Maybe so. But it is alarming that he is out once again even if it is only for a few games. It seems to be a fact of live at City now that we rarely get our first 11 on the pitch together. Constant injuries to key players are severely curtailing our ability to put together title winning runs. One wonders how long it will be before Kun pulls up and is out for six weeks? Will Kompany stay fit if he gets back?
What about our midfield back up Delph and Fernando they always seem to be on the bench. With some justification people have been critical of Yaya but one thing you can say about the guy he is rarely if ever injured. Navas another lad often in the firing line likewise is normally available. Pep's tenure at Munich seemed to me from a distance to be one were he battled against continuous injury problems and I think at one stage he had a serious falling out with the medical staff. Will an inability to keep our players fit this season be our undoing?
On the contrary rather than "zero reason" I think that there is every reason to float this out there. Now I accept that injuries are part and parcel of the game and City are by no means alone when it comes to players ending up on the sick list. However, the regularity with which certain players are missing does seem to vary substantially Vincent Kompany been a prime example of this. The problem is that there seems to be a certain inevitability that these things "happen" frequently to some players when they get knocks or just appear to break down. I am not writing us off and still expect us to be there or there about's this season and this may be a universal football problem but it is an issue that could cost us.Wouldnt worry as much as you seem to be
Injuries happen. EVERYBODY is looking for an excuse to write us off in some way, so dont give them ammunition. Zero reason to post something like this when none of the above has happened yet. A skilled, tricky player is going to get little knocks from constant kicking etc. Just accept that we have a strong squad further up the pitch and he can be replaced for a week or two
On the contrary rather than "zero reason" I think that there is every reason to float this out there. Now I accept that injuries are part and parcel of the game and City are by no means alone when it comes to players ending up on the sick list. However, the regularity with which certain players are missing does seem to vary substantially Vincent Kompany been a prime example of this. The problem is that there seems to be a certain inevitability that these things "happen" frequently to some players when they get knocks or just appear to break down. I am not writing us off and still expect us to be there or there about's this season and this may be a universal football problem but it is an issue that could cost us.
I hope you are right about Kompany not convinced by this toxicity argument buy hey I am not a medical scientist. Silva's bad ankle and how Pelligrini dealt with it has been well documented and we all hope that this problem is behind him. Not sure that some others Kun and Delph in particular will not break down unexpectedly but I will stress again that this may be a universal issue in the modern game which afflicts all teams. Finally I go back to Yaya and ask this question how many games in his time at City did he miss because he was injured?Kompany is the only player in the squad with multiple long term injuries though isn't he?
Silva had an ankle problem last year thar lasted most of the season. The advice was for him to rest it for a few weeks and not play. He wasn't able to do that during the season because Pellegrini played him in every game.
He's got a thigh strain in training, completely unrelated to the ankle injury. It's not a trend, it's completely normal.
Kompany is a different issue. Guardiola has said he has some toxicity in his muscle tissue. This explains why he was getting multiple muscle injuries. We are being incredibly cautious with him and only bringing him back when all of the blood samples come back showing all of the toxicity is gone.
There is no injury problem with the squad this season.
I hope you are right about Kompany not convinced by this toxicity argument buy hey I am not a medical scientist. Silva's bad ankle and how Pelligrini dealt with it has been well documented and we all hope that this problem is behind him. Not sure that some others Kun and Delph in particular will not break down unexpectedly but I will stress again that this may be a universal issue in the modern game which afflicts all teams. Finally I go back to Yaya and ask this question how many games in his time at City did he miss because he was injured?
I hope you are right about Kompany not convinced by this toxicity argument buy hey I am not a medical scientist. Silva's bad ankle and how Pelligrini dealt with it has been well documented and we all hope that this problem is behind him. Not sure that some others Kun and Delph in particular will not break down unexpectedly but I will stress again that this may be a universal issue in the modern game which afflicts all teams. Finally I go back to Yaya and ask this question how many games in his time at City did he miss because he was injured?
Good points about Yaya but although it was a while ago now I do remember certain people sick at school more often than others and I think I know the reason why!! Led and swinging come immediately to mind.It's inevitable some players get injured more than others. Same as some people are ill more than others. I'm sure you remember some people at school that werecoff sick more days than others, it's inevitable.
