It's Quiet 32 - enter at own risk

citizens_1976 said:
How many more players do we need to miss out on because we are penny pinching? In some ways I agree I'd walk away on the deal but when it's players who you know are genuine top talents you won't get these players unless you cough up, because they are wanted by every top club in Europe. You run the risk of letting other top European sides strengthen even more, and therefore pushing us back in the CL. Clubs like Madrid and Barcelona are the benchmark for us and we will never win the CL if we think in this way.
From what I can gather De Jong was nailed on for City, praised Pep and then decided to sign for Barcelona who had offered him a much better financial package. He will be a world class midfielder for them for the next decade in the Xavi and Iniesta mould.
Yet, we'd be happy to spend 40+ million and wages on Mangala, 30 on Bony and 20 on Rodwell and struggle to get rid of them because they are being paid massive amounts of money.

If you don't cough up, you don't get the player who's wanted by every club in Europe, that's the point I'm making. Deals like Bernardo and Sane don't happen all the time, and especially with social media, YouTube and the likes these days it's very rare that you will get a top young player for those prices. The realisation is that if Ousmane Dembele who's not that special of a prospect costs Barca 100m+, we probably won't get a player of the same ilk for a lot less. That's modern day football and eventually whether we like it or not if we want a good young player who's touted as the next big thing we are going to have to pay the premium or else we will never get the player.
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Are you saying our business model is flawed? From my end of the telescope, I would suggest we are doing exceptionally well on and off the field by it.
 
@citizens_1976

You have been banging the same drum for a few years - criticising Txiki and/or our recruitment/spending policy - yet the evidence of our progressive success and squad harmony says different,as,much to the annoyance of the rest of the footballing world.......we are operating brilliantly both on and off the pitch.Our continual record breaking results and trophy haul also suggests you are talking out of your arse(again).
 
citizens_1976 said:
As I have stated previously, I wouldn't breach the wage structure unless that meant offering key players new deals as well. Keeping the harmony of the squad is the main thing.

As for those were the days, if I remember correctly we couldn't afford to sign Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona because of the high wages and due to FFP. We are in a much better financial position now than we was back in 2012, 2013.

Players like João Felix, Koulibaly, Aouar, Ziyech, Nicolas Pepe, Kai Havertz etc won't be on mega, mega wages. You are probably looking at 130k max if these types of players joined City and that's pretty reasonable considering Ashley Young is on about the same. Some of these players might cost between 70-100m for example, but that is where I don't honestly care. As I've said over and over again, the market has already been shattered, if City were to pay a big transfer fee on a particular player, it makes absolutely no difference to the market, NONE whatsoever. The way deals are structured anyway, it would be spread across months and years in installments (amortisation).

I think the biggest dilemma we will have in the next two seasons is finding a perfect replacement for Aguero. If we aren't willing to loosen the pursestrings and be more flexible regarding transfers, then we will never get a player close to his kind of quality. Jesus is good but he's never going to be good enough to replace Aguero. What if Kane is the answer for us? Will City spend the money necessary to acquire him as a replacement for Aguero? What if Mbappe is on the transfer list, will we ever fight to acquire him as a replacement for Aguero?

This is where I want to see City being ruthless, when it is needed.
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Son would suit us more than kane,we wont be signing either
 
I don't think City's spending policy is set in stone these days. I think over the next few years that policy will be tested or even relaxed to accommodate certain targets.

I don't see them paying Barca, Real prices but if the opportunity arises it seems evident that they'll smash their transfer strucure for a player like Felix, who fits their playing objectives or appears to them to be equally a sound future investment, if and when the time arises they could sell at a profit.

Sane is probably a good example because they would have paid that little bit more than usual for him at the time. However, if he goes City will more than double their profit.
 
I think City will spend what is deemed necessary. If we are not spending it is because we think our squad is good enough / will not improve with the possible new additions.
 
