Our owners - next move?

tolmie's hairdoo

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Waiting for Axelrod to return...
Apologies, I originally posted the below in the Pellegrini thread but it's maybe more a wider question for our owners?

A perfect storm has been contrived, and we've simply not been able to wing it.

We've been doing it since the day that ball left Aguero's foot.

Due to the restrictions imposed on the club by UEFA, the owners thought we could get away with treading water, adding family staples to the small supply of fine foods we had previously bought.

Baked beans taste fine and dandy, every now and again. What they don't taste great with is being slopped on the same plate as caviar.

We have put together an ill-conceived menu for the last 24 months and much as I love our owner and chairman for everything they have done so far, I would now urge them to take stock of what they really want out of this association?

If it is to win friends and influence people, they are shit out of luck. They have enabled Manchester City, of previous ridicule, to bring out the very worst of British and European traits - envy and spite of someone else's success.

They have allowed their eye to be taken off the ball, trying to jump through hoops, in the hope of presenting a more acceptable, watered-down threat to the so-called establishment of the game.

Mancini, for all his faults, and he had many, knew that a team that had come from nowhere, still needed to spend on the very best, however vulgar it may be perceived by people who will never find City acceptable, regardless of what we do off the pitch.

Mancini managed his final season with one hand tied behind his back and cut his throat with the other one.

I could not believe the team when it was announced last night, although was relieved to see Pellegrini make the correct decisions at half time in replacing the appalling Jovetic and Navas, in terms of addressing an extra man in the middle and also trying to introduce Nasri's ball retention.

But to then undo that thought process by taking off Fernando pretty much summed up the manager's state of confusion this season. He is wasting substitutions because he is simply not setting the team up with the correct platform from the outset.

I stand by what I observed on Sunday, the removal of Milner against United was tactical naivety in the extreme.

Sadly, results dictate, but this current group of 'over-ripe' players won't allow me to be fooled for a second time, with or without David Silva, they should be good enough to beat the majority of cannon-fodder.

Pellegrini, if he can somehow make it through to January, needs a frank discussion with Khaldoon and Begirsitain. He should not be made the patsy for players such as Clichy, Fernandinho, Dzeko, Nasri and Jovetic.

Perhaps Pellegrini does deserve the absolute backing from Abu Dhabi to address the weaknesses in this squad, regardless of cost?

I'm on the fence if Manuel has it in him, but the solution remains the same, somebody needs to decide if they want City to wither on the vine, or go again, regardless of the consequences.

I think most blues would accept the trade-off being expelled from Champions League football for a year if the result is a couple of hundred million (and that's what it will take) to set a City team up for the next five-year cycle.

You can only be a nice guy for so long, or it starts to stink of weakness.


1) Should we spend without fear of UEFA to rebuild?

2) Should Pellegrini be given the chance to manage those players?

3) If City is supposedly a PR exercise for Abu Dhabi, is it in danger of going tits-up?
 
tolmie's hairdoo said:
Apologies, I originally posted the below in the Pellegrini thread but it's maybe more a wider question for our owners?

A perfect storm has been contrived, and we've simply not been able to wing it.

We've been doing it since the day that ball left Aguero's foot.

Due to the restrictions imposed on the club by UEFA, the owners thought we could get away with treading water, adding family staples to the small supply of fine foods we had previously bought.

Baked beans taste fine and dandy, every now and again. What they don't taste great with is being slopped on the same plate as caviar.

We have put together an ill-conceived menu for the last 24 months and much as I love our owner and chairman for everything they have done so far, I would now urge them to take stock of what they really want out of this association?

If it is to win friends and influence people, they are shit out of luck. They have enabled Manchester City, of previous ridicule, to bring out the very worst of British and European traits - envy and spite of someone else's success.

They have allowed their eye to be taken off the ball, trying to jump through hoops, in the hope of presenting a more acceptable, watered-down threat to the so-called establishment of the game.

Mancini, for all his faults, and he had many, knew that a team that had come from nowhere, still needed to spend on the very best, however vulgar it may be perceived by people who will never find City acceptable, regardless of what we do off the pitch.

Mancini managed his final season with one hand tied behind his back and cut his throat with the other one.

