Assessment of our business this summer | Poll Added

[It'sBlue93:20]

Firstly , I don’t think any of the signings have been particularly bad. I just don’t think any of them have been level-raisers or instant first team contenders which we have seen from: Haaland , Dias , Akanji etc.

Kovacic has probably performed the best of the bunch and I really like the way he keeps the play ticking - his cameo vs Liverpool shows the qualities he possesses.

Gvardiol - I think has massive potential. I think people really forget how young he is. He isn’t actually much older than some of the academy boys. But I think he’s done fairly well albeit perhaps not in his strongest position. I do think defensively we are quite strong in terms of personnel. Don’t doubt he will be a future hit though.

Doku - I’m maybe a little bit against some people on here but I really like Doku. I don’t think he is the kind of player we have been accustomed to seeing at City lately. I think he’s unpredictable , a nightmare to defend against and if he improves his decision-making and learns to retain the ball better , I honestly think he could be one of the best wingers in the world. I thought his cameo vs Liverpool was very good. I also think people are quickly forgetting he is coming back from a long-term injury is very young and like Gvardiol needs a bit of patience and time to get things wrong , he is young , he is gonna make mistakes.


Nunes - He is perhaps the weakest this far of the Pep signings. It’s interesting as he isn’t a typical Pep midfielder. Although I do think with Doku , Kova , Gvardiol and Nunes there was perhaps an attempt to make us more transitional. But with Nunes he’s very athletic , a good ball carrier. Looks better in wide areas but isn’t a controller or have the ability in possession that we typically see from a Pep midfielder. I think we have seen flashes of brilliance but also flashes of very poor play. I would give him time though. Perhaps long-term he is a wide outlet. Personally I want a player that is effective in all games not just games for his ball-carrying. Against Liverpool where we were struggling to control the midfield we couldn’t turn to Nunes to help us and that just shows that he isn’t trusted yet. I’d give him another season and if that doesn’t work out then I’d say he’s off. But I do have faith in him.

 

[Paul1970]

Really disappointed with Doku, makes all the wrong decisions fails to beat his man on crosses more often than not. Shooting 9 times out of 10 is way off, slows the game down at the wrong time. I don’t see him improving tbh and I’m not having this first season bollocks, a complete waste of £50 mill

Buf harsh that mate

 

[Mad 4 It]

Gvardiol - Poor season, but feel long term he will come good. I don't think he was worth £80m though.

Kovacic - No brainer signing considering his experience and price. I like him as an rotational player and impact sub.

Doku - Needed another season at Rennes. The jump up has been too much too soon I feel, albeit I think he needs another season to see what happens. I still think Kvaratsckhelia would have been the better buy.

Nunes - Panic buy. Shows moments but ultimately he will never be good enough for where City want to be.

Overall, in regards to ins and outs it was our worst window since 2012. We were due one I suppose because Txiki has been a king in relation to recruitment the past 10 years give or take a few.

Summed up perfectly, I’d rather have given more minutes to Palmer and spent more to get Rice. Rice and Gvardiol would have been good enough if we couldn’t have got anyone else. We’d have saved money for wirtz Musiala etc

 

[Mad 4 It]

Buf harsh that mate

I would of kind of agreed but after wimping out of heading the ball and letting it bounce to then nearly give a pen away in probably the most important game of the season so far says it all for me

 

[nellyonthewing]

When you are top of the pile sitting there to admire the view is a sure way of getting caught up. We needed to push on and maintain the gap in quality we enjoyed .In hindsight we didn't.

 

[Brewster's millions]

When you are top of the pile sitting there to admire the view is a sure way of getting caught up. We needed to push on and maintain the gap in quality we enjoyed .In hindsight we didn't.

I don’t disagree with us not pushing on, but I also think a number of things transpired against us last summer which meant it was always going to be hard to improve the quality of the squad.

I do think some of our main targets were simply not available last summer, and we’ve had to wait for them with the view of getting them this year or move onto other players. Paqueta is the obvious one but Musiala is hopefully another. I think Rice would have been a good signing, but I happened by chance to speak to someone who knows him a couple of months ago and they were sceptical that he was ever really committed to coming up north.

The second thing was a question of how ruthless or disruptive we wanted to be to the squad after winning the treble, particularly with Gundogan and Mahrez having chosen to leave. It may have been the time to move other senior players on, but there was possibly a reluctance to do this with important players having already left and the hierarchy may have placed additional weight on a bit of continuity.

Obviously all of the above only really offers an explanation for one poor summer window, and we need to get our ducks in a row this summer and add some genuine quality to the squad, signing players for the first XI rather than just the squad. We also need to get quite a few out of the door, so we could see an unusually large turnover in the squad this year.

 

[Mad 4 It]

I don’t disagree with us not pushing on, but I also think a number of things transpired against us last summer which meant it was always going to be hard to improve the quality of the squad.

I do think some of our main targets were simply not available last summer, and we’ve had to wait for them with the view of getting them this year or move onto other players. Paqueta is the obvious one but Musiala is hopefully another. I think Rice would have been a good signing, but I happened by chance to speak to someone who knows him a couple of months ago and they were sceptical that he was ever really committed to coming up north.

The second thing was a question of how ruthless or disruptive we wanted to be to the squad after winning the treble, particularly with Gundogan and Mahrez having chosen to leave. It may have been the time to move other senior players on, but there was possibly a reluctance to do this with important players having already left and the hierarchy may have placed additional weight on a bit of continuity.

Obviously all of the above only really offers an explanation for one poor summer window, and we need to get our ducks in a row this summer and add some genuine quality to the squad, signing players for the first XI rather than just the squad. We also need to get quite a few out of the door, so we could see an unusually large turnover in the squad this year.

I understand everything you have said and agree with most. The thing I don’t get is why buy inferior players for the sake of it. You can’t tell me that Palmer is inferior to Doku and Nunes was a panic buy. Very summer 2012 all over again. If there’s no one to buy keep your powder dry and wait, we have an excellent academy use some from there instead of buying what can only be described as “stocking fillers”

 

[Paul1970]

When you are top of the pile sitting there to admire the view is a sure way of getting caught up. We needed to push on and maintain the gap in quality we enjoyed .In hindsight we didn't.

Very difficult to come back every year to keep winning the title and that is why it’s never been done before . Team is tired and so is pep I thibk .

 

[Kamaro011]

Improved us from what though? We won the treble last season and have won three PLs on the trot, it would have been ridiculous if they had short term.

That we’re still in with a shout of replicating that feat the very next season is far far better than most do.

We’re clearly in a transition phase and still competing/winning.

It's insane how people expectation are, some people think treble every fucking season is new norm now just because we did it last season.

 

[Alias]

Kovacic the best of an uninspiring bunch. Could happily do without the rest.

Nunes was a waste, Gvardiol wasn’t needed and I’d rather have kept Palmer than signed Doku.