The Squad planning thread

Legal Alien said:
This is our potential squad for next season - 25/26.

We already have these players, except we would need a new GK and RB. Those two would be top priority signings.

I would sell: Ederson, Walker, Akanji, KDB, Grealish, Nunes, Phillips.

I think most would agree that Stones and Ake are top players and, when fit, can still do a job for us, so i would keep them along with Bernardo and Kovacic.

I would also keep Gundogan on a reduced role and hope he could become a coach with us.

I would luv Wirtz, but looking at the players we already have in the midfield/forward positions, i'm not sure we will spend the money for him, unless someone else leaves.

Keeper:
GK *
Ortega
Brits

Defence:
RB *
Dias
Ake
Gvardiol
Stones
Khusanov
Reis
Doyle
Alleyne
Galvez

Midfield:
Rodri
Gonzalez
Foden
Bernardo
Kovacic
Lewis
O'Reilly
Perrone
McAtee
Gundogan

Forwards:
Haaland
Marmoush
Bobb
Doku
Savinho
Echeverri
Mubama

That's a squad of 30 players.

My first 11 from that would be:

GK* (Ortega, Britts)

RB* (Stones, Alleyne)
Dias (Capt) (Khusanov)
Ake (Reis)
Gvardiol (Doyle, Galvez)

Rodri (Kovacic, Lewis, Gundogan)
Gonzalez (Bernardo, O'Reilly, Perrone)

Bobb (Doku, McAtee)
Foden (Echeverri)
Savinho (Marmoush)

Haaland (Mubama)

So, assuming they're all fit, if we started the season with this squad, i reckon we'll be contending for every title, again!
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Personally, I don't see Ortega as a starter here. I don't think he is good enough.
 
Having again next season in the squad at the same time: Walker , Akanji, Ake, Stones, Grealish, Gundogan, Nunes, Phillips and Bernardo is tantamount to suicide.

I hope they all leave.
 
Gaz (FMwkdsoul) said:
Any reason you went for Brits over other EDS keepers here? Galvez is a wild shout from nowhere.
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On Brits, not really. I know he was highly touted and has been on the bench this season.

I saw Galvez last year on the pre-season tour and was impressed, plus he's a left back!
 
Legal Alien said:
On Brits, not really. I know he was highly touted and has been on the bench this season.

I saw Galvez last year on the pre-season tour and was impressed, plus he's a left back!
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Fair. Dont think either get a shot but not my list.
 
We need to be realistic about how many senior players we can feasibly sell this summer. Selling 7 or 8 in one window is pretty ambitious and Pep will most likely have some that are going to be untouchable and part of his plans next season.

Start with Walker, Phillips, Nunes, de Bruyne and Ederson as there could still be a market for them whether it be Saudi/US for the older players and another PL team for Nunes. If those can go easily enough, then we can move on Gundogan, Kovacic and one of the center backs.
 
alexmcity said:
Let's keep Gundo and KDB, too. They also will benefit from a bigger squad.

Your argument is all hypothetical and mostly wishful thinking. We won the Treble 2 years ago. Rodri was great then and helped the defence big time. He will need time to get back to where he was. Also, back then Gundo was fantastic, Grealish was in top form, Ederson was great, Akanji was incredible at LB vs. Real. Things change, sometimes quickly.

The reality was our defending vs. Arsenal and Real. We conceded 20 shots at home and many good chances. Sugar coating it won't help us win big trophies next season. Can see fans complaining about poor planning again.
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Ok we won the league last year I don’t think the decline in players bar Kevin Gundo is as great as made out once they are fit.
We wernt talking about Ederson rather our other players mainly injured CB in fact part of the reason for keeping them is that we have a lot of other work to do first including I suspect replacing Ederson

I don’t see how the poor form of Ederson z Grealish etc which makes our CB worse is reason to get rid of our CB

You’re assuming Rodri will come back worse and slowly. He is going to be back ahead of expectation effectively this season tho I doubt he will play. That gives him the end of this season plus the summer to get up to pace.
 
WRicko said:
Ok we won the league last year I don’t think the decline in players bar Kevin Gundo is as great as made out once they are fit.
We wernt talking about Ederson rather our other players mainly injured CB in fact part of the reason for keeping them is that we have a lot of other work to do first including I suspect replacing Ederson

I don’t see how the poor form of Ederson z Grealish etc which makes our CB worse is reason to get rid of our CB

You’re assuming Rodri will come back worse and slowly. He is going to be back ahead of expectation effectively this season tho I doubt he will play. That gives him the end of this season plus the summer to get up to pace.
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I hope you are right. Let's see what happens.
 
We need to appreciate that next season is going to throw up many of the same difficulties we’ve encountered this year. Too many players have been playing through pain for prolonged players and some players have been asked to play beyond the call of duty. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that the full effects might not be seen until the season after. Some older players are just never going to regain their previous levels and others are just never going to be fully fit, so the squad planning needs to take that into consideration.
 
Legal Alien said:
This is our potential squad for next season - 25/26.

We already have these players, except we would need a new GK and RB. Those two would be top priority signings.

I would sell: Ederson, Walker, Akanji, KDB, Grealish, Nunes, Phillips.

I think most would agree that Stones and Ake are top players and, when fit, can still do a job for us, so i would keep them along with Bernardo and Kovacic.

I would also keep Gundogan on a reduced role and hope he could become a coach with us.

