It's Quiet the £250m return

tolmie's hairdoo said:
We are more than one or two windows off competing at the very top again.

Sadly, we are now in the position some of our rivals were in when they were chasing us.

We have to hope Liverpool and Arsenal run out of serious money, otherwise they can add one big name a year to maintain any type of gap.

Worryingly, I also see a point where Liverpool can raise £150m selling Salah and Van Dijk to Saudi, having boxed their extensions.
Click to expand...

I disagree. For a start, their squads were not that inferior to ours, when we won what we did. Arsenal's was as good if not better, Liverpool's was probably better on paper, and our own fans often argued such.

We were just better. At football, rather than at shopping. Partly by the quality and drive of Pep's intensity, which is somewhat shoogly at the moment, but I expect it back.

And I also don't think we are that far behind now either. A couple key players, and luck with injuries and margins, and we are right in there for the challenge imo.
 
tolmie's hairdoo said:
We are more than one or two windows off competing at the very top again.

Sadly, we are now in the position some of our rivals were in when they were chasing us.

We have to hope Liverpool and Arsenal run out of serious money, otherwise they can add one big name a year to maintain any type of gap.

Worryingly, I also see a point where Liverpool can raise £150m selling Salah and Van Dijk to Saudi, having boxed their extensions.
Click to expand...

We’ve built a good spine

Donnarumma - Gvardiol/Dias- Rodri - Haaland

It’s just about now building around it. The spine of the team is there.
 
Gumzy97 said:
We’ve built a good spine

Donnarumma - Gvardiol/Dias- Rodri - Haaland

It’s just about now building around it. The spine of the team is there.
Click to expand...

Exactly and I think it’s the glaring full back issue causing the winger and midfield issues. We solve that and I think the rest start to flourish and we don’t look as poorly as we currently do
 
Thaksinssoldier said:
Well evidence hasn’t been needed but if Haaland had issue or needed rest then surely marmoush can play that role better than lw
Click to expand...

You'd like to think so, but again on what we have seen so far, mmmmmmmm.

Anyway there's nothing we can do now till January, buckle up, heads down and we see how things go for next 4 months
 
1000088995.jpg

Now the dust has settled, we can all take stock & properly assess what we have, & where we stand until January.

Man for man, I think our squad potential stacks up against those likely to be in the hunt for major honours.

Outgoings:
In terms of those who were expected to leave... Aside from the wages we'll have to pay him, I'm not arsed if Ortega has turned down offers from elsewhere, as I don't think he'll be in many matchday squads anyway. The same applies to currently injured Philips.

We needed to lose several non-HG players. Milan reportedly made a late move for Akanji, but he carried through his deadline day loan to Inter.

After a long heart to heart with Pep yesterday where it was reportedly explained to Ilkay that whilst he wouldn't be forced out the door, he'd have to accept being a bit part squad player, he took up an early window offer from Galatasary & is sorting that move right now. The deal has to be done by today if Gala want to register him for the CL.

I'm seriously gutted to see Ederson go, but he's 31, in the last year of his contract, injuries are catching up with him & he wanted a new challenge. He'll always remain the best City keeper in my lifetime & a true mad bastard legend.

Grealish needed a fresh challenge. His loan move to Everton means he can remain in the Northwest & try to regain his best form, & hopefully book a plane ticket to the WC.

KDB & Walker will always be City legends, but ole father time catches up with the best of em, & I wish both the very best for the remainder of their careers.

The remainder of our major loan outgoings were highly rated prospects Echeverri, Bah, Reis & Nypan. Several other youngsters were either sold with buy-back and/or sell-on clauses, or loaned out to gain more experience.

1000088996.jpg

Incomings:
We moved swiftly when the season ended to secure Reijnders, Cherki, Ait Nouri, Trafford & Bettinelli. We also added PSG & Italy's Donnarumma on deadline day too.

When added to our January signings of Marmoush, Khusanov & Gonzalez, we've got a serious amount of emerging talent in our squad who'll need time to gel.

I'm seriously disappointed that we didn't get the specialist right back that most of us desperately wanted. Only the club will know why that didn't happen.

1000088997.jpg

Season 2025-26:
We started our succession planning two seasons too late, so what should've been an evolution became a manic revolution. Our new squad will need time to gel, & because of the refusal of many senior squad members to depart, we have 24/25 of our squad quota available for selection.

This will be a long transitional season, so I personally think we'll benefit from having a larger squad. Many of those senior players know their days at the Etihad are numbered, but their experience will be invaluable as we attempt to bed in the new squad acquisitions.

1000088998.jpg

I wanted to wait until the international break & the closing of the window before I made an assessment. My feelings are our weak point will be at RB. Yes, a specialist RB would've been brilliant, but the window's now shut, so we have to play the cards we've been dealt.

