It's Quiet 18 - Wanna ring the bell?

[not my fault!]

Time isn't given and you sink or swim?

Bernardo, Rodri, Grealish, Mahrez, Ake, Cancelo, Stones etc all needed, and got, time.

They all also performed from the off… so yeh sink or swim. Grealish had moments so showed he could settle. As much as I want Philips to do well here, he’s fluffed nearly every chance he’s been given inc pre season! he came back from a World Cup overweight and just hasn’t shown Pep clearly the desire. Saying you want to stay & fight for your place when you’re on a fat contract is one thing, Zinchenko did it & actually took his chances playing out of position! So again, I stand by my point, you come in & you sink or swim, those you mention all decided to swim.

 

[Coatigan]

They all also performed from the off… so yeh sink or swim. Grealish had moments so showed he could settle. As much as I want Philips to do well here, he’s fluffed nearly every chance he’s been given inc pre season! he came back from a World Cup overweight and just hasn’t shown Pep clearly the desire. Saying you want to stay & fight for your place when you’re on a fat contract is one thing, Zinchenko did it & actually took his chances playing out of position! So again, I stand by my point, you come in & you sink or swim, those you mention all decided to swim.

They certainly did not. They all needed time to adjust and perform. That is no secret, nor is it in any way an unconventional opinion.

They showed more than Philips, mind you, but he has hardly played to show anything.

We definitely do not have a sink or swim culture, that is just an absurd thing to say.

 

[Centurions]

That might be true but we don’t just get rid of players like this. He wants to stay and fight. He signed contract in good faith and deserves a chance.

We don't but if Liverpool came calling with a suitable offer we would I suspect tell him and give him permission to talk to them. If not, then he stays and fights for a spot.

 

[bigf42]

Could be Philips, and to a lesser extent Laporte are paying the price for that Southampton Carabao cup performance, Pep can be slow to forgive….

 

[Stiff Little Wingers]

They certainly did not. They all needed time to adjust and perform. That is no secret, nor is it in any way an unconventional opinion.

They showed more than Philips, mind you, but he has hardly played to show anything.

We definitely do not have a sink or swim culture, that is just an absurd thing to say.ad game

Absolutely right. Compare Rodri in the last 2 seasons to his first. Compare Mahrez in the same period. Bernardo’s work rate is so ferocious that for me it means he rarely has a bad game but he became so much more effective after he settled in. Nathan Ake is transformed from his first season

 

[Sheikh rattle and roll]

Wouldn't be ideal selling to Liverpool, but at the same time, he's a non-entity for us at the moment, taking up a squad spot in an important position whilst collecting big wages that can be better spent elsewhere.

Our issue is finding a club where Phillips would agree to go to. If Liverpool's that club, take the money and run in my opinion. He may well improve them, but I'd rather that than him hamstringing us when we could take the £40m for his sale and buy someone Pep actually trusts to play a part.

Let’s sell him but remember the Sterling saga
He can go but it’s £65 mil to you lot
We know you have 110 mil to spend

 

[TB369]

 

[DeBlueLou]

Great summary!

 

[Summerbuzz]

City will and should do what they think is right, but for me, it's time to sell him. There is no case for squad players over the age of 25 who can't fill in regularly. None. Not when we very much need more bodies - and they must be usable.

I say this because we've worked the other midfielders to the bone and the cracks are more than showing. KDB is fragile now and Gundo walked. Time to pay up and address this long standing issue. We simply don't have enough senior players of the right types.

 

[DeBlueLou]

City will and should do what they think is right, but for me, it's time to sell him. There is no case for squad players over the age of 25 who can't fill in regularly. None. Not when we very much need more bodies - and they must be usable.

I say this because we've worked the other midfielders to the bone and the cracks are more than showing. KDB is fragile now and Gundo walked. Time to pay up and address this long standing issue. We simply don't have enough senior players of the right types.

Kovacic, Stones and Lewis can all do a better role filling out if Rodri needs resting... Even McAtee came on ahead of him tonight. Obviously not wanted by Pep.

Re KDB: Paqueta and Doku solves a lot of that.