Pedro Neto

[TonyColemansbagofapples]

But after his first few appearances for us, would you say his value has increased, decreased or stayed the same?

 

[TonyM]

A shame for Laporte because that wasn’t always the case. He was generally lauded on here as the best CB in the league if you go back a few years, and his knee injury the reason for our collapse in the 19-20 season.

Maybe he wasn’t the same after that & lost his spot the season after to Stones/Dias. But he had a huge hand to play in our titles in 2019 and 2022 especially.

I think he alsi got devalued as people overvalued his potential replacements.

 

[Dribble]

A shame for Laporte because that wasn’t always the case. He was generally lauded on here as the best CB in the league if you go back a few years, and his knee injury the reason for our collapse in the 19-20 season.

Maybe he wasn’t the same after that & lost his spot the season after to Stones/Dias. But he had a huge hand to play in our titles in 2019 and 2022 especially.

Something happened. From being first choice, he found himself battling with Dias & the resurgent Stones, Aké & new boy Akanji.

He then started making transfer noises because he was no longer an automatic starter when fit. Pep sees the players in training everyday, so I suppose we've got to trust that Pep believed we had better options going forward.

It's not like we fought to keep him, & even more strangely, there wasn't exactly a stampede for his signature which surprised most of us.

Perhaps it was us fans who overated Eric? I always thought he was brilliant for us. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠⊙⁠_⁠ʖ⁠⊙⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

 

[Gaz (FMwkdsoul)]

Something happened. From being first choice, he found himself battling with Dias & the resurgent Stones, Aké & new boy Akanji.

He then started making transfer noises because he was no longer an automatic starter when fit. Pep sees the players in training everyday, so I suppose we've got to trust that Pep believed we had better options going forward.

It's not like we fought to keep him, & even more strangely, there wasn't exactly a stampede for his signature which surprised most of us.

Perhaps it was us fans who overated Eric? I always thought he was brilliant for us. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠⊙⁠_⁠ʖ⁠⊙⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Isnt a great 1 on 1 defender which is what the new system needed so ake took his place. Dropped a couple of WOAT performances in close sucession (around the southampton game) and pep stopped trusting him over ake.

 

[citizen_maine]

Something happened. From being first choice, he found himself battling with Dias & the resurgent Stones, Aké & new boy Akanji.

He then started making transfer noises because he was no longer an automatic starter when fit. Pep sees the players in training everyday, so I suppose we've got to trust that Pep believed we had better options going forward.

It's not like we fought to keep him, & even more strangely, there wasn't exactly a stampede for his signature which surprised most of us.

Perhaps it was us fans who overated Eric? I always thought he was brilliant for us. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠⊙⁠_⁠ʖ⁠⊙⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Would we be aware of a 'stampede'? We'd basically say 'Ok, we want £xm - go and find someone you want to play for', then leave it up to him/his agent

 

[Dribble]

Would we be aware of a 'stampede'? We'd basically say 'Ok, we want £xm - go and find someone you want to play for', then leave it up to him/his agent

Yes. Normally there's media speculation, most of which is bullshit, but aside from Arsenal having a sniff & PSG needing a CB, but not showing public interest in him, I can't think of any other rumours of serious interest in Eric.

 

[Stoned Rose]

View attachment 103233

Mahrez is the most underrated City player of modern times imo. He was bashed because many saw him as soft & lazy because he wasn't the type to be covering Bernardo size distances, & constantly crunching into tackles like Fernandinho.

It takes all sorts to make a winning formula. We needed a mixture of artists & water carriers. Luckily for City, we had several artists who could also carry water, but significant water carrying wasn't Mahrez's game.

What he lacked in Bernardo levels of physical output & Fernandinho-like defensive capabilities, he more than made up for in assists & goals, which when analysed puts him as one of City's most effective players in our recent history.

His record stands at 78 goals & 56 assists in 234 games for City from 169 starts with 67 substitute appearances, a total of 134 goal contributions across 5 seasons. Since he joined, only KDB has achieved more.

We need to put some respect to his name. I doubt he'll get a statue or a tiled mural, but the very least he deserves is our enduring recognition & appreciation of what a fantastic player he was for City.

https://amp.mancity.com/news/mens/riyad-mahrez-stats-63826159

Ffs was absolutely magic on his day.

 

[citizen_maine]

Yes. Normally there's media speculation, most of which is bullshit, but aside from Arsenal having a sniff & PSG needing a CB, but not showing public interest in him, I can't think of any other rumours of serious interest in Eric.

I worded that badly. I meant that there wouldn't necessarily be a lot of 'interest' because he/his agent might not have approached many clubs. If he was only interested in going to a couple of places and one of them was interested, then they might agree easily

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

Mahrez was superb for us imo. He surpassed my expectations for sure, I'd have rather had Sanchez when it looked like we were signing him before the rags.

 

[Dribble]

I worded that badly. I meant that there wouldn't necessarily be a lot of 'interest' because he/his agent might not have approached many clubs. If he was only interested in going to a couple of places and one of them was interested, then they might agree easily

Mate, he was literally waving goodbye to the fans in February & alluding this would be his last season with us on social media.

We as fans were discussing it months before he left. If he left out of the Blue, that's when I'd be thinking he had a deal all set to go.