Alexander Isak | Cried his way to a £130m move

Centurions said:
So even if we played with Haaland all season you don't think we'll score much because they're all new?
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I dont understand what you're asking me here tbh. If Haalands playing all season, we're not playing with a false 9 and so the entire hypothetical is moot.
 
mexico1970 said:
They have strikers coming out of their backside, keeping all of those egos happy isn't going to be an easy thing. If the Geordies offer Isak a lot more money he may just stay.
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Let’s hope they do. Although tbf I don’t think Isak suits dippers style of play he gets an awful lot of time at Newcastle.
 
ninjamonkey said:
I dont understand what you're asking me here tbh. If Haalands playing all season, we're not playing with a false 9 and so the entire hypothetical is moot.
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You (seem to) reckon that we won't score many without Haaland playing as the new guys aren't used to a false 9 (which is purely supposition anyway) whereas they will if Haaland plays? But they're still "new" either way and aren't used to the way Pep wants them to play (presumably).

I think we'll be fine TBH either with or without Haaland regardless in terms of goals.
 
Centurions said:
You (seem to) reckon that we won't score many without Haaland playing as the new guys aren't used to a false 9 (which is purely supposition anyway) whereas they will if Haaland plays? But they're still "new" either way and aren't used to the way Pep wants them to play (presumably).

I think we'll be fine TBH either with or without Haaland regardless in terms of goals.
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When I said new guys it was relative to the last time we played a false 9 in 21/22 pre-haaland not specifically the new guys this season.

Im not saying they wont score as many in a false 9 system compared to in a system with Haaland because they arent used to the system, im saying they flat out dont score enough goals to compensate for us playing without a striker who will score 30 goals for us in a bad season.

We dont have goalscoring wingers anymore. Theres no mahrez to bag 25 goals, theres no sterling to get a similar number, what we have are players that are supposed to be supplying our central striker. If we lose our 30-50 goal striker for a major portion of the season, who is stepping in to replace those numbers? And it's not just a case of, for example, 3 players scoring 10 goals each, its those 3 players scoring an extra 10 goals each on top of the double figures we'd already expect from them anyway.

In the year we won the league with a false 9, we had 7 different players hit double figures for us that season, who are the seven that could replicate that for us in this squad? 2 players hit double figures last season, 1 of them being Haaland and Foden was the other who managed exactly 10. Marmoush you'd expect to hit it in a full season but after that theres not many goals.
 
Dribble said:
The biggest games opinions are subjective. My point is there's more than enough high profile games to go around for players in a bigger squad.
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If you think Erling would be agreeable to sitting out a percentage of the ‘elite’ games to share with an Isak or whoever I think you are way off the mark.

We have a great squad mix up top and we can’t squeeze in another high profile striker, it just wouldn’t work in my opinion.

I mean, Erling doesn’t even really want occasional rests against the lower teams as he views them as a great opportunity to fill his boots! He’s probably young enough and fit enough to get away with it for a few years yet. He has a similar mentality to Kane - wants to play virtually every game.
 
ninjamonkey said:
When I said new guys it was relative to the last time we played a false 9 in 21/22 pre-haaland not specifically the new guys this season.

Im not saying they wont score as many in a false 9 system compared to in a system with Haaland because they arent used to the system, im saying they flat out dont score enough goals to compensate for us playing without a striker who will score 30 goals for us in a bad season.

We dont have goalscoring wingers anymore. Theres no mahrez to bag 25 goals, theres no sterling to get a similar number, what we have are players that are supposed to be supplying our central striker. If we lose our 30-50 goal striker for a major portion of the season, who is stepping in to replace those numbers? And it's not just a case of, for example, 3 players scoring 10 goals each, its those 3 players scoring an extra 10 goals each on top of the double figures we'd already expect from them anyway.

In the year we won the league with a false 9, we had 7 different players hit double figures for us that season, who are the seven that could replicate that for us in this squad? 2 players hit double figures last season, 1 of them being Haaland and Foden was the other who managed exactly 10. Marmoush you'd expect to hit it in a full season but after that theres not many goals.
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We won’t be playing a full season with a false 9, but in games we decide to a front 3 of Marmoush Cherki, Foden is capable of getting the goals it would need to.
 
Scottish Cityzen said:
If you think Erling would be agreeable to sitting out a percentage of the ‘elite’ games to share with an Isak or whoever I think you are way off the mark.

We have a great squad mix up top and we can’t squeeze in another high profile striker, it just wouldn’t work in my opinion.

