Has it been a good/poor season?

[Damanino]

We need to have much better season next time than this was.

That will only happen with proper recruitment of players that are better than the ones they replace (question marks over Rodri>Ferna and Cancelo>Danilo) and Pep sorting it tactically our off the ball game, pressing has to come back, we have to press as a team, even the players dont like to press they need to do it.

High line defence is fucked if the team isnt working their ass off off the ball doesnt matter if we have 100m defenders in the back or not.

Also in training they need to practice finishing easy chances, because against us opponents need 3 good chances for 2 goals in average, why then we need 5 good chances for 2 goals.
And I mean good chances not the ones where we struggle to break down a bus and shoot into 5 defeders and gets blocked but one ones when we manage to get around the bus we have a clear shooting position and we miss or pass our way out of a good chance trying to walk it in..

Problem is even if all things sorted by Pep he will still try to overthink CL knockout stages and even if we lead in PL with a strong 11 mostlikely he will make 4 changes to that and play something else vs someone like Lazio or Sevilla in last 16 of CL and we easily could end up like with the Lyon game.

The schedule is a nightmare next season imo, season starts later but end not much later, meaning much less time to recover during season. Also pre season is kind of fucked and it is different for the physical preparation, I dont think any club knows how the players will react with having a long break from March to June but then keep playing from June until next year May. (Small break between end of PL, but for us we were still paying CL games).

I expect lots of injuries, mostly muscle ones, much more than in a normal season. Expect all bench players having more game time than usual.

 

[blueinsa]

2nd in the league, another major trophy won.

Its a good season. Not great, not what we wanted but its good.

 

[Kenward Garg]

No surprise Vinnie left and we have a poor season in comparison to last. The old guard had to leave. The players coming in are very talented but arent natural leaders or big game players like Vinnie, Yaya, Zaba etc. Pep doesnt like big personality players that challenge his authority. But we as fans neeed them. Suspect this coming season will have a very similar feel to last.

I’ve a feeling the above was partly why Sane left for Bayern.

 

[jayfx]

Poor season?
It was better than the the 100 or so seasons we didn’t win a trophy..

Just so I know, does this mean we've had 101 poor seasons or we've had only 1 poor season (our worst ever season) and every other season cannot be classed as poor?

 

[WestGorton]

In the modern era it has been ok. Too many defeats across the board.

 

[JGL07]

When you have a team like that and go into every game wondering if you'll win its got to be a strange season.

I cant recall winning any big games apart from the first leg against united.

What a shit year

I seem to recall beating the Spanish Champions home and away. I must have imagined that?

 

[Josh_D]

Words that come to mind - underwhelming, inconsistent, average, and disappointing. For others, 40-50 years ago, the achievements this season would be fine. However, one acknowledges and learns from their past in order to better their future; mindset adjusted accordingly.

Mitigating circumstances (injuries, decisions, ageing players, etc) affected the balance and the style of play.

I’ve probably said this a plethora of times now but the landscape of football is changing. Solely possession style football isn’t cutting it. Has to be high tempo, quick and direct. Pace/Power/Athleticism is sorely missing from the team. These qualities are evident amongst top teams.

This season, there was hardly enough off the ball movement. Even if inverted wingers are played, no underlapping runs. The midfield lacked energy even if it lacked the power.

Pep needs to trust his beliefs but adapt. With the investment, and players at his disposal, teams should worry about City and not the other way round.

It’s all well and good buying big names but it’d be nice for the scouting team to find a gem. I’m sure the club invest heavily in this department.

Regardless of all this, next season is another chance. Wasn’t the biggest fan of some signings (Mahrez, Rodri...) but I have to back them to do well since they’re here. Im sure the players as well as the management will have a long look at themselves to ensure they get it right starting from this transfer window. If not, it’ll be similar next season.

 

[Keeper!]

2nd in the league, another major trophy won.

Its a good season. Not great, not what we wanted but its good.

2nd 18 points of first is not good, losing to Lyon not good, losing to Arsenal not good.

It's disappointing season, we have regressed considerably, we have major weaknesses in the squad.

All must be addressed, or next season will be just as difficult if not more so.

 

[mancity1]

2nd in the league, another major trophy won.

Its a good season. Not great, not what we wanted but its good.

I think blueinsa has got it spot on and in as few words as is necessary.

Would have liked to have a crack at Bayern and Chelsea in the FA Cup Final but given Liverpool's year which I doubt they will repeat for many a year its ok.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Hmmm...trick question?

Lets put it into context:

We lost out first PL title in 3 seasons, but came a very comfortable 2nd, even losing more games than in the last two seasons combined.

We lost our first domestic trophy in 3 years, but won the other one.

We got further in the CL, but fell to a clinical Lyon team that magnified and capitalized on our well-known Achilles heel...while our top scorer missed the chance of a lifetime and our Golden Gloves keeper spilled his first ball of the night on a soft shot that landed at the foot of an attacker.

If you add to that the VAR debacle for their 3rd goal, it almost summed up the season.

We were the architects of our own downfall, and didn’t get a single decent break when we needed it, even in super slo-mo, where it becomes even more obvious!

City under Pep have a huge target on their back and too many other teams managed to hit the bullseye this season, even though we had a wonderful season by the standards of any other team.

• We bested 18 other teams in the PL.
• We bested all but 2 other teams in the FA Cup.
• We bested all other teams in the Carabao Cup.
• We bested all but 4 of the best teams in Europe.
• And, we scored more goals than any other English team...yet again.

That said...

• We may be the most profligate team in the world, given the supposed world class
attacking talent and chances we create.
• We may have the most expensive, yet most suspect, defence in the history of football.
• We are on the verge of the last throes of the post-2008 City built to get us here and serious rebuilding is needed to take us further and get us to the next level, especially in European competition.

By comparison to 99% of clubs in Europe, we have had an extraordinarily good season. However, by the standards upon which we are now measured, by both our own fans and other serious football people, we fell far short of expectations.

We are knocking on the door of Europe’s elite, and it appears we are currently seen as gatecrashers, not simply accepted as belonging to the Elite 8-16 every year. To do that takes time, and we are getting there, but aren’t there yet.

When one thinks of European elite, I don’t think anyone outside Manchester places City there. We have to face that fact and change it. That takes being in the last 8, the last 4, the last 2, and eventually the winners of the Champions League. Until then, we will remain “almosts” or “could bes,”even if we are regularly touted as supposed favorites!

Next season, I think we go all out for the PL and CL, placing the Cup competitions in their rightful context...troubling additions to an already overstuffed season culminating in a European Championship.

The squad is going to be vitally important and the ability to rest/rotate players and keep the players (especially the key players) fit and healthy may determine our fate.

If we can be more clinical in front of the opposition goal and tighter in front of our own goal, then any team in Europe will find it hard to go toe to toe with us.

My main fear is that football has completely embraced Pep’s philosophy, but some teams have turned it up to 11 in the areas of speed, strength, stature...and we are not that squad today.

City are there or thereabouts. For Mansour and Khaldoon, and Pep’s reputation, thereabouts isn’t good enough for City in 2020,