Yaya is one of the most naturally athletic and strong human beings I have ever seen. He's possibly the strongest player ever in the Premier League. Perhaps he's blessed with muscles that don't tire or strain as easily as others.
Don't know why you think this is a "total meltdown" but rather highlighting what may turn out to be a genuine concern. Good points about Kun and I hope you are right. His recent failure to travel to ArgentinaFor all we know Silva is just being rested because we have back ups, and there's no need for him to play through the kind of small niggle or strain that footballers regularly play through.
Pep is a big believer in prevention rather than cure with squad fitness, no need to have a total meltdown over the squad's fitness.
Also Sergio's injuries has become an outdated cliche. Post 2014 world cup he's almost completely eliminated the recurring muscle problems he used to suffer from, and now spends a pretty normal amount of time injured - it's only mentioned more because of his previous record.
The only notable injury he had last year was when he disobeyed the teams advice and decided to play a couple of Argentina games when he should have rested - something which I'm sure is less likely to happen under Guardiola.
Loved that every bits.He wasn't shy in dishing it out either - he took that fucker out on the touchline with a right 1970s clean out! Good lad.
Silva is also 'almost ready', but is unlikely to be risked.Any news on him? Pep din't seem to mention him in his presser. We don't want him being out for too long as he'll lose the rhythm he'd got himself into
The great relief is that City with Gündogan finally have a decent back-up and even rotation option for either Silva or De Bruyne, that should have a double positive effect:
1. If Gündogan is frequently rotated into the team, Silva & De Bruyne will be likely to suffer less fatigue injuries;
2. When they do get injured, there is a very decent back-up plan with Gündogan.
I hope Kelechi can do the same favor to Sergio Agüero, but I still think the latter is less replaceable. Defo in CL.
Same for the center backs where Otamendi, Stones, Kompany, Kolarov ... can all be rotated without too much quality loss.
Anyway, am confident that City is more than sufficiently equiped this season to win the league again. Closest contenders should be Chelsea & Liverpool, I feel, although Arsenal is not to be underestimated either. Lot of stability now in that team and improving by the week.
CL is way too early for City, to repeat last year (reach semis) would already be a big success. Barcena, Real Madrid & Bayern Munich are still a few miles ahead imo.
This City side will always have a fighting chance but I think you're underestimating the general quality difference that still exists between the 3 aforementioned teams (especially Barcelona) & a team like Manchester City, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund & Paris St. Germain who I all rate likewise.Great point about the competition for places in midfield and the excellent back up option we have all over the pitch.
However, I think you're slightly underselling us in the CL. Even if we take Pep out of the equation, we've got at the 4th best squad in Europe. It's very rare that the 4 best teams get to the semi finals, so depending on the draw we are very capable of getting to the final, and anything can happen in a final.
Looking at Barca, their front 3 are on another planet, but elsewhere, we are a match for them. I would pick Fernandinho every day over Busquests. A 30 year old Silva and a 32 year old Iniesta, there is very little between them. De Bruyne is better than Rakatic.
Their full backs are better, but the way Kolarov has started the season has been incredible. Stones is better on the ball than Pique, although Pique is a better defender. Kompany is miles better than Umtiti. And Bravo was Barca's first choice keeper before we bought him, so we're better there too.
Compared with Bayern, Alsonso, Vidal and Thiago simply wouldn't get in our central midfield at the moment. They would all be 5th choice at best. Boeteng and Hummels are decent, but for our style of play I'd choose Stones and Kompany over them both. Muller and De Bruyne are pretty similar levels, their keeper and full backs are better than ours, but Aguero is better than Lewandowski.
Their first choice wingers are better than ours, but their approaching their mid 30s and are injury prone. I'd choose Sterling and Sané over Costa and Coman.
There really isn't much to choose between the squads.
Madrid look stronger on paper than us, but they beat us 1-0 over 2 legs at our absolute worst last season. Zidane is a managerial novice, whereas Pep is the best tactical coach in Europe by far, and has been for 7 years.
I think people are writing off our CL chances too dismissively. We are not favourites by any means, but we've still got a very good chance.
