Player Topic: Wilfried Bony (2015/16)

[Damocles]

I have come to the conclusion that he can't cope with the speed movement our foward players have and doesn't know where to be
I have always supported him and i hope he gets up to speed and soon but i'm not sure that he fits the system
He is scoring goals though so that is a plus

This is exactly my view. No matter if he scores one goal or ten goals, he isn't good enough to play for us and purple patches of Dzekoesque half-form are the best we can ever expect from him.

On a technical aswell as a mental level he stands out as a yard behind everybody else. The drop from Aguero to Bony is as large as the drop from Hart to Caballero if not larger, and with Sergio's injuries we need a top class striker who we don't have to hammer into our system like a square peg in a round hole.

My opinion on him is almost exactly as it was on Dzeko - will be alright as a third choice if we had two top class players in front of him. As our second choice in a 60 game season and Aguero's injuries he's more of a hindrance than a help.

The fact remains that in that January we desperately needed a striker. So we went out and bought the guy who was the current leading scorer in the PL; seemingly without too much in the way of long term planning. He was and remains "good enough" to be in the squad but nowhere near good enough to lead our forward line in important games.

I still say that we'll buy a striker this January and Bony won't be here by the end of the summer.

 

[B\connellblue]

If we were lucky enough to get rid of him. I'd say the club will take a massive hit on him. Can't see any club offering a shilling more than £10m for him.

 

[paulchapo]

It hasn't helped that he has suffered so many injuries since coming here so he has not been able to get used to playing with the team or vice versa. On top of that other players have been injured as well and we have some new buys trying to fit in. Sometimes a good player,,,and let's be fair he looked a good player at Swansea which is why we bought him,just don't fit with a new team and i fear this may prove to be the case here.

It may be hard to attract a really top class striker as they know if Aguero is fit they will probably have to play second fiddle. We just need a mobile striker with a good injury record who can finish.With the amount of chances this team creates that would do for us.

 

[Damocles]

It may be hard to attract a really top class striker as they know if Aguero is fit they will probably have to play second fiddle

I see this put out there a lot and I disagree. The modern game is absolutely a squad game where the difference between first and second choice is barely noticeable and more about tactics, form and injuries than some Christened by God teamsheet that is handed down by the manager. Makes me laugh when people say "oh well the manager doesn't seem to know his best team" because the thinking there is 20 years out of date. City don't have a best 11 and arguably haven't done for a long time, the spine of the team is shown to be ludicrous when you actually look (for whatever reason) at how many games they've played together over the past 3 years.

When De Bruyne was offered a contract at City I imagine he wasn't sat there thinking "how can I get in front of David Silva?". Again that thinking just doesn't really work now with the Premier League being so fast paced yet retaining physicality, two domestic cup trophies with one having two legged semis, international friendlies and qualifiers during the season, Champions League group and knockouts and no winter break. Then the inevitable winter game in Abu Dhabi, post season tour of the United States, international competitions over the summer right up until the pre-season tours of Australia, South Africa and China leading back into another full season.

No striker is going to look at the total minutes a City player plays, look at Sergio Aguero and think that they don't fancy it. In fact I think most top class players will think we are light in the striker department and they could get a ton of games here but have the safety of rotation with Aguero and Iheanacho without burning themselves out mentally or physically.

 

[paulchapo]

Some good points Damocles. In our team and system i think a half decent striker,maybe not one considered world class,who had some pace and movement would score a hatfull of goals given the chances we create.

 

[mosssideblue]

I see this put out there a lot and I disagree. The modern game is absolutely a squad game where the difference between first and second choice is barely noticeable and more about tactics, form and injuries than some Christened by God teamsheet that is handed down by the manager. Makes me laugh when people say "oh well the manager doesn't seem to know his best team" because the thinking there is 20 years out of date. City don't have a best 11 and arguably haven't done for a long time, the spine of the team is shown to be ludicrous when you actually look (for whatever reason) at how many games they've played together over the past 3 years.

