It's Quiet 17 - Glory Thread

[waspish]

i must admit the thought of us responding to the chelsea splurge and probably the rags and the arse spending again in the summer and us possibly signing James Maddison and Ben Chilwell doesnt exactly get you giddy does it? Bellingham is a must imo now Enzo isnt an option and the likes of Alphonso Davies who is everting the final year of his contract and is a get you off your seat type of player it seems Pep and the club maybe think English players are going to give less grief and want to leave back to their homelands thus giving us more stability?

Think Chilwell and Maddison are decent and that is the problem”decent”

 

[richards30]

Think Chilwell and Maddison are decent and that is the problem”decent”

They are both good players mate not just decent but with a KDB seemingly struggling abit, Gundo possibly gone and Bernardo as well? Like i say, always trust Pep but say the rags bring De Jong in and a big name striker then they are closer to us again imo.

 

[Woody135]

Write off another year? How often have we done that in recent memory?

Last season. Injuries forced a weakened team in fa cup semi which we effectively wrote off and had we got past madrid we’d have played that final with unfit or no walker no dias no ake and fern at cb.

Before that we had a larger squad that could cope with multiple competitions.
Since then our squad has gotten smaller so I’d say the risk is pretty high come March/April where we’ll have to prioritise competitions again.

When that is due to choice of having a small squad thats our own fault.

 

[decmancity]

Lol - not sure where you got half of that torrent of nonsense from, as it certainly wasn’t from anything in my post, but if you want to create a series of false dichotomies for yourself to get all worked up and argue against, you crack on mate!

If you’re actually interested in a conversation, then I’ll try and keep it simple and answer your questions for you.

What’s my suggestion?

Without wanting to repeat what was in my post, my suggestion was that this summer needs a rebuild like the ones in 2010 and 2017, where we don’t just replace an outgoing player with a new and carry on with the same core.

It seems likely Gundo, Bernardo and Cancelo will be leaving us this summer, and there have been noises about Laporte and Walker too. Mahrez and KDB no longer seem to be able to perform at two games a week. Phillips and Gomez don’t look up to the job based on performances so far.

That’s pretty major surgery in anyone’s book, which needs a new spine building. We’re good at Centre Forward and Centre Back, but the rest of the team needs serious work.

I know Pep is good at his job, but if you’ve taken the time to listen to what he’s been saying recently, he’s challenged all levels of the Club not to be complacent. That’s his word, not mine.

He’s not saying that by mistake. He wants to see that hunger back at all levels of the Club. For someone who seems so keen to lecture other people on listening to our Manager, you don’t seek capable of following your own advice!

Recent windows would suggest we’ve been happy to tinker about the edges, replacing players one by one - and that’s been fine. We’ve won a shit load of trophies by adding to the spine incrementally. But at some point, you need a major refresh.

What I’m suggesting is that time is this summer.

And given Pep’s comments about the lack of hunger in the squad this year, and the creeping complacency across all levels at the Club - I’d suggest our Manager agrees.

If we don’t, then ambitious Clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea and United will overtake us. You can rant and rave about that all you like, but it’s a fact.

Your suggestion is to do a rebuild in the summer, brilliant. Where did I say not to do that and as you say we have a proven track record of doing it if required, so why this sudden panic that we won't in 2023?
I never denied Pep hasn't done a call to arms and where has there been no suggestion that the club and squad won't respond?

However its Feb, not the summer so lets wait until next season before we get all worked up about how the rags or chelsea are "overtaking us".

We have been hearing for the past decade how the rags are one midfielder away, Lukaku is the missing piece for Chelsea and all the rest. How is that working out for them?

 

[Dribble]

To the outside, there does appear to be a level of complacency that has crept in amongst the Exec at the Club over the last few years - like we’ve got Pep, who is the defining Manager of his generation, so we can take it a little easier and not push as hard to bring in the best at every level

The hunger we had to bring in the very best players to give us the very best chance of competing just doesn’t seem to be there at the moment.

Cancelo is a great example. Personally I’m completely supportive of the Club getting rid of him if the attitude we all know he has in him was causing problems across the squad. No problem - there’s no room for that shit, and it spreads fast if not dealt with quickly, ruthlessly and efficiently.

But not even bothering to try for a replacement to give the Manager and the rest of the team the best chance of competing - that’s lazy, and complacent.

