It's Quiet the £250m return

[oldius]

Sorry but lots of people on here pre rodri injury were saying we needed back up
Lots of people including myself were on about tge decline in KDB before last season.

Loyalty is great but not at the expense of progression. These are very highly paid players. If they can5 compete at tge very top they need to be loved on....it gets tge club into situations where new players can't be bedded in ...it slows down transition

Where have we made the changes to the centre half position? Buying two inexperienced centre halves and then not playing them in ore season? And not playing them for most of last season as well?

The whole point is the transition isn't anywhere near complete...people saying we are back are in gor a rude awakening if we dot get the centre of defense sorted and go into games with Gundo as our DM

Who is saying the transition is complete?
Most sensible posters are saying that it will take time: for Rodri to get back to his best; for players to be sold; for new players to get up to speed; and for the changes in tactics to bed in.

 

[BluestBlue]

This is why I like Omar. He presses quite well and combines well with Erling..

He is also single handedly our best presser at the moment but finds himself on the bench far too often! :(

Wasn’t played in his best position at all during this tournament. But I guess it’s because Doku was shinning so brightly. Becomes super tricky to make both work in one system

 

[BluestBlue]

Worth watching this just to provide some context to what we need to improve.

Quite funny as, like a lot of us on here, his previous tactic review labelled our new system against Juventus as "genius"...

Re send it

 

[simon23]

Who is saying the transition is complete?
Most sensible posters are saying that it will take time: for Rodri to get back to his best; for players to be sold; for new players to get up to speed; and for the changes in tactics to bed in.

That's what I'm saying..we are nowhere near at present making a title challenge and without certain squad additions we won't
The other point is that this could have been managed better ras some of it was obvious just like the issue at centre half is obvious

 

[oldius]

That's what I'm saying..we are nowhere near at present making a title challenge and without certain squad additions we won't
The other point is that this could have been managed better ras some of it was obvious just like the issue at centre half is obvious

I am not sure we need additions to what we have.
The club accepted that things could and should have been different, so that is nothing new, nor something that hasn't been accepted and now dealt with, or in the process of being so.
When we know who is for sale, we will be able to make definitive statements.

 

[birchwoodgingerste]

Still think we need a elite cb with pace who is ready now also a right back

 

[simon23]

I am not sure we need additions to what we have.
The club accepted that things could and should have been different, so that is nothing new, nor something that hasn't been accepted and now dealt with, or in the process of being so.
When we know who is for sale, we will be able to make definitive statements.

Yes we need to sell...but we also need to buy still.

We have one left back
We have no right back
We have one centre half on gvardiol who can play on a high line ( and he is not perfect for it)
We have 2 centre halves who will not be available for most of the season
We have Dias who is not elite level esp in a high line

The club accepted it AFTER the fact. Many were saying it BEFORE it happened.

The above has been there for a year already - especially with Stones and Ake who have had fitness issues for a lot longer than last season. We bought two centre halves nowhere near tge quality (yet) of either of them.

 

[Blue_Lightsaber]

The treble season was a weird one. For much of the season we weren't great. Pep made a switch in February and we became unbeatable. The Madrid home leg was the single best match we've ever played.
However over a whole season I think we've had a couple of seasons under Pep where we've been better. Both without big Erl.

There's a very famous saying.. "tactical secrets are fleeting". Because your opponent studies you and adjusts!

We've always had to adjust our game plan mid season as long as Pep has been here to get results in the 2nd half of the season.

To win a treble takes luck.. I mean the best team I've seen under Pep went out in the CL due to that Llorente hand ball.. or it could have won the quadruple. Lets not forget we got insanely lucky with Akanji's brain fart, Eddie's reaction save and Ruben not accidently heading it into his own net!

