You're making the assumption that everything that Gaughan writes is based purely on a detailed brief from City, I suspect that's nowhere close to being true. City might as well as put a statement out to the press if it was.
I am rubbing my eyes in disbelief. There are genuinely people here who think winning 5 out of the last 6 titles, winning a treble, is "closer to fortunate than it is to good planning". Just absolute insanity, I don't know what to say.
"We don't have a left back, we have one senior right back" - not only are both of these false (Nathan Ake, Rico Lewis, Kyle Walker), we are also adding Gvardiol to it, and we also don't even PLAY with left backs.
"We have limited options out wide" - I would venture a guess almost any team in the world would kill to have Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez as their "options out wide".
"Our bench is topped up with players Pep does not trust to play meaningful minutes" - let's take the 11 that played the most minutes this season. They are, sorted by minutes played - Rodri, Ederson, Haaland, Gundogan, Akanji, KDB, Bernardo, Grealish, Dias, Mahrez, Ake.
That means that our "bench" is - Kyle Walker, John stones, Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Aymeric Laporte, Rico Lewis, Ortega, Palmer, Gomez, Phillips.
Yeah, full of untrusted players.
"If arsenal hadn't dropped stupid points, we wouldn't have won the league" - yeah, welcome to every season in every league in history! We won the league with 89 points, and that's because we let it go after winning it officially. We were on course for a 95 point season. This DOESNT HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT. It would be, what, the 4th or 5th highest point total in PL history? Yeah, so lucky to have won it.
"Every team around us is significantly strengthening" - and so are we. Kovacic, Gvardiol are magnificent additions. More will come through the door. The team is being refreshed. Countless times we've missed out on the first target and didn't regret it one bit. I am baffled some people think it's always due to luck and not because of our superior financial planning AND refusal to pay over the odds, leaving us with more money to invest in the organization.
and it worked a treat, we went unbeaten for a long time and bagged 3 of the biggest club trophies you can win,grealish and bernardo stayed wide ,they did cut in but to great affect, we dont need a flying winger if mahrez leaves, we need a very similar player,if they have pace as well all the better, you dont have to beat your fullback ,you have to deliver the ball where its needed to be delivered ,and we havent had a winger that must beat their fullback since sane left.I agree with you that it will probably only happen if Mahrez leaves but the truth is I think there is a need for such a player even if he stays. In the decisive stages of the season we played with Bernardo on the right side and Grealish on the left, both playing with the opposite foot and going inside, which is even more crowded. We need players who will play wide, who will can beat their defender one on one and be able to cross balls or find a free player inside the box with a smart pass
I hope that Bobb, McAtee, Borges, Mebude and Palmer are given that opportunity, personally. I suspect others will now say that there is no way that they are good enough and that none of them will get any game time.Assuming foden plays more centrally next season I’d quite like us to sign a winger who is capable of playing both sides. Would keep grealish on his toes and add needed depth.
Can you solve a Rubik's Cube using just your tongue as well, because that's some awesome mental gymnastics right there. It's all entirely wrong mind but Christ on a bike...He sort of is though. We still don’t have a left back. We have one senior right back. We have limited options out wide. We have just lost our captain.
Our bench is topped up with players Pep does not trust to play meaningful minutes - 1 of those players being a £40m signing. KDB is now 32 and cannot play 90 mins in a game of any intensity.
In addition, we laugh at Arsenal bottling the league, but had they not dropped stupid points, the sales of Jesus and Zinchenko would have looked horrific. We won the league despite spending just a couple of weeks at the top. There’s not a chance in the world we planned for that.
Every team around us is significantly strengthening this summer and they are doing it quickly so the gap is likely going to close. Waiting on outgoings is so risky and a bit baffling after we have publicly tried to sign Bellingham and Rice for fees in excess of £100m. So on one hand, our need in midfield is so great that we need to spend £100m, yet on the other, we can also get by without doing anything? It makes as little sense as the Kane fiasco did two years ago. Some people will point out that that turned out OK, which it did, but for me it’s closer to fortune than it is to good planning. And fortune doesn’t last forever.
Someone said Pogba and to be fair it is a great shout, wouldn’t cost the earth bar his wages and would have a point to prove. Forget his time at UTd when he’s on it he’s a different level of player than rice.