It’s Quiet 20 - What is the Wirtz that could happen?

[ninjamonkey]

Was it wise to buy Khusanov and Reis given their age? They are very young and Pep is reluctant to play them.

Bloody hell. They've been here less than 2 weeks. in that time, we've played a top 4 rival in Chelsea which khusanov played in and 2nd in the league away from home.

You saw how Khusanov shat the bed early on in that chelsea game, you saw how much of a catastrophe we were at Arsenal and how vulnerable defenders are in this side, you think we should have put either of them into that environment?

We probably dont want to end the careers of the young kids we've just signed for the next 5 years for big money within a fortnight. we should be extremely thankful he didn't throw either of them in during that game.

 

[Damanino]

its bit of a riddle but if this window had closing date 31st of January would we have a new midfielder by now?

 

[ScottSinclair]

Big day tomorrow, huge effect on if we are a CL or Conference League side next year

 

[Dribble]

Can anyone honestly try and explain why we signed Philips and Nunes?

Over £100mill wasted.

Philips - I didn't see what was coming & there was nothing previous to suggest he'd be an unmitigated disaster for us.

Nunes - I wasn't impressed with him at Sporting nor Wolves, so this is the transfer that perplexes me even now. Fans saying "He can do a job in position A B or C" are missing the point. We bought him as a starting Central 6/8 midfielder to replace Philips after the Paqueta transfer collapsed, NOT because "He can do a job".

With such a small elite, but ageing squad, it doesn't take many transfer mistakes to significantly lower the quality of our squad's gene pool. We can't afford to be carrying passengers, & I'm happy to erase this season from my memory banks as long as Pep, Txiki & Viana are ruthless with our squad rebuild in the summer.

We've allowed the luxury of a squad evolution to pass us by. Now we need a revolution, plus time for the new recruits to bed in. This fuck up is totally on Manchester City. We have everything in place to avoid situations like this, so questions must be asked how & why we've allowed this to happen to us.

I still have a nagging feeling that Berrada leaving, the uncertainty over Pep extending & Txiki announcing his retirement in the summer led us to taking our eye off the ball.

 

[better dead than red]

We are yes. But I wouldn’t say we will finish 11th.. I still have faith in 4th until I am proven wrong that’s what I believe. Beside Liverpool no one is playing consistently and dominating. Especially the teams below us. So we have every chance

Maybe not, but many of them are certainly doing well enough against us.

14-1- draw with Brentford.
26-12- draw with Everton
21-23- loss to Aston Villa
15-12- loss to the rags
7-12- draw with Crystal Palace
23-11- loss to Spurs
9-11- loss to Brighton
2-11- loss to Bournemouth
28-9- draw with Newcastle

 

[Dribble]

No explantion needed unless you can name a team that never got any transfer wrong. Besides Nunes will be a decent squad player.

I doubt we spent £53m on 25 year old Matheus Nunes to fill in as a squad player. Players fitting the squad player description are usually young & learning their trade, or quality players coming to the end of their careers who come on as substitutes to see games out & who play in the early rounds of the Carabao & FA Cup.

Also, once we replace the players we need gone, what do we do with Nunes then? Nah, it's best for all if he clears off in the summer too.

 

[jackwbrain]

In a way, today's result was better for us long-term. I think we all knew we were going to lose; making it a hammering hopefully kicks Txiki into gear tomorrow to get deals done.

This squad doesn't finish top 5. Pep can keep asking for his players back from injury all he wants but it can't negate so many of those players having dreadful seasons too.

I know Rico has struggled at times this season but all faith seems to have been lost in him at RB - to the point where we've got a midfielder that can't be trusted in midfield playing there. Grealish can't get a minute. De Bruyne can't play two matches a week. Gundo isn't the Gundo we thought we were bringing back. He clearly doesn't trust McAtee - he only plays when we're comfortably winning or Pep knows we're going to lose. Akanji's in the worst form of his City career. Even Ortega - renowned for his shot stopping - can't seem to stop anything.

Gonzalez & Cambiaso required tomorrow. Even if it's not them. Two bodies. DM and RB. If finances are a problem then any of Nunes, Grealish, McAtee, O'Reilly can bring cash in. Rip the plaster off on the rebuild. I'd rather be bold and start it early and miss out on CL because of transition than whimper to 6th/7th like we will as it stands.

 

[eyalluvitt]

Is Txiki willing to sink the ship before he leaves ?

A Titanic struggle ahead

 

[come-on-barney]

Let’s be honest, we have bought in two defenders who are not yet ready to play regularly. Marmoush time will tell. January is difficult as we all know, but are we bringing in players at the required level. Bringing in unproven players, yet not trusting in our own unproven young players is baffling. Why is it we seem to be one of the few top sides that won’t give young players a chance, especially this season given the performances of established players. All seems a bit of a panic and far from planned. Buy in haste…

 

[Paul1970]

Said it in another thread we need a Rodrigo De Paul type player, not him as he's too old now but a younger version. Just a real horrible bastard who does all the graft and let's the players play. Sick of seeing our players lose 50 50s, pull out of tackles, lose headers or get knocked about. Need some nastiness about us.

Never get a player like that with pep as he likes ball players and not destroyers . I’ve always said we need an enforcer in midfield and we also need a Tony Adams like defender who can go to war when needed .

 

[citytill1die84]

Signed anybody yet? :-)

 

[Calv_from_the_frog]

Don't wanna sound spoilt, but even though I've been going since the mid/late 80's the last 15 years of attention to the team (with the exception of the Rodwell / Javi Garcia season, has got me used to a certain standard.

If the executives don't do anything today to improve that shower of rubbish, I - personally - am checking out for the rest of the season.

