End of an era?

Bollocks to any rest and transition, we go for all four major trophies next season!

Another 50+ goals from Erling, and some top class signings like Gvardiol, and hopefully Rice and Sané and we’ll smash it.

We simply must not let those vile rag cunts get a sniff of any trophy next season, especially the title, so we go strong!
 
Brightwell Bros. said:
Potentially I suppose.

But on the flip side we've done very well this season reducing Laporte and Walker's playing time (who want to leave precisely because they're not key to the squad), bedded in Akanji, introduced a very exciting prospect of Rico Lewis, and have at least one new defesnive player with a point to prove and place to win. It might take the rest of the league the whole season to figure out Stones new role as well.

Foden has had flashes of excellence in the middle in the latter parts of the season, and Kovačić looks like the sort of player that could have an excellent season alongside a slightly more dynamic ball carrier like young Phil. And who knows what the season holds for Phillips, McAtee and possibly one new player with a point to prove?

One thing we've done well in recent years is refresh the squad, replaced aging stars, and found new ways of playing. We won a treble with Jack Grealish, Rodri, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji playing vital roles: if you'd told people that on here even two seasons ago you'd have been laughed off the forum. Likewise, we cleared out Sterling, Jesus and Zinny, which felt quite dramatic at the time, and look at how that worked out!

I don't think ours or Pep's targets of being involved in a title race and getting to the latter stages of cups need to change that much.
Click to expand...
Word is that McAtee will be in the 1st team squad next season.
 
jamesha said:
Now that the post Istanbul euphoria has settled down a little thoughts are obviously turning to next season and it seems that change is very much in the air. The futures of players who have been brilliant for us - Gundogan, Bernado, Walker, Laporte - are up in the air and I think some will definitely leave.

This, combined with earlier departures and the fact that the club has achieved the European success that it craved, seems to be a transitional moment. Obviously the fans want more trophies but is this now the time for radical revision of the playing staff to usher in a new era?

Not suggesting getting rid of the entire squad but the possible loss of Gundogan and Bernado plus KdB's advancing age and current injury mean that our midfield may look radically different next season and may take some time to click. Are City fans pragmatic enough to accept a transitional season if it sets the team up for the next five years or so?

Part of me thinks that a top 3 finish and good run in the domestic cups and Europe would be ok whilst we integrate new signings but another part looks at the domestic and European competition and thinks we could dominate again if we kept our two midfielders.

I think maybe I am a bit tired after last season - god knows how Pep, the staff and players feel and the latter get dragged out for these daft Internationals rather than being allowed to rest.

What are people's thoughts?
Click to expand...

Our defence won’t change much even If we lose Walker. We will hopefully bring in the 21 year old Gvardiol. Different position and player, but going off last season I think we’ll play 3-4 CBs the most often, and allow Stones to push into midfield again. Stones only started doing this regularly in the second half of the season, so we’ll see it a lot more and it could be even more effective. If Gvardiol comes in, I think that makes us even better in that area, he is absolutely excellent on the ball. We could have the best footballing defence the world has ever seen for a good few years.

With the forward line, we could lose Mahrez/Bernardo yes. But I believe we will see a better version of Foden and Alvarez, I expect both of them to get 20+ goals next year across all competitions. Haaland will be even better too. Those 3 are all young, all have improvements to make, but are all capable of huge amounts of goals. We’ve also got Grealish lett for a few years too.

The midfield is the difficult one. Rodri will be here for a while and he is sublime, but there’s question marks over the longevity of the rest. If Gundogan leaves now, that will be a tough one. I think there’s a few names out there that could do that role though. KDB is the big one though, there’s not a player like him.

I expect there may be some surprise incomings and even some who will stay that are rumoured to leave. In all honesty, I think we will be even stronger next season. Pep will have some idea. I expect us to compete for the title again next year regardless. We’ve lost lots of players in the past few years, we’ve always seemed to manage, even with two years without a forward we did well.
 
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I don't think it's ever the end of an era. A core evolving spine is always going to stay behind and that's more important than anything else. That core spine at the moment is something like Ederson, Dias, Ake, Stones, Rodri, De Bruyne, Foden and Haaland. It's really hard to see any major changes in that spine over the next few years.

The rest are probably going to stay or move on but then the same thing has happened over the last 10 years. 6 years ago Bernardo and Gundogan came into that spine of Kompany, Fernandinho and Aguero and this year they were amongst our most important players, it's a continuous change. I never thought we could of replaced David Silva years ago but we did. Soon I'll start to think the same about De Bruyne who will be 32 this month and might now start thinking about how he's going to end his career.

The biggest thing is that new players come in and step up to be part of it and they always seem to do it. Stones couldn't get a game against Laporte 2-3 years ago but now it's completely different. If they stay Phillips and Gomez could become key players next season, we just don't know yet. We'll still however again pickup new blood this summer to replace the outgoings and that spine will shift forwards again.
 
jamesha said:
Now that the post Istanbul euphoria has settled down a little thoughts are obviously turning to next season and it seems that change is very much in the air. The futures of players who have been brilliant for us - Gundogan, Bernado, Walker, Laporte - are up in the air and I think some will definitely leave.

This, combined with earlier departures and the fact that the club has achieved the European success that it craved, seems to be a transitional moment. Obviously the fans want more trophies but is this now the time for radical revision of the playing staff to usher in a new era?

Not suggesting getting rid of the entire squad but the possible loss of Gundogan and Bernado plus KdB's advancing age and current injury mean that our midfield may look radically different next season and may take some time to click. Are City fans pragmatic enough to accept a transitional season if it sets the team up for the next five years or so?

Part of me thinks that a top 3 finish and good run in the domestic cups and Europe would be ok whilst we integrate new signings but another part looks at the domestic and European competition and thinks we could dominate again if we kept our two midfielders.

I think maybe I am a bit tired after last season - god knows how Pep, the staff and players feel and the latter get dragged out for these daft Internationals rather than being allowed to rest.

What are people's thoughts?
Click to expand...
Scary sentiment from an blue.
Anyone who’s’tired’ of this is spoilt. The club has to move on and keep winning everything while we can. We’re improving and can still get better, so I can actually go to games without taking a pacemaker with me……..
 
Most other rivals are undergoing significant transition and face challenges with CL or Conference football.

No other club has the quality,depth,experience or resilient team spirit that we have.

No other team has Pep !!

Of the potential PL rivals, I’d identify #Neveratreblepool. They probably had their transition season last year. The Conference might fuck them about a bit though.

City to win 3 more trophies !!
 
In world sport there have been very few sides that have managed to consistently dominate. Usually they peak and then fall off. That's almost inevitable, but the greatest sides manage to treat those as blips and keep their level. They win more from a loss and don't take a win for granted. Pep's a keen student of world sport and is aware of what it takes to find a consistent level and maintain it.

We will lose some players that's for sure, but I'm sure he'll try to create something around the 4th in a row - along with the Super Cup and World Club Cup. To be the first team to win 4 in a row in England is special. You can build a mentality and team ethic around that. I like the links to Kovacic. He's been in winning teams, and although he's not been a standout star name he has all the qualities to succeed under Pep's guidance at City. A few more fresh players, alongside the core of winners and we'll be in excellent shape.
 
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