 

[King Jay]

Still think we need a elite cb with pace who is ready now also a right back

I will stay by the stance that Khusanov is ready not worse than Dias with the ball. Well even Madrid starts Huijsen Imagine Khusanov moving to Newcastle instead to us. The cry out here would’ve been funny

 

[ninjamonkey]

That's what I'm saying..we are nowhere near at present making a title challenge and without certain squad additions we won't
The other point is that this could have been managed better ras some of it was obvious just like the issue at centre half is obvious

The squad we have is more than good enough to win a title, they just need to be used correctly. Show me a squad that is better than ours.

 

[Silva2021]

Centre back is definitely a potential problem

Gvardiol - Needs to play CB for me and our best option, but not played that much there.
Ake - Next best for me, but will likely play as back up to Gvardiol and as back up LB
Stones - If he was fit he should start, but will he be fit
Dias - Just not the player, lazy to say more interested in being a celeb, a proud man who is a born leader, sure he will want to get back to his previous form, we need him to do.
Khusanov - He does well and we like him, but would have to do really well to be a consistent starter
Reis - I imagine will be loaned, like him and could be one for the future
Akanji - Clear he needs to go both level and need for a foreign place.

I see us going with those 5, but we should be looking in the market if not this year definitely next.

 

[BluestBlue]

The squad we have is more than good enough to win a title, they just need to be used correctly. Show me a squad that is better than ours.

It doesn’t matter who we have if the players that let Pep and the fans down last season continue to be played. It doesn’t matter if we have great players if they DONT play. It doesn’t matter how high our ceiling is if there isn’t a great environment for said players.

 

[oldius]

Yes we need to sell...but we also need to buy still.

We have one left back
We have no right back
We have one centre half on gvardiol who can play on a high line ( and he is not perfect for it)
We have 2 centre halves who will not be available for most of the season
We have Dias who is not elite level esp in a high line

The club accepted it AFTER the fact. Many were saying it BEFORE it happened.

The above has been there for a year already - especially with Stones and Ake who have had fitness issues for a lot longer than last season. We bought two centre halves nowhere near tge quality (yet) of either of them.

We have had unparalleled success with this squad. We accepted that we held on to some too long after a season decimated by injury. Had the latter not happened, I suspect we would have been title challengers with the same players.

I disagree that the level of injury we had could have been predicted. We also tried to back up Rodri but the player didn't work out - some don't.

Now we are in transition - it happens. We accept that we cannot buy players at the level of peak KDB and Stones, so we buy Cherki and Reis and Bah and Khusanov and Marmoush etc all. This is exciting, not something to fret about.

We won multiple tournaments with people saying Zinchenko and Delph weren't left backs, now they say the same about Nunes and Lewis - I don't agree. We also have Gvardiol and Ake available for left back, not just Ait-Nouri. Many spoke of Mahrez not being good enough; Gundo, Raz and others too. One time in several they get something right, as many did about Phillips.

No defenders in world football can play in a high line without the whole team pressing the opponent, and forwards and midfielders pressing the turnover. We don't yet know our combinations at centre back, who will stay and who will go, so we look forward, excited for the future. I think we have potentially top-drawer defenders, some who have already proven that, but our forward line and midfield is, largely, new and young - the pressing will take time to instill and get to the level it needs to be to play as aggressively as we seem to want to.

You make good points and there is no guarantee that we will get back to the level of unprecedented success we had. That is sport.

 

[oldius]

It doesn’t matter who we have if the players that let Pep and the fans down last season continue to be played. It doesn’t matter if we have great players if they DONT play. It doesn’t matter how high our ceiling is if there isn’t a great environment for said players.

Players who let Pep down?
You would need to know all the behind the scenes stuff to make that statement. On the pitch, only one or two reached previous levels.

 

[BluestBlue]

Players who let Pep down?
You would need to know all the behind the scenes stuff to make that statement. On the pitch, only one or two reached previous levels.

