Even after all the spending, for me we still need at least two fullbacks, a new CB, a new creative CM and a new Striker.
The squad we have is good when everyone is fit but when they are not or we rest the best, it is pretty average as evidenced in the 2nd half particularly last night.
We have been blindly stumbling into this position over the last few years by not replacing players when they needed replacing. We have only just started introducing young talent that will get better and hold their value. Our transfer policy has been flawed but is getting better now. Sterling, Stones, Sane, Jesus are all exciting signings but we are expecting them to all hit the ground running which is not going to be the case week in week out.
When Pellegrini came, he inherited a great set of players, many at the peak of their powers, Kompany, Zab, Silva, Aguero, Nasri. This is why he did so well in his first season. Since then it has been a steady decline to the point where we were almost out of the top 4 last season.
This is not going to be reversed overnight. It will take time. The start of the season has glossed over the problems that are still there and Kolorov is one of them.
I still think we could be thereabouts in the league, have a fighting chance in the FA cup like 5/6 others but are not going to win the CL this season based on what I have seen so far. My expectations have definitely been lowered and I think it will be next season or the one after when we really see the benefit of this new policy.