Signing Haaland was a master stroke, as was Alvarez - but settling for average in Phillips and Gomez? That’s not a Club pushing to be the best.

Since our last big rebuild in summer 2016 and 17 which created the spine of Pep’s title winning teams, over the past few years we’ve brought in Grealish (21), Torres, Ake, Dias (20), Angelino, Rodri, Steffen, Cancelo (19) and Mahrez (18).

Some great players in there - Grealish, Dias, Rodri and Mahrez stand out in particular - but it’s mostly been adding one a year to replace our legends leaving, rather than striving to push ahead of the pack.

I think that’s starting to catch up with us now, and the Club desperately needs to snap out of its complacency this summer.

It’s time for another rebuild, as Arsenal, Chelsea and United are in the process of overtaking us - Pep or no Pep.

We can’t have another summer like the last few.

We need another 2017. Another 2010. One of those windows that creates another spine to push us on into the next generation of success.

I hope the Club are still up for the challenge.

Sorry, I disagree. We have a finite number of squad places available, with all the association/club trained requirements to consider. We're nearly at the limit of having to move foreign players on, before we bring players in, not to mention the game playing issues our squad members face, hence City looking at the UK market.

Over this recent period, we've had TWO FFP investigations, one of which led to a two year CL ban & a fine (both overturned), & the other which is STILL ongoing, hence City remaining mindful of our spending.

What I think we need is evolution, not a revolution:

We badly need a world class LB (preferably two if Gomez can't make the grade).

We need to replace both Bernardo & Gundog, & be mindful that KDB's 32 & his power seems to be waning.

We need a couple of skilful wingers who possess blistering pace.

I think we need to ascertain if Foden/Grealish have what it takes to play centrally. Neither are a David Silva, but Silva did say our midfield would be in good hands for years to come with Foden playing centrally & I like what I've seen of Grealish in the fleeting moments he's played centrally.

At the very least we need four top level recruits. Six if we get two wingers & left backs. With Cancelo, Bernardo & Gundog moved on, at worst we lose three & gain four. At best we lose three & gain six.

We've been amassing funds over the last 4/5 seasons & I've always suspected it was in the knowledge that KDB, Gundog & Walker are cracking on in age, added to the annual Bernardo nonsense. Cancelo leaving has just increased the necessity for City to act, & act I believe we will.

Trust the process. Trust Pep. Trust Txiki. Trust Soriano. Trust Khaldoon. Trust Sheikh Mansour. They've proven time & time again that they forward plan & know EXACTLY what they're doing, HENCE we didn't rush out & panic buy a replacement for Cancelo yesterday.

Don't be blinded by the huge rebuilding jobs underway at Chelsea, ManUre, Arsenal & Newcastle. If you want a better comparison, look at the Dippers. We've gone toe to toe with them over the last 5 years & both us & the Scousers need a partial rebuild, but look how spectacularly they've fallen off?

If the right player isn't available at a price that fits our budget, we move forward with what we have until the right opportunity presents itself. It's the City way & it's served us well.

 

[decmancity]

next summer will show the desire of our owners to keep us at the top of the english pyramid.

Maybe the sheikh is finally bored?

 

[blueparrot]

They are both good players mate not just decent but with a KDB seemingly struggling abit, Gundo possibly gone and Bernardo as well? Like i say, always trust Pep but say the rags bring De Jong in and a big name striker then they are closer to us again imo.

They are closer mainly because they have a very good manager and are planning properly now, not because of the players they sign or don't sign. We are still ahead of tem because we have a better manager and a long term plan not because of the players we sign or don't sign.
Chelsea can sign all these players , they did it in the summer too they are miles behind because they don't have a manager at the right level or much of a plan.

 

[waspish]

They are both good players mate not just decent but with a KDB seemingly struggling abit, Gundo possibly gone and Bernardo as well? Like i say, always trust Pep but say the rags bring De Jong in and a big name striker then they are closer to us again imo.

Yeah sooner or later they will get it right and finish above us maybe win a trophy or the league thing is we will always compete then won’t have it there own way

 

[Gumzy97]

I think we just have to get used to Pep wanting English players /home grown. So it will be Maddison like it was Grealish.

 

[richards30]

Yeah sooner or later they will get it right and finish above us maybe win a trophy or the league thing is we will always compete then won’t have it there own way

Without question the long term future for the club is bright, it just seems maybe as Pep says the desire to go and stay ahead of the pack has dimmed somewhat?