Hugo Viana | Director of Football

[John Wayne]

It’s pretty evident we’ve been hamstrung by certain players being rewarded contracts which has made them difficult to move on. We’ve had to settle for €2m and a loan for Akanji because he priced himself out of certain moves.

That’s not on Viana.

Before the window we needed: a new goalkeeper (or more depending on who left), a right back, a left back, a dynamic midfielder, an attacking midfielder and maybe a winger.

He’s delivered on goalkeeper(s), a left back, a central midfielder and an attacking midfielder. The right back is the sticking point. And I think it’s more frustrating because there’s been zero links to anybody all Summer despite it being the problem position.

I presume Pep has said he’s happy with Nunes and Lewis. But at some point Viana needs to put his balls on the table and decide what’s best for the team. He has the benefit of not having an emotional bias to a lot of the squad.

I don’t agree with the Dias extension. That reeks of him being on our books until the end of that deal because it’s a long extension, on good money for a player who is seemingly declining. Certainly over the past 2 years.

Goalkeepers - I’m happy Eddie has been moved on, it was needed despite him being a club legend. And I’m delighted we’ve managed to get Donnarumma for a bargain price. You don’t turn down that sort of market opportunity. Trafford is mint too, I’m glad he’s been brought back and I hope he can make a name for himself here in the coming years.

Defence - right back an issue. Centre backs we have good depth with Stones, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol and Khusanov. Though I would’ve kept Reis or Bah for extra cover given Dias, Stones and Ake’s injury history. I think Ait-Nouri is a fantastic signing at left back and I hope Pep starts utilising his strengths properly.

Midfield - good depth again. Rodri will need help while he comes back but Nico G has started the season well, Reijnders will be class when he gets used to the speed of the PL, Kovacic is a good backup. Bernie should’ve been moved on. Five players competing for 2/3 positions plus Lewis can step into it and Foden can drop there too if needed. A midfield three of Nico G, Rodri and Reijnders has serious potential IMO and I hope we get to see it.

Attack - Haaland is a freak and will continue to score goals no matter how blunt we look. Marmoush looks lively and I personally think he is mint and will only get better. Same with Bobb. I’m unsure on Savinho and Doku is starting to really grate on me. But I’d be all over getting a winger in the coming windows, I’d argue it’s as important as a right back.

If you look at it, the issues stem from past recruitment and squad handling rather than Viana’s input. The rewarding of certain players has meant they’ve been hard to move on. Which is fine, and Viana can’t overhaul a full squad in one or two windows but IMO has made a healthy start with Donnarumma, Trafford, Khusanov, Reis, Bah, RAN, Reijnders, Nico G, Marmoush and Cherki.

Next Summer will be a big one IMO when we see players like Ake, Bernie, Kovacic, Akanji, Doku/Savinho, Lewis/Nunes moved on. All Txiki dealings (not a dig).

One thing I hope for when we go for a winger, right back etc. is that we shop at the top table and don’t skimp. Pay the money for top players. We were laughed at for £50m for Walker but he was a bargain. Pay it for somebody like Livramento. And go and get a household winger rather than one with potential. It’s too much of an important position to fuck about with. The player needs to be ready and needs to be quality. Like Sterling and Mahrez.

Really good post, agree with every single word. I think Viana is having to deal with a lot of issues he has inherited. The only obvious mistake I would say he has made is the Dias contract. I don't think we were right to extend his deal.

 

[decmancity]

Why would that be? Unwilling to pay until the wage bill lowered. Pep wanting the squad trimmed before adding more?

It’s not all about money.

But yeah our squad issues were well known. Had Gundogan, Akanji and Ederson left a week ago maybe things would be different

 

[NQCitizen]

We'll just finish 2nd or 3rd as we can't compete with the level VVD and Salah have set.

But they'll be half as effective in a year or less and in 2 years we will be back to having the best squad in the league, with a 27 year old Foden and Haaland, a 28 year old Donnarumma and a 25 year old Gvardiol forming the league's best spine.

