2017/18 Champions League squad announced

[Rolee]

Won't he be on the U21 list, along with the likes of Foden, Tosin etc?

No, needs to be at the club two years to qualify for B list.

 

[blueparrot]

Surprised Mangala is in but I suppose he might get a run out in the later games if we qualify early.

Or if we get injuries / suspensions, can't see any reason why he wouldn't be in the squad.

 

[cjn]

RIP Zinchenko's City career.

Not sure it says much at all. Playing Champions League with us would've always been a big stretch for him this season.

 

[Father Paul]

Great squad that. From those 17 foreign players 2 are unlikely to play (muric and manga). Delph is another who is unlikely so for the rest it's a very compact but incredibly competitive list. Your not holding down a place in that team unless you're on fire! The only weakness I see is full backs and the lack of cover. Only 2 strikers doesn't bother me. A third would never play!

What if the other two are injured? I seem to recall a few seasons back when we had more front men that Milner ended up there for a while. Did all right as well.

 

[Father Paul]

Not sure it says much at all. Playing Champions League with us would've always been a big stretch for him this season.

I think it states clearly that he is ranked number 10 in that list of midfielders and is unlikely to feature very much at all. Again this proves how
shallow our squad is in reality. A number of players are only there to make up the numbers and in case of emergencies. A deep squad would have players 1-25 in PL who
could all be trusted to play a minimum number of games yielding meaningful rotation. We are on a wing and a prayer and unless we have an injury free season akin to that
enjoyed by Chelsea last time things could turn out badly.

 

[KS55]

A lot depends on fitness of Gundogan. At his best he is very much a CL player.

 

[@BluePhil8]

Or if we get injuries / suspensions, can't see any reason why he wouldn't be in the squad.

 

[Cityfan]

I think it states clearly that he is ranked number 10 in that list of midfielders and is unlikely to feature very much at all. Again this proves how
shallow our squad is in reality. A number of players are only there to make up the numbers and in case of emergencies. A deep squad would have players 1-25 in PL who
could all be trusted to play a minimum number of games yielding meaningful rotation. We are on a wing and a prayer and unless we have an injury free season akin to that
enjoyed by Chelsea last time things could turn out badly.

I don't think our squad is that thin or that weak, there are several positions where we could cope quite readily with a long term injury. Our problem is that the two positions where we have injury prone or injured players are the areas where our cover is weakest . (in quality rather than numbers)

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

What if the other two are injured? I seem to recall a few seasons back when we had more front men that Milner ended up there for a while. Did all right as well.

Whenever we have had a third striker they have played minimal games - the Milner situation is an anomaly when you look back as for most of the last few years we have had decent back up strikers even 2nd strikers spending the majority of their time on the bench. If it comes to it then someone will have to step in (Sterling, Sane, D Silva?).

I think it states clearly that he is ranked number 10 in that list of midfielders and is unlikely to feature very much at all. Again this proves how
shallow our squad is in reality. A number of players are only there to make up the numbers and in case of emergencies. A deep squad would have players 1-25 in PL who
could all be trusted to play a minimum number of games yielding meaningful rotation. We are on a wing and a prayer and unless we have an injury free season akin to that
enjoyed by Chelsea last time things could turn out badly.

Disagree! Our squad has been bloated for a long time with decent players forced to sit in the stands! I think we will be much sharper this season as the players will be playing with consistency and with real competition. It's a balance and I prefer the way we look now.

 

[cjn]

I think it states clearly that he is ranked number 10 in that list of midfielders and is unlikely to feature very much at all. Again this proves how
shallow our squad is in reality. A number of players are only there to make up the numbers and in case of emergencies. A deep squad would have players 1-25 in PL who
could all be trusted to play a minimum number of games yielding meaningful rotation. We are on a wing and a prayer and unless we have an injury free season akin to that
enjoyed by Chelsea last time things could turn out badly.

The only one he plausibly could be ahead of on that list is Delph, so thats's pretty much as expected. I'd still expect Zinchenko to play some cup games this year and possibly some cover in the league if we have a few injuries. Or more likely, a January loan.