FantasyIreland said:
@citizens_1976

You have been banging the same drum for a few years - criticising Txiki and/or our recruitment/spending policy - yet the evidence of our progressive success and squad harmony says different,as,much to the annoyance of the rest of the footballing world.......we are operating brilliantly both on and off the pitch.Our continual record breaking results and trophy haul also suggests you are talking out of your arse(again).
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Was I correct though?

The squad under Pellegrini needed to be completely revamped and that's what Pep did. We spent 150m plus one season and over 200m the next. We took a breather last season and only spent 60m, now is the time to go big again in positions we need for the future to make sure we leave ourselves in the best position possible.

I remember posting on here how our recruitment was poor towards the end of Pellegrini's reign and I was 100% correct.

We have a lot of young players, but our very best players will leave soon. It will hit us hard when Pep eventually leaves and we must have the quality to maintain our standards. Liverpool ain't going anywhere anytime soon. Mark my words.
 
citizens_1976 said:
I agree with some of your points, but the market is different than what it used to be. De Bruyne playing like he did at Wolfsburg would be worth nearly 100m in today's market if you take into account the figures Sancho is being quoted for. Would City pay that in this current market? I'm not so sure they would. Infact, I know they wouldn't.

That's the point I'm making. We might of struck lucky with the likes of Bernardo Silva at 43m and Kevin De Bruyne at 54m, but the market is not like this anymore. This is a market now where players like Lukaku are costing 80m and players like Richarlison are costing 50m.

I just hope that City are flexible enough to move with the prices of the market when needs be. If a top talent comes along, let's not obsess about sticking to a certain price, because there is no value whatsoever in the market anymore.

You mentioned the big deals don't necessarily work out...

Mbappe 150m
Ronaldo 85m
Hazard 88m plus installments
Van Dijk 75m
Alisson 60m (on a goalkeeper!)
Luis Suarez 80m

Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't, but I just hope when a generational player comes along, I hope we are willing to fight tooth and nail for the very best.
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The market isn’t different, there has always been and will always be exceptions to the general spending pattern. Yes the average prices are increasing, no one is doubting that at all but it’s linear and just a continuation from the past 20/30 years. Yes you’ll still get the odd player going for double the market value (Neymar/Mbappe/Ronaldo) but they are the exceptions, not the rule.

I’d you think Ronaldo to Juve has worked out you’re a fool, you even mention Hazard in that list who hasn’t even kicked a ball in a Madrid shirt, so it’s hard to take you seriously.

Value for money is still out there, top class players are still out there and we will bring them in when everything aligns. There’s no mad rush because we don’t need to rush. We’ve just won a double followed by a treble, we have a young squad with a couple of older leaders who have their replacements already here in most cases and we’re building them up to take over their roles. That’s how sensible businesses work and operate, never mind just football.
 
citizens_1976 said:
Was I correct though?

The squad under Pellegrini needed to be completely revamped and that's what Pep did. We spent 150m plus one season and over 200m the next. We took a breather last season and only spent 60m, now is the time to go big again in positions we need for the future to make sure we leave ourselves in the best position possible.

I remember posting on here how our recruitment was poor towards the end of Pellegrini's reign and I was 100% correct.

We have a lot of young players, but our very best players will leave soon. It will hit us hard when Pep eventually leaves and we must have the quality to maintain our standards. Liverpool ain't going anywhere anytime soon. Mark my words.
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Your right.

I posted something similar earlier on this and on reflection I don't think the current spending policy will be sustainable. Yes it will need to be subject to ffp etc, but I don't see the current policy remaining static. City will need to move with the market sooner or later or get left behind domestically and or certainly in Europe. Barca have remained on top or competitive for so long because there prepared to pay the big fee and or wages when required.

I'm not saying that I expect City to go out and spend a billion quid anytime soon, but the take it or leave it approach to transfers I think is likely to have a shell life which may culminate in City experiencing the kind of transfer windows both Mancini and Pellegrini experienced after they won the league.

I think the kind of figures that have been mentioned for Maguire indicate that contrary to public comments City may be aware of the kind of money they are going to need to spend to obtain their targets moving forward.
 
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