Pep's rebuilding job. Pep's City Mk II

[BlueLook]

We need a left back, two centre halves, another striker, more physical, and an energetic Kante type midfield/holding player.

Out, Ota, Angelino, Mendy, David is retiring.

We should get another season out of Fernandinho and Aguero. Pep loves Gundogan so he will probably stay as well.

Sane it obviously depends on his contract. Big decisions on Stones, Mahrez and Jesus to be made. Stones for me is mentally and physically weak and injury prone but he may stay as fourth choice centre back. I'm not sure Jesus has what it takes to be our main striker and may not want to play second fiddle any longer. Mahrez although at times showing the quality he possesses not consistent enough and often goes missing. If he's happy to be a bench player he may stay.

It's sure going to be an interesting summer!

As talented as they are, Stones, Mahrez and Jesus are visibly not improving under Pep's regime. Them being often on the bench has not helped.

 

[Saddleworth2]

A tale of Yaya, Kompany, David Silva, Fernandinho and Aguero.

Part one concluded in Pep's first season when Clichy, Kolarov, Sagna and the war-horse Zabaleta were replaced. That season was disconcerting. Was Guardiola Fraudiola? Many believed he had been found out but replacements were found in Stones, Walker, Laporte, Mendy, Zinchenko and Delph. Injury struck down Mendy but City prospered. Yaya who had been marking time for some while finally departed, and Kevin de Bruyne blossomed.

Two glorious seasons were to follow, and here we are. Time has marched on. Last season Kompany retired. It didn't feel so bad at the time. Tears were shed but City fans were confident. Laporte and Stones had effectively replaced him. Kompany played at the end of the season to see us home but for much of the season we had coped well without him. Of course, sod's law struck, and Laporte was taken out through injury and City have been left exposed, and all this in what will be David Silva's last season and possibly Fernandinho's too. Aguero is 31. Collectively the final guard of Mancini's great side has reached the end of the line.

We see the problems every time City play a fast high tempo opponent. Chelsea and Man Utd overwhelmed City in midfield in the first half an hour. Rodri has come in. He is a fine footballer but he is slow. He may yet have a huge role in a City side if City can find young legs to compliment him.

I hear people clamouring for Foden to start. I am one, but I wonder why Pep resists? He sees him every day. Perhaps physically he is not quite ready? As it is we really do not know if at Premier League level he can handle a Chelsea or Man Utd.

We knew this was coming. It's always very difficult to transition from one great side to another, and injury to Laporte has made life much more difficult, but Pep did this once before in his first season at City. This time we are further down the line than before. We can see the replacements are close to coming through.

I hope that Laporte's return stabilises City's season and the season ends up back at Wembley as it has so many times before. That would be a fitting stage for another farewell, and a key date in the evolution of this City side.

We can see now that change is required. Clearly, Pep must see it too but deems that the young players are not quite ready to take their place. The preparatory work in developing Foden, and young defenders has been done. Rodri has been bought. It is only now a matter of time, and we mjst hope that Foden develops into the player we all believe he wiil be.

You described the ‘spine’ of the Mancini team. The spine (Yaya excepted) that drove us through our last couple of glory seasons. With them gone, who is the new spine? Only Kev can be pencilled in and he is inconsistent. Probably Eddie, maybe Laporte. We are two or three world class players short - Dave's replacement, Ferns replacement, Kuns replacement. We have ‘filled in’ round our spine since Pep arrived with players that cannot replace our best. We have a couple of largely untested youngsters who might be good enough in time. We have players that are performing way below their very best. Bernie, Kev, Stones, Raheem at present. You call this a transition. I’m not sure it should be termed that as there are just to many gaps in the ‘transition plan’
Pep has already ruled out players in the winter window. So it’s going to have to be one hell of a summer window if we are to transition fully. Pep’s manpower decisions are starting to bite us. It was a mistake to not replace Vinnie, like for like, it was a mistake to rely on a full recovery from Mendy, it was a mistake to think Fern is a better centre back than pivot. It is a mistake to play Dave three times in a week and underuse Phil. The only way we will know if Phil can be Daves replacement is to play him in competitive games. Same with Garcia. Too many mistakes, too often repeating the same tactics and expecting a different outcome.