Pep will likely be gone and Viana will have completed a rebuild for the next guy pretty well, based on how he's started.

 

[Dobsy]

Get behind Rico and Nunes, the two right-backs we have chosen.
Get behind the team and the players we have. Many of them are new to the country and the league and will definitely benefit from support.

Of course people are going to do this. Can still point out that they are square pegs in a round hole.

 

[Tevez City]

Exactly. It's a steady income stream. That's all they're interested in. They'll be all over any new Super League like a bad rash.

Not sure about that, I think 90% of CFG teams are recording loss after loss each year.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

I used to look at our squad and think maybe 3 or 4 players from the entire league would get on our bench now I look at teams like Brighton and Newcastle and I'd put 3 or 4 of them right into our starting line up.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

Then we would finish in top4

Offer me top 4, no trophies and 6 points off the rags right now I'd snap your fucking hand off

 

[Utter bobbins]

Every single ManCity transfer completed as the deadline passes for clubs in England.

7 Arrivals.
14 Departures.
17 Loan Deals.
1 New Contract.

Arrivals
Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan (£46.3 million)

Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves (£31.2 million)

Rayan Cherki from Lyon (£35 million)

James Trafford from Burnley (£27 million)

Gianluigi Donnarumma from PSG (£26 million

Sverre Nypan from Rosenborg (£12.5 million)

Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea (Undisclosed)

Departures
James McAtee to Nottingham Forest (£30 million)

Yan Couto to Borussia Dortmund (£26 million)

Ederson to Fenerbahce (£12 million)

Maximo Perrone to Como (£11.2 million)

Kyle Walker to Burnley (£5 million)

Kevin De Bruyne to Napoli (Free)

Scott Carson (End of contract)

Tai Sodje (Released)

Jayden Lienou to Leeds (Undisclosed)

True Grant to Stoke (Undisclosed)

Callum Doyle to Wrexham (£7.5 million)

Farid Alfa-Ruprecht to Bayer Leverkusen (£5 million)

Kayky to Bahia (Undisclosed)

Jacob Wright to Norwich City (£2.3 million)
Loan Moves
Vitor Reis to Girona (Season-long loan)

Jack Grealish to Everton (Season-long loan with £50 million option to buy)

Manuel Akanji to Inter (€2 million season-long loan with €15 million option to buy, becoming mandatory based on 50% of matches played and Serie A title success)

Claudio Echeverri to Bayer Leverkusen (Season-long loan)

Sverre Nypan to Middlesbrough (Season-long loan)

Juma Bah to Nice (Season-long loan)

Mahamadou Susoho to Livingston (Season-long loan)

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey to Celtic (Season-long loan)

Finley Burns to Reading (Season-long loan)

Divin Mubama to Stoke (Season-long loan)

Max Alleyne to Watford (Season-long loan)

Tomas Galvez to SC Cambuur (Season-long loan)

Joel Ndala to Hull (Season-long loan)

Oliver Whatmuff to Rochdale (Season-long loan)

Lakyle Samuel to Bromley (Season-long loan)

Will Dickson to Chesterfield (Season-long loan)

Issa Kabore to Wrexham (Season-long loan)

Contract Extensions
Ruben Dias signed a new four-year Manchester City contract until 2029.

 

[CΛL]

Liverpool buying Guehi and Isak, as well as Wirtz earlier in the summer, shows how far we’ve fallen in such a short time recruitment wise.

Not because we should have bought those particular players, but because there was a time when we’d routinely acquire quality players at top PL or European clubs, and whose clubs presumably wanted to keep them, and whose acquisitions were the subject of envy across our competitors.

There’s a myth that our success has been based on acquiring players based on good financial deals, grounded in a certain acumen for talent/deals and a willingness to step away if the price is too high. As I say, I think that’s a myth. We’re not a moneyball club. Yes, we’ve had some great deals over the years (like Akanji), and yes it was out of the ordinary for us to spend £100m on Grealish. But that doesn’t mean we’re shrewd moneyball analysts.

