We have dominated domestic football for the last 10 years but history always tells us that football is cyclical.
Our dominance was predominantly built on a core of Kompany, Toure, Silva, Aguero (and Fernandinho). All of them had/have true leadership, determination and left such an incredible mark on our club they have been and will be extremely difficult to replace.
Since then we’ve never signed the real world class player, but instead have trained potential up to being world class. Hence our model is built on players coming in with the right mentality, with a point to prove and supplementing our main men.
Eventually that model misses the target on recruitment or you lack enough leaders in the dressing room such that those with potential don’t live up to the hype.
With potentially all of the above gone by the end of this season, who is going to step up.
We now have a vacuum of vocal/physical leaders in the dressing room that is more important now than adding quality.
Without them we become weak (Arsenal, Chelsea and United have shown this in recent years) and without them we struggle to attract the superstar again without paying the big wages we did at the start.
We are at a critical time in our recent history, where we are still living off the foundations built by the players at the top. But soon as they are gone, who is there to carry the burden.
KDB will be one.
But after that we need a CB, a CDM and a ST all that dominate where we currently have none (once aguero is gone).
You can win cups with good players that deliver in the moment, but you will not dominate for an extended period without a spine of leaders. And currently we are miles off that.
Our dominance was predominantly built on a core of Kompany, Toure, Silva, Aguero (and Fernandinho). All of them had/have true leadership, determination and left such an incredible mark on our club they have been and will be extremely difficult to replace.
Since then we’ve never signed the real world class player, but instead have trained potential up to being world class. Hence our model is built on players coming in with the right mentality, with a point to prove and supplementing our main men.
Eventually that model misses the target on recruitment or you lack enough leaders in the dressing room such that those with potential don’t live up to the hype.
With potentially all of the above gone by the end of this season, who is going to step up.
We now have a vacuum of vocal/physical leaders in the dressing room that is more important now than adding quality.
Without them we become weak (Arsenal, Chelsea and United have shown this in recent years) and without them we struggle to attract the superstar again without paying the big wages we did at the start.
We are at a critical time in our recent history, where we are still living off the foundations built by the players at the top. But soon as they are gone, who is there to carry the burden.
KDB will be one.
But after that we need a CB, a CDM and a ST all that dominate where we currently have none (once aguero is gone).
You can win cups with good players that deliver in the moment, but you will not dominate for an extended period without a spine of leaders. And currently we are miles off that.