I would luv Wirtz, but looking at the players we already have in the midfield/forward positions, i'm not sure we will spend the money for him, unless someone else leaves.

Keeper:
GK *
Ortega
Brits

Defence:
RB *
Dias
Ake (croked 75% of season)
Gvardiol
Stones (crocked 75% season)
Khusanov (unproven remains to be seen)
Reis. (Unproven remains to be seen)
Doyle (youth)
Alleyne (youth)
Galvez (youth)

Midfield:
Rodri
Gonzalez
Foden
Bernardo
Kovacic
Lewis (not good enough)
O'Reilly (youth)
Perrone (not good enough)
McAtee (not good enough)
Gundogan (finished)

Forwards:
Haaland
Marmoush
Bobb (prospect)
Doku (crocked 50% of season)
Savinho
Echeverri( Unproven
Mubama (youth)

That's a squad of 30 players.

My first 11 from that would be:

GK* (Ortega, Britts)

RB* (Stones, Alleyne)
Dias (Capt) (Khusanov)
Ake (Reis)
Gvardiol (Doyle, Galvez)

Rodri (Kovacic, Lewis, Gundogan)
Gonzalez (Bernardo, O'Reilly, Perrone)

Bobb (Doku, McAtee)
Foden (Echeverri)
Savinho (Marmoush)

Haaland (Mubama)

So, assuming they're all fit, if we started the season with this squad, i reckon we'll be contending for every title, again!
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Were not contending for fuck all with that squad
 
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Mancini’s Pastilles said:
Were not contending for fuck all with that squad
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Go on then, who are we buying?

We definitely need a right back, maybe left back too and probably a new keeper, but are we going to have a major clear out apart from that?
We already have top players in centre defence who are as good, if not better than anyone we'd bring in and injuries can happen to anyone.

If Rodri gets back to 100% then who else are we buying?
We've already got Gonzalez, so if we buy another top midfielder, which forward player, who we've already bought, is missing out in the starting 11?

As for the unproven and youth players, you've got to give them time and a chance mate.
To say they're not good enough is premature, as they were bought for a reason and some are being played by the best manager in the game, so you'd hope he and the club know what they're doing!
 
Legal Alien said:
Go on then, who are we buying?

We definitely need a right back, maybe left back too and probably a new keeper, but are we going to have a major clear out apart from that?
We already have top players in centre defence who are as good, if not better than anyone we'd bring in and injuries can happen to anyone.

If Rodri gets back to 100% then who else are we buying?
We've already got Gonzalez, so if we buy another top midfielder, which forward player, who we've already bought, is missing out in the starting 11?

As for the unproven and youth players, you've got to give them time and a chance mate.
To say they're not good enough is premature, as they were bought for a reason and some are being played by the best manager in the game, so you'd hope he and the club know what they're doing!
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Not too much more than that really, obviously any keepers will need replacing, a right back, then depending which of KDB, Bernardo, Kovacic go, replace those., though I think it will just be one of them 2 at most.
 
Get a right back in

Probably another stud for midfield and I think we can contend for the league next year.

I don’t know Ederson will stay or go

I’m class half full right now
 
Don’t be fooled into thinking that having played/playing in England is somehow worth paying a premium for. Viana will hopefully find better elsewhere for a fraction of the price, which will be invaluable when overhauling over multiple windows.
 
Gabriel said:
Don’t be fooled into thinking that having played/playing in England is somehow worth paying a premium for. Viana will hopefully find better elsewhere for a fraction of the price, which will be invaluable when overhauling over multiple windows.
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We still need some homegrown top talent either through the academy or bought though so the premium has to come at some point unless we luck out with youth players
 
YatesA said:
We still need some homegrown top talent either through the academy or bought though so the premium has to come at some point unless we luck out with youth players
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I don’t think we necessarily will. Guardiola might be disappointed and prefer to have all his experienced players available, but the coming weeks are a great opportunity to prioritise playing youngsters like Lewis, McAtee, and O’Reilly et al in the domestic competitions, especially after this month. The academy is producing top talent and when filtered into a stable and winning side, it will pay long-term dividends. We’re all downcast with how this season has gone so far, but in three years time we might reflect on the adversity having been worth it.
 
King Jay said:
Germany has the fastest league according to data since it’s a league where most team counter attack. So the slow motion thing is a new one. I think most teams just have more space. If you don’t play for Munich you as an academy player especially on the offensive side will always have space to play to. Overall the PL intensity is higher , yes. But for an offensive player the Bundesliga is perfect since Munich is the only team - clubs park the bus against.

Marmoush best position is the position where we see Wirtz or another 10 in. Could be a player who doesn’t have a position in our team which would be fatal for that price and wage.
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I'm interested in learning more about pace of play across the leagues. Got any links to that data?
 
Wirtz should be so down the priority, I cannot fathom why so many posters are adamant he is a necessity.

Even with KdB going, there is still Bobb and Echeverri joining in.

Also consider with Marmoush, that attack is no where near a priority this season.

We wont have that much to spend in the summer due to already spending now.

But by far we should be getting atleast:
1 GK (to replace Ortega or Ederson, maybe 2 if both leave)

1 DEF (we have too many injury prone defenders, maybe even 2 as we plan to replace them with age)

2 MID (Nico showed what we are missing in midfield, not an attacker, but someone who can lock it down)
We likely need to replace Gundogan (as good as he just played, and maybe 1 of Kova and Bernie)

That already is like 4-5 players before even considering attacking players (which has more than enough firepower).
 
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