pavelsrnicek
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 4 Jun 2009
- Messages
- 2,979
This has been a very strange but very busy window. City have been unusually busy, but selling more than buying. Chelsea have been busy but scattergun. Arsenal have spent big. Spurs have bought big by their standards. Liverpool have been relatively quiet, replacing Mane with Nunez. United have been desperate to add quality but have struggled to land their targets. There has been a lot of money spent.
City’s scouting has been very good since Pep took over, only Bravo, Nolito and Mendy have been misses. What’s notable is the targets we’ve missed for various reasons, Alves, Sanchez, Maguire, Jorginho, Kane and now probably Cucurella. It’s hard to know whether they would have made a difference in that missing Alves lead to Delph and Zinchenko at left back. Chasing Sanchez cost us Sancho but eventually got us Mahrez. Missing Jorginho got us Rodri a season later. Maguire meant a belated Dias. Kane staying at Spurs lead to Haaland.
All in all the failures didn’t cost us in terms of personnel but nay have cost us elsewhere. Would Liverpool have strolled the league if we had another centre back? Would Alves, Kane or Jorginho made a difference in the Champions League we’ll never know.
One thing we do know is that City occasionally allow themselves to be taken for mugs. City regularly brief they are relaxed about certain targets. Like Alves or Kane or Cucurella. They are relaxed and when it doesn’t happen they are left scrambling. Like selling one of the few options at left back without securing his replacement. I understand City aren’t naive and transfer business is akin to shifting sands. All of this makes me very nervous when City are relaxed on Bernardo. We’ve heard it before and it doesn’t always end well.
City’s scouting has been very good since Pep took over, only Bravo, Nolito and Mendy have been misses. What’s notable is the targets we’ve missed for various reasons, Alves, Sanchez, Maguire, Jorginho, Kane and now probably Cucurella. It’s hard to know whether they would have made a difference in that missing Alves lead to Delph and Zinchenko at left back. Chasing Sanchez cost us Sancho but eventually got us Mahrez. Missing Jorginho got us Rodri a season later. Maguire meant a belated Dias. Kane staying at Spurs lead to Haaland.
All in all the failures didn’t cost us in terms of personnel but nay have cost us elsewhere. Would Liverpool have strolled the league if we had another centre back? Would Alves, Kane or Jorginho made a difference in the Champions League we’ll never know.
One thing we do know is that City occasionally allow themselves to be taken for mugs. City regularly brief they are relaxed about certain targets. Like Alves or Kane or Cucurella. They are relaxed and when it doesn’t happen they are left scrambling. Like selling one of the few options at left back without securing his replacement. I understand City aren’t naive and transfer business is akin to shifting sands. All of this makes me very nervous when City are relaxed on Bernardo. We’ve heard it before and it doesn’t always end well.