I mean, Erling doesn’t even really want occasional rests against the lower teams as he views them as a great opportunity to fill his boots! He’s probably young enough and fit enough to get away with it for a few years yet. He has a similar mentality to Kane - wants to play virtually every game.
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Has Erling told you all this personally, or is this just your personal opinion?

My post is just what I think is best in City's interest, especially if Haaland were to suffer a long-term injury because of burn-out like Rodri.
 
Dribble said:
Has Erling told you all this personally, or is this just your personal opinion?

My post is just what I think is best in City's interest, especially if Haaland were to suffer a long-term injury because of burn-out like Rodri.
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Of course it’s my opinion, it’s a board for sharing opinions after all.

You are entitled to believe that your strategy is in City’s best interests. I simply don’t believe that it is feasible (cost, squad size etc), practicable (keeping two ‘superstars’ in the same position happy) nor sensible (we’d be better placed finding that difference maker right back).

But the evidence from Erling’s first 3 seasons with us is that he wants to play in every game. The exceptions have been when being eased back from injury or in dead rubbers ahead of big finals / games. I wouldn’t be surprised if such demands were part of his agreement to sign. He’s the best at what he does and we should be happy that he is ours

We can’t (again imo) budget or legislate for the what ifs of whether he sustains a long term injury.

That will be when we rely on Marmoush, Foden, Doku, Savinho, Bobb, Cherki to step up to the plate, with other options also that can play wide such as Bernardo. So even with Erling out we have 6 great options and others that can also step in.

You post a lot of good stuff mate but I fundamentally disagree with your strategy here. We will find out in due course what the club think and take it from there as always.

I’m usually happy with what we do as very few signings bomb, although our strike rate has taken a hit the last couple of years.

That said I’m really excited to see what RAN, Marmoush, Reijnders and Cherki do, with more patience for the younger guys.
 
Scottish Cityzen said:
Of course it’s my opinion, it’s a board for sharing opinions after all.

You are entitled to believe that your strategy is in City’s best interests. I simply don’t believe that it is feasible (cost, squad size etc), practicable (keeping two ‘superstars’ in the same position happy) nor sensible (we’d be better placed finding that difference maker right back).

But the evidence from Erling’s first 3 seasons with us is that he wants to play in every game. The exceptions have been when being eased back from injury or in dead rubbers ahead of big finals / games. I wouldn’t be surprised if such demands were part of his agreement to sign. He’s the best at what he does and we should be happy that he is ours

We can’t (again imo) budget or legislate for the what ifs of whether he sustains a long term injury.

That will be when we rely on Marmoush, Foden, Doku, Savinho, Bobb, Cherki to step up to the plate, with other options also that can play wide such as Bernardo. So even with Erling out we have 6 great options and others that can also step in.

You post a lot of good stuff mate but I fundamentally disagree with your strategy here. We will find out in due course what the club think and take it from there as always.

I’m usually happy with what we do as very few signings bomb, although our strike rate has taken a hit the last couple of years.

That said I’m really excited to see what RAN, Marmoush, Reijnders and Cherki do, with more patience for the younger guys.
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On having two strikers, & whether Haaland wants to play every minute of every game, we'll agree to disagree.

I visibly saw Erling's levels drop last season because of the increased demands placed on him after Julian's transfer. For that reason & others, I fear for his well-being, as I don't believe rinsing out any player is in our best interests.

Again, Pep made comments last week saying he felt bad about leaving players out, hence wanting a smaller squad - 11 players only, if he could get away with it for the season.

This is opposed to Bernardo stating at the CWC that the players like having a big squad so they can rotate to give them time to rest. Something doesn't quite add up, as the only person I've heard of advocating a smaller squad is Guardiola.

Too many players (Rodri, Akanji, Foden etc) have complained about the effect the increased demands of football is having on them. So much so, that FIFPRO have complained to the game's governing bodies on behalf of players.

If this was Wolves, Burnley, Brentford etc, I could see why players would want to play in their 1½ matches a week & not want to be rotated. However, at the apex of world football, it's definitely turned into a squad game, & increasingly players at the top seem to want adequate rest, as well as to play in the biggest matches.

This also doesn't take into account international football, the meaningless friendlies & the UEFA Nations League commitments. It's sheer greed from those running the game, at the expense of player welfare imo...
 
I’m hoping that dippers buying all these top players get destabilised by it…..too many big egos to keep happy can be difficult.
Whiskey nose’s great talent (and Pep’s) was not to make too many changes at once to maintain continuity .The Dutchman is definitely not doing that in this transfer window.
Let’s hope it bites them on the arse!
 
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