Discussion: Txiki Begiristain (2014/15)

[chris85mcfc]

Hart, Kompany, Kolarov, Yaya, Silva, Nasri, Sergio, Milner

That's 8 players that started last nights game that were signed before Txiki came in.

Since he has come in we have spent a fortune on players, and yet only Fernandinho is deemed good enough to start in such a huge game last night, with Demichelis and Sagna costing next to nothing.

My concern is Mangala, I just don't think he is getting enough games, and despite a dodgy start to his City career, I actually think he is starting to look like he has a future here. But he needs a run of games, no offence to Demichelis but he certainly isn't the future, where as Mangala could be, and given the outlay on him we should be looking to get him running at speed.

Whichever way you look at it, its hard to disagree with the fact that we have spent a lot of money in the last two summers, but the calibre of players we have brought in just simply haven't matched those price tags, yet.

If the gloves are off this summer (so to speak), then we really need to make it count and ensure we bring in 2 or 3 real top quality players, otherwise we could find ourselves in a really tricky situation next season in both the CL and the Premier League.

 

[Happy Feet]

A lot to answer for

 

[forevermancity]

Can't really trust him with this window, it's a massive massive (pardon the pun) summer for the club, he's already proven a liability. If he was a player, he would have been shipped out ala Scott Sinclair

 

[sam663]

So much bullshit was fed to us by Spanish tabloids that he will use his South American and Spanish connections to identify bargain buys, and that we were appointing him to operate under FFP. Why should he be judged on the basis of next summer when supposedly, shackles will be off? He has tacken us back where we started, overage players who need replacing.

 

[cibaman]

I understand the point that Begiristain has been limited by FFP restrictions. But I still think its legitimate to question how well he, and the club, have managed within those restrictions.

If you have a restricted budget then why would you choose to spend such a large chunk of that budget on Mangala? The only way of rationalising that decision is if Mangala was viewed as the final piece in the jigsaw. The finished article. A player who would significantly improve the team this season.

If Mangala wasnt viewed as the finished article, but one for the future, why would you sign him for such a large fee when we are subject to FFP restrictions? Surely you would go for a cheaper, safer option and use the scarce budget to also include a summer replacement for Negredo? Or a better version of Fernando? Save the expensive gambles for when FFP is less of a factor?

Either Managala was overrated as a player, or he was the wrong choice at the wrong price whilst we are subject to a transfer cap.

 

[dancity19]

I think there is an element of blind faith in Txiki, just because he has come from Barca. Almost as if - he has come from there, he MUST be good. He hasn't done a good enough job. Not enough of his signings have improved us. Those of this opinion will be shouted down by others saying 'the job of a DOF is more than that, it's to imrpove the squad...'. Maybe so, he may have done that, but his KEY job is to identify weaknesses and imrove upon them.

Well, our weaknesses from last season that needed imrpoving on were CB and DM - have we improved there, NO. Fernando may be an upgrade on Rodwell, if that is how you want to argue it, but he hasn't improved the XI, and we needed that, for games like last night. Have we improved the CB position - well no, as Mangala doesn't start enough, and clearly isn't trusted. I rate him, and am sure he will come good, but you would expect instant improvement for that kind of money.

He sold a striker, granted for a good price and there may have been extenuating circumstances around this sale, BUT why wait until the last day of the window?? There were rumours about him going all summer, but we waited until then? This point last season we had scored 79, this season, 59. Yes - this is probably down to the manager, but I do wonder if selling a striker (who was very effective in the first half of last season) on the last day of the window with no replacement had anything to do with it.

He either hasn't identified our weaknesses, or, where he has he hasn't filled them appropriately. He has done an underwhelming job, to say the least.

 

[crystal_mais]

for all the fantasy managers out there - if not Tkixi and DoF model -
how would you want City's recruitment to work?
Which DoF?
What would you have done in last 2 seasons transfer windows?

 

[dancity19]

for all the fantasy managers out there - if not Tkixi and DoF model -
how would you want City's recruitment to work?
Which DoF?
What would you have done in last 2 seasons transfer windows?

I for one am certainly not a fantasy manager, and am not going to pick star names and say I would have signed them, as I understand it doesn't work like this.

He got a good price for Negredo, and Dinho has been a success, albeit an expensive one. Good work Txiki.

Apart from that, Txiki has been underwhelming. As I said above, there were 2 positions that I think everyone accepted needed addressing in the summer, especially for games like last night - a top quality CB to partner Kompany, and a quality holding midfielder. Fernando has been far from a quality DM - we just haven't strengthened as we should have. And we haven't improved the CB position, as of yet.

He hasn't done a good enough job - and saying that does not make me a fantasy football manager.

 

[chris85mcfc]

for all the fantasy managers out there - if not Tkixi and DoF model -
how would you want City's recruitment to work?
Which DoF?
What would you have done in last 2 seasons transfer windows?

I for one am certainly not a fantasy manager, and am not going to pick star names and say I would have signed them, as I understand it doesn't work like this.

He got a good price for Negredo, and Dinho has been a success, albeit an expensive one. Good work Txiki.

Apart from that, Txiki has been underwhelming. As I said above, there were 2 positions that I think everyone accepted needed addressing in the summer, especially for games like last night - a top quality CB to partner Kompany, and a quality holding midfielder. Fernando has been far from a quality DM - we just haven't strengthened as we should have. And we haven't improved the CB position, as of yet.

He hasn't done a good enough job - and saying that does not make me a fantasy football manager.

Correct. We are still relying on players that were brought in 3 or 4 seasons ago.

Negredo was good business, not necessarily a good signing. Fernandinho and Demichelis have been the only 2 that have pushed their way into the first team, with Navas offering glimpses of being able to offer something at our level.

People can dress it up as net or gross spend, the fact is we have spent a lot of money in the last 2 or 3 summers, with very little reward from those players brought in.

 

[GX Blue]

Has anyone seen the film 'Moneyball' with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill?
Its that true story about how using a stats database on each player Oakland managed to buy a title winning Baseball team.

I’m now sure that’s what we do when buying a player.
We will find someone with great stats in a certain area and buy them. That sounds all good and most teams probably do something similar.
However as we are seeing that isn’t always the case. Stats don’t always add up especially when it comes to footballers.

A couple of examples:

When we signed Navas he had created the most goal scoring chances in Spain that season.
Bony was the top goal scorer in the Premier League for the 2014 year.
Fernando probably had top DM tackles in Portugal or something like that.

I bet if someone did a bit of digging you'd find Jovetic, Fernandinho and Mangala will have a stat that backs up their position.

Kevin Du Bryne of Wolfsburg who is our latest transfer target has the most assists in Europe this season I think I read somewhere.... That will be the reason we want him. If he didn’t have that stat i bet he wouldn’t have even been noticed. The spreadsheet wouldn’t have even flagged him up.

Even though all these boys had decent stats for what they do it doesn’t mean they will fit our team and how the manager may want to play. Pellers may say to Txiki, I need a creative winger with pace. His reply will be, well, I bought you Spains top chance creator and who has the best 0-40 yards speed for his position... How can you argue with that as he would be right..

As most of us know though, Navas isn’t someone who is top of the tree standard as we have seen this season. When Txiki goes to the the Arabs in the summer and presents what he has done he can always cover his back as the players he has bought are all decent on paper.

Just a thought anyway.