City & FFP | 2020/21 Accounts released | Revenues of £569.8m, £2.4m profit (p 2395)

[Dribble]

No need to spend crazy but we need a couple of top level players in the Silva, Aguero, Kompany league to take us to the next level. £30/£40m on each one.

We need more than that in my opinion, we need better backup players all round, this is meant to be a harsh assessment, and probably looks greedy, but

LB (either replaced as both are probably only backup standard)
CB (Boyata, perhaps 2 if MD goes, as he might want more game time)
CM (Yaya)
AM 2 (Nasri (assumed Lampard is gone) needs replaced or supplemented, though Pozo might do the job of 1, we can't just keep Nasri and Pozo, and expect them to cover Silva)
RW/RM (Navas can be improved on, though this wouldn't be my priority)
LW/LM (Milner if he doesn't sign)
CF (need to add a better one to fill in for Sergio when injured, and I probably would replace Dzeko, and Jovetic if possible, as neither are reliable enough, either from a fitness PoV, or from an ability/effort PoV)

I'm also not convinced by

GK, can one of the young ones step up ? Not convinced by Cabellero.
Sagna (Zab might have peaked anyway but he needs more reliable cover)

We might win the league with our current playing staff, but we're not likely to make any great assault on the CL imho (unless we get very lucky like Chelsea did), without significant changes to the playing staff.

Its only my opinion, and a deliberately harsh one, but the flaws were there only a few weeks ago, and while we have sorted them out now, they could resurface at any time.

The squad needs to evolve, because not enough top quality has been brought in in the last couple of seasons for me, lots of good players but not the very top end.

Brutal!! You've certainly got a touch of the Grim Reaper about you, but apart from Nasri and Jovetic I agree with your assessment.

I've said all along that the summer window after we won our first Premier League title was the one where we should have driven home our advantage and spectacularly failed to do so and I firmly believe and have said many a time that we're still suffering because of it.

Of Maicon, Sinclair, Rodwell, Nastasic and Garcia only Sinclair & Nastasic still remain and even they are dead men walking as they would have gone in the summer if we had any takers. To consider that we wanted RVP and Hazard and ended up with that lot takes a lot of believing considering the scouting talent and experience we apparently have. We spent circa £55m on those players whilst we could have had RVP and Hazard for the same money! Now who amongst us can seriously say they wouldn't prefer that particular alternative right now?

Let's just hope that those lessons have been learned and once we are free from the shackles of FFP, that we ensure we opt for quality over quantity.

 

[cleavers]

Brutal!! You've certainly got a touch of the Grim Reaper about you

It wasn't meant like that, just an honest assessment of where I think we are in terms of the biggest prize, and that is our ultimate goal.

Note, I haven't said who I'd replace any of them with, because if I'm honest, I really don't know.

Off my list, the priority would be a LB, a CB, CM, and a couple of strikers, I honestly think these are 'musts', and they must be the top level, no mucking about with hopefuls. The ones I mention directly that I'd keep, and only as part of a stronger squad, are probably the two you mention, plus Navas.

I know it sounds like a greedy list, it is, but if we are to crack the CL, we need to match the striking quality available at Bayern, Barca, and Real, and that won't come cheap.

 

[bluechampion7891]

We're allowed to have 16 foreigners, 4 Association trained and 1 Club trained (or any combination of 5 with minimum 1 CT)

Joe Hart (HG)
Wilfried Caballero

Bacary Sagna
Pablo Zabaleta
Vincent Kompany
Martin Demichelis
Eliaquim Mangala
Dedryck Boyata (CT)
Gael Clichy (HG)
Aleks Kolarov

Fernando
Fernandinho
Yaya Toure
James Milner (HG)
Frank Lampard (HG)
David Silva
Samir Nasri
Jesus Navas

Edin Dzeko
Sergio Aguero
Stevan Jovetic

Thats 21 with 4 HG, 1 CT. We didn't even have room for Scott Sinclair :(

I guess everything rides on what happens with Lampard.

hence your reasoning for barkley is sound, lampard goes when yaya comes back and barkley is a direct replacement for lampard keeping the quota within limits

are we sure that he can play for us, barkley that is, in the CL? shouldnt he be cup tied having played in a UEFA event?

 

[Dribble]

Brutal!! You've certainly got a touch of the Grim Reaper about you

It wasn't meant like that, just an honest assessment of where I think we are in terms of the biggest prize, and that is our ultimate goal.

Note, I haven't said who I'd replace any of them with, because if I'm honest, I really don't know.

Off my list, the priority would be a LB, a CB, CM, and a couple of strikers, I honestly think these are 'musts', and they must be the top level, no mucking about with hopefuls. The ones I mention directly that I'd keep, and only as part of a stronger squad, are probably the two you mention, plus Navas.