When De Bruyne was offered a contract at City I imagine he wasn't sat there thinking "how can I get in front of David Silva?". Again that thinking just doesn't really work now with the Premier League being so fast paced yet retaining physicality, two domestic cup trophies with one having two legged semis, international friendlies and qualifiers during the season, Champions League group and knockouts and no winter break. Then the inevitable winter game in Abu Dhabi, post season tour of the United States, international competitions over the summer right up until the pre-season tours of Australia, South Africa and China leading back into another full season.

No striker is going to look at the total minutes a City player plays, look at Sergio Aguero and think that they don't fancy it. In fact I think most top class players will think we are light in the striker department and they could get a ton of games here but have the safety of rotation with Aguero and Iheanacho without burning themselves out mentally or physically.

Iv'e been guilty of pushing the second fiddle argument, but fair play, you have made me realise I was wrong in my thinking.

 

[sir baconface]

I see this put out there a lot and I disagree. The modern game is absolutely a squad game where the difference between first and second choice is barely noticeable and more about tactics, form and injuries than some Christened by God teamsheet that is handed down by the manager. Makes me laugh when people say "oh well the manager doesn't seem to know his best team" because the thinking there is 20 years out of date. City don't have a best 11 and arguably haven't done for a long time, the spine of the team is shown to be ludicrous when you actually look (for whatever reason) at how many games they've played together over the past 3 years.

When De Bruyne was offered a contract at City I imagine he wasn't sat there thinking "how can I get in front of David Silva?". Again that thinking just doesn't really work now with the Premier League being so fast paced yet retaining physicality, two domestic cup trophies with one having two legged semis, international friendlies and qualifiers during the season, Champions League group and knockouts and no winter break. Then the inevitable winter game in Abu Dhabi, post season tour of the United States, international competitions over the summer right up until the pre-season tours of Australia, South Africa and China leading back into another full season.

No striker is going to look at the total minutes a City player plays, look at Sergio Aguero and think that they don't fancy it. In fact I think most top class players will think we are light in the striker department and they could get a ton of games here but have the safety of rotation with Aguero and Iheanacho without burning themselves out mentally or physically.

A well-argued post but I personally feel a really top striker would be reluctant to come as No 2 in a system with one advanced striker. They would need to be supremely confident to think they could oust a fit Aguero; otherwise be resigned to being dropped. "Rotated" sounds nicer but it's only a word. Granted, they'd get plenty of games but would that be enough?

IMO it would need to be a second-tier striker, albeit one that fits our style better than Bony.

 

[baildon blue]

I haven't given up hope on him .
Unlike some on this forum .
Give him a chance and he will do ok for us .

 

[Clercqs]

I haven't given up hope on him .
Unlike some on this forum .
Give him a chance and he will do ok for us .

Me too. Think he'll be excellent and very useful for us.

 

[stablemcfc]

This is exactly my view. No matter if he scores one goal or ten goals, he isn't good enough to play for us and purple patches of Dzekoesque half-form are the best we can ever expect from him.

On a technical aswell as a mental level he stands out as a yard behind everybody else. The drop from Aguero to Bony is as large as the drop from Hart to Caballero if not larger, and with Sergio's injuries we need a top class striker who we don't have to hammer into our system like a square peg in a round hole.

My opinion on him is almost exactly as it was on Dzeko - will be alright as a third choice if we had two top class players in front of him. As our second choice in a 60 game season and Aguero's injuries he's more of a hindrance than a help.

The fact remains that in that January we desperately needed a striker. So we went out and bought the guy who was the current leading scorer in the PL; seemingly without too much in the way of long term planning. He was and remains "good enough" to be in the squad but nowhere near good enough to lead our forward line in important games.

I still say that we'll buy a striker this January and Bony won't be here by the end of the summer.

I'm also in the same boat. Dzeko/Bony are good options from the bench & decent back ups - they can both score, but neither suit to our style of play for 90 minutes & look off the pace. Believe Bony has much better hold up play & touches/passes than Dzeko did which is a plus, but seems somehow less mobile which brings him back down to that sort of level.

Biggest problem is Aguero being out so much meaning we're relying on him more than we probably expected, like I said he's nice to bring off the bench, but isn't ideal to have on for 90 minutes with the way we play.

Personally hope we don't buy a striker in January otherwise we'll end up in the same boat IMO. Anyone at the level we require will not be available in January, we can cope for this season as is if Aguero comes back sooner rather than later.