Pep's rebuilding job. Pep's City Mk II

blueparrot said:
Yes, striker is a bit of a tricky one. Unless we sell Jesus we will still have Aguero and Jesus next season , the question then is Aguero’s replacement available now, is there room for 3 strikers next season and would any one of the three be happy on being third choice for a year. If the one we want is available we will need to be creative.
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Jesus is an excellent left sided forward, and could play out there, much as Rashford does.
 
If you read the article on the BBC website today it looks like Pep has given up on the League and the Champions League, which, interestingly, is a view many of us on here have had for quite a long time.

Pep now seems a little fixated on “things we can not control”.

I think he now knows (he probably did already but wasnt saying so) that the squad is nowhere as deep as many people thought it was and now needs reinforcing.

I suspect that despite his earlier statements we will be making some moves in January and then in the summer there will be a bit of a clear out.
 
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ChicagoBlue said:
Jesus is an excellent left sided forward, and could play out there, much as Rashford does.
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I agree, Jesus on the left, Raz on the right with Mahrez as back up for them. Bernie and Phil Foden rotating as Merlins replacement. Proper centre backs and Fern and Rodri as DMs.

All this assumes Sane goes.
 
OntarioBlue said:
I agree, Jesus on the left, Raz on the right with Mahrez as back up for them. Bernie and Phil Foden rotating as Merlins replacement. Proper centre backs and Fern and Rodri as DMs.

All this assumes Sane goes.
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All sounds great, except you just dropped KDB!!
 
OntarioBlue said:
If you read the article on the BBC website today it looks like Pep has given up on the League and the Champions League, which, interestingly, is a view many of us on here have had for quite a long time.
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I believe it is called “managing expectations.” The CL is far from over, but we are hemorrhaging goals, so that’s going to require, oh, some COACHING?!

Pep now seems a little fixated on “things we can not control”.
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I read that as injuries, but it could also be an allusion to VAR. Either way, HE is the one that picks the squad, trains the players, and runs the system. I love him to bits as a thinker, but his stubbornness appears to be getting in his way.

I think he now knows (he probably did already but wasnt saying so) that the squad is nowhere as deep as many people thought it was and now needs reinforcing.
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We have never gone the full 25 thing, because Pep doesn’t want a squad that big, because you can’t keep 25 world class players happy! Instead, he has always chosen a REAL squad of 16-17 players...the team & the bench...and made sure players can cover multiple positions.

He believes that a REAL FOOTBALLER can play in almost any position. He has said his ideal footballer is Fernandinho, and he would like 11 of them. Believe him! Even Fernandinho admitted he has played 7 different positions under Pep!

Pep wants technical expertise FIRST. From there, he wants to teach you his system. Then, he needs you to understand every position in that system, so that with the constant movement of the ball, you know where the space is AND you know where all the other players should be in the system.

As I said post-Derby, “predictable patterns blunted.” We are struggling because it feels like the players are going through the motions. The system is there for them to fall back on, but if it is not quick enough, crisp enough, exact enough, then it becomes much easier to blunt by cutting off those passing lanes. The ball is moved, the players move. The ball moves, the players move. If you can read that system, and the pattern of the vast majority of that play, then even a Sunday league team with enough energy and drilling can close those lanes, stifle that ball movement, and eventually start overcoming and breaking down the system.

We have struggled against two types of teams: 11 man defence & the high energy, shut you down, not a minutes peace teams. Combine the two (which is rare) and we look bang average!

The system is good, but the execution has looked stale far too often. Newcastle was poor, but we bounced back at a Burnley, only to be exposed at home in the Derby.

We have been living ofc the “we will score more than you” mentality of the Keegan days recently, but it is simply catching up with us. We used to be playing keep away for the last 20 minutes of most games for the last few seasons. This year, we are expending all our energies to claw back a draw or find that killer goal to allow us to breathe. Both sap the energy in the last 30 mins, both mentally and physically.

I suspect that depsite his earlier statements we will be making some moves in January and then in the summer there will be a bit of a clear out.
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I don’t believe City will do much, if anything, unless the absolute right player for the next 6-10 years becomes available. Laporte will be back soon, as will Zinchenko, so I don’t foresee any panic buys.

However, I can see where the summer might be one of £200-250M in purchases, with £150M coming in for players.

All that said, even with the dip in form from exquisite to above average and “only” 3rd in the table (Chelsea, Utd, Spurs & Arsenal all trailing us, some significantly), the last decade have been the best time to be Blue EVER IN OUR HISTORY, and I’m not ready to ignore that or announce its end.

The future is Blue.
 
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