It's Quiet Thread 15 - Txiki Blinders

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Saddleworth2 said:
As soon as you saw Foden play, you just knew he was the real deal. His balance and running with the ball is god given as is his control and overall mastery of the football. I have seldom seen his like. Palmer et al are very promising players but none that I have seen have Fodens all round gifts. If we are talking Grealish then are they at his standard just now. The answer to that is no and they may never be. I think if we can buy both Grealish and Haaland we should do so. If these kids are good enough to play a part in an elite squad a path will be found for one or more
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Spot on. Sancho’s departure has scarred a few fans understandably but I think Foden’s season this year has reset the narrative. He’s leapfrogged Sancho significantly in terms of development and vindicated city’s approach to developing youngsters. The academy lads will be looking at that and have more trust in Pep/the club now.
 
I think the priorities should be

1) Striker
2) Left back
3) Defensive mid (if Ferna goes)
4) Winger/Attacking Mid

Wouldn’t be suprised to see one of Mahrez or Sterling move on in summer given where their contracts are

I do think we’ll go back in for Aouar
 
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tolmie's hairdoo said:
City were gilding the lily a little on the Kompany narrative, as they simply couldn't afford to pay the money for Maguire.

Which is a bigger concern that they actually thought Maguire was a right option in the first place!!

The landscape obviously changes all the time, I don't see two or three established names still being around in the next couple of years, which will still give pathways to the youngsters.

There is a lot of talk at City about the fear for Brexit and what rules might be passed in the near future.

Academies are having to revise their plans because they are budgeting for a vacuum of not being able to bring in foreign talent until at least the ages of 18, although I am not up to speed on that.
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Brexit is going to be an issue for all UK football academies. No signing of any under 18 players outside of the UK. Lavia will probably be the last one in. Hopefully will the CFG, we will be in a better position to cope than most but it will cause all clubs issues.
 
Centurions said:
I've had that in the back of my mind for awhile, not sure who but Sterling especially after this season must be considered.
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Carson currently takes a spot in our Champions League squad, Aguero is leaving and Fernandinho is likely to go. Could be up to 3 spots available.
 
Centurions said:
I've had that in the back of my mind for awhile, not sure who but Sterling especially after this season must be considered.
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Given his prolonged lack of form the club must be seriously concerned over giving him a bumper new contract.

If I'm Txiki I'm looking to heavily link the contract to appearances, which he won't get unless he is playing well. Raz will, of course, see it differently and is unlikely to sign such a contract.
 
PannickAtTheDisco said:
which is how clubs, notably us, lose the title. Not following up properly in the summer after being champions. Summers of 2012 and 2014 reflect that.
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Summer of 2018 goes against the narrative.

2018 we bought Mahrez who started about 30% of games in his first season when we won the title again.

Truth is, if you have a good squad you don't need to fuck with it to win the title again.

Bringing in one more top quality player, like we did in 2018 is all we need to do.
 
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domalino said:
Summer of 2018 goes against the narrative.

2018 we bought Mahrez who started about 30% of games in his first season when we won the title again.

Truth is, if you have a good squad you don't need to fuck with it to win the title again.
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We just about retained our level from the previous season which is a big testament to Pep and the players. But Liverpool strengthened and closed a 25 point gap from 17/18..
 
domalino said:
Summer of 2018 goes against the narrative.

2018 we bought Mahrez who started about 30% of games in his first season when we won the title again.

Truth is, if you have a good squad you don't need to fuck with it to win the title again.

Bringing in one more top quality player, like we did in 2018 is all we need to do.
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Wrong!
In so many ways!
 
LongsightM13 said:
Absolutely this. We have failed to strengthen from a position of power on more than one occasion in the past. Time to be ruthless even if it means a surprise departure. I could see us maybe letting Jesus go or flipping Torres for a quick profit to someone like the Madrid clubs if the right bids came in and if we landed Grealish and Haaland.
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Agree with this. We are losing Sergio and probably more likely that Ferny goes too (great way to bow out when he’s still a big player every game he plays).

So two key players needing replaced - would like to see a signing like Haaland as Sergio deserves to be replaced by a top drawer player.

Similarly someone like Grealish with his hunger to push on and win titles could be a smart move to maintain the squad’s desire.

we would have a lot of options but Torres, Jesus and the extended form of Sterling have been below what we might expect from them. Will Torres do that major second season improvement we often see with our signings? I’m not sure based on his performances out wide so far this season, good goals return but disappointing beyond that.

