When Ferna came to City he was a box to box midfielder, when Pep first arrived he had stinkers and got sent off twice in his first season. There's a reason Yaya found a place in the team again. Wasn't until next year. So yeah, he wasn't some world class defensive midfielder till 2017 season under Pep, let's not act like he was.
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It's Quiet thread 14 - 'do one' edition
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FantasyIreland
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And far more enjoyable when they emanate from a glass half full perspective.Alternatively.
Dias is EXACTLY what this team was missing last season, a no nonsense top drawer defender who is also a leader and an organiser. HUGE upgrade on last season. Ake is EXACTLY what this team was missing last season. A dependable consistent left footed defender to deputise for Laporte and also can be a defensive left sided full back. Torres is EXACTLY what this team was missing last season. A RAPID winger with bags of intelligence and technical ability and the capacity to play both the inside channels and the flanks.
Opinions are easy and fun.
Exactly. Imagine if we'd bought Jorginho how that could've (not) worked out. Haha.
Anyway, I want to give Rodri a chance to do better with a stable defence behind him and a functioning attack in front of him.
I think he's nowhere near as slow as people think, he has a habit of getting caught upfield from pressing too high and then people misread being miles behind play for being slow.
That happens when the press in front of him fails, and someone is given time and space to pick out a ball over the top of midfield.
IMO we can fix that in 4 ways. 1) Stop Rodri pressing so high. 2) Have faster CB's who can deal with those balls in behind them (done), 3) Fix the press from the front 5 (completely possible with this squad) or 4) Put someone like Fernandinho next to him so one stays back.
Despite some posters on here acting as if you can't win anything unless you've got the Jamaican 4x100m relay team in midfield, having a 6 who's not the fastest is not an insurmountable problem. Pep knows that better than anyone!
BillyShears
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Billy, 1-2 days ago you said the club decided to pursue a leftback, and now we’re done? Do you know what happend?
Honestly, not really. The sense two days ago was that they would sign a LB regardless. They absolutely had a financial conversation about it and also sent an offer out.
That quickly became "Pep doesn't want another player in that position if Zinchenko doesn't go" even though the initial feeling was that the decision had been made to just bring a LB in.
And now, post the press conference - well, it's been mooted that Garcia going for the fee City want would allow them to bring in a LB. Which suggests it has nothing to do with Pep and everything to do with money.
Who the fuck knows at this point, but thankfully this window will be closed on Monday and we can get back to focussing on the football.
Depends how sought after, he was 28 playing in Ukraine, list wasn't long, and our transfer policy for targeting players was way different to what it is under Pep now. He learned, and became better.Nonsense.
Dinho was one of the most sought after midfielders on the planet while playing in the Ukraine,he was superb in European competition,the problem was prying him away from his contract with Shakhtar.
He arrived here as a complete midfielder but quickly found his calling in a more defensive role,the legend has been bossing it ever since.
Mid table french sides have produced a lot of top quality individuals who start for big clubs nowadays.Ait-Nouri is a 19 year old with less than 20 starts in a mid table French side, no he wouldn't.
My guess would be we were interested if a deal could be done within our budget and players leaving. It isn’t a position we are desperate to reinforce (though others think differently as is there right) and I think we probably found out quite quickly that the players we were sniffing around couldn’t be done for one reason or another.Billy, 1-2 days ago you said the club decided to pursue a leftback, and now we’re done? Do you know what happend?
That’s good to know as we’ve already signed him haven’t we?Mid table french sides have produced a lot of top quality individuals who start for big clubs nowadays.
Unless Ezzy was fibbing, god forbid..
Not to mention Fred before that. Maybe we just need to accept that it won't be a Fernandinho type of player in our midfield again and that Pep is trying to change something for what it's worth, whether that works out this season again is another question.And before that we wanted Jorginho, again, the opposite type of defensive midfielder to Fernandinho.
In between we wanted Frenkie De Jong, another in the same category.
samarasra
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A bit harsh ? All people want is a player with the speed of Usain Bolt, the stamina of Eliud Kipchoge, the jumping power of Javier Sotomayor, the height and heading power of either Ronaldo, the skills and football brain of Messi and the poaching power of Jimmy Greaves all packed into one player. There must be loads of them out there, ask any agent or maybe we should do a little scouting ourselves. Fantasy football aspirations have replaced reality in a lot of minds.You should try watching athletics rather than football if you think that's true.
That's the main issue there, I think unless Rodri becomes the sort of disruptor that Ferna was, and starts contributing more to attack, he will have a lot of criticism on him. He can become the latter, but probably not as good a disruptive bastard as Ferna.Jorginho and Rodri are the ideal Pep midfielder for that position. He likes a CDM that can pass through the lines, also start an attack
I would say the openness of criticism for our tactical fouling season before has contributed a lot. We don't seem to make those tackles, instead we allow the opposition to often play their way into our half before trying to dispossess. Maybe Pep's not wanted that label on our side.
I would like Douglas Luiz bought back next window, especially if he has another good season.People talk about the 6 position as if pep doesn't have options. He has nailed his colours to the Rodri mast. Txiki could go and buy Ndidi, Kante, Douglas Luiz, and Thomas Partey and Pep would still play Gundo and Rodri.
FantasyIreland
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He'd been playing in the Ukraine 8 years,and had built a wonderful reputation,when we managed to lure him(he even had to contribute to escape....).Make no mistake,we signed an incredibly sought after world class midfielder and,yes,he has improved since.Depends how sought after, he was 28 playing in Ukraine, list wasn't long, and our transfer policy for targeting players was way different to what it is under Pep now. He learned, and became better.
We’ve still spent the best part of £130m.
People are being a bit too negative on here.
(1) Ake + Dias in, Garcia + Otamendi out is a big upgrade on the defence
(2) Torres in, injured Sane out is a big upgrade if Torres actually contributes
Some of the same weaknesses still exist, but they weren’t as glaring as these.
You can only move in the transfer market if it makes sense to do so.
United are now proving exactly why you can’t keep buying dross. They can’t shift anyone and as a result they can’t sign anyone.
Not buying someone is better than buying the wrong player.
After the Dias transfer i’m positive about this season and winning more titles.
Good post. Think we’ll be much better this season.
Cancelo finally started to show his best form post lockdown.
Then we can hope the real Bernardo will be back. Jesus has improved last season. Foden is getting better and better. Doyle, Palmer, and Delap are beginning to emerge as the next prospects to make the step up.
The biggest positive is probably the back 4, last season we had Fernandinho, Stones and Otamendi starting most of the games at CB given Laporte’s injury.
Now I expect Laporte/Ake/Dias to start the majority of games. A significant improvement.
FantasyIreland
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He looks ideal,and this season should see him improve further.He'll be worth every penny of that extra 10 m the second season demands.I would like Douglas Luiz bought back next window, especially if he has another good season.
BillyShears
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He looks ideal,and this season should see him improve further.He'll be worth every penny of that extra 10 m the second season demands.
Can't Doyle become the new Ferna or am I dreaming ?
Experienced does not equal world class. You and I amongst many have had the privilege to watch him represent us these past seasons, but I think it's a bit too casual to say he was world class coming from Ukraine. Each to his own though, I just think the world class tag is limited to only certain players in football right now.He'd been playing in the Ukraine 8 years,and had built a wonderful reputation,when we managed to lure him(he even had to contribute to escape....).Make no mistake,we signed an incredibly sought after world class midfielder and,yes,he has improved since.
FantasyIreland
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Yes,i'm a big fan.He has everything in the locker except experience....that's my worry,will he get that here?Can't Doyle become the new Ferna or am I dreaming ?
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