City's €140m summer will "stun English football"

[Rammyblues]

The simple one is they cost nowt, that is the biggest rule. The second biggest rule is you can have as many as you want in a squad, so if our whole squad were 20 year olds who had been at our academy since they were 17 the 25 man rules do not exist we could have a list of 100 players and there would be fuck all anyone could do. (In reality it won't work like that) but you get the idea.

 

[Cobwebcat]

Agree or not?


http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2013/6/5/4399162/manchester-city-transfers-2013-analysis?


good Manchester City side were swatted aside by Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United in a season in which they'd have expected to come far closer to defending their Premier League title than they actually did. The club's solution? Wholesale change.

Roberto Mancini was fired. Manuel Pellegrini is reportedly inbound. The managerial switch constitutes an upgrade or, at least, it should -- Mancini's glaring lack of motivational skills looks to be one of the prime factors behind his squad's sharp decline last season -- even though it did not meet with a universally positive response from City fans. But while changing the coaching staff makes sense, the transfer policy that the club has adhered to so far this summer does not.

In has come Spain international Jesus Navas, for the cool sum of €25 million plus wages. Shakhtar Donetsk's Fernandinho is to follow, for somewhere around €30 million (nobody seems to have made up his mind on just how much he costs quite yet). These are big, expensive purchases, and would upgrade most teams in the league. But they don't really make very much sense for City.

Neither Navas -- who can be not incorrectly described as the Spanish equivalent of Aaron Lennon -- nor Fernandinho rank amongst the world's elite players. They're in the second tier of very goodness. In lesser sides they'd be (and are) stars. But at City, a team which intends to compete for domestic and European glory, they are, or should be, part of the supporting cast rather than front-liners.

Although Navas and Fernandinho will help the squad, with Navas serving as the true wide option City have been missing ever since Adam Johnson was found out to be distinctly mediocre and Fernandinho serving as a midfielder who is definitely not Gareth Barry, they're not superstar signings, nor are they youngsters with room to grow (Navas is 27, Fernandinho 28). These are stop-gaps, players brought in for a few years to shore up the squad rather than taking it to the next level.

For the amount of money that City have thrown at/are throwing at their new acqusitions, they could have signed a superstar player fairly easily. While it's too early to say just how this summer's market will develop, the likes of Eden Hazard, Javi Martinez and Luka Modric were all available last year for not wholly unreasonable prices. Those are the sorts of names that could catapult City ahead of their competition. The likes of Navas and Fernandinho will merely serve to arrest the club's early decline.

 

[Rammyblues]

Been done to death in another thread, written by a Yank Chelsea fan so what do you expect. I like it shows we are getting to them again hadn't had that for a while.

 

[carlos tevez is a blue]

We are shopping in Marks and Spencers when we should be in Harrods.

Navas when we could have gone for Ronaldo,Bale,De Maria,Robben

Fernandhino when we could have gone for Fabregas,Vidal,Thiago

Disco Isco who isn't in the Spain Confederations Cup Squad looks like being next.

Going to be lucky to finish above Spurs at this rate.

6/10, try harder Clarkie.

 

[Cobwebcat]

Been done to death in another thread, written by a Yank Chelsea fan so what do you expect. I like it shows we are getting to them again hadn't had that for a while.

Yeah didn't see it. I'm kind of torn. I'm not sure this quality of player will win us the CL but then they might be the final pieces in a complicated jigsaw.

I think if they are in addition to Isco and Cavani then I'd be happy.

 

[Rammyblues]

Neither am I I have only gone of the youtube clips and what everyone else has said but until you see them in the flesh in a game of any real note or over a season it is pretty difficult to assess whether Navas and Fernandhino will "guarantee" the sucess, Ifiwasarichfan has his opinion, he might well be right, who is to say, I hope he isn't for all I know these two are worldbeaters and if we sign Cavani he is just another Uraguayan Andy Carroll. :-)

 

[ifiwasarichfan]

Neither am I I have only gone of the youtube clips and what everyone else has said but until you see them in the flesh in a game of any real note or over a season it is pretty difficult to assess whether Navas and Fernandhino will "guarantee" the sucess, Ifiwasarichfan has his opinion, he might well be right, who is to say, I hope he isn't for all I know these two are worldbeaters and if we sign Cavani he is just another Uraguayan Andy Carroll. :-)

Cheers Rammy

Probably went a bit over the top with the line about "battling Spurs" for 5th and these guys could well be the missing pieces of the Jigsaw but we all watch a lot of Champions League Games these days and everybody knows who the real big stars are. Two or three of them in the key positions we all agree on (Winger,Striker,Driving Midfielder) and we should be pushing the Bayerns and the Barca's.

With the exception of Cavani (and he isn't here yet) it looks like we are playing percentages but paying top dollar for the privelage.



Incidentally,Blue 2112 is arguing a similar line right now on the Frenandinho Medical thread.

 

[rugbyblue]

With the exception of Cavani (and he isn't here yet) it looks like we are playing percentages but paying top dollar for the privelage.



Incidentally,Blue 2112 is arguing a similar line right now on the Frenandinho Medical thread.

17m (rising to 21-23 depending on cups/league) for Navas, with reported wages of 45k is not 'top dollar'.

Navas: Great ball skills, created more open play opportunities than anyone else in spain.
Fernandinho: Solid, tracks back, good football brain, reads ahead of play
Isco: Stunning ball skills, amazing turns, potentially sublime alongside Silva
Cavani: Ironically as the most expensive, also the one i'm least sure about as last season most of his goals came from goal poaching rather than creating chances. But we need someone banging them in.

 

[lightning Rodri]

Neither am I I have only gone of the youtube clips and what everyone else has said but until you see them in the flesh in a game of any real note or over a season it is pretty difficult to assess whether Navas and Fernandhino will "guarantee" the sucess, Ifiwasarichfan has his opinion, he might well be right, who is to say, I hope he isn't for all I know these two are worldbeaters and if we sign Cavani he is just another Uraguayan Andy Carroll. :-)

Cheers Rammy

Probably went a bit over the top with the line about "battling Spurs" for 5th and these guys could well be the missing pieces of the Jigsaw but we all watch a lot of Champions League Games these days and everybody knows who the real big stars are. Two or three of them in the key positions we all agree on (Winger,Striker,Driving Midfielder) and we should be pushing the Bayerns and the Barca's.

With the exception of Cavani (and he isn't here yet) it looks like we are playing percentages but paying top dollar for the privelage.



Incidentally,Blue 2112 is arguing a similar line right now on the Frenandinho Medical thread.

Really? Why do u think that city are good enough to be on same level as two of best sides in Europe ?

 

[FrancoisToure]

With the exception of Cavani (and he isn't here yet) it looks like we are playing percentages but paying top dollar for the privelage.



Incidentally,Blue 2112 is arguing a similar line right now on the Frenandinho Medical thread.

17m (rising to 21-23 depending on cups/league) for Navas, with reported wages of 45k is not 'top dollar'.

Navas: Great ball skills, created more open play opportunities than anyone else in spain.
Fernandinho: Solid, tracks back, good football brain, reads ahead of play
Isco: Stunning ball skills, amazing turns, potentially sublime alongside Silva
Cavani: Ironically as the most expensive, also the one i'm least sure about as last season most of his goals came from goal poaching rather than creating chances. But we need someone banging them in.

45k is after tax. Not how it is typically reported. Actual number if we are comparing apples to apples is up in the 70s.