It's Quiet thread 14 - 'do one' edition

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BillyShears said:
With respect to the Mendy conversation, I think that it's very easy to sit on the outside and say "well I don't rate him and I think he's shit so we need a replacement surely". But to the people who work with Mendy everyday they still want to give him a chance. So it's not as black and white as you're making out. The 'issue' if you can call it that, is that currently there's no one to rotate Mendy with and when he's not fit we don't have a natural left back who can step in. We could do with that as an option, but I'm fairly convinced that we'll see Ake there whenever Mendy isn't fit.

I see people keep listing positions we should be buying in, but nobody is taking into account how squad numbers, and that the players who people want to discard are proven internationals on massive wages. It doesn't work like that. Clubs rarely just keep adding players without any regard for what they already have. City made it crystal clear at the start of the window there would be no midfielders brought in. They have KDB, Rodri, Ferna, Foden, Bernardo, Gundo. Six players for three positions and they're happy with those options regardless of how sexy that lad at Lyon looks right now.
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I haven't written this up yet because for some reason he seems to have been made chiefly responsible for a 5-2 loss where 4 goals were nothing to do with him, but I thought for the first time since he came back from his last injury, Mendy was starting to hit early passes and cross first time again vs. Leicester, culminating in the great cross for Delap.

I also dug out this old video from 2018 when Mendy was recovered from injury and looking at his best, and we were all optimistic, and I don't think he looks physically any different. People always complain about him being awkward and leggy and clumsy, but he always was, and was still bloody effective despite that -




I think he's lacking fitness right now at the beginning of the season, but genuinely I still think that in a month he could be playing pretty well again. I want to see him play more with Delap, and he needs Jesus and Aguero back, because his main strength was deliveries into the box, and he's got no one to put them into right now.

I've got a lot more hope for Mendy fulfilling his potential than Stones.
 
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kupest said:
Perfectly worded. Saw someone post that Aouar has the passing ability of Silva with the pressing of a madman. If that was the case he would have been worth 100 million plus.
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That was me, and in another year he would be. Lyon need money, and the owner promised him he could leave for a sensible price because stuck around for last season when he was expected to leave.
 
BillyShears said:
Out of curiosity, if Ake plays there for example and against Leeds and plays well, will you then change your opinion?

On a more general note, anyone who watched the Leicester game should be painfully aware that our problems can't be solved in the transfer market. We have plenty of quality players. They have to be play better, be better organised, and be better coached.
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Never thought would hear that last sentence whilst Pep at the helm, but you’re dead right, we looked completely unprepared on sunday
 
domalino said:
I haven't written this up yet because for some reason he seems to have been made chiefly responsible for a 5-2 loss where 4 goals were nothing to do with him, but I thought for the first time since he came back from his last injury, Mendy was starting to hit early passes and cross first time again vs. Leicester.
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Especially after Delap came on. He got close with a couple too haha.

I've got loads of goodwill for Mendy, and I know the club do generally and Pep does personally. Apparently Pep's lad and Mendy are very friendly and he can often be found at their place for dinner. He's a handful but he's also a very good guy and when he came to City he came despite offers from all over.
 
Foden anyone? If a new cm is bought what happens to foden taking his chance? He has been waiting for Dave to move on and now that has happened we want to put another player in his way.

The team is going to have to evolve from Silva. We have lost a player who keeps the ball very well in tight space and replacing him with a more direct player. The team is evolving?

Last season we were crying out for foden as Dave’s leg were gone and his ability to dictate games dwindling.

Evolution not revolution is needed.
 
BillyShears said:
Our problem at left back IMO has been that we don't have a natural defender there. Zin, Delph, and Mendy to different degrees were attacking full backs positionally unaware and defensively suspect. Ake will just fucking defend well, which is all I want right now. The attackers should be creating more, not Mendy/Walker.
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And to add to that Mendy offers very little going forward recently and its not like we will be missing his attacking prowess. We need to make ourselves solid and harder to score against. I doubt anyone felt once we went one up on Sunday or even two up against Wolves that the games were comfortable. We are weak at the back and we need to pick players who can defend. A back 4 of Walker, Dias, Laporte and Ake will hopefully give us that.
 
MeatHunterrr said:
I wonder why that is? Zinchenko can't be on high wage and we have already 1 foreign spot free even if we don't sell anyone.
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Fuck Zinchenko. If they were serious about a LB he wouldn't even be considered. He's not on massive wages and he has offers. If he chooses not to take them he can sit in the stands. If City are saying that they won't buy until they move him on, then they aren't serious about buying a LB this window. IMO of course.
 
BillyShears said:
Pep has the most work to do of anyone associated with City right now. Far too much of what is wrong is about him rather than about the players.
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Needs a shake and a good pep talk from the owners to go again. Cas case took a lot out of him. He is too good a person and coach to stay down for long. We need to back this man just as he did for us against the corruption of Uefa.
 
BillyShears said:
Our problem at left back IMO has been that we don't have a natural defender there. Zin, Delph, and Mendy to different degrees were attacking full backs positionally unaware and defensively suspect. Ake will just fucking defend well, which is all I want right now. The attackers should be creating more, not Mendy/Walker.
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Unfortunately now most teams have wing backs more than actual full backs,although I agree with what you say,let's try and keep the fucker away and get the attackers put it in the oppositions goals,but City's last few years LB and RB have all liked and no doubt been coached to bomb forward on lots of occasions.
 
BillyShears said:
Our problem at left back IMO has been that we don't have a natural defender there. Zin, Delph, and Mendy to different degrees were attacking full backs positionally unaware and defensively suspect. Ake will just fucking defend well, which is all I want right now. The attackers should be creating more, not Mendy/Walker.
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Nail on head.
 
BillyShears said:
Fuck Zinchenko. If they were serious about a LB he wouldn't even be considered. He's not on massive wages and he has offers. If he chooses not to take them he can sit in the stands. If City are saying that they won't buy until they move him on, then they aren't serious about buying a LB this window. IMO of course.
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I think the problem is that they know Zinchenko is a good player, just not necessarily the right one for us.

A loan seems like the most obvious solution for everyone. He gets to play in midfield in the build up to Euro 2021, we get to sell him next summer for a lot more than we would this week.
 
BillyShears said:
Fuck Zinchenko. If they were serious about a LB he wouldn't even be considered. He's not on massive wages and he has offers. If he chooses not to take them he can sit in the stands. If City are saying that they won't buy until they move him on, then they aren't serious about buying a LB this window. IMO of course.
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Pity he hasn’t got a good number 2 to question him seriously like Arteta who we have missed.
 
BillyShears said:
Pep has the most work to do of anyone associated with City right now. Far too much of what is wrong is about him rather than about the players.
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This I agree with - other coaches have found a way with him. He needs to adjust his style - maybe more powerful players. Depends how much pep has the willingness to adapt. Also not sure about the new number 2
 
domalino said:
I think the problem is that they know Zinchenko is a good player, just not necessarily the right one for us.

A loan seems like the most obvious solution for everyone. He gets to play in midfield in the build up to Euro 2021, we get to sell him next summer for a lot more than we would this week.
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For sure. And they know he's a good player. But City are TOO NICE and TOO LOYAL. We had fat offers for him a couple of years ago and rather than telling him "thanks for the service off you go" they took the POV that he'd done so well in his handful of PL appearance that they'd let him stay. A nonsense decision when really they needed to buy another left back, but one born out of loyalty.
 
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