David Silva - 2016/17 performances

[Chi-town blues]

He wasn't shy in dishing it out either - he took that fucker out on the touchline with a right 1970s clean out! Good lad.

Loved that every bits.

 

[wolfie1988]

Any news on him? Pep din't seem to mention him in his presser. We don't want him being out for too long as he'll lose the rhythm he'd got himself into

 

[kaz7]

Any news on him? Pep din't seem to mention him in his presser. We don't want him being out for too long as he'll lose the rhythm he'd got himself into

Silva is also 'almost ready', but is unlikely to be risked.

 

[City_Sean]

Imagine he'll be back for Saturday then?

 

[KDBestplayerintheworld]

The great relief is that City with Gündogan finally have a decent back-up and even rotation option for either Silva or De Bruyne, that should have a double positive effect:
1. If Gündogan is frequently rotated into the team, Silva & De Bruyne will be likely to suffer less fatigue injuries;
2. When they do get injured, there is a very decent back-up plan with Gündogan.

I hope Kelechi can do the same favor to Sergio Agüero, but I still think the latter is less replaceable. Defo in CL.

Same for the center backs where Otamendi, Stones, Kompany, Kolarov ... can all be rotated without too much quality loss.

Anyway, am confident that City is more than sufficiently equiped this season to win the league again. Closest contenders should be Chelsea & Liverpool, I feel, although Arsenal is not to be underestimated either. Lot of stability now in that team and improving by the week.

CL is way too early for City, to repeat last year (reach semis) would already be a big success. Barcena, Real Madrid & Bayern Munich are still a few miles ahead imo.

 

[Shaelumstash]

The great relief is that City with Gündogan finally have a decent back-up and even rotation option for either Silva or De Bruyne, that should have a double positive effect:
1. If Gündogan is frequently rotated into the team, Silva & De Bruyne will be likely to suffer less fatigue injuries;
2. When they do get injured, there is a very decent back-up plan with Gündogan.

I hope Kelechi can do the same favor to Sergio Agüero, but I still think the latter is less replaceable. Defo in CL.

Same for the center backs where Otamendi, Stones, Kompany, Kolarov ... can all be rotated without too much quality loss.

Anyway, am confident that City is more than sufficiently equiped this season to win the league again. Closest contenders should be Chelsea & Liverpool, I feel, although Arsenal is not to be underestimated either. Lot of stability now in that team and improving by the week.

CL is way too early for City, to repeat last year (reach semis) would already be a big success. Barcena, Real Madrid & Bayern Munich are still a few miles ahead imo.

Great point about the competition for places in midfield and the excellent back up option we have all over the pitch.

However, I think you're slightly underselling us in the CL. Even if we take Pep out of the equation, we've got at the 4th best squad in Europe. It's very rare that the 4 best teams get to the semi finals, so depending on the draw we are very capable of getting to the final, and anything can happen in a final.

Looking at Barca, their front 3 are on another planet, but elsewhere, we are a match for them. I would pick Fernandinho every day over Busquests. A 30 year old Silva and a 32 year old Iniesta, there is very little between them. De Bruyne is better than Rakatic.

Their full backs are better, but the way Kolarov has started the season has been incredible. Stones is better on the ball than Pique, although Pique is a better defender. Kompany is miles better than Umtiti. And Bravo was Barca's first choice keeper before we bought him, so we're better there too.

Compared with Bayern, Alsonso, Vidal and Thiago simply wouldn't get in our central midfield at the moment. They would all be 5th choice at best. Boeteng and Hummels are decent, but for our style of play I'd choose Stones and Kompany over them both. Muller and De Bruyne are pretty similar levels, their keeper and full backs are better than ours, but Aguero is better than Lewandowski.

Their first choice wingers are better than ours, but their approaching their mid 30s and are injury prone. I'd choose Sterling and Sané over Costa and Coman.

There really isn't much to choose between the squads.

Madrid look stronger on paper than us, but they beat us 1-0 over 2 legs at our absolute worst last season. Zidane is a managerial novice, whereas Pep is the best tactical coach in Europe by far, and has been for 7 years.

I think people are writing off our CL chances too dismissively. We are not favourites by any means, but we've still got a very good chance.

 

[KDBestplayerintheworld]

Great point about the competition for places in midfield and the excellent back up option we have all over the pitch.

However, I think you're slightly underselling us in the CL. Even if we take Pep out of the equation, we've got at the 4th best squad in Europe. It's very rare that the 4 best teams get to the semi finals, so depending on the draw we are very capable of getting to the final, and anything can happen in a final.