The spine of our most successful years was built by going after ready-made, talented, statement like signings. The money paid might not have been huge in today’s terms, but:

David Silva, Aguero, Walker, Mahrez, Sane, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Cancelo, Laporte, Stones, Dias - were not cheap acquisitions of prospective developmental talent. They were mostly ready to go, statement-like signings identified to fill certain gaps in the team. A few of them were well-known talent courted across Europe (Aguero, Silva, Sane, De Bruyne). A few were direct acquisitions from Premier League clubs who wanted to keep them (Stones, Walker, Mahrez). Others may have been less well known to Premier League fans, but were the leaders of established European sides (Fernandinho, Dias, Laporte).

On top of that, we acquired Grealish and Haaland. These were very much statement signings, showing we are top of the world in terms of buying-strength, ambition and pull. This was a signal, shortly before winning the UCL, of our ambition.

Going back as far as Hughes and Mancini, we obviously acquired competitively (even if we were not as successful on the pitch), by getting Tevez and Adebayor from direct Premier League rivals. We also bought top talent like Yaya from Barcelona.

In recent times, the approach seems to have changed. Now we seem to be making ‘smart’ transfers. Sometimes not simply to play, but to hold and then sell on for more money. I can only think the whole approach is changing because the club is favouring sustainability under the upcoming PSRs. And it’s true the landscape in football has changed where clubs need to favour sustainable, talent identification. We’ve certainly got a lot of this right. But I think we’ve lost something in the process. There are too many ‘bets’ on the pitch.

I’m sure a some of the young players on the pitch for us will develop into great players, but they wouldn’t have been starters for us in our better years. Frankly, they might have struggled to make the bench. When you consider a few years ago we were acquiring quality Centre Backs and Full Backs in numbers for fun, and were spoilt for choice ofwho to start, we now start Khusanov (a Nastasic/Savic style acquisition, who I’m sure has a higher ceiling), and Nunes (who isn’t even a right back). We’re blooding youth players (eg Rico), which is great, but it’s all a bit Brighton like. It’s not the strategy of a club that stays at the top ruthlessly, but a club that wants to stay in or around the top sustainably.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have won the league (not even consecutively) and are buying all the best players like we used to in our prime.

I think you can say that’s true of Txiki in the last few years but we’ve just signed a goalkeeper widely regarded as best in the world and 27 year old midfielder named the best in Serie A, even Cherki is so highly rated, and statistically the most creative player in Europe. His signing rings the same bell KDB’s did - bags of assists and goals in a foreign league, questions over his mentality.

Marmoush bagged 20 before January last season, he’s not exactly a young player is he.

Khusanov has already shown he has the minerals and was highly sought after.

Reis, Bah, Echeverri etc fair enough.

We wanted Livaremento who is a ready made Walker replacement.

Things are changing.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

So we've basically got these two teams now:

Donnarumma

Nunes------Stones------Dias------Ait-Nouri
Rodri
Reijnders------Bernardo
Cherki-----------------------Foden
Haaland


Trafford

Lewis------Khusanov------Gvardiol------Ake
Gonzalez
Kovacic------O'Reilly
Savinho/Bobb-----------------------Doku
Marmoush​

And somehow still Kalvin Phillips.

16 overseas players, 2 of which only count as overseas in the CL, not the PL. Honestly, other than the obvious RB situation, I'd be happy with that before a ball was kicked. Unfortunately, we've seen quite a few of these players just deliver two shite performances in a row. Hopefully it's reflective of our awful pre-season and as they gain fitness, things will improve.

 

[OL2Blue]

Fair play to Hugo. Don't think Donna would have signed in a Txiki/Pep regime as he doesn't fit the 'Barca' style. However neither does Haaland. Donna is here for 5/6 years and Haaland 9. Pep will be long gone but whoever is in charge gets the 2 best players in the world in their positions. Superb forward planning. Can't wait for the ride and see what the future holds.