There is so much wrong with our first XI, that to have attempted to halt the slide with two very young defenders & Marmoush is like trying to put a plaster on an amputated leg.

Defenders who have no idea what's around them, and who - along with their midfielder can control or pass a ball (or cross, dont get me started on our lack of crosses from the full-back areas).

Midfielders who have zero strength, and refuse to shoot or cross.

And Haaland, who seems to be being told to stay where he is to wait for balls which never come.

And still - at this moment in time - going into the 2nd half of the season with Kovacic / Gundogan & Nunes being the best that we can muster at DM & RB particularly (not that other areas don't need massive improvememt also).

As you may be able to tell, I'm a tad ticked off that it has got this far.

 

[KDBPLGOAT]

Never get a player like that with pep as he likes ball players and not destroyers . I’ve always said we need an enforcer in midfield and we also need a Tony Adams like defender who can go to war when needed .

tbh Rodri is like that, Gundogan, Walker, Dias, Ederson, Bernardo, KDB, Haaland, Grealish are all mouthy af too. (ALOT of those players will be gone in the summer btw) Basically you won’t see them get scared if another player from another team gave it to them, or leaves a late one on them. They’ll give it back. I think Marmoush might be abit like that too which is good to see.
The issue we have is the newer players like Akanji, Gvardiol, Doku, Kovacic, Rico, Nunez, Savio, Ake, they’re pushovers.
Foden (I know he’s been here for long) is the biggest culprit, he gives off this energy that I’ll let you do anything to me or my teammates and I’ll stand there and watch. He’s supposed to be the next talisman of Pep’s next great side. You can’t be the star of a great team and have little to no edge about you. Other big teams sense weakness. Listen, this season is a write off imo, we aren’t gonna win the League or UCL, I would love to see Phil get a couple of reds, in the next 10-20 games. Honestly, I don’t even think Pep will care. Character building.
Teams have been very aggressive towards our players this season, and this new group of soft era players are a big reason why, we need to stop this and have a bit about us going forward.

 

[Paul1970]

I’m not even joking, next season, to get 90+ points and compete seriously in the UCL we need:
A goalkeeper, RB, CB (khusanov is not good enough to start let’s be real) DM, CAM, RW and a back up striker.


Cambiasso

tbh Rodri is like that, Gundogan, Walker, Dias, Ederson, Bernardo, KDB, Haaland, Grealish are all mouthy af too. (ALOT of those players will be gone in the summer btw) Basically you won’t see them get scared if another player from another team gave it to them, or leaves a late one on them. They’ll give it back. I think Marmoush might be abit like that too which is good to see.
The issue we have is the new post 2022 signings, Akanji, Gvardiol, Doku, Kovacic, Nunez, Savio, Ake, they’re pushovers.
Foden (not a signing I know) is the biggest culprit, he gives off this energy that I’ll let you do anything to me or my teammates and I’ll stand there and watch. He’s supposed to be the next talisman of Pep’s next great side. You can’t be the star of a great team and have little to no edge about you. Other big teams sense weakness. Listen, this season is a write off imo, we aren’t gonna win the League or UCL, I would love to see Phil get a couple of reds, in the next 10-20 games. Honestly, I don’t even think Pep will care. Character building.

I agree 100 percent mate

 

[jollylescott]

Let’s be honest, we have bought in two defenders who are not yet ready to play regularly. Marmoush time will tell. January is difficult as we all know, but are we are bringing in players at the required level. Bringing in unproven players, yet not trusting in our own unproven young players is baffling. Why is it we seem to be one of the few top sides that won’t give young players a chance, especially this season given the performances of established players. All seems a bit of a panic and far from planned. Buy in haste…

To be honest I would have preferred an experienced centre back who could step in immediately, rather than buying the two kids.

Given the difficult run of fixtures, it's hard to envisage either of them starting in any of the upcoming big games.

As others have said ad nauseam, the key area has always been midfield. By my calculations there are just under 12 hours before closing time. Come on Txiki get something done!!

 

[paulchapo]

Yesterday starkly highlighted that we have to pay whatever it takes to get a DM bought and if possible a right back if we are to have any chance of winning the fa cup or champions league. Without them or a miracle recovery from Rodri we're fucked.

 

[paulchapo]

To be honest I would have preferred an experienced centre back who could step in immediately, rather than buying the two kids.

Given the difficult run of fixtures, it's hard to envisage either of them starting in any of the upcoming big games.

As others have said ad nauseam, the key area has always been midfield. By my calculations there are just under 12 hours before closing time. Come on Txiki get something done!!

I've been saying the same about a central defender for ages. We need an old experienced head out there, a talker, an organiser with some bollocks, our present day Andy Morrison. We've bought for the future we just need a decent stop gap to see this season through.

 

[decmancity]

Never get a player like that with pep as he likes ball players and not destroyers . I’ve always said we need an enforcer in midfield and we also need a Tony Adams like defender who can go to war when needed .

Have you been saying this whilst we wiped the floor with every team in the country and Europe for the past several years or just the last several weeks when we have been off the boil?

Can tell we are playing shit when posters are now declaring the players don't kick people enough and show some pashun and bollocks on the field.

Maybe Collymore was right all along and Pep should go and we bring in Allardyce and Warnock till the end of the season.

Let's bring in Lee Cattermole and see if Joey Barton can give us 3mths to get us a European spot.

 

[Fordyboy46]

Yesterday starkly highlighted that we have to pay whatever it takes to get a DM bought and if possible a right back if we are to have any chance of winning the fa cup or champions league. Without them or a miracle recovery from Rodri we're fucked.

Looks like we've planned for the future in this window and not for now when we desperately need it. Again shit planning but there's still 17 hours, lol

 

[Pubteam Lomas]

What's that saying?

A mistake that keeps being repeated is not a mistake.
It's a choice!