The elephant in the room with the 'Project' has always been that City are completely at the mercy of the Barca Boys. If they prove to be not quite as good as it says on the tin, what next? At the moment we're seeing the last days of the players who were bought before they came along. The squad should be looking bullet-proof for the next 5 years or so by now. It isn't. We've got the 5th highest revenue in world football, just been estimated part of the 2nd most valuable sports entity in the world and the manager says that we can't compete with the big clubs. Still poor little City to some it seems.
We have grown exponentially over the last decade, and all with the anchor of FFP around our necks, so I think it is amazing that we have been able to spend a quarter billion quid on a back four...and unbelievable it is the weakest part of the team!
We have tried to bring in world class players who can fit into Pep’s System, which takes the most technically proficient players in the world, but injuries combined with some potentially less than world class talent that hasn’t quite fit in has made that more difficult than assumed.
In addition, on its day, the way we play is unmanageable to other teams. However, it is wholly one-dimensional against the 11 man defence and comes under enormous pressure against the quality teams that aggressively shut us down.
As I said in another post, it is starting to feel like Pep’s System is not only being copied by many, many teams now, but a newer, more aggressive and much quicker system of playing is taking over.
The balance of this season and next season...supposedly Pep’s last...will be very interesting to see. With the Euros this summer creating a short break and off season, the personnel and style changes (should they occur) will be very, very interesting. As Pep has repeatedly said, some clubs have history and that history has required multiple rebuilding phases around a core philosophy and bringing through (and in) the players needed to keep the success flowing.
Can City achieve this? One would hope so given the financial clout, facilities and recent history, but it remains to be seen.
Here’s hoping that this doesn’t all unravel in a Typical City fashion that some of us have seen too many times over the last 50 years.