 

[Lavinda Past]

Not sure about that, I think 90% of CFG teams are recording loss after loss each year.

I was talking about CL qualification and why the owners would be happy with top 4 every year.

Don't even start me on the other CFG teams... ! The set up is aimed at 'non-football' investment / development in locations around the world. Football is a 'secondary' business that gives the group a foothold in potentially high profit locations.

 

[TonyM]

Hopefully already Viana is working tirelessly to find our new manager because unless there's a miracle from Pep he'll be gone mid season or end of season.

It won't matter that Pep has huge credit in the bank if we aren't scoring enough goals week after week for a season and a half or two seasons. Even his most loyal supporters will eventually crack.

So Viana needs to have our safety net ready to go.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

How the changeover from Ederson has been handled should be the blueprint from now on. No trying to replace big important players with scraps from the bargain bin or shoehorning a player who plays in another position in there.

Go and get the best available, and then go and get someone young hungry and full of potential to push the new man and keep them on their toes.

Now if only we followed this protocol when some of our others left and we wouldn't be in this pickle.

 

[oldius]

So we've basically got these two teams now:

Donnarumma

Nunes------Stones------Dias------Ait-Nouri
Rodri
Reijnders------Bernardo
Cherki-----------------------Foden
Haaland


Trafford

Lewis------Khusanov------Gvardiol------Ake
Gonzalez
Kovacic------O'Reilly
Savinho/Bobb-----------------------Doku
Marmoush​

And somehow still Kalvin Phillips.

16 overseas players, 2 of which only count as overseas in the CL, not the PL. Honestly, other than the obvious RB situation, I'd be happy with that before a ball was kicked. Unfortunately, we've seen quite a few of these players just deliver two shite performances in a row. Hopefully it's reflective of our awful pre-season and as they gain fitness, things will improve.

Indeed. We have quality throughout, and so much potential.
Patient support is needed - we are moving in the right direction.

 

[TinFoilHat]

Hopefully already Viana is working tirelessly to find our new manager because unless there's a miracle from Pep he'll be gone mid season or end of season.

It won't matter that Pep has huge credit in the bank if we aren't scoring enough goals week after week for a season and a half or two seasons. Even his most loyal supporters will eventually crack.

So Viana needs to have our safety net ready to go.

Wouldn't surprise me if there's one in place already like we did with Pep.

Dyche is very fucking quiet at the moment....

 

[AndyP68]

Liverpool buying Guehi and Isak, as well as Wirtz earlier in the summer, shows how far we’ve fallen in such a short time recruitment wise.

Not because we should have bought those particular players, but because there was a time when we’d routinely acquire quality players at top PL or European clubs, and whose clubs presumably wanted to keep them, and whose acquisitions were the subject of envy across our competitors.

There’s a myth that our success has been based on acquiring players based on good financial deals, grounded in a certain acumen for talent/deals and a willingness to step away if the price is too high. As I say, I think that’s a myth. We’re not a moneyball club. Yes, we’ve had some great deals over the years (like Akanji), and yes it was out of the ordinary for us to spend £100m on Grealish. But that doesn’t mean we’re shrewd moneyball analysts.

The spine of our most successful years was built by going after ready-made, talented, statement like signings. The money paid might not have been huge in today’s terms, but:

David Silva, Aguero, Walker, Mahrez, Sane, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Cancelo, Laporte, Stones, Dias - were not cheap acquisitions of prospective developmental talent. They were mostly ready to go, statement-like signings identified to fill certain gaps in the team. A few of them were well-known talent courted across Europe (Aguero, Silva, Sane, De Bruyne). A few were direct acquisitions from Premier League clubs who wanted to keep them (Stones, Walker, Mahrez). Others may have been less well known to Premier League fans, but were the leaders of established European sides (Fernandinho, Dias, Laporte).