This City side will always have a fighting chance but I think you're underestimating the general quality difference that still exists between the 3 aforementioned teams (especially Barcelona) & a team like Manchester City, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund & Paris St. Germain who I all rate likewise.
It's not so much about comparing individual player quality, cause I do agree with most of your comparisons (except Busquets, he's light year ahead of Fernandinho and I really like Dinho), but just looking how the different teams play as a whole, as a unity. Barcelona is a work of art, unmatched by any team in history, Real Madrid is technical perfection, Bayern Munich is an unstoppable machine. Manchester City is work in progress. That's the difference. I'm sure Pep will go a long way in the next couple of seasons trying to finish the City product, but everything will need to come together at the same time, there will be no more room for flaws or imperfections.
Until that day, I'm quite sure that if City would play Barcelona 5 times on neutral ground, Barcelona would win 4, there would be one or win for City.
If City play Bayern or Real 5 times, 3 certain wins for the opposition, and 1 draw + 1 win for City.
It should be put to the test, but I'm quite sure the outcome would be something a long those lines.
As much as I agree Pep is a great tactical manager and will improve City massively, I don't think you should overestimate the influence of a manager either. The most obvious reason why City easily beat United last week is the fact that City have a much better squad. United is nowhere near us in terms of quality. A good manager, like Guardiola, will just make the most out of that difference in quality. But when you face a squad that is arguably better, a good manager is able to limit the damage at best. You can still nick the odd win, but it will be due to good fortune rather than smart tactics. Although good tactics will of course increase your odds, but you will still be far from favourites.What do you think Busquets is light years ahead at in particular? Reading the game? Intercepting the ball? Tackling? Dropping in to the back line? Pass selection? Energy and closing down? I just don't see it. Busquets is a good player who's played in an incredible side. Give any decent footballer loads of time on the ball and passing options of Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Neymar and Suarez in front of him, and any that is worth their salt wouldn't find it too difficult to find a decent 15 yard pass to feet.
He plays in an extraordinarily dominant side, so with the 5 players in front of him pressing so high, he has so much time on the ball with 5 world class players in front of him constantly making passing angles for him. Would Barca see a massive drop off in quality if Busquets was replaced by Xavi Alonso or Fernandinho? I'm not so sure. With the intensity and pace of the PL, would City see a huge improvement if we dropped Fernandinho for Busquets? I don't think we would.
I agree the 3 other sides are ahead of City right now and they probably would win a head to head over a few games. But we've got Guardiola. He's very capable of outsmarting Zidane and Enrique. Look how he outclassed Mourinho only 2 weeks ago, who is light years ahead tactically from Zidane and Enrique. Ancelotti is an excellent coach, particularly in Europe. Him and Pep is a close tactical battle, but we have quality that can trouble them all over the pitch.
We're 4th favourites with the bookies to win the CL and I think that's about right. If we avoid the big 3 until the final then I think we've got a great chance, I wouldn't back any manager to outsmart Pep in a one off game.
As much as I agree Pep is a great tactical manager and will improve City massively, I don't think you should overestimate the influence of a manager either. The most obvious reason why City easily beat United last week is the fact that City have a much better squad. United is nowhere near us in terms of quality. A good manager, like Guardiola, will just make the most out of that difference in quality. But when you face a squad that is arguably better, a good manager is able to limit the damage at best. You can still nick the odd win, but it will be due to good fortune rather than smart tactics. Although good tactics will of course increase your odds, but you will still be far from favourites.
Just to say, you can let Brendan Rodgers, David Moyes or Gary f***** Neville manage this Barcelona side, and they will still be favourites to beat Pep's City. In the long run that Barcelona side would deteriorate of course, but it will take a long while and a huge screw-up to ruin that generation of players.
As for Busquets v Fernandinho. You're probably right that Fernandinho would easily fit into this fully functional Barcelona side, the other way around I do think a player like Busquets could still mean some improvement for City, but it may not be a very big difference no. The impact of one single player, as long as he's decent enough, will not be that big, good or bad, bar the attacking wonders of this world like Messi, or Ibrahimovic for PSG in the Micky Mouse league.
But just comparing the two players, the level of control and game intelligence that Busquets has I strongly believe is unmatched by any player worldwide in his position.