The big issue I can see is Pep's seeming determination to persist with his inverted right back tactic, which I think weakens us. I desperately want to see a tactical reset & a return to Pep's famed 4-3-3 formation, using under/overlapping FB's on both sides.

I think this tactical change will get the most out of Ait Nouri, Lewis & Nunes, & their support of our wingers will also bring out the best in Bobb, Doku & Savinho. We saw the difference a forward playing RAN made to Doku's game at the CWC, so I badly want to see us continue in that vein.

Our 2025 transfers could've been better, but they could've been far far worse. Over all, I'm satisfied & happy to settle with what we have, albeit I'd have loved Echeverri & Reis to have continued their development at the Etihad.

1000088999.jpg

The spotlight is now on Pep. He's been given the players & a new backroom team, & if we avoid the catastrophic injuries of last season, there'll be no excuses.

I think Liverpool, Arsenal & Chelsea are far more settled than City are at present, so unless we click early & there's a massive upturn in our performances, I think top four is the best we can hope for.

What's unfolding now is a result of us neglecting our squad rebuild from two years ago. It is what it is, so personally I'm viewing this season as a transitional one, with further comings & goings to be expected next summer, before we can realistically start thinking about challenging on all fronts again.

Over to our Baldy. The spotlight & scrutiny is all on you fella...
 
tolmie's hairdoo said:
We are more than one or two windows off competing at the very top again.

Sadly, we are now in the position some of our rivals were in when they were chasing us.

We have to hope Liverpool and Arsenal run out of serious money, otherwise they can add one big name a year to maintain any type of gap.

Worryingly, I also see a point where Liverpool can raise £150m selling Salah and Van Dijk to Saudi, having boxed their extensions.
Click to expand...
Feels like different parts of the club are pulling in opposite directions right now. Things seem a bit muddled, and I agree we probably won’t be properly competing until next season at the earliest.

There’s been plenty of sideline upheaval, changes in how we recruit, tweaks in the coaching setup, and on the pitch we’ve added players who are still adjusting to both the Premier League and the system. That’s always going to take time.

At the moment we’re kind of stuck in a holding phase. Young players still developing, key players coming back from injury, and others hopefully finding their form and confidence again.
 
Without injuries the team could look like this , going to put in who I think we should sign at right back I think the wings could be improved.

Donnarumma
Cambiaso - Gvardiol - Dias - Ait Nouri
Rodri
Cherki/foden - Reijnders

Savinho. - Haaland. - Doku


Doku is the one standing out to me Savinho has shown with his assists that there is something there. Doku hasn’t shown any progression since when we first signed him.
 
Perhaps for this season we should calm our expectations
Realistically we must anticipate blending in good players rather than adding individual star, ie world class players.
Difficult for our younger City fans to accept I suppose but we must realise that entitlement is something we have criticised in others.
From now on it's about grasping every point and win we can whilst we discover our way forward rather than quickly regaining our top place.

The reality is that we must get behind our team with encouragement rather than continuous critical comparison.

Just an opinion where my experiences of years ago City are remembered.
Hope I am wrong and our bounce back is imminent.
 
Gumzy97 said:
We’ve built a good spine

Donnarumma - Gvardiol/Dias- Rodri - Haaland

It’s just about now building around it. The spine of the team is there.
Click to expand...

We need proper wingers to get the best out of Haaland in my opinion. Worryingly I’m not sure Marmoush, cherki, doku fit into a title winning first 11. We need a proper goal scoring winger/inside forward plus a traditional winger with a terrific cross and pass on them.

In the current market I’m not sure who those players are? Maybe rodrygo for a goal scoring winger?
 
alexmcity said:
The quality of the squad will get clearer in the 2nd half of the season when we integrate the new players and Rodri has several months under his belt. I expect at least 5-6 of the relatively new players (counting those signed in January as well) to be starters come January: Donna, Khusa, RAN, Reijnders, Marmoush/Cherki and Gonzalez. We may sign a RB in January, if Pep hasn't found a solution by then (Khusa?).

I wouldn't swap our squad for Liverpool's or Arsenal's. Liverpool are very reliant on VVD (34) and Salah (33) and are a bit short on options at CB. We have a better spine than Arsenal. A lot of work is needed, though. Whether we can compete this season is anyone's guess. It will be difficult, as we are likely to drop many points before Christmas. Maybe we will have more of a chance in the CL.
Click to expand...
Only if we play to the players strengths something everyone bar one man can see at the moment.
 
Coatigan said:
Were we ever in the hunt for one at any point over the summer? With not a single real link to one, I doubt it.
Click to expand...

I might be throwing out a weird theory but I think the club want Cambiaso but we couldn’t get him due to having no slot/space for him. If we had room I think we would’ve tried
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top