On top of that, we acquired Grealish and Haaland. These were very much statement signings, showing we are top of the world in terms of buying-strength, ambition and pull. This was a signal, shortly before winning the UCL, of our ambition.

Going back as far as Hughes and Mancini, we obviously acquired competitively (even if we were not as successful on the pitch), by getting Tevez and Adebayor from direct Premier League rivals. We also bought top talent like Yaya from Barcelona.

In recent times, the approach seems to have changed. Now we seem to be making ‘smart’ transfers. Sometimes not simply to play, but to hold and then sell on for more money. I can only think the whole approach is changing because the club is favouring sustainability under the upcoming PSRs. And it’s true the landscape in football has changed where clubs need to favour sustainable, talent identification. We’ve certainly got a lot of this right. But I think we’ve lost something in the process. There are too many ‘bets’ on the pitch.

I’m sure a some of the young players on the pitch for us will develop into great players, but they wouldn’t have been starters for us in our better years. Frankly, they might have struggled to make the bench. When you consider a few years ago we were acquiring quality Centre Backs and Full Backs in numbers for fun, and were spoilt for choice ofwho to start, we now start Khusanov (a Nastasic/Savic style acquisition, who I’m sure has a higher ceiling), and Nunes (who isn’t even a right back). We’re blooding youth players (eg Rico), which is great, but it’s all a bit Brighton like. It’s not the strategy of a club that stays at the top ruthlessly, but a club that wants to stay in or around the top sustainably.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have won the league (not even consecutively) and are buying all the best players like we used to in our prime.

This was the point of my thread re strategy. Are we spending to win titles, or spending to compete. We have built the brand globally, and completed the mission re the CL. Is the goal to win it again, or just be in the mix.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

Wouldn't surprise me if there's one in place already like we did with Pep.

Dyche is very fucking quiet at the moment....

Erik ten Hag has just become available.

 

[AndyP68]

Every single ManCity transfer completed as the deadline passes for clubs in England.

7 Arrivals.
14 Departures.
17 Loan Deals.
1 New Contract.

Arrivals
Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan (£46.3 million)

Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves (£31.2 million)

Rayan Cherki from Lyon (£35 million)

James Trafford from Burnley (£27 million)

Gianluigi Donnarumma from PSG (£26 million

Sverre Nypan from Rosenborg (£12.5 million)

Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea (Undisclosed)

Departures
James McAtee to Nottingham Forest (£30 million)

Yan Couto to Borussia Dortmund (£26 million)

Ederson to Fenerbahce (£12 million)

Maximo Perrone to Como (£11.2 million)

Kyle Walker to Burnley (£5 million)

Kevin De Bruyne to Napoli (Free)

Scott Carson (End of contract)

Tai Sodje (Released)

Jayden Lienou to Leeds (Undisclosed)

True Grant to Stoke (Undisclosed)

Callum Doyle to Wrexham (£7.5 million)

Farid Alfa-Ruprecht to Bayer Leverkusen (£5 million)

Kayky to Bahia (Undisclosed)

Jacob Wright to Norwich City (£2.3 million)
Loan Moves
Vitor Reis to Girona (Season-long loan)

Jack Grealish to Everton (Season-long loan with £50 million option to buy)

Manuel Akanji to Inter (€2 million season-long loan with €15 million option to buy, becoming mandatory based on 50% of matches played and Serie A title success)

Claudio Echeverri to Bayer Leverkusen (Season-long loan)

Sverre Nypan to Middlesbrough (Season-long loan)

Juma Bah to Nice (Season-long loan)

Mahamadou Susoho to Livingston (Season-long loan)

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey to Celtic (Season-long loan)

Finley Burns to Reading (Season-long loan)

Divin Mubama to Stoke (Season-long loan)

Max Alleyne to Watford (Season-long loan)

Tomas Galvez to SC Cambuur (Season-long loan)

Joel Ndala to Hull (Season-long loan)

Oliver Whatmuff to Rochdale (Season-long loan)

Lakyle Samuel to Bromley (Season-long loan)

Will Dickson to Chesterfield (Season-long loan)

Issa Kabore to Wrexham (Season-long loan)

Contract Extensions
Ruben Dias signed a new four-year Manchester City contract until 2029.

