bluetonium said:
Mourinho's comments at his press conference regarding January were interesting. He basically said that City should not buy anyone, that we don't need to.
Personally I think we'd need to send someone out the door before bringing another in, not for FFP or any of that stuff, just to ensure squad harmony remains.
That said, if there is an outstanding talent out there and he becomes available, buy now and worry about it later. For example, That Lionel bloke over in Spain.
But January is not the time to buy usually. Unless anyone goes out of the CL then could be a quiet one for us incoming, and absolutely no reason at all to sell anyone unless they are being unprofessional enough to be shown the door, and the right offer does materialise. Which means £15m minimum for Dzeko, £5m for Lescott and £24m if PSG start sniffing around Nasri again. I woudl happly keep Lescott under chains until summer and then let him go, for example, as by then we can make a decision on Rekik and evaluate other options, whereas throwing ourselves into potential turmoil, even for a couple of games, for the sake of a few million is not sensible.
Plus, as we did in summer, if we wanted anyone we woudl have moved by now anyway I bet. Another case of sitting back and watching the rest of them panic.
Also be interesting to see what the rags do. As their transfer kitty for 2013/14 was rumoured to be just £30m anyway, and they pretty much blew it all on Fellaini, do they write off this season as a bad one or throw more money at the situation and try to claw their way back?
To be fair, I would hope that anything Mourinho says would be ignored by all those in charge of the purse strings at City. If we need a player I have confidence that they will have been identified and we'll have found out whether they are available in January. Mourinho sees us as serious competition which is why he mentions us in almost every interview he has.
I agree with you that some players need to go before we bring in new targets, but we all know which players would be leaving if the right offers come in. I am also in complete agreement that should an outstanding player become available then we should try to sign them if we can use them in our squad.
I know traditionally January isn't a time to buy major signings but I think it is because it is seen as a last chance to right wrongs in the squad part way through the season (either to save clubs from relegation or trying to find players who aren't cup tied). I actually think that good signings can be made if only one or two are signed. It is foolish to make wholesale changes because you end up with a similar predicament to Spurs in that in trying to accommodate too many new signings the whole pattern of play is disrupted. You can also end up upsetting players who know they will be out of the door come summer and they stop performing at 100%. If City are clever then we may offload one or two and sign one or two replacements than can add to the team. I know Pellegrini has said he doubts we will sign anyone, but he isn't likely to tell the press who we are signing, or who is leaving is he, it will disrupt the squad for a monthor two if he came out with a statement now, as well as giving our rivals chances to scupper any deals we may make.
I also think some fans are over-rating our kids, Rekik has been loaned out to see if he develops, Lopez is only 17, and could play in a few games for us in the cup same as last year, but these kids aren't ready yet. When they are I trust Pellegrini to know when to introduce them into the first team. Our first team squad are still converting to play in Pellegrini's style and the kids also have to fit into this system.
Although I think we will make one or two signings, I could see Pellegrini sticking with what he has if our targets won't come for the right money in January or we cannot shift the players we want too either. With the World Cup looming things could go either way. Saying that I don't think either Wenger or Mourinho would be too bothered if they didn't sign any more players in the next transfer window either.
Fans of all three clubs know as well as the clubs which areas need strengthening, and were probably all guilty of wanting to see new recruits as soon as we can.
The point regarding Utd, will they let things get worse, Kagawa wants to leave, rumours abound regarding Anderson, Young and Nani to be shipped out. I think Utd will try to sign one or maybe two players for midfield, but it all depends how much Uncle Malc will let them spend. Players trying to make a name for themselves before the World Cup and forcing their way into squads is probably going to be a deciding factor come transfer season.
