Kelechi Iheanacho

[whp.blue]

Kelechi should have had way more game time, whose knows how many more points we would have gained if he got more minutes. The 0-0 vs villa was the ultimate pisstake by Pellegrini, instead of bring on kelechi he brings on another midfielder and plays without a striker against the worst in the league bizarre. Reckon Kelechi will find it even more difficult to get games next season once bony is replaced.

You are presuming Pep will not replace Bony with Kelechi Pep has previous for bringing young players into the first team

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

I think there is a general overestimation on the scale of squad reshaping that will go on this summer. It is very difficult to move players on when they are on big wages so shifting Bony out is unlikely unless we subsidise his wages somewhere and I don’t think we would do that after 18 months of a 5 year deal. Bony will go if we get a decent offer and that puts it at less than 50:50 in my book. We will get some space in the squad if we can work things in our favour with home grown players coming in to replace foreign players. Denayer for Demi would give us the required number of CBs and frees up one space. Yaya out frees up one space but if Nasri stays then he takes that for CL football. Kolarov and Zab might leave but then they need replacing like for like. So in summary I see the strikers being the same next year in all likelihood the change I suspect is Nacho moving ahead of Bony in the pecking order but also possibly putting pressure on the 3 behind the striker.

 

[supercity88]

Both players have done well when called upon. Rashford is playing for a shite team largely devoid of any creativity but he's playing on confidence largely in my opinion. The test for all young players is how they perform when they're not scoring. Can he pick himself up. Kun for example missed a potentially crucial pen against PSG but has since stepped up and scored subsequent penalties. He just tries again and doesn't let an error or miss play on him. I think Nacho has more to his all round game if he's not scoring. I think he's got the technique, power and pace to create for others and keep play moving more than Rashford has.

If Rashford goes through a baron spell, those flicks and tricks that are being applauded now will soon be booed. We'll see though. Nacho still hasn't had a long run in the side, starting consistently so his stats are even more impressive.

 

[prof-taf]

I think there is a general overestimation on the scale of squad reshaping that will go on this summer. It is very difficult to move players on when they are on big wages so shifting Bony out is unlikely unless we subsidise his wages somewhere and I don’t think we would do that after 18 months of a 5 year deal. Bony will go if we get a decent offer and that puts it at less than 50:50 in my book. We will get some space in the squad if we can work things in our favour with home grown players coming in to replace foreign players. Denayer for Demi would give us the required number of CBs and frees up one space. Yaya out frees up one space but if Nasri stays then he takes that for CL football. Kolarov and Zab might leave but then they need replacing like for like. So in summary I see the strikers being the same next year in all likelihood the change I suspect is Nacho moving ahead of Bony in the pecking order but also possibly putting pressure on the 3 behind the striker.

GM I don't think Pep is coming here to manage the current squad with some add Ons from the academy. We will spend big on at least 5 new players and shift players on, regardless of whether we need to cover wages. We are about to embark on the next stage, hopefully as CL winners, but changes will be made. Exciting times.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

I think the big difference is how the respective clubs are handling these players. City have slowly eased Nacho into the first team and in doing it slowly they have done it with little pressure on him, Rags have dumped Rashford in the deep end where to be fair to him he has delivered but they are doing nothing to manage expectations. He is keeping LVG in a job so he is going to milk it as long as he can. For as good as Rashford is there have been a few players brought in and found out from their youth team this season and they are easily forgotten. The interesting thing will be how they handle Rashford when all players are back fit and if / when he has a barren spell.

 

[Centurions]

I think there is a general overestimation on the scale of squad reshaping that will go on this summer. It is very difficult to move players on when they are on big wages so shifting Bony out is unlikely unless we subsidise his wages somewhere and I don’t think we would do that after 18 months of a 5 year deal. Bony will go if we get a decent offer and that puts it at less than 50:50 in my book. We will get some space in the squad if we can work things in our favour with home grown players coming in to replace foreign players. Denayer for Demi would give us the required number of CBs and frees up one space. Yaya out frees up one space but if Nasri stays then he takes that for CL football. Kolarov and Zab might leave but then they need replacing like for like. So in summary I see the strikers being the same next year in all likelihood the change I suspect is Nacho moving ahead of Bony in the pecking order but also possibly putting pressure on the 3 behind the striker.

Bony is history, we just take a hit on the transfer fee which will pay for his wages at a new club.

 

[Centurions]

That said nearly every time he has played with the first team in the past 2 years (preseason included) he has been good if not great. Yes, we need to see him consistently but even though we haven't when we HAVE seen him he is consistently excellent for his age. I will take that over Rashford's 4 good weeks.