Not sure why we signed and sold Couto, when we need an RB and he didn't figure at all.

 

[KS55]

It’s pretty evident we’ve been hamstrung by certain players being rewarded contracts which has made them difficult to move on. We’ve had to settle for €2m and a loan for Akanji because he priced himself out of certain moves.

That’s not on Viana.

Before the window we needed: a new goalkeeper (or more depending on who left), a right back, a left back, a dynamic midfielder, an attacking midfielder and maybe a winger.

He’s delivered on goalkeeper(s), a left back, a central midfielder and an attacking midfielder. The right back is the sticking point. And I think it’s more frustrating because there’s been zero links to anybody all Summer despite it being the problem position.

I presume Pep has said he’s happy with Nunes and Lewis. But at some point Viana needs to put his balls on the table and decide what’s best for the team. He has the benefit of not having an emotional bias to a lot of the squad.

I don’t agree with the Dias extension. That reeks of him being on our books until the end of that deal because it’s a long extension, on good money for a player who is seemingly declining. Certainly over the past 2 years.

Goalkeepers - I’m happy Eddie has been moved on, it was needed despite him being a club legend. And I’m delighted we’ve managed to get Donnarumma for a bargain price. You don’t turn down that sort of market opportunity. Trafford is mint too, I’m glad he’s been brought back and I hope he can make a name for himself here in the coming years.

Defence - right back an issue. Centre backs we have good depth with Stones, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol and Khusanov. Though I would’ve kept Reis or Bah for extra cover given Dias, Stones and Ake’s injury history. I think Ait-Nouri is a fantastic signing at left back and I hope Pep starts utilising his strengths properly.

Midfield - good depth again. Rodri will need help while he comes back but Nico G has started the season well, Reijnders will be class when he gets used to the speed of the PL, Kovacic is a good backup. Bernie should’ve been moved on. Five players competing for 2/3 positions plus Lewis can step into it and Foden can drop there too if needed. A midfield three of Nico G, Rodri and Reijnders has serious potential IMO and I hope we get to see it.

Attack - Haaland is a freak and will continue to score goals no matter how blunt we look. Marmoush looks lively and I personally think he is mint and will only get better. Same with Bobb. I’m unsure on Savinho and Doku is starting to really grate on me. But I’d be all over getting a winger in the coming windows, I’d argue it’s as important as a right back.

If you look at it, the issues stem from past recruitment and squad handling rather than Viana’s input. The rewarding of certain players has meant they’ve been hard to move on. Which is fine, and Viana can’t overhaul a full squad in one or two windows but IMO has made a healthy start with Donnarumma, Trafford, Khusanov, Reis, Bah, RAN, Reijnders, Nico G, Marmoush and Cherki.

Next Summer will be a big one IMO when we see players like Ake, Bernie, Kovacic, Akanji, Doku/Savinho, Lewis/Nunes moved on. All Txiki dealings (not a dig).

One thing I hope for when we go for a winger, right back etc. is that we shop at the top table and don’t skimp. Pay the money for top players. We were laughed at for £50m for Walker but he was a bargain. Pay it for somebody like Livramento. And go and get a household winger rather than one with potential. It’s too much of an important position to fuck about with. The player needs to be ready and needs to be quality. Like Sterling and Mahrez.

You are quite right. Viana has moved in when there were a lot of unaddressed problems and I think he has made a decent start to what is a two year rebuild.
I would prefer it if he adopted a bonus type strategy rather than continuously upping the salaries. Our basic wage bill is too high but it won’t be easy to tackle that.