Looking at Barca, their front 3 are on another planet, but elsewhere, we are a match for them. I would pick Fernandinho every day over Busquests. A 30 year old Silva and a 32 year old Iniesta, there is very little between them. De Bruyne is better than Rakatic.

Their full backs are better, but the way Kolarov has started the season has been incredible. Stones is better on the ball than Pique, although Pique is a better defender. Kompany is miles better than Umtiti. And Bravo was Barca's first choice keeper before we bought him, so we're better there too.

Compared with Bayern, Alsonso, Vidal and Thiago simply wouldn't get in our central midfield at the moment. They would all be 5th choice at best. Boeteng and Hummels are decent, but for our style of play I'd choose Stones and Kompany over them both. Muller and De Bruyne are pretty similar levels, their keeper and full backs are better than ours, but Aguero is better than Lewandowski.

Their first choice wingers are better than ours, but their approaching their mid 30s and are injury prone. I'd choose Sterling and Sané over Costa and Coman.

There really isn't much to choose between the squads.

Madrid look stronger on paper than us, but they beat us 1-0 over 2 legs at our absolute worst last season. Zidane is a managerial novice, whereas Pep is the best tactical coach in Europe by far, and has been for 7 years.

I think people are writing off our CL chances too dismissively. We are not favourites by any means, but we've still got a very good chance.

This City side will always have a fighting chance but I think you're underestimating the general quality difference that still exists between the 3 aforementioned teams (especially Barcelona) & a team like Manchester City, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund & Paris St. Germain who I all rate likewise.

It's not so much about comparing individual player quality, cause I do agree with most of your comparisons (except Busquets, he's light year ahead of Fernandinho and I really like Dinho), but just looking how the different teams play as a whole, as a unity. Barcelona is a work of art, unmatched by any team in history, Real Madrid is technical perfection, Bayern Munich is an unstoppable machine. Manchester City is work in progress. That's the difference. I'm sure Pep will go a long way in the next couple of seasons trying to finish the City product, but everything will need to come together at the same time, there will be no more room for flaws or imperfections.

Until that day, I'm quite sure that if City would play Barcelona 5 times on neutral ground, Barcelona would win 4, there would be one or win for City.
If City play Bayern or Real 5 times, 3 certain wins for the opposition, and 1 draw + 1 win for City.
It should be put to the test, but I'm quite sure the outcome would be something a long those lines.

 

[Shaelumstash]

This City side will always have a fighting chance but I think you're underestimating the general quality difference that still exists between the 3 aforementioned teams (especially Barcelona) & a team like Manchester City, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund & Paris St. Germain who I all rate likewise.

It's not so much about comparing individual player quality, cause I do agree with most of your comparisons (except Busquets, he's light year ahead of Fernandinho and I really like Dinho), but just looking how the different teams play as a whole, as a unity. Barcelona is a work of art, unmatched by any team in history, Real Madrid is technical perfection, Bayern Munich is an unstoppable machine. Manchester City is work in progress. That's the difference. I'm sure Pep will go a long way in the next couple of seasons trying to finish the City product, but everything will need to come together at the same time, there will be no more room for flaws or imperfections.

Until that day, I'm quite sure that if City would play Barcelona 5 times on neutral ground, Barcelona would win 4, there would be one or win for City.
If City play Bayern or Real 5 times, 3 certain wins for the opposition, and 1 draw + 1 win for City.
It should be put to the test, but I'm quite sure the outcome would be something a long those lines.

What do you think Busquets is light years ahead at in particular? Reading the game? Intercepting the ball? Tackling? Dropping in to the back line? Pass selection? Energy and closing down? I just don't see it. Busquets is a good player who's played in an incredible side. Give any decent footballer loads of time on the ball and passing options of Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Neymar and Suarez in front of him, and any that is worth their salt wouldn't find it too difficult to find a decent 15 yard pass to feet.

He plays in an extraordinarily dominant side, so with the 5 players in front of him pressing so high, he has so much time on the ball with 5 world class players in front of him constantly making passing angles for him. Would Barca see a massive drop off in quality if Busquets was replaced by Xavi Alonso or Fernandinho? I'm not so sure. With the intensity and pace of the PL, would City see a huge improvement if we dropped Fernandinho for Busquets? I don't think we would.

