still ridiculously early and a lot can happen, but it’s frightening.”
Frightening!
Gareth Barry
City supporters know only too well how much of an unsung of a hero this man is for the teams he plays for.
Barry joined an elite band of players with 600 Premier League appearances under their belts in Everton’s 3-1 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday and marked the occasion with a rare goal!
Everton supporters rose to their feet to give Barry a standing ovation when he was withdrawn with two minutes to go and, I daresay, a fair few City fans watching will have joined in the applause from their sofas at home.
Surely not just me anyway…
Boots
Nike Tiempo Pirlo
These new boots released by Nike are very handsome, indeed.
NYCFC midfielder Andrea Pirlo owns a winery in his hometown of Flero and Nike have used this fact to inspire their Tiempo Pirlo boots which take on a distinctive merlot pallor.
Whether they age like a fine vintage (or indeed like the Italian midfielder himself) remains to be seen, but to say they are pleasing on the eye is an understatement…
Diagram
@11tegen11 is well worth a follow on Twitter for more cerebral supporters seeking an appreciation of gameplans for teams the world over.
Their passing diagrams paint a clear picture of the regular rotations of possession and their one from yesterday’s win over Bournemouth certainly demonstrates the important role played by KDB in the game.
Aww
Heartwarming scenes in the Netherlands where visitors from Sophia Children’s Hospital were showered with soft toys from the away fans, Feyenoord.
Football gets a bad rep sometimes (often unfairly) so this kind of caper needs to be celebrated…
Hang on, think there’s something in my eye... no, no! It’s just dust... that’s all it is...
Ouch
This tweet may have slightly backfired…
Awks.
Gundogoal
This one didn’t…
Read
Bravo is worth the risk in Guardiola’s goal to be ultimate team leader – The Times
A terrific read from the author of Bounce, Matthew Syed, which outlines the goalkeeper role as Pep Guardiola sees it.
Written in the aftermath of City’s derby win over United where Claudio Bravo was criticised for an error leading to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal, the article asks the question of why Pep expects his goalkeepers to take “extravagant risks”.
It’s behind a paywall but for Times subscribers, it’s well worth seeking out.
Skills
Naughty from Nikita Parris, this…
That’s all for this week – remember to tweet in your suggestions for next week’s round-up to @markbooth_mcfc!
