Our best ever player

alexmcity said:
In 20/21, the team hit top form between late December and April when we won 21 games in a row, with Gundo as our top scorer (mind-boggling, given his previous roles) and Rodri at DM. But by the time we played in Porto, the team and Gundo and Rodri in particular, weren't in top form anymore. Also, Ferna was 36 and was poor in the FA Cup game vs Chelsea...Maybe Pep made a mistake (I'd have played Rodri), the whole notion that we'd have walked the final had Pep played a different team is dubious. We had peaked, weren't the same team that won 21 games in a row.
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This isn't the right place to drag this up again. But Pep definitely got things wrong. We weren't as consistent towards the end of the campaign, but I think we were hampered by playing Chelsea twice before the final. In the league Pep went with a back 5. In the FA Cup he played Rodri and Ferny. He was testing things and looking to form the team that would play in the final. He got it wrong. He clearly felt we needed more creativity from deep but shouldn't have dropped Ferny and Rodri. We'd won every CL knockout game on the way to the final and that side should have been trusted to go and get the job done. We saw against Inter how, even with our usual system and style the nerves can lead to a below par performance. To make such bold changes was an error.
 
supercity88 said:
This isn't the right place to drag this up again. But Pep definitely got things wrong. We weren't as consistent towards the end of the campaign, but I think we were hampered by playing Chelsea twice before the final. In the league Pep went with a back 5. In the FA Cup he played Rodri and Ferny. He was testing things and looking to form the team that would play in the final. He got it wrong. He clearly felt we needed more creativity from deep but shouldn't have dropped Ferny and Rodri. We'd won every CL knockout game on the way to the final and that side should have been trusted to go and get the job done. We saw against Inter how, even with our usual system and style the nerves can lead to a below par performance. To make such bold changes was an error.
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Maybe, but the point stays: we had peaked before the CL final. What's more, PSG outplayed us at the Etihad in the 1st half with Ferna at DM. We didn't play well. Fortunately, Mbappe was injured and PSG missed several great chances. The overall perception that we were in top form and ready to smash Chelsea wasn't based in reality.
 
hilts said:
Don't think you can have Rodri Haaland that high because we don't get those moments that legends are made of in terms of the football we play.
The last few seasons we have been a very functional team. Kdb Sergio yaya Silva had more opportunities to express themselves because the football was more exciting.
Not sure your greatest ever player can be someone who hardly ever touches the ball during games. I can also guarantee if Rodri played against Toure it would easily be Rodders worst game of the season.
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By your logic, even if Haaland scores 150 goals, he can't be the best player. That's silly. Haaland scored 52 goals, more than any player in England since 1938, and helped us win the Treble.

If you are consistent, then you wouldn't rate Yaya over Rodri who has much more touches on the ball and completes much more passes, the most in Europe in fact.

Many posts in that thread demonstrate what I wrote in the Ballon d'Or thread: some, including City fans, don't get why Rodri is the best in the world.
 
David Silva is my favourite, but he didn't score enough goals to be regarded as our best ever I don't think.

It's a tough argument. The system is so reliant on Rodri it breaks without him. He's outstanding and his record proves it. The CL winner, the Ballon D'or. Key goal against Villa. He steps up and is just unplayable and enables the rest of the team to do what they do knowing he'll mop everything up and dictate the game. I don't think we're as reliant on a single player as we are on him.

De Bruyne can do things no one else can and with either foot. He can grab a game by the scruff and win it for us. He's been robbed of his moment in the CL final but his goals have taken us to the final, his record in the big games is fantastic and he's our best ever I would say.

There are players from old and there are the more recent collection of greats, and it's hard to rank them.
 
alexmcity said:
Maybe, but the point stays: we had peaked before the CL final. What's more, PSG outplayed us at the Etihad in the 1st half with Ferna at DM. We didn't play well. Fortunately, Mbappe was injured and PSG missed several great chances. The overall perception that we were in top form and ready to smash Chelsea wasn't based in reality.
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We were rightly favourites but I don't think anyone expected us to smash them. Our form wasn't as good as it had been but Chelsea's wasn't great either. They beat us in the league then lost to Arsenal and Villa in their final 3 games in the league. They beat us in the Cup but lost to Leicester in the final. The perception was, pick the right team based on our strengths and we could have won. There was a collective groan by all City supporters when that lineup was announced. Maybe we wouldn't have won anyway, but we'd have had a better chance. The call was Ferny or Rodri.
 
alexmcity said:
In 20/21, the team hit top form between late December and April when we won 21 games in a row, with Gundo as our top scorer (mind-boggling, given his previous roles) and Rodri at DM. But by the time we played in Porto, the team and Gundo and Rodri in particular, weren't in top form anymore. Also, Ferna was 36 and was poor in the FA Cup game vs Chelsea...Maybe Pep made a mistake (I'd have played Rodri), the whole notion that we'd have walked the final had Pep played a different team is dubious. We had peaked, weren't the same team that won 21 games in a row.
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Agreed that Fernandinho was coming to the end of his career at City, but starting the final without Fern or Rodders was a huge mistake, & Pep's subsequently admitted so.

We'd practically won the league, were in the CL Final & FA Cup semis, & I sensed Pep took his foot off the gas by messing with the team & playing some strange formations. This is why we went off the boil, hence the widely held view that Pep was over-thinking things, when it was obvious what our strongest team & best formation was.

In his presser before the Inter CL Final, Pep anticipated what was coming & said to the media "Don't worry guys, I won't over-think things" & he didn't. We went with our strongest line-up, with the only surprise being Akanji at RB over Walker.

Lesson learned, Gundog was brilliant at No 8 & Rodri was supreme at No 6, & the rest was history. Even the greatest manager in the history of the game showed he still has some lessons to learn.

We should've beaten Chelsea in that final, & won the league earlier than we did. IIRC, Pep also fucked about with the FA Cup semi team selection & formation, when we should've gone with what had worked so far & tried to win the thing.

Why did he change things the way he did? I've no blummin idea, other than to say at that stage of the season, he should've stuck with what had put us in pole position in the league, got us to the CL Final & the FA Cup semi final. We should be two times Treble winners.
 
As a supporter of an 'enemy' team, Kinkladze was the player I'd have paid good money to watch. On his day he was unplayable.
 
01cravend said:
It'll be Erling by the time he's done here and there's not a top flight goal scoring record without his name next to it. He'll push those Ronaldo & Messi numbers in the champions league too.

For now it's De Bruyne or Dave..Neither answer is wrong.
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Haaland will be gone in a year or two. As good as he is he won't be as good as Aguero, imo.
 
bridgeno1 said:
As a supporter of an 'enemy' team, Kinkladze was the player I'd have paid good money to watch. On his day he was unplayable.
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On his day, yes, he was great to watch. However, Kinki went hiding far too much and wasn't consistently great. And for all his skills he couldn't save us from being relegated.
 
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