I know it sounds like a greedy list, it is, but if we are to crack the CL, we need to match the striking quality available at Bayern, Barca, and Real, and that won't come cheap.

Remind me never to get on the wrong side of your scythe! :-)

I fully agree with you as to make on omelette, you have to break eggs. Out of interest if we were to change one LB who would you chop? (Pardon the pun)

Also would you replace Yaya or have a replacement in place for when he's ready for the knackers yard?

I also understand where you're coming from with the striking options, as the ones who I would think will be available won't be up to the standard I think we both aspire to. All the same, money no object, which two strikers would you like to see us go for?

 

[cleavers]

Out of interest if we were to change one LB who would you chop? (Pardon the pun)

Clichy this week, Kolorov next week.....

Also would you replace Yaya or have a replacement in place for when he's ready for the knackers yard?

Replace in the summer, been great for us, and I really like him as a player, and am unconcerned with the other crap, however its unlikely he'll improve any further only decline.

I also understand where you're coming from with the striking options, as the ones who I would think will be available won't be up to the standard I think we both aspire to. All the same, money no object, which two strikers would you like to see us go for?

No idea, the best available I can't stand, and I hope they never play for us.

 

[SWP's back]

OPEC's move is about the U.S. not Russia and it is because the U.S. is a couple of years of energy independence which countries like Saudi are terrified about, their concern is if the ,U.S. doesn't need their oil will they still play as hard in the area ,

At less than 80 bucks a lot of US producers go into loss especially in n dakota, a lot of that shale oil extraction is funded on debt most of which needs renewing in 15 and 16 - if they are losing money refinancing is hard and a credit crunch could occur - OPEC is pushing this to get US commitments post energy independence - it is a very very high stakes poker - Russia is cholateral damage and this is not a bad thing for the U.S. or Europe.

So not about the US and so about Russia.

 

[Jimfv1]

No need to spend crazy but we need a couple of top level players in the Silva, Aguero, Kompany league to take us to the next level. £30/£40m on each one.

We need more than that in my opinion, we need better backup players all round, this is meant to be a harsh assessment, and probably looks greedy, but

LB (either replaced as both are probably only backup standard)
CB (Boyata, perhaps 2 if MD goes, as he might want more game time)
CM (Yaya)
AM 2 (Nasri (assumed Lampard is gone) needs replaced or supplemented, though Pozo might do the job of 1, we can't just keep Nasri and Pozo, and expect them to cover Silva)
RW/RM (Navas can be improved on, though this wouldn't be my priority)
LW/LM (Milner if he doesn't sign)
CF (need to add a better one to fill in for Sergio when injured, and I probably would replace Dzeko, and Jovetic if possible, as neither are reliable enough, either from a fitness PoV, or from an ability/effort PoV)

I'm also not convinced by

GK, can one of the young ones step up ? Not convinced by Cabellero.
Sagna (Zab might have peaked anyway but he needs more reliable cover)

We might win the league with our current playing staff, but we're not likely to make any great assault on the CL imho (unless we get very lucky like Chelsea did), without significant changes to the playing staff.

Its only my opinion, and a deliberately harsh one, but the flaws were there only a few weeks ago, and while we have sorted them out now, they could resurface at any time.

The squad needs to evolve, because not enough top quality has been brought in in the last couple of seasons for me, lots of good players but not the very top end.

Spot on, I agree with the assessment of all of these positions, as has been said Yaya won't get any better, but he is still a decent player for us and we can choose which players to replace next summer, depending to some extent on what offers we get and which players become available that we can afford. It will be a juggling act to bring in new players to improve the team and it won't happen in one window that's for sure, but I'm sure the club will be trying to bring in better players to make the team more competitive in the seasons to come.

 

[HelloCity]

@JakeFCohen: 2013/14 commercial revenues (£m)
Bayern: 229
Real: 191
MUFC: 189
MCFC: 166
Barca: 133
CFC (est): 120
Arsenal: 77
Atletico: 29
Everton: 13

 

[TCIB]

@JakeFCohen: 2013/14 commercial revenues (£m)
Bayern: 229
Real: 191
MUFC: 189
MCFC: 166
Barca: 133
CFC (est): 120
Arsenal: 77
Atletico: 29
Everton: 13

Get in!
Earned more than Barca? Woah.

 

[Dribble]

@JakeFCohen: 2013/14 commercial revenues (£m)
Bayern: 229
Real: 191
MUFC: 189
MCFC: 166
Barca: 133
CFC (est): 120
Arsenal: 77
Atletico: 29
Everton: 13

Get in!
Earned more than Barca? Woah.

Great!

We've beaten them off the pitch, now comes the hard part of beating them on it........ :-)