I could not believe the team when it was announced last night, although was relieved to see Pellegrini make the correct decisions at half time in replacing the appalling Jovetic and Navas, in terms of addressing an extra man in the middle and also trying to introduce Nasri's ball retention.

But to then undo that thought process by taking off Fernando pretty much summed up the manager's state of confusion this season. He is wasting substitutions because he is simply not setting the team up with the correct platform from the outset.

I stand by what I observed on Sunday, the removal of Milner against United was tactical naivety in the extreme.

Sadly, results dictate, but this current group of 'over-ripe' players won't allow me to be fooled for a second time, with or without David Silva, they should be good enough to beat the majority of cannon-fodder.

Pellegrini, if he can somehow make it through to January, needs a frank discussion with Khaldoon and Begirsitain. He should not be made the patsy for players such as Clichy, Fernandinho, Dzeko, Nasri and Jovetic.

Perhaps Pellegrini does deserve the absolute backing from Abu Dhabi to address the weaknesses in this squad, regardless of cost?

I'm on the fence if Manuel has it in him, but the solution remains the same, somebody needs to decide if they want City to wither on the vine, or go again, regardless of the consequences.

I think most blues would accept the trade-off being expelled from Champions League football for a year if the result is a couple of hundred million (and that's what it will take) to set a City team up for the next five-year cycle.

You can only be a nice guy for so long, or it starts to stink of weakness.


1) Should we spend without fear of UEFA to rebuild?

2) Should Pellegrini be given the chance to manage those players?

3) If City is supposedly a PR exercise for Abu Dhabi, is it in danger of going tits-up?
Yes
?
No
 
I think city owners will stick to the plan of taking it up the arse and being very accommodating to Uefa..
 
1. I think City should spend without fear of UEFA, but also they should learn some lessons from the previous squad and the way in which it was built. The difference is we have a better core than when we started putting this one together so it makes it easier. We need room for young players from the academy to be able to step into so I don't think 2 world class players per position is the correct way to go. We need a mixture of experience and youth. We have the experience, maybe we lack the 'legs', the runners, the players who still have things they need to prove to the footballing world and are hungry.

2. With regards Pellegrini, I don't think he'll be doing much picking of transfer targets, so yes he should see out his remaining 12 months.

3. Yes, absolutely. Training ground, extended stadium capacity, CFG, all these things are great if your first team is flying. But if we carry on the way we are in Europe the perception of City Abu Dhabi want will be a long time coming.
 
Don't know what the answer is Tolm

But our transfer business over the last few seasons is leaving a lot to be desired

Fernandinho
Negredo
Navas
Demichelis
Jovetic
Mangala
Fernando
Garcia
Nastasic
Sinclair

I know we have had FFP restrictions, but the above is £150 million worth of players and not one of them has improved the first team

We are still living off the players we brought in 4 - 5 seasons ago

Hart
Zabba
Kompany
Yaya
Silva
Aguero

Those above are our first names on the teamsheet, that for me is the main concern

We have everything in place at the club, great facilities, decent directors, top chairman, top owner, great commercial deals, but how long do we have to wait before we have the management and playing staff to match the ambitions of the club
 
I wouldnt want an overhaul to block the path of any youngsters ready to come through. I also don't think we only need to look at big name, high priced signings. Good players about that don't cost a fortune that could improve our squad. Maybe ine 'marquee' name a season. But I'm looking forward to the club coming good on its vision of bring kids through the academy and into the first team, even if that costs us a few results in the short term.
 
moomba said:
I wouldnt want an overhaul to block the path of any youngsters ready to come through. I also don't think we only need to look at big name, high priced signings. Good players about that don't cost a fortune that could improve our squad. Maybe ine 'marquee' name a season. But I'm looking forward to the club coming good on its vision of bring kids through the academy and into the first team, even if that costs us a few results in the short term.

I agree with this.

Also, hmm, I dunno tolmie. Manuel brought Villareal to UCL 05/06 semis with a modestly-put-together squad of players so, despite this being a simplistic statement, he should be doing much better with us. There's a multitude of problems I'm sure but the one thing that I see as the bottom line is that things have gone stale, for one reason or another.
 

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