The Squad planning thread

[Middedon]

Is that Messi we talking about ? Yamal?

Probably wouldn’t meet the height requirements.

 

[BluestBlue]

The experiment is over imo.

A GK that is a shot stopper but can’t pass to save his life, can’t defend crosses, makes mistakes instead of a GK that is good at passing. We’ve tried it, it hasn’t worked the numbers all point to us not being able to keep possession when it matters, take the sting out of games etc we look better when we can play with Trafford. The club is going to pick Donna over him and let him walk. I think it’s a mistake.

Having a midfield that still depends on Rodri and Bernardo to be at their peak.

I’m not sure what we do with the front line. I understand their roles I understand this front 4. But I still think we can go up a level

 

[christened at st marks]

Don't sell Trafford FFS, I'd put him in the rest of the season, including the final and go from there

 

[Pubteam Lomas]

Don't sell Trafford FFS, I'd put him in the rest of the season, including the final and go from there

With this 100 per cent.
Donnarumma is brilliant. Really fantastic. But he gets booked every time we concede from a corner.
But Arse in the CC final was our best performance. Much more difficult to press when Trafford plays and as a result we can 'press' (oh how I hate that phrase cos I'm a miserable old git!!!) 20-30 yards further forward.

 

[heslops barnet]

Don't sell Trafford FFS, I'd put him in the rest of the season, including the final and go from there

Trafford is here hopefully for the long term, Donna just passing through, stick with Trafford

 

[City_Sean]

For me I'd just like to see us targeting players that have a really high technical level.

We've gone away from that so much in recent seasons and it's so evident whenever we play teams who setup in a low block.

I want players who can take the ball in pressurised situations and keep it/move it at speed.

We've signed so many guys who's best attributes are attacking in transitions, but we face low blocks all the time.

 

[ALDN_Ko]

That’s not that logic though is it, stop being dramatic. They’ve won things playing for a club with a level of expectancy, that’s what makes the player. Would you not prefer to sign players who have experience in winning things and don’t take 3 years to finally get to the level required. I mean that’s what we all talk about being important in title races… or carry on with signing Savhinho/Doku’s if you want.

It’s paid off with Doku and still could with Savio. Savio needs regular game time at his age

 

[sh249]

For me I'd just like to see us targeting players that have a really high technical level.

We've gone away from that so much in recent seasons and it's so evident whenever we play teams who setup in a low block.

I want players who can take the ball in pressurised situations and keep it/move it at speed.

We've signed so many guys who's best attributes are attacking in transitions, but we face low blocks all the time.

This. Moving away from proper positional football with technically outstanding players has been a huge misstep. Monday was another clear marker of that.

 

[Tb1981]

For me I'd just like to see us targeting players that have a really high technical level.

We've gone away from that so much in recent seasons and it's so evident whenever we play teams who setup in a low block.

I want players who can take the ball in pressurised situations and keep it/move it at speed.

We've signed so many guys who's best attributes are attacking in transitions, but we face low blocks all the time.

We have signed players who are less technical for sure
We have also signed players with less quality

we have too many good players in the squad, but we need top quality players

Imagine if we had kvaratskhelia, Olise or Barcola on The wing
And then put Neves in midfield

To be fair the defence is stacked now

 

[pee dubya]

That’s not that logic though is it, stop being dramatic. They’ve won things playing for a club with a level of expectancy, that’s what makes the player. Would you not prefer to sign players who have experience in winning things and don’t take 3 years to finally get to the level required. I mean that’s what we all talk about being important in title races… or carry on with signing Savhinho/Doku’s if you want.

I want us to pick the right player to provide what we're missing from the squad. I'm not in the dressing room, so I don't know if we're lacking leaders and winners, but with the experience we already have in the squad i'm pretty sure we aren't.

You can pick players with huge medal hauls if you want, but even that's no guarantee of success. Sometimes you need players with hunger and drive, not guys who have already won stuff. Sometimes you need players who are willing to learn and adapt, rather than those with preconceived ideas of how to be successful.

Just picking players because they've already won stuff or been playing at another top club is the trap the rags have been falling into years.

 

[ALDN_Ko]

I want us to pick the right player to provide what we're missing from the squad. I'm not in the dressing room, so I don't know if we're lacking leaders and winners, but with the experience we already have in the squad i'm pretty sure we aren't.

