James McAtee

MarsLlama said:
Yeah. Sancho (until recently) was good enough to start for us, and was only going to get better. If we'd given him a chance he'd have stayed here and developed under Pep. His career could be a disaster now he's signed for United but that wasn't anything to do with how talented he was. The player he was before the United debacle started would get in this team ahead of the current versions of Mahrez, Grealish and Sterling.

Denayer is better than a fair few of the centre-backs we've had over the years, and would have been even better if given time under Pep. He could easily play the role Aké and Garcia have played for us recently, is better than Mangala ended up being and wouldn't have had the £40m price tag of Aké or Mangala.

Brahim no. He's on the up but probably will never be good enough for us. The point with him is that the people who said he was leaving for money were talking out of their arse.

Angeliño probably was never gonna work for us under Pep but the next manager will likely be someone who favours wing-backs (as that's bloody everyone these days) and Angeliño is one of the best in the world at that role.

My point is these people aren't even given a proper chance, then we ship them out and act like they didn't have a perfectly good reason for seeking more gametime.
Click to expand...
Great post.only just seen it.but very well said.
Esp. 're Sancho.and Denayer.
Well said.
 
MarsLlama said:
Yeah. Sancho (until recently) was good enough to start for us, and was only going to get better. If we'd given him a chance he'd have stayed here and developed under Pep. His career could be a disaster now he's signed for United but that wasn't anything to do with how talented he was. The player he was before the United debacle started would get in this team ahead of the current versions of Mahrez, Grealish and Sterling.

Denayer is better than a fair few of the centre-backs we've had over the years, and would have been even better if given time under Pep. He could easily play the role Aké and Garcia have played for us recently, is better than Mangala ended up being and wouldn't have had the £40m price tag of Aké or Mangala.

Brahim no. He's on the up but probably will never be good enough for us. The point with him is that the people who said he was leaving for money were talking out of their arse.

Angeliño probably was never gonna work for us under Pep but the next manager will likely be someone who favours wing-backs (as that's bloody everyone these days) and Angeliño is one of the best in the world at that role.

My point is these people aren't even given a proper chance, then we ship them out and act like they didn't have a perfectly good reason for seeking more gametime.
Click to expand...
You make some interesting points although I am not sure that I agree with all of them. Sancho did brilliantly at Dortmund and was right to back his talent as, realistically, Foden was always going to be the favoured one out of that trio (including Diaz) due to his ties to the area and club. His demands were a bit rich for such an inexperienced (yet talented) player. I would have been great if he could have had more patience and stayed another season but things worked out well for him and it is too early to judge him at the rags given the chaos there since he arrived.

I find Denayer's career fascinating - he had a great loan at Celtic although maybe playing alongside VVD in that league would make anyone look good (and why did we not monitor his loan, notice how good VVD was and sign him at the time he moved to Southampton? - the dippers would still have been waiting for a title win). The later loans to Sunderland etc. were poor. He has done well to come back at Lyon as you say and could have certainly done a job as a third choice defender. There are indications that he is a bit of a twat though - I remember footage of him kicking someone in a street fight.

Angelinho I did have hopes for but these evaporated when he was so terrible when he arrived back at the club for pre-season. He was very unfit and looked like a pub player. He can be effective as a wing back but cannot see him in a Pep system unfortunately.

The common thread seems to be that all the players mentioned have attitudes that conflict in some ways with the club's (or really Pep's) opinions or expectations whereas the likes of Foden are more compliant.

I hope McAtee can display patience, work diligently and grab his chances when they arrive as I think he has the tools necessary to establish himself in the first team. The opportunity to develop under Pep for a couple of years is something he should value as he has time on his side. Hopefully he will put pen to paper soon.
 
jamesha said:
I find Denayer's career fascinating - he had a great loan at Celtic although maybe playing alongside VVD in that league would make anyone look good (and why did we not monitor his loan, notice how good VVD was and sign him at the time he moved to Southampton? - the dippers would still have been waiting for a title win). The later loans to Sunderland etc. were poor. He has done well to come back at Lyon as you say and could have certainly done a job as a third choice defender. There are indications that he is a bit of a twat though - I remember footage of him kicking someone in a street fight.
Click to expand...
Living in Scotland I saw a lot of this partnership and Denayer looked the better footballer albeit both were very good. Denayer was IMO an opportunity missed.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Living in Scotland I saw a lot of this partnership and Denayer looked the better footballer albeit both were very good. Denayer was IMO an opportunity missed.
Click to expand...
Interesting - could potentially have been our first choice partnership in an alternate universe and saved us a few pennies in the process. We would have been competing with the dippers for the Net Spend trophy!
 