I think even our own fans are buying into the Rashford hype, even slating fellow blue's for being too biased? Here's my opinion the two best academies in the England at this moment in time are Chelsea's and City's based on the results the teams have been getting in recent years anyone arguing against that need's to take a good look at the landscape... some may claim "That means nothin though" how else would you judge a clubs youth development on if not results? Some of these players might end up moving on if they aren't given the right chances true enough but they are still being given the best foundations to make something of themselves.

This guy Alex knows his stuff he goes to all the youth games so it's not "baseless" he saw Rashford at youth level and he wasn't anywhere near the best player on the pitch(in fact in the back pocket of one of our defenders as he put it) he's simply responded to the pressure of being thrown into the big time and raised his game to his credit, individuals react differently to situations like this so it's more of an unexpected pleasant surprise for them than planned progression:



Look at every level below EDS(EDS is the immediate future it's maybe too soon to reap the investment there although I'd be happy to be proved wrong on that) and it's clear the next few years not only will we be bringing players through that can slot right into the first team(same playing style at every level), some of them will be English and Man City fans to boot.

As for Kelechi, as much as I like him(seems a really decent lad) he isn't actually a product of our academy at all, I see it too often clubs buying 18+ year olds and then claiming that when it's just not true. Kelechi does show our scouting is getting much better because he is a real talent, when he first came and was thrown in with the first team on tour and when he played in the EDS it was evident he was a level above. Compared to Rashford or for his age Kelechi is very strong, it's never been a weak point for this kid by any stretch of imagination(above the norm IMO), he does display he has a better footballing brain... look at his assists, look at his movement off the ball, his 1-2s he's already showing it how is that baseless? Rashford is not that type of player.

Kelechi didn't turn 18 until Oct 2014 so couldn't sign a contract or finalise his move from Africa due to their rules. Due to work permit issues and then a foot/ankle injury he didn't play for the 1st team last season at all, he just had a few late in the season games with the youth setup.

Yes, he joined us when he was just 17 so perhaps you can't include him as a youth product but that's just the way it is with African players. As far as I'm aware he signed his first professional contract with us so I think I'll count him as one of ours.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

GM I don't think Pep is coming here to manage the current squad with some add Ons from the academy. We will spend big on at least 5 new players and shift players on, regardless of whether we need to cover wages. We are about to embark on the next stage, hopefully as CL winners, but changes will be made. Exciting times.

We have been pretty consistent in buying 2 or 3 players tops every Summer and this time we are likely to replace Yaya and Demi and maybe 2 full backs given the ages of the 4 we have. That makes 4 players already just clearing out the aging squad players. I really don’t see it being dramatically more as I don’t see who we would force out – Bony is the only obvious candidate and then maybe Fernando or Navas but both do a job. I just don’t see how it would work on a practical level to change more, especially given the young Spanish kids coming through the youth set up that were probably brought in with Pep in mind.

 

[prof-taf]

Who's forced out will depend on whether we can get someone younger and better. I see pep being less emotional than us fans at who leaves, this may even result in a 'would you have pelle back' thread. Will be interesting times, but I am expecting the team to be significantly upgraded.
Pep is not going to risk his reputation by coming to city, even for his mates.

 

[Father Paul]

Tbh if you saw Rashford play at kids' level there was no comparison. Kelechi in his brief spell at the academy was on another level entirely as a footballer & Rashford was a kid who would not have been sure of a place in any of City's sides at any age group as he came through.

It's the same with most of the kids who have come through to play for Utd. They were not better or in many cases as good as their direct counterparts at City. The biggest difference is that they were being prepared to play whereas ours were being prepared to watch them play.

No way would you have swapped Barker, Ambrose, Boadu etc for Rashford.

Kelechi looked on another planet in comparison & I suspect that will probably end up being the case long term, but tbf to Rashford, some kids do go up several levels when they get time in the first team & surprise/shock everyone.

Something many on here who defend Pellegrini are completely ignorant about regarding developing young players.

The thing about Kelechi, is that what we are seeing now, is the tip of the iceberg. The goals are a kind of bonus talent but not necessarily his main talent. He startrd to show a bit yesterday, dropping deep, playing passes, beating players. That's the part of his game which would have been developed at first team level this season by a proper manager.

The power in the shot, the run from deep. All this stuff is Kelechi. Not a tap in scorer. He'a a No 10 who can run & pass & dribble, shoot etc and may be as good or better at it than KDB once he gets enough games. Even Manuel has mentioned this ability.

Rashford is what we see now. Kelechi is just warming up.

Too early to judge but you may be right. Kelechi would be more in the mould/class of Martial who I think will be a big player for the rags over the next few seasons. Rashford just might struggle moving forward. Nacho already is far better than Bony and is potentially a 40-50 million man. Will he realise that potential? That is the question which still has to be answered.