You can pick players with huge medal hauls if you want, but even that's no guarantee of success. Sometimes you need players with hunger and drive, not guys who have already won stuff. Sometimes you need players who are willing to learn and adapt, rather than those with preconceived ideas of how to be successful.

Just picking players because they've already won stuff or been playing at another top club is the trap the rags have been falling into years.

That’s how you end up with a dressing room of divas that won’t listen when Pep is gone. The same thing happened at Madrid once Ancelotti left and they’ve since imploded

 

[pee dubya]

That’s how you end up with a dressing room of divas that won’t listen when Pep is gone. The same thing happened at Madrid once Ancelotti left and they’ve imploded

Exactly, or the opposite is PSG who swapped their stars for young and hungry players from their own league and the Portuguese league, and are now the best team in Europe.

 

[Blue2202]

It's the player that's important, not the team they're in, you can't judge one guy off the achievements of an entire organisation. It's a team game, not an individual sport.

Completely agree,

Kompany - Hamburg
David Silva - Valencia
KDB - Wolfsburg
Aguero - Atleti Madrid (at that time nowhere near what they are now)

All came from non 'elite' clubs and hadn't won much between them before arriving at City... funnily enough all of them have statues outside the ground now.

 

[christened at st marks]

With this 100 per cent.
Donnarumma is brilliant. Really fantastic. But he gets booked every time we concede from a corner.
But Arse in the CC final was our best performance. Much more difficult to press when Trafford plays and as a result we can 'press' (oh how I hate that phrase cos I'm a miserable old git!!!) 20-30 yards further forward.

I'm not havin that, I'm older and more miserable and don't ask how old, coz I've forgot.

 

[SaintColin]

It’s paid off with Doku and still could with Savio. Savio needs regular game time at his age

It has albeit still needs to build on it next year, I would prefer we don’t have to wait 3 years everytime.

 

[CΛL]

Confucius say "One season with a shit team, does not a shit player make."

Pretty sure that was Yoda mate

 

[CΛL]

Wow cup wins. By this logic we should go out and buy 11 players from the Old Firm and we'd be unstoppable. The level of expectation and number of trophies they win is unparalleled.

It's the player that's important, not the team they're in, you can't judge one guy off the achievements of an entire organisation. It's a team game, not an individual sport.

Massively disagree, Haaland and Gvardiol both won cups playing for teams with a certain expectancy level with them clubs, also brought Champions League experience. Doku…it’s hardly a great example. It’s took him 3 years, that’s exactly what I’d like to avoid.

Re Raphinha/Olise signing the odd one isn’t bad, they joined teams with lots of experience to begin with. If we lose Rodri/Bernardo/Stones, thats a huge loss of experience and then to replace them with projects, 21 year old midfielders/wingers…its laughable.

Don’t disagree that some winning experience would be nice but who do you bring in?

Big clubs don’t sell their best players very often or if they do there is a usually a catch, usually that they’re not very good anymore like every dying star United have signed in the last 15 years.

 

[Quinny851]

Completely agree,

Kompany - Hamburg
David Silva - Valencia
KDB - Wolfsburg
Aguero - Atleti Madrid (at that time nowhere near what they are now)

All came from non 'elite' clubs and hadn't won much between them before arriving at City... funnily enough all of them have statues outside the ground now.

David Silva, KDB & Aguero were all considered to be 3 of the brightest prospects in the world at the time though.

 

[ALDN_Ko]

David Silva, KDB & Aguero were all considered to be 3 of the brightest prospects in the world at the time though.

Savio was a top three prospect in La liga, Doku in Ligue 1 etc. Sometimes it’s not easy to have the patience with these young players but it’s a necessary sacrifice for the lower transfer fees.

 

[Blue2202]

David Silva, KDB & Aguero were all considered to be 3 of the brightest prospects in the world at the time though.

I'm not questioning that, I was backing up the point that not one of them was signed from a so-called 'elite' club.

Like the previous poster said you can't just judge a player's ability on the club they play for and their achievements.

We signed Ake having been relegated with Bournemouth and 3 years later he'd won 3 Premier League titles and a treble, starting the CL final.