It will depend very much on what is being channelled into McAtee's ear - he could slip into a good number of good teams, but his development to the highest level would depend more on the type of coaching and coach he's listening to. I hope he values the opportunity to have his undoubted skills honed to perfection under Pep.
 
ninjamonkey said:
I said play in a similar position not that they're neccesarily a similar player. Not sure I'd agree with that but doesn't really matter where you think they will end up eventually, they're not getting a sniff in those areas anytime soon, they'll be fighting with each other for the same minutes it's upfront or perhaps the wing from the bench for all of them if they are going to get minutes.
Click to expand...
that is true that is why it would be wise to send some on a loan until some on our mid slow down due to age
 
Agueroooo9320 said:
Oh I see got my numbers mixed up. anyway he will be playing higher while Foden will be deeper and cole will become a winger
Click to expand...
I think it could go either way. McAtee could definitely play a Silva/Gundo #8 setting the tempo and Foden a KDB, driving on the ball into the box, as a paring.
 
Really enjoyed his brief cameo yesterday - the kind of entertaining, tricky attacking player we all love to see coming through!

I’m hoping we have some positive news on his contract soon, as he feels like one of the ones who could have a proper future at City given how perfectly he fits our style.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Living in Scotland I saw a lot of this partnership and Denayer looked the better footballer albeit both were very good. Denayer was IMO an opportunity missed.
Click to expand...
Agreed, I watched a few of Denayer's European matches playing alongside Van Dijk and Denayer looked as good a prospect, he rescued Van Dijk's mistakes a few times in those games. Whether City or Denayer were at fault I don't know, but his development stalled after that loan finished.
 
Loved the sky commentators asking how we do it, are they all clones of the great David Silva? Finally having to suggest that all that oil money went into something other than 'buying titles'. Like an academy, a legacy.

The way the ball stuck to McAtee's feet in the box, the composure as he looked to get a shot away, just fantastic traits to have. Technically there is no question, but I think mentally you have to look at the lads we have coming thorugh, McAtee, Palmer, Foden and many more, and give credit. They work had, they want to play football, don't shy away from a task and are very special potentially.

I truly hope he stays, best place for him is here and i can see a squad half full of our academy players lifting a major trophy in my time.
 
he has the same issue like foden when he came through. he likes to always run with the ball, but pep says that if you play in the middle you have to know how to slow down your play. he does not know that yet, but hopefully he can learn from pep.
 
He either goes the way of Sancho or the way of Foden - both have been proven to be vindicated in their decisions (whether we like it or not for Sancho) so it must be a tough decision for the lad.

Hopefully he chooses to stay with us, I’m hoping the fact he’s being included in training and squads (which Sancho wasn’t at all, dropped from the 2018 tour) means there’s been progress.
 
skillman said:
He either goes the way of Sancho or the way of Foden - both have been proven to be vindicated in their decisions (whether we like it or not for Sancho) so it must be a tough decision for the lad.

Hopefully he chooses to stay with us, I’m hoping the fact he’s being included in training and squads (which Sancho wasn’t at all, dropped from the 2018 tour) means there’s been progress.
Click to expand...
2017 Sancho was dropped from the US tour after he spat the dummy out because City wouldn't guarantee 1st team games (at 17 years old at that) and despite being offered a huge contract for such a young lad. He'd only been here a couple of years so not really a comparison to Foden or McAtee.
 
Agueroooo9320 said:
he has the same issue like foden when he came through. he likes to always run with the ball, but pep says that if you play in the middle you have to know how to slow down your play. he does not know that yet, but hopefully he can learn from pep.
Click to expand...
Nah he understands that more than foden. Foden was a lot more raw, had less football under his belt.
 
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