Our most improved player?

Nunes has done really well this season in general. Found a spot in the squad and contributed greatly in the run in. Impressed with his attitude and adaptability. Do I think he's a world class full back? No but he's a good lad to have around the place and we'd have been fucked without him stepping up this year.
 
Thats not the question.
Best player: No.
Most improved: I'd think so.

A good few of our players have regressed this season and it would be interesting to know who is your "most disimproved player"
Depends on what you want the reasoning to be because there's a quite a few for varying reasons.

Grealish has fallen off a cliff, De Bruyne's age & injuries have caught up with him. Doku hasn't made any progress despite it being his second season.
 
Yet Delph and Zinchenko were great in 100 and 98 point league winning teams, Gómez was seldom seen yet did a job when required, Mangala played in the 4-1 win against Spurs in the Centurions season and had Kane in his pocket, Mendy had his moments, Cancelo was hot and cold but did some great things and had some elite level games, Steffan gave Ederson some respite and had a few good games, García was seldom seen but did a job when required, Grealish had some great games, Lewis isn’t even as good as Nunes but he’s had some very good games, Phillips has been a disaster signing granted…

But they all show that even the very best teams have and need squad players who aren’t at the standard of the rest of the squad but do a job when required, and Nunes has certainly done that, he’s genuinely been good in the second half of the season where our club captain and starting right back fucked us off and our youth product isn’t as good as him. He should be commended for that, especially since he’s never played there before.

I don’t recall any team ever having a full squad of players who are at an elite standard. Yet those fringe players who can and have to do a job are important.

If squad players were brilliant, they’d be sold to a club where they’d start. So you have to get the most out of the more realistic notion that squad players aren’t at that level but can be relied on.
But again, like I said, it shows how far our standards have dropped. We used to be able to accommodate squad players coming in and doing a job but this season we've really, really struggled.

This isn't a slant on Nunes, it's not his fault because he shouldn't be playing there. But even when we were shit in November & December, he still couldn't get a game in his natural position.
 
Even Kyle Walker at his superb City best had lapses in concentration and made mistakes that cost us goals. Nunes is still learning the position, he could be a very good right back.
Comparing Kyle Walker to Nunes in any small way is just mental. Walker was the best right back of the last 20 years in the premier league and top 5 in Europe. Nunes had the ball on the wing on Sunday and had 4 touches trying to get it under control and eventually ran it out of play with no one near him. He was bought as a £50m midfielder but can’t play that position as he has no idea what’s around him, has the touch of a giraffe & all the finesse of Bambi on ice. The club is about to get serious in the transfer market & he will be the first one out of the door and rightly so.
 
But again, like I said, it shows how far our standards have dropped. We used to be able to accommodate squad players coming in and doing a job but this season we've really, really struggled.

This isn't a slant on Nunes, it's not his fault because he shouldn't be playing there. But even when we were shit in November & December, he still couldn't get a game in his natural position.
But I think you must agree that he has made a significant step forward through the course of this season playing at right back.
 
Comparing Kyle Walker to Nunes in any small way is just mental. Walker was the best right back of the last 20 years in the premier league and top 5 in Europe. Nunes had the ball on the wing on Sunday and had 4 touches trying to get it under control and eventually ran it out of play with no one near him. He was bought as a £50m midfielder but can’t play that position as he has no idea what’s around him, has the touch of a giraffe & all the finesse of Bambi on ice. The club is about to get serious in the transfer market & he will be the first one out of the door and rightly so.
At the start of the season I would have also thought that a comparison between Walker and Nunes was ridiculous but against Bournemouth I found myself comparing Nunes's recovery speed at full back to Kyle Walker. He's possibly the quickest player in City's squad. Doku is quick over 5m but over 50m, I bet Nunes beats him. Speed is only one attribute but Nunes has become a player over this season. He's at last a confident player and getting better as he learns the right back role.
 
Thats not the question.
Best player: No.
Most improved: I'd think so.

A good few of our players have regressed this season and it would be interesting to know who is your "most disimproved player"
Needs it's own thread, however there are so many slapped arses on here now it would just descend into who was the biggest Blue and that absolutely no player deserves any criticism after what they've achieved.

My vote on that thread would go to Foden. Fallen off the edge of a cliff this season.
 
But I think you must agree that he has made a significant step forward through the course of this season playing at right back.
He's had a handful of semi decent performances towards the end of the season. But that doesn't make up for the absolute howlers he's had.
 
His improvement from his first 30 games to his last 2 was incredible!
It helps Gundogan when he's playing in a forward position. When he was covering Rodri/Kovacic I thought he struggled and was largely bypassed. Gundogan is still able to make the difference in games with his quality but he doesn't control games in the way he once did. KDB has been like that too. You can carry one player like that perhaps but not two.
 
Nunes was signed to play in midfield and was such a disaster he's ended up having to solve an issue at RB where he's gradually improved into a much more reliable player. His attacking output has been decent, his defensive lapses are still reminiscent of Cancelo where he dives in or is out of position. Ultimately though he has helped us finish 3rd and I feel it was a mistake not starting him in the Cup Final.

For me, our most improved player is O'Reilly. He'd never looked particularly assured or comfortable when he'd featured for us in midfield but he was excellent at LB. Very reliable and got some key goals for us too.
 
Kyle Walker was the best right back in the world.

Nunes at right back wouldn’t even be top 10 in the division.
I think he has scope to improve and provides valuable attacking skills which would be very useful in the 70% of matches where we play against parked buses.
If some team were to offer us what we paid for him he could go with my blessing but that is unlikely so having him able to fill a problem position for us is useful.
 
Needs it's own thread, however there are so many slapped arses on here now it would just descend into who was the biggest Blue and that absolutely no player deserves any criticism after what they've achieved.

My vote on that thread would go to Foden. Fallen off the edge of a cliff this season.
You're right and it's not even close. I actually think POTY Foden from last year wasn't as good as 3 years ago, his goal scoring aside. Where has the dynamism gone?
 
He's had a handful of semi decent performances towards the end of the season. But that doesn't make up for the absolute howlers he's had.
His last minute winner vs Villa was hugely important. I don't think your comment is accurate but it's compatible with improvement.
 
You're right and it's not even close. I actually think POTY Foden from last year wasn't as good as 3 years ago, his goal scoring aside. Where has the dynamism gone?
Off-field issues and injury. He needs rest.
 
I think he has scope to improve and provides valuable attacking skills which would be very useful in the 70% of matches where we play against parked buses.
If some team were to offer us what we paid for him he could go with my blessing but that is unlikely so having him able to fill a problem position for us is useful.
I have him down now as a 'squad player' whose game is on a steep upward curve.
 

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