So we got beat because we didn't buy more players?
We have the same squad from last season minus De Jong, Pizarro, Taylor, Savic and Johnson but plus Maicon, Sinclair, Nastastic, Rodwell, Wright and Garcia. It's pretty much like for like. Crucially, we have an extra year for all of our players to work together under the same manager and coaching staff. We are underperforming and it's not because we didn't buy more players or because of this one thing or that one thing or this one player or that one player, we're underperforming because of all those things together. When only some of those things are happeneing together, we won't be underperforming.
Nobody else has seemed to mention that De Jong and Taylor going, two very popular players who were always laughing and joking to keep spirits up have gone. I thought Hart relied a lot on that relationship with Taylor, but it's just the impression I get from watching the vids and the like. Again, just one thing that on it's own means little but when combined with loads of other things means underperforming.
To those stating that we should have bought Hazard, RVP, De Rossi and Falcao in January. I'm really not sure if you guys understand how extremely close to the edge on FFP we are. Although the wage exclusions before June 2010 MIGHT save us in the first monitoring period, without a revenue generating miracle in the second one, we're fucked. And I mean proper fucked. A "we need to make a profit of £50m in one year to comply" type of fucked. The only way around this inevitable cliff is operate financially sound in the transfer market, renegotiate the contracts of players to lessen the armortisation and try to make a profit between the difference of amortisation dropping and wages heightening, increase corporatesales and commercial operations by a quite large amount and go further than we are doing in the CL. We might yet be saved by the TV deal coming into place that will make up the lost revenue from the CL this year but there's just no other way of saying it really; we absolutely HAVE to get out of the groups and go further in the CL next year. The TV deal isn't big enough to cover lost revenue of three CL years and failing to get through the groups in the last couple of years has quite probably cost us the ability to buy the Falcao type player without selling someone of equal cost.
We could operate on a one-in one-out system (as we did in the summer, look again at those ins/outs) and if we bought any of the above, we need a player to go out. Now cast your mind back to the Hazard signing. Firstly, if he would have happened then I imagine Tevez or Dzeko wouldn't be here at present. I also think that the interest in RVP wouldn't have been there because there's no way Mancini would sanction the selling of Balo straight after his Euros or Aguero who he plays almost every game. He isn't going to sell Silva or Nasri so he can't find a place for him.
I'm on the record on here as stating numerous times that I believe Marwood to be a person who is somewhat carried. I don't think he's necessarily incompetent, I just don't think he's world class and that's the level to be aiming for.
However, I've never criticised his transfer dealings mainly because I don't think they are his fault. Expecting a man to sell Johnson and bring in Hazard on the same type of money is living in a fantasy. Expecting a man to bring in Hazard then leave the squad bare in other areas is a fools trick. He did his job, he kept the ship afloat by signing like for like players to the ones who left. And to be honest, he did quite well in that considering that our main scouting department got a bit ripped out in the summer without its head and numerous scouts departing for QPR and other pastures new.
Pizarro -> Rodwell is an excellent step up for an exciting young English player instead of an aging Chilean one.
Johnson->Sinclair is pretty like for like and reputedly saved us some wages.
De Jong->Garcia is still in flux. Garcia looked twice the player elsewhere so give him another few months to settle though he reputed lost some wages here
Taylor->Wright is like for like.
Savic->Nastasic is a major step up and has provided some much needed youthful competition at CB.
Maicon replaced nobody. But is obviously a Mancini player
He did fine this summer, I don't get the hate at all. I can only see people with unrealistic expectations of exactly where City are financially thus expect us to have a period of spending like we did in 2010.