I’m sure a lot of stuff went down that we don’t know about. My statement comes from us having the worst season we’ve had in a decade. 1 win in 14 games. Losing to palace in a fa cup final. The levels dropped heavily. They did let down the fans who would spend their hard earned money travelling to watch football that wasn’t pleasant to watch. Pep would repay his loyalty time and time again to his boys and they didn’t produce the desired results. For instance picking Akanji ahead of Nunes in the FA Cup. We looked toothless.

 

[oldius]

I’m sure a lot of stuff went down that we don’t know about. My statement comes from us having the worst season we’ve had in a decade. 1 win in 14 games. Losing to palace in a fa cup final. The levels dropped heavily. They did let down the fans who would spend their hard earned money travelling to watch football that wasn’t pleasant to watch. Pep would repay his loyalty time and time again to his boys and they didn’t produce the desired results. For instance picking Akanji ahead of Nunes in the FA Cup. We looked toothless.

As I have highlighted at other points, without knowing the behind the scenes stuff, the letting Pep down statement is unfair. We had players, for example, playing on through injury. We were all disappointed last season but we have to let it go. Fans of other clubs are jealous of our squad, jealous of our spending, and jealous of our achievements but some here are still acting as if we are a failure. What we have delivered is unprecedented AND it is also clear that the club IS NOT resting on laurels. We have to move on.

 

[JWCH-99]

I’m sure a lot of stuff went down that we don’t know about. My statement comes from us having the worst season we’ve had in a decade. 1 win in 14 games. Losing to palace in a fa cup final. The levels dropped heavily. They did let down the fans who would spend their hard earned money travelling to watch football that wasn’t pleasant to watch. Pep would repay his loyalty time and time again to his boys and they didn’t produce the desired results. For instance picking Akanji ahead of Nunes in the FA Cup. We looked toothless.

The players who he repaid loyalty too also never let the fans down for the 4-5 years prior and gave match travelling fans the best experiences and memories. I’m happy to admit that the gundogans and akanji players are not at the level currently or probably ever again, but I’d find it hard to say these players are ever capable now of letting fans down- that is unless they were misbehaving or causing issues behind the scene, which there is no evidence of

 

[BluestBlue]

The players who he repaid loyalty too also never let the fans down for the 4-5 years prior and gave match travelling fans the best experiences and memories. I’m happy to admit that the gundogans and akanji players are not at the level currently or probably ever again, but I’d find it hard to say these players are ever capable now of letting fans down- that is unless they were misbehaving or causing issues behind the scene, which there is no evidence of

I agree I was talking about last season and the way they crashed out embarrassingly in the Fa cup and CWC. I know a few fans who watched City for the first time in America and to see their team concede 4 was pretty sad. But yea overall they’ve given us the best fan experience lifting many trophies. It’s important not to dwell on that too long though

 

[robbieh]

As I have highlighted at other points, without knowing the behind the scenes stuff, the letting Pep down statement is unfair. We had players, for example, playing on through injury. We were all disappointed last season but we have to let it go. Fans of other clubs are jealous of our squad, jealous of our spending, and jealous of our achievements but some here are still acting as if we are a failure. What we have delivered is unprecedented AND it is also clear that the club IS NOT resting on laurels. We have to move on.

I appreciate that you have to spend to be good and we have done. What doesn't sit quite so well is spending shedloads and not improving. We will see if we do or not.
But I don't want us to be like Chelsea who are a tad embarrassing the way they do business.

 

[BluestBlue]

As I have highlighted at other points, without knowing the behind the scenes stuff, the letting Pep down statement is unfair. We had players, for example, playing on through injury. We were all disappointed last season but we have to let it go. Fans of other clubs are jealous of our squad, jealous of our spending, and jealous of our achievements but some here are still acting as if we are a failure. What we have delivered is unprecedented AND it is also clear that the club IS NOT resting on laurels. We have to move on.

It’s just how I feel. I know players like Ake kept playing through injuries even Akanji. I don’t really care about what other fans think to be honest with you. They don’t watch us every game. They don’t know what’s really going on. The club is learning from it’s mistakes and I’m glad they’ve made steps in rectifying them