I love Pep but some hard choices need to be made in the next six months about his and some of the players futures.

 

[dickie davies]

I just don't get why you think Foden will go from a squad player who gets a few mins here and there to replacing a world class player that was David Silva.

If Foden was anything he would be getting plenty of game time this season.

After CB, midfield is the area we are desperate for reinforcements. We need legs , power and passion in the middle of the park.

We're carrying David Silva. He's playing as a second striker and has scored three goals in 15 appearances (3 in 18 in all comps)
He's not offering a goal threat and not creating anything, so we can hardly call current Dave "world class"

I watch Foden when he plays and he offers pace, drive, enthusiasm and a goal threat plus I keep hearing Guardiola in press conferences say that he's never had such a precocious talent as Foden

 

[Banned Tosspot]

We're carrying David Silva. He's playing as a second striker and has scored three goals in 15 appearances (3 in 18 in all comps)
He's not offering a goal threat and not creating anything, so we can hardly call current Dave "world class"

I watch Foden when he plays and he offers pace, drive, enthusiasm and a goal threat plus I keep hearing Guardiola in press conferences say that he's never had such a precocious talent as Foden

David Silva is finished. He's been a wonderful player for us but he's a bench player at best now.

Phil needs starting every game now.

 

[Keeper!]

We're carrying David Silva. He's playing as a second striker and has scored three goals in 15 appearances (3 in 18 in all comps)
He's not offering a goal threat and not creating anything, so we can hardly call current Dave "world class"

I watch Foden when he plays and he offers pace, drive, enthusiasm and a goal threat plus I keep hearing Guardiola in press conferences say that he's never had such a precocious talent as Foden

You have just answered your own question, Pep says Foden is the greatest talent he has worked with, yet he can't get into this team.

Say's everything you need to know.

Totally agree about David Silva, best ever City player in my opinion, but he is now finished and the warning signs were there last season.

We have to replace Silva with a world class play maker if we intend to stay a major player in European Football

 

[nmc]

Just watching the Villa game. Douglas Luiz looks like he’ll make a decent defensive midfielder... pity we couldn’t get a work permit and Villa could.

 

[dickie davies]

You have just answered your own question, Pep says Foden is the greatest talent he has worked with, yet he can't get into this team.

Say's everything you need to know.

Totally agree about David Silva, best ever City player in my opinion, but he is now finished and the warning signs were there last season.

We have to replace Silva with a world class play maker if we intend to stay a major player in European Football

Liverpool don't have anything like world class playmakers in their midfield

 

[bugsyblue]

Football fans are so reactionary. We don't need a new team!

We need a starting CB and a LB. If Sane goes I'd argue we need a winger/inside forward too.

We start the new season with the following:

Ederson
Cancelo New CB Laporte New LB
KDB Rodri Foden/Bernardo
Sterling Aguero Sane

And we'll win the league.

We just need to ensure the CB and LB's we buy are superior to what we have. Oh and are also injury free - fuck me we are team full of crocks.

 

[lazza10]

The injuries we keep having every single season are a worry. Can’t just be “bad luck” not warming up enough/correctly, too intense? Training too much? Just seems odd we have so many injuries to key players every season

 

[TFC]

I actually feel for Pep a little in that the hunger has obviously gone...for the time being anyway. It must be a proper pain in the arse trying to motivate a team that has reached the figurative mountain top.

Where he doesn't help himself for me is the stubborn streak and then post match comments like 'I'm happy with how the team played'. Really? No fucker else is.

Fingers crossed the boys suddenly become interested when the cups start back up again. As far as the rebuild goes, play some fucking youngsters. I'd rather see us get beat while giving everything and blooding the likes of Foden and Garcia than whatever the fuck that was yesterday.