Is our squad stronger or weaker than last year?

What do you think?

  • Total voters
    736
I think we’ll be stronger in the long term with the signings we’ve made but maybe weaker this particular season coming, especially the first period up to the World Cup, because I think having two young inexperienced (at Prem level) forwards will take some time for them to bed in and for them to get used to this level.

Not sure we’ll get a left back neither so that could be an issue.

Longer term though, I think we’ll be flying in 2023-24. We’ll definitely have a left back for then.
 
I think our new players up front may take a bit of time to bed in.
Hence i have the feeling we'll finally win the CL this season but lose out to Liverpool in the league.
 
richards30 said:
a lot weaker with experience to be fair and bench options are considerably weaker imo.
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And Bernardo clearly wants out...doesn't bode well if he stays.. Pep has said 5 years of his voice is probably the max a player can take. Its a very disciplined approach always making sure you are in the correct space in any given situation. I bet bollockings are given even if your 50 yds from play. Could be draining. The exodus is unusual as Pep typically goes first.
 
himalayan_blues said:
Slight weaker 49 out of 100 i think.

Plus side
We freshened the squad
Bought no 9
Replaced ferna
We have got pep - may be like 09 barca who had 18/19 senior player and others are played from academy. May be finally our academy are ready to bring real talents of our level.

Minus side
No lb (till now)
Too many changes 3/4 new faces in a transfer window is a bit too much.
No proper depth like last year
Lost experienced player and bought alvarez and even haaland who are not that epl experienced.
Has to rely on palmer, mcatee and may be academy lb (i m excited though as our academy players will be geting chances)
Need a winger
Liverpool has strengthened as well.
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Academy to first team is such a jump. We have only had Foden do it in decades....thats why Chelsea use theirs as an income stream lian out 20 and sell 10 every 18 months.
 
nellyonthewing said:
Well considering the players we got rid of were in the main not prone to frequent injury only time will tell if the squad is as resilient?.
The fact that we sold a versatile left back/midfielder without having a replacement 'in place' is unbelievable. This blind spot has been going on for years now.
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Fair play to Pep though if a player wants out, he's gone fairly qujckly. As Dyche used to say '' misery always finds a friend'' i think that is Pep's biggest fear..players who don't want to be there
 
I think our best 11 is stronger, but overall squad depth is weaker. On balance, I'd prefer a stronger best 11, but it certainly makes me nervous if injuries build up - especially in a WC year
 
Weaker purely on the basis of only having 2 first team full backs. They can't play every game, we need rotation options.

Big season for Wilson-Esbrand as he will be 4th in the full back rankings at worse.

Midfield and strikers are stronger though.
 
Weaker because we lost at the weekend even though it was a meaningless friendly

Next time we win a game, all of a sudden it will be stronger than last season
 
McAtee going on loan, so 5 midfielders for 3 slots.

6 first team defenders for 4 slots.

We’ll have to see how much he plays Palmer but I don’t think it will be much.

It’s definitely weaker, it’s bizarre.
 
Del_Bosque said:
McAtee going on loan, so 5 midfielders for 3 slots.

6 first team defenders for 4 slots.

We’ll have to see how much he plays Palmer but I don’t think it will be much.

It’s definitely weaker, it’s bizarre.
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Pep and Txiki don’t appear to work on consistently having every hole plugged all the time. While many fans seem to think of things a season at a time, I think they think of the wider picture over a longer term.

Loads of fans moaned that we didn’t get a replacement for Kompany straight away and said that they were justified in their moans because we finished a long-distant second that season after he left without a replacement for him.

But we won the next two league titles (and got consistently further in the CL than ever before) when we did replace him with Dias a year later.

Loads of fans moaned that we didn’t replace Kun straight away, but we still won the league anyway last season and we now have one of the most exciting young players in the world having waited a year to get him.

We might not sign anyone else this window and have a small squad this season meaning that we don’t end up winning the league, but Pep and Txiki’s plan is always to get the right players at the right price and if that sometimes means having a depleted squad in some areas for a time while we wait to get them, they’re prepared to cope with that.

With a smaller squad and the World Cup, it could be a case of us prioritising the CL this season like never before. Targeting that competition with a smaller squad will be easier and the league is going to be daft as fuck this year with the World Cup breaking it up. No team knows how the WC is going to affect the league campaign.
 
letting sterling, zinchenko and jesus go to teams we have tough games against is just wild to me
 
So, in the same year *Fernandinho retired, we let a left back go - when we don’t have one anyway! tbf.
Jesus who will run for fun forever, and Sterling who assisted Gundogan in infamous win - mind bending madness

100% weaker - and now we’ve lost Cucarello? we won’t pay the price, but we’ll pay 100 million for someone we didn’t need and still isn’t clicking - kin madness!

In come the woke police - ohh you can’t say what were all thinking.
 
SJT said:
So, in the same year *Fernandinho retired, we let a left back go - when we don’t have one anyway! tbf.
Jesus who will run for fun forever, and Sterling who assisted Gundogan in infamous win - mind bending madness

100% weaker - and now we’ve lost Cucarello? we won’t pay the price, but we’ll pay 100 million for someone we didn’t need and still isn’t clicking - kin madness!

In come the woke police - ohh you can’t say what were all thinking.
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Woke really means whatever the fuck anyone wants it to mean, doesn't it.
 
In the world of FFP you have to ask / answer the ops question with regard to the financial position. On the face of it weaker. But that misses out the financial side. We have a significant improvement in finance position. Players sold above book valuation and lots of wages gone. That gives us room to grow over the next few years. Contrast with others who may have better squads but will have no capacity to do anything big for years to come.

The club is in rude health.
 
SJT said:
So, in the same year *Fernandinho retired, we let a left back go - when we don’t have one anyway! tbf.
Jesus who will run for fun forever, and Sterling who assisted Gundogan in infamous win - mind bending madness

100% weaker - and now we’ve lost Cucarello? we won’t pay the price, but we’ll pay 100 million for someone we didn’t need and still isn’t clicking - kin madness!

In come the woke police - ohh you can’t say what were all thinking.
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What have the 'woke police' got to do with any of this?
 
Sign a left-back and we'll have a stronger squad than last season.

Fernandinho replaced by Phillips, Jesus replaced by Haaland, Sterling replaced by Alvarez, Zinchenko replaced by Sosa/Grimaldo, Steffen replaced by Ortega (and technically, Torres replaced by Palmer).
 
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