It's Quiet 18 - Wanna ring the bell?

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FMwkdsoul said:
Maybe think Everton just cant find the cash for a loan. He's a bit ropey defensively but wouldnt complain if he stayed.
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The way kyle likes to repopulate the world think he might be interested in one last pay day kids ain't cheap .Would give Rico a spot in the team and still have cover.Think it's a bit weird kabore didn't go on the tour but now pep's going on about how well he's doing in training
 
Shazza458 said:
Even if it feels unlikely, I’m not writing off city signing someone.
Just never know and we haven’t had the “City will do no more business” line from the journos yet
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i think today is the day we will start to hear things and if not, then we are done in the window.

practically everything hinges on Nunes
 
we probably win the net spend trophy this season as cannot see another club coming close maybe Palace if they sell Guehi for a record fee and dont spend shit of that fee...

wonder how media will spin it into that others still unable to compete with City spending. at what point will media say that with the Arteta spending, Ten Hag spending year on year they need to deliver a big trophy? because if we don not win the league that will be a huge underperformance for media, but if Arse finishes 4th or rags 6th there wont be much media reaction despite their spending...
 
Thing is, Pep hardly uses a massive squad. He sticks to what he knows/likes and has always preferred a smaller squad for harmony given he rarely actually makes dramatic changes.

On Saturday, 4-1 up at home to Ipswich and it did feel a bit of a surprise to see Nunes come on. Why would we go out of our way to sign another player just to use them the same way? Pep has his core players and then 2 or 3 which rotate with minutes in cup games/dead rubbers/at the end of matches to build their understanding of the game.

As long as we have that, we'll be fine. A major benefit to Pep is that a lot of our players can play numerous positions;

Ortega - GK
Ederson - GK (/CM?) ;)

Walker - RB, CB
Lewis - RB, CM
Akanji - CB, RB
Ake - CB, LB
Dias - CB
Stones - CB, RB, CM
Gvardiol - LB, CB

Kovacic - 6, 8
Rodri - 6, 8
Bernie - 6, 8, RW
Gundo - 6, 8, attacking midfield, false 9
Kev - 8, false 9, attacking midfield
Foden - 8, RW, LW, false 9
Grealish - 8(?), LW, RW, false 9(?), attacking midfield
Doku - LW, RW
Savinho - RW, LW
McAtee - LW(?), RW(?), attacking midfield, 8
Bobb - LW, RW, attacking midfield

Haaland - ST

If there are injuries to players, there's always a few who can step into that position and make it their own in the others absence. We've seen it with Savinho already, I can guarantee Bobb was due to start the season at RW until his injury. Foden last season made Kev's position his when the latter got injured. As far back as 2020/21 when Gundo made the false 9 his when Aguero was out.

Akanji's immense performances at RB during 22/23 in the Champions League when Walker was out/not preferred. Likewise Stones. Gundo's performances in 18/19 when Fernandinho was out. Kovacic away at Chelsea this season with Rodri out. Grealish struggled with form last season, Doku comes in and cements the LW position.

It might not look like there's much depth across the squad on paper but when you factor in versatility, it's actually quite stacked. It's a testament to Pep's coaching ability, Txiki's ability to find the right player and the players themselves for being so good.
 
skillman said:
Thing is, Pep hardly uses a massive squad. He sticks to what he knows/likes and has always preferred a smaller squad for harmony given he rarely actually makes dramatic changes.

On Saturday, 4-1 up at home to Ipswich and it did feel a bit of a surprise to see Nunes come on. Why would we go out of our way to sign another player just to use them the same way? Pep has his core players and then 2 or 3 which rotate with minutes in cup games/dead rubbers/at the end of matches to build their understanding of the game.

As long as we have that, we'll be fine. A major benefit to Pep is that a lot of our players can play numerous positions;

Ortega - GK
Ederson - GK (/CM?) ;)

Walker - RB, CB
Lewis - RB, CM
Akanji - CB, RB
Ake - CB, LB
Dias - CB
Stones - CB, RB, CM
Gvardiol - LB, CB

Kovacic - 6, 8
Rodri - 6, 8
Bernie - 6, 8, RW
Gundo - 6, 8, attacking midfield, false 9
Kev - 8, false 9, attacking midfield
Foden - 8, RW, LW, false 9
Grealish - 8(?), LW, RW, false 9(?), attacking midfield
Doku - LW, RW
Savinho - RW, LW
McAtee - LW(?), RW(?), attacking midfield, 8
Bobb - LW, RW, attacking midfield

Haaland - ST

If there are injuries to players, there's always a few who can step into that position and make it their own in the others absence. We've seen it with Savinho already, I can guarantee Bobb was due to start the season at RW until his injury. Foden last season made Kev's position his when the latter got injured. As far back as 2020/21 when Gundo made the false 9 his when Aguero was out.

Akanji's immense performances at RB during 22/23 in the Champions League when Walker was out/not preferred. Likewise Stones. Gundo's performances in 18/19 when Fernandinho was out. Kovacic away at Chelsea this season with Rodri out. Grealish struggled with form last season, Doku comes in and cements the LW position.

It might not look like there's much depth across the squad on paper but when you factor in versatility, it's actually quite stacked. It's a testament to Pep's coaching ability, Txiki's ability to find the right player and the players themselves for being so good.
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Could easy lose an 8 for a ST in that lot for me then.
 
skillman said:
It's arguably the most important position in Pep's system so no real surprise the squad is stacked in that area. Plus the fact it's 2 positions per match, not just 1.
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yeah lots of cover on that list even without Nunes on it
 
Damanino said:
we probably win the net spend trophy this season as cannot see another club coming close maybe Palace if they sell Guehi for a record fee and dont spend shit of that fee...

wonder how media will spin it into that others still unable to compete with City spending. at what point will media say that with the Arteta spending, Ten Hag spending year on year they need to deliver a big trophy? because if we don not win the league that will be a huge underperformance for media, but if Arse finishes 4th or rags 6th there wont be much media reaction despite their spending...
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The narrative is already set by the red shirt media.

Regardless of how much others spend, and how little we've spent, we have cheated. So it's not fair. Others are HAVING to spend to keep up with our cheating.
 
Damanino said:
we probably win the net spend trophy this season as cannot see another club coming close maybe Palace if they sell Guehi for a record fee and dont spend shit of that fee...

wonder how media will spin it into that others still unable to compete with City spending. at what point will media say that with the Arteta spending, Ten Hag spending year on year they need to deliver a big trophy? because if we don not win the league that will be a huge underperformance for media, but if Arse finishes 4th or rags 6th there wont be much media reaction despite their spending...
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The pressure should really be cranking up on the likes of rags, Arsenal, Chelsea to win the league with their continued huge spending, but as we know it won't. They will still be regarded as works in progress by the media and their twattish fanbases
 
Fordyboy46 said:
The pressure should really be cranking up on the likes of rags, Arsenal, Chelsea to win the league with their continued huge spending, but as we know it won't. They will still be regarded as works in progress by the media and their twattish fanbases
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? Reading the BBC I thought Arsenal already had one hand on the Christmas PL again ?
 
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