Raz is the interesting one for me, does he fancy a stint abroad or will he buckle down and find his way back to the ‘start pretty much every game’ form he’s had for the previous 3 seasons.

Our squad is outstanding, an elite striker would strengthen and another top level midfielder like Grealish who can play multiple roles would be great.

Other than a left back if Mendy can be found a new home I think that’s all we need.
 
LongsightM13 said:
Absolutely this. We have failed to strengthen from a position of power on more than one occasion in the past. Time to be ruthless even if it means a surprise departure. I could see us maybe letting Jesus go or flipping Torres for a quick profit to someone like the Madrid clubs if the right bids came in and if we landed Grealish and Haaland.
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The issue is there’s very little room in the squad and selling players will be hard this summer.

Long as we buy a 9/goals everything else will be a bonus for me.

Grealish is rep’ed by Jonathan Barnett who is close with lots of the London press pack so I’d assume that if it’s advanced someone will write it.
 
domalino said:
Elaborate or don't bother joining in the discussion.
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Think about it before you post.
You don't need to fuck around with the squad, that's what you think.
How do you know what the club, Pep and players think.
Look at zinchenko, City tried to sell him but he wouldn't leave.
You don't know what is going on behind the scenes, so thinking 1 transfer will do is blinkered, crackpot!
 
tolmie's hairdoo said:
We'd like to assume City already has an idea? There has been talk Kev could move further back as he gets older, but there must be a shock departure somewhere outside of Fernandinho.

Signing Grealish would give a degree of leverage if Sterling or Mahrez did drag out renewal talks?
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I don't think Mahrez will be in a hurry to move on although I'm pretty sure he has an issue with Pep rotating people so much: Riyad doesn't seem to cope well with not playing every week. However, his personal life might tie him strongly to the North West.
 
David Silva said:
We just about retained our level from the previous season which is a big testament to Pep and the players. But Liverpool strengthened and closed a 25 point gap from 17/18..
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It's easy to improve when you're 30 points back.

When you've already got the best squad in world football, you can't just keep adding 3 players a year and expect to keep getting better.

We have a deficiency at striker - that needs fixing. We have a 35 year back up old defensive mid who needs replacing even if he stays in the squad.

We don't need to get a 9th Attacking mid/wing option just for the sake of it.
 
domalino said:
Summer of 2018 goes against the narrative.

2018 we bought Mahrez who started about 30% of games in his first season when we won the title again.

Truth is, if you have a good squad you don't need to fuck with it to win the title again.

Bringing in one more top quality player, like we did in 2018 is all we need to do.
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You might be right with one signing but if Ferna goes too I think two signings is the sensible option.

Replace two legends with two elite signings like Haaland / Grealish (or equivalent) and we will be even tougher to beat.
 
I just cannot see us, indeed anyone, meeting Dortmund’s €150m valuation this summer, especially if they reach the CL, and especially when everyone knows there is a more attractive release clause next summer.
Grealish would be cheaper and allow Guardiola to continue to evolve the style of play he has adopted this season. After next season, however, it may in turn need to change again, at which point a more direct front man might be preferred.
 
domalino said:
It's easy to improve when you're 30 points back.

When you've already got the best squad in world football, you can't just keep adding 3 players a year and expect to keep getting better.

We have a deficiency at striker - that needs fixing. We have a 35 year back up old defensive mid who needs replacing even if he stays in the squad.

We don't need to get a 9th Attacking mid/wing option just for the sake of it.
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No doubt, but our position right now is very different to our first title under Pep. There's plenty of room for improvement and all likelihood is every team will improve once we come out of the pandemic.

We are currently 33 league goals down on where we finished last season. Pep will absolutely want to bolster his attack and that deficit isn't just because of Aguero's absence. The entire team have scored fewer goals.

Like I said in another post in all likelihood I doubt Ferna will get replaced directly, Rodri has already done that. Before 2019 summer Ferna was the CDM and Gundo filled in on the rare occasion we needed him to. I'd not be surprised if that was the plan from next season.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
As soon as you saw Foden play, you just knew he was the real deal.
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To be honest, when I first saw him I didn't think he'd progress so quickly to what he is now.
He's superb at the moment.
Dele Alli is a player that I thought was going to be a world star but he's gone downhill quicker than Foden us going up.
Very hard to judge who's gonna make it
 
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