Riyad Mahrez

[ADegenerate]

By putting his cards on the table with a transfer request. he is i am sure giving his all to join us I dont for one minute think he has any passion or had a longing desire to join us. but he is neither blind or stupid. We are a team which at present are making most of football sit up and notice trying to accomplish the quadruple with a manager considered one of if not the best. IF by tommorow night he is still at leicester its most likely due to his club pricing him out of the deal But fair play to him because it sounds like unlike Sanchez. he put more fight in to becoming a city player

I very much value that trait in a player and I think that value isn’t rated properly by most. Nice post.

 

[goalmole]

I do not understand this certainty regarding the job Mahrez could do and the job Diaz (or Foden, when he is fit) could not do. This immense confidence than one will be successful and the other will not be.

What evidence do you have of either in the context of playing in our system, against opposition employing tactics generally unique to us (and not implemented against, say, Leicester), with our current squad (and including our defensive weakness on our left side with our current injuries, which means we likely need a player committed to box-to-box play, for example)?

I am just one who understands that we do not have any evidence either way at this point so both outcomes are equally plausible. And saying otherwise is elevating one’s opinion to fact, which is juvenile.

I think most people would recognise that Foden and Diaz are not comparable on any level, be that skill, experience, strength, guile to Mahrez.
I'm all for giving youth a chance but not at the expense of sacrificing any potential success the club may have.

 

[SebastianBlue]

I think most people would recognise that Foden and Diaz are not comparable on any level, be that skill, experience, strength, guile to Mahrez.
I'm all for giving youth a chance but not at the expense of sacrificing any potential success the club may have.

I think most people would be incorrect in their assessment (though, perhaps not ultimately wrong, mind)—with no evidence of how either player (or players) would actually play consistently in the current state of the squad and in the context of our remaining matches, it means they could be very right or they could be very wrong, or anywhere else on that outcome continuum.

My point has been (throughout this thread) that I am not convinced he is the right player for our system, especially given our current defensive weakness on that side (as he has never really shown himself to be interested in pressing tactics or defending in general). Now, he may change all that if he comes to us, but he may not. I have no evidence either way so I only have that weakness—and the general tactics of opponents—to think of when trying to identify a player that may best assist us with our run-in across all competitions. I do think Diaz and Foden could do a job on that side and develop with the team. I also wonder how that money could be spent elsewhere; it’s not my money, of course, but as rich as we are, we do not have bottomless coffers (especially when there are external constraints placed on us by corruption-friendly UEFA).

I may very well be wrong, I will freely admit that, as my overall confidence in either scenario is fairly low. But, again, that is because I do not proport to know that one is definitely better than the other. As I said before, I just do not understand the absolute certainty that he will be successful with us.

 

[US_Citizen]

Mahrez does have his days but... I don’t know. I don’t like the fact that Mahrez clearly doesn’t workout and the fact he has games that he doesn’t work hard for the team. I understand Mahrez is vastly more experienced but I’d rather Diaz get the time. I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve seen from Diaz this year. Think Diaz’s ability standouts out even when playing with in the first team.

 

[Citizen_leo]

Completely agree with this assessment. We have seen how much hunger Foden showed when he was given whatever chances he had. Same we can expect from Diaz, plus Bernardo has hardly had any playtime in PL this season. Would love to see him as well. Plus Zinchenko too can play as left winger as soon as Delph is available. We really have to show our youth players how much they mean to the club. Pep and Khaldoon can talk all they want in the pre/post season interviews but unless these guys are given gametime its all talks, no action.
Also, not sure how come all fans are justifying the links giving "quadruple" as the reason after dismissing talks of it by media as just hype.
And if Pep cannot change his style to suit the players available then he is no different than Mancini or Pellegrini (Pep is definitely best but this is just a reasoning to justify my bigger point).

I think most people would be incorrect in their assessment (though, perhaps not ultimately wrong, mind)—with no evidence of how either player (or players) would actually play consistently in the current state of the squad and in the context of our remaining matches, it means they could be very right or they could be very wrong, or anywhere else on that outcome continuum.

My point has been (throughout this thread) that I am not convinced he is the right player for our system, especially given our current defensive weakness on that side (as he has never really shown himself to be interested in pressing tactics or defending in general). Now, he may change all that if he comes to us, but he may not. I have no evidence either way so I only have that weakness—and the general tactics of opponents—to think of when trying to identify a player that may best assist us with our run-in across all competitions. I do think Diaz and Foden could do a job on that side and develop with the team. I also wonder how that money could be spent elsewhere; it’s not my money, of course, but as rich as we are, we do not have bottomless coffers (especially when there are external constraints placed on us by corruption-friendly UEFA).

I may very well be wrong, I will freely admit that, as my overall confidence in either scenario is fairly low. But, again, that is because I do not proport to know that one is definitely better than the other. As I said before, I just do not understand the absolute certainty that he will be successful with us.

 

[Dax777]

What's special about October? Seems a random time to start.

 

[Dax777]

I do not understand this certainty regarding the job Mahrez could do and the job Diaz (or Foden, when he is fit) could not do. This immense confidence than one will be successful and the other will not be.

What evidence do you have of either in the context of playing in our system, against opposition employing tactics generally unique to us (and not implemented against, say, Leicester), with our current squad (and including our defensive weakness on our left side with our current injuries, which means we likely need a player committed to box-to-box play, for example)?

I am just one who understands that we do not have any evidence either way at this point so both outcomes are equally plausible. And saying otherwise is elevating one’s opinion to fact, which is juvenile, rampant argumentive fallacies aside.

When you add all that up, it's easy to see why Zaha is the superior choice (:

 

[AliBobbyJ]

City obviously wouldn't be in for him if any of 1.missing out on Sanchez 2. Jesus's injury 3. Sane's injury hadn't happened. So with an eye on winning the four this season it says that Guardiola doesn't think Diaz or Foden (also injured) can do what Mahrez might do between now and May. I disagree but it's his call, though I hope the club says no to Leicester holding them to ransom over it like they refused to be dictated to by Sanchez. If he does sign I bet he goes into shock from the first few training sessions because he's often looked an idle bugger. So overall I'm hoping it falls through, and either way he's still got ridiculous hair.

 

[KP242]

Completely agree with this assessment. We have seen how much hunger Foden showed when he was given whatever chances he had. Same we can expect from Diaz, plus Bernardo has hardly had any playtime in PL this season. Would love to see him as well. Plus Zinchenko too can play as left winger as soon as Delph is available. We really have to show our youth players how much they mean to the club. Pep and Khaldoon can talk all they want in the pre/post season interviews but unless these guys are given gametime its all talks, no action.
Also, not sure how come all fans are justifying the links giving "quadruple" as the reason after dismissing talks of it by media as just hype.
And if Pep cannot change his style to suit the players available then he is no different than Mancini or Pellegrini (Pep is definitely best but this is just a reasoning to justify my bigger point).

Our front 3 right as it stands is Raheem on the left, Aguero, Bernardo. Our rotation for those 3 spots is Brahim. Zinchenko is a midfielder. That's not sustainable for 6-7 weeks (with Jesus eventually returning) unless we plan to run those three into the ground. I'm not saying the answer is a huge signing but depth needs to be added anyway particularly a backup/rotational option for Leroy. If signing Mahrez can push Raheem to the left occasionally to give Sane rest when he needs it I'm all for it. Like I said I don't know if a huge signing is needed but one certainly is atm.

 

[Blue Llama]

Hahaha no it will just transfer itself to the etihad tomorrow night ;-)

Any chance those in charge of the live stats feed behind each goal could put up a live Twitter and Blumoon feed instead?