It's Quiet 17 - Glory Thread

crossbar said:
No more ”Raheem Sterling, he’s top of the league” chants…

People talk a lot about his contributions. Yes, in 17/18, even I (and I’ve been a harsch Sterling-critique) was impressed by him. He was really good and I wanted him to stay. But then he regressed and went back to his usual self again, what I’ve seen prior to 17/18. Undecisive, weak finishing, slow-thinking, bad passing. I could go on all night.

We have been blessed with some of the best players in the world this past decade. David Silva, Agüero, Yaya, and recent years Bernardo, Gundogan, Sané, all fantastic players. In this company, who wouldn’t look good? Who wouldn’t rack up goals and assists? Even Theo Walcott would have done that. Would we have called him world class? No, so why Sterling? Because he made a few very important last-minute goals during one or two season? We never reached very far with Sterling in the team. The one year that Pep decides to bench him in UCL knockout stages, what happens? We reach our very first UCL final.

Fact is, there’s no reason to feel sad about this. We will become a better football team without him. I asked for his departure since 2016, because his flaws are obvious and has been for years.

The reality is that something changed for Pep. I don’t know why it took so long, but Sterling had far less appearances last season and it must be because Pep ultimately had other plans for this club moving forward. I’m not worried about a lack of pace and we don’t need a replacement. Our ’new’ forward line have plenty of legs in them. And I rather have players with a finishing product than just Usain Bolt. Football is more than speed. We punished many teams on the counter in 16/17, but nowadays teams learned their lesson and sit back. Speed is not crucial.

To summarize: we will do Very well without Raheem Sterling.
Click to expand...
Yeah Sterling was almost frozen out 23 league starts, 1 less than Foden, 1 more that Grealish and 8 more that Marez. Whatever you think of Sterling we are losing a lot of goals and a lot of experience.
 
I can't get worried about not replacing Sterling and Jesus when are attacking options are 2 England Internationals (foden and Grealish), one of the most sought after strikers in world football in Haaland, Mahrez who has won leagues as well as International titles and lastly the current South American player of the year in Alvarez.
 
handsofstone said:
Couldn't think of a player LESS suitable for us than Neymar

Guy peaked when he was at Barca, he cant even keep hismelf fit....and hes gonna be expensive....very expensive

One of the most naturally gifted footballers of the last decade but a HARD pass, guys a prima donna
Click to expand...
I just think his ability to beat a player finish and vision he would be the perfect replacement for raz especially now most teams put 10 in their box against us and everytime I watch him can see he’s still next level just wasted his last few years in that league, haaland and neymar for gabby and raz would really take us to the next level under pep
 
We still have the players who can contribute along with the two new arrivals. De Bruyne, Foden,Mahrez,Gundogan,B.Silva,Grealish (although he has had a quiet first season); we can score from set pieces.
 
Last edited:
crossbar said:
Holding midfield is covered with Rodri and Phillips, meaning no more Gundogan in holding midfield role. Gundogan now more available in attacking midfield with Bernardo, Grealish and KDB, with KDB starting pretty much every game.

That won’t leave a lot of midfield-room for Grealish, competing with KDB, Bernardo and still very-much-fantastic Gundogan.

So in attack, we have:
• Grealish
• Foden
• Mahrez
• Alvarez
• Haaland

How is that short of options? It’s not!
Click to expand...
One injury and Alvarez not settling quickly and we're unable to rotate the 3 left, 3 games a week.

We don't even have the full back depth to use Cancelo on the right wing like Juve did at times.

If McAtee, Palmer and Alvarez all play above expectations, then sure the depth is there. If they don't then we're thinner than we've been before.

Definitely think Delap shouldn't be going out on loan.
 
Summerbuzz said:
It is. First off, Fernandinho was available at DM/CM last year just as Philips is. So really nothing has changed for Gundo, has it?

Then, you've counted Grealish in AM (as well as FW) but that never worked. It's along shot.

Now consider that Sterling and Jesus could play in any position in the front three. Alvarez...maybe he can. But he hasn't any experience in Europe, none at all.

The other new player is a specialist CF. Who has injury problems. They are backed up by our best winger as false 9.

And even after all that fudging, we've got five players covering three attacking roles. With a lad backing them up.

To say it's safe, requires.... "positive" thinking. Pep and Txiki are capable of saying that's how it is. Look how long it took to buy a striker, any striker! Just like how long it took to get a leader at CB. Or for him to play a proper CB and put Fern back in defensive midfield.

Now, it might even work perfectly. It could also go wrong. We've seen both outcomes in the past.

My view is I thought Pep bringing his old mentor into the coaching department and getting Diaz meant we had moved on from his idealistic extremes. Because they are his - he did something similair at Barca, refused to buy the right players for position, beyond any reason. Sometimes to great success. Sometimes, just excruciatingly drawn out failure.

Having said all that - I recognise, neither side here is ever gonna persuade the other.
Click to expand...

Not sure Grealish in AM or as FW is a "long shot". Grealish was brought in to play attacking mid or winger. But let's pretend it is, then Bernardo could play winger instead of him, as he has done so many times. Problem solved.

I think the old argument "he has no experience in Europe" is such an obsolete statement. It's still a ball, it's still the sport football. Same technique needed to beat the opposition. Sure the quality is much higher in the english league, but looking at his highlights, his ability with the ball and his finishing, we really shouldn't have to worry and we should trust the City scouts. Txiki said they kept tabs on Alvarez for years, saying they believe he's one of the most promising attackers in South America. You don't say that just to bench him. There are probably big plans for him to play alongside Haaland and Foden. People had similar "fears" with Jesus. Within ten minutes he caused a lot of problems for Tottenham in his first appearance. Alvarez will do amazing things for this club.

I think you have fair arguments but assuming everyone stays fit, with maybe one or two lengthy spells on the sidelines, we should still be ok. Adding someone like Gnabry just to be safe will only cause even more competition in the squad and ultimately it could result in us losing a key player next year that we really want to keep.


Academica said:
Yeah Sterling was almost frozen out 23 league starts, 1 less than Foden, 1 more that Grealish and 8 more that Marez. Whatever you think of Sterling we are losing a lot of goals and a lot of experience.
Click to expand...

My point is Sterling's importance to this team has declined massively. "Experience" for me is a bullshit argument. If it was a thing, why havent' Sterling learned to finish better, playing for the worlds best football manager for six years? He still freezes, still repeats the same mistakes, still awful finishing product. People on here would lie if they didn't confess to feel a bit exhausted seeing Sterling for the 100th time fail to convert a chance or make something out of a promising counter-attack. In recent years, it has become something you would expect from him.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top
✖
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.