Players who might improve us

The complete lack of pace and energy around the team is alarming, the thought of Bernardo and Jesus and not replacing them is troubling
 
FantasyIreland said:
We need a midfielder who dominates and can recover play.
We also need a left back to help Zinc.
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Central players this year:

Rodri (lost his place to 36 year old Fernandinho, 33 year old Busquets).
Ferna (36)
Gundo (off a marvellous season)
KDB (ultra attacking player started as a winger cum AM, ended up CM)
Bernie (definitely a winger, but does well in the centre for Pep due to work rate)
Grealish (a winger we're maybe trying to make an AM).

Forwards:
Mahrez (winger)
Jesus (winger converted to striker with some success)
Sterling (winger)
Foden (winger, Pep tried to make him a midfielder, just like Grealish, but realised it was a waste of time)
Torres (winger)

Anyone see that pattern?

Pep brain falls into a rut if his club let him. Wingers become strikers (sometimes strikers forced to become wingers to compensate). Wingers become AMs. Ams become CMs. CMs become DMs. DMs become CBs.

This is what went wrong when last year sucked. He can do it all over again. Or sell two of Torres, Jesus, Sterling, Bernie, and buy players in the positions we need! He should sell Torres and Sterling. Torres really lacks presence. Sterling might get his thing back with Kane, but he has so many games where his touch goes to shit, we get counter attacked to hell. And he stops the play. He does it all the time, worse as the game goes on. He's no good for the way we played last year. Just won't work. Why keep him? We have Grealish and Foden? It's madness. Sell him or loan him. Buy a LB - any with a bit of pace and defensive ability will do for the position. And buy a central midfield specialist. Move Mendy on loan. Anything.

More likely he'll sell Jesus and Bernie. Because we don't need Jesus, he's a LW. And Bernie, because Grealish will do that. Stop lying to yourself, Pep! Jesus is our backup centre forward! We have non other. And Bernie is our utility midfield player. Without him, quite likely we'll end up with 4 players for the 6 we need for the centre of the park. We'll end up shoe horning Sterling in midfield. Foden in Midfield. Cancelo in midfield. Stones in midfield. Ferna when he's worn out. And it'll end up every time like it did last year when we shoved out Torres, Jesus, Sterling because we had no striker - appalling! It will drain confidence heavily, and cost us vital matches.

Just stop! Get that central midfield specialist. And get a mate for Zinchenko! I don't care about Cancelo. A tonne of players do the basic job more reliably than he has for us. I don't even really think Gundo or Rodri are essential - we just have no other alternative players.

Oh well. Rant over. It'll be like last year. We'll just find a balance, and a spirit, and that extra quality and numbers of quality players will be enough. But really? We're hamstrung by a squad imbalance that seems to always emerge when Pep's mind starts ticking over, and he indulges his constant wish to move players out of their established position.

Big wins such as Mascherano to CB and Lahm to DM get all the plaudits. But I remember him messing around so much in the past, for example playing Henry wide, with a winger as a striker, and it not working for player or team. Sterling AM. Absolute tosh. Foden, LB, midfielder, before he accepted he had to play him in a forward position. Will he do the same this season? Or will the coaching staff give it to him straight - he's doing this far too much in his head when he puts his squad together. One little slight adjustment, one cut corner, becomes six, before you know it. Every damn time.
 
FantasyIreland said:
Said it 8 months back,we need Bissouma.

Sell Rodri back to Spain if need be.
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I don’t think Guardiola will stay beyond his contract expiry to build another team. I was hoping we’d evolve and build a team that would play with the full pitch and go toe-to-toe with any opponent, but we’d need a box-to-box midfielder and wingers on the outside to make that work.
 
Gabriel said:
I don’t think Guardiola will stay beyond his contract expiry to build another team. I was hoping we’d evolve and build a team that would play with the full pitch and go toe-to-toe with any opponent, but we’d need a box-to-box midfielder and wingers on the outside to make that work.
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I'm not sure with Pep,but concerns exist over his decision making at times and his refusal(or wait till its too late) to implement a plan B.
 
FantasyIreland said:
I'm not sure with Pep,but concerns exist over his decision making at times and his refusal(or wait till its too late) to implement a plan B.
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I’m not sure there really is a Plan B at times. Deep down, do you honestly think we’ll sign a box-to-box midfielder? I don’t.

We still don’t have natural width on the left when we attack either, so that’s another area that requires addressing.
 
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