I agree the 3 other sides are ahead of City right now and they probably would win a head to head over a few games. But we've got Guardiola. He's very capable of outsmarting Zidane and Enrique. Look how he outclassed Mourinho only 2 weeks ago, who is light years ahead tactically from Zidane and Enrique. Ancelotti is an excellent coach, particularly in Europe. Him and Pep is a close tactical battle, but we have quality that can trouble them all over the pitch.

We're 4th favourites with the bookies to win the CL and I think that's about right. If we avoid the big 3 until the final then I think we've got a great chance, I wouldn't back any manager to outsmart Pep in a one off game.

 

[KDBestplayerintheworld]

What do you think Busquets is light years ahead at in particular? Reading the game? Intercepting the ball? Tackling? Dropping in to the back line? Pass selection? Energy and closing down? I just don't see it. Busquets is a good player who's played in an incredible side. Give any decent footballer loads of time on the ball and passing options of Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Neymar and Suarez in front of him, and any that is worth their salt wouldn't find it too difficult to find a decent 15 yard pass to feet.

He plays in an extraordinarily dominant side, so with the 5 players in front of him pressing so high, he has so much time on the ball with 5 world class players in front of him constantly making passing angles for him. Would Barca see a massive drop off in quality if Busquets was replaced by Xavi Alonso or Fernandinho? I'm not so sure. With the intensity and pace of the PL, would City see a huge improvement if we dropped Fernandinho for Busquets? I don't think we would.

I agree the 3 other sides are ahead of City right now and they probably would win a head to head over a few games. But we've got Guardiola. He's very capable of outsmarting Zidane and Enrique. Look how he outclassed Mourinho only 2 weeks ago, who is light years ahead tactically from Zidane and Enrique. Ancelotti is an excellent coach, particularly in Europe. Him and Pep is a close tactical battle, but we have quality that can trouble them all over the pitch.

We're 4th favourites with the bookies to win the CL and I think that's about right. If we avoid the big 3 until the final then I think we've got a great chance, I wouldn't back any manager to outsmart Pep in a one off game.

As much as I agree Pep is a great tactical manager and will improve City massively, I don't think you should overestimate the influence of a manager either. The most obvious reason why City easily beat United last week is the fact that City have a much better squad. United is nowhere near us in terms of quality. A good manager, like Guardiola, will just make the most out of that difference in quality. But when you face a squad that is arguably better, a good manager is able to limit the damage at best. You can still nick the odd win, but it will be due to good fortune rather than smart tactics. Although good tactics will of course increase your odds, but you will still be far from favourites.
Just to say, you can let Brendan Rodgers, David Moyes or Gary f***** Neville manage this Barcelona side, and they will still be favourites to beat Pep's City. In the long run that Barcelona side would deteriorate of course, but it will take a long while and a huge screw-up to ruin that generation of players.
As for Busquets v Fernandinho. You're probably right that Fernandinho would easily fit into this fully functional Barcelona side, the other way around I do think a player like Busquets could still mean some improvement for City, but it may not be a very big difference no. The impact of one single player, as long as he's decent enough, will not be that big, good or bad, bar the attacking wonders of this world like Messi, or Ibrahimovic for PSG in the Micky Mouse league.
But just comparing the two players, the level of control and game intelligence that Busquets has I strongly believe is unmatched by any player worldwide in his position.

 

[stony]

As much as I agree Pep is a great tactical manager and will improve City massively, I don't think you should overestimate the influence of a manager either. The most obvious reason why City easily beat United last week is the fact that City have a much better squad. United is nowhere near us in terms of quality. A good manager, like Guardiola, will just make the most out of that difference in quality. But when you face a squad that is arguably better, a good manager is able to limit the damage at best. You can still nick the odd win, but it will be due to good fortune rather than smart tactics. Although good tactics will of course increase your odds, but you will still be far from favourites.
Just to say, you can let Brendan Rodgers, David Moyes or Gary f***** Neville manage this Barcelona side, and they will still be favourites to beat Pep's City. In the long run that Barcelona side would deteriorate of course, but it will take a long while and a huge screw-up to ruin that generation of players.
As for Busquets v Fernandinho. You're probably right that Fernandinho would easily fit into this fully functional Barcelona side, the other way around I do think a player like Busquets could still mean some improvement for City, but it may not be a very big difference no. The impact of one single player, as long as he's decent enough, will not be that big, good or bad, bar the attacking wonders of this world like Messi, or Ibrahimovic for PSG in the Micky Mouse league.
But just comparing the two players, the level of control and game intelligence that Busquets has I strongly believe is unmatched by any player worldwide in his position.

Why did Pellegrini do so poorly with effectively the same team?