Riyad Mahrez

[Alcatraz]

Some good posts..
Simply, you strengthen whilst you are at the top not when you are on the way down.

 

[BrazilianGus]

There aren’t many other midfielders available that are good enough to improve us, but we need at least one player in even if nobody leaves.

It’s more frustrating when you see what Liverpool got and still want and who Chelsea is probably going to land even if you ignore Bellingham and Rice

 

[richards30]

It’s more frustrating when you see what Liverpool got and still want and who Chelsea is probably going to land even if you ignore Bellingham and Rice

the main opposition have all improved havent they and we need to be careful not to stagnate.

 

[blueparrot]

the main opposition have all improved havent they and we need to be careful not to stagnate.

Take a look at the people at the top of our club and ask yourself, is stagnating very likely ? As for the opposition improving, lets wait and see shall we.

 

[Vester]

So basically you wouldn’t sell him because you’re afraid of who the replacement would be?

We seriously need to inject new life and hunger into the squad if we are to have the energy to go again this next season with the Euros happening at the end of it. I understand this isn’t the popular opinion to have here, as you get accused of wanting “new shiny toys” or whatever the ridiculous expression is.

I’d definitely start with Mahrez, whose attitude in certain celebrations seemed indifferent and frustrated, and it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which he’d get more relevant for Pep moving forward.

As it stands, we have a weaker squad than the previous season, as Kovacic is a serious downgrade on Gundogan. Gvardiol is potentially an improvement on Laporte, yes, but it’s still nowhere near enough for the season. Football isn’t cut and dry. “Oh, you’re saying the squad that just won the trouble isn’t enough for next season?!”, some could say, but one year does make a difference. How does Liverpool go from winning two domestic cups, being Champions League finalists and finishing one point in the league behind us to fifth place in the PL? How does La Liga champions and Champions League winners Real Madrid end up so far behind Barcelona, humiliated in the CL and barely winning Copa del Rey final against a much weaker side? Those teams still had moments (Liverpool 7-0 against United; Madrid 4-0 against Barcelona), but ultimately not enough to go the distance. It’s so obvious at this point that we will have hungrier and more motivated than us rivals unless we still make movements on the market.

The other line that gets thrown around here is the usual “the best signing we can make this summer is keeping X!” I would say the worst thing we can do is be afraid of parting ways with players who want to leave and holding a fear of change and future.

Having the “trust the process” mantra is one thing, but you can’t ignore specific contexts. It’s all good having a plan two or three months ago. When you win everything as we did, that has to change the needs of the squad. That’s when cycles change. This is also the last summer we will have in which Pep won’t have just a year or no years left on his contract. We should take advantage of his pull, even in situations in which the “process” would indicate another approach. Imagine we lose the league this next season and we go to the market with one year of Pep to offer players and uncertainty about the future. Are we really going to convince top drawer names that they can only talk to us as that’s how we do business?

I personally rate Kovacic and think he is a good replacement to Gundo, even if I agree its still a downgrade (with that said, Gundo is 33 this year and could possibly regressed a bit in next season). But I understand not everyone shares my opinion on that one :)

I agree with the rest! Winning the treble should not mean we should sit happy and think "we just won the Champions League, the team doesn't need to improve". We should be taking advantage of our position as the best club in the world on the transfer market and right after winning the final the mindset should be "which 3-5 players can we get this summer that makes our squad even better?". In football, if you are not moving forward you are moving backwards, especially when you are at the very top.

However, my personal thoughts is that I have no reason to doubt that the club shares this mindset, since the last 15 years have shown me that the club always strive to be the best it can be, on and off the pitch. I might not always agree with how we act on the transfer market (no self-thinking individual always agree with everything someone else say or do), but the club has over a decade shown enough for me to at least save any possible complaints about the lack of incoming players until the end of the transfer window. Just because our transfer dealings seems a bit messy at this moment in time, with uncertainty about possible outgoings and almost no rumors about potential incoming targets (Gvardiol excluded) if we read the media, it doesn't mean thats whats happening behind closed doors.

Would I want clarity about whats happening to Bernardo, Mahrez, Laporte etc and want to know what our plan is after signing Gvardiol? Of course, but history has taught me that the club rarely discuss our transfer plans openly in the media like other clubs. Its fun to discuss transfers and all (I do it myself here on a regular basis), but right now we just have to wait and see.

 

[richards30]

Take a look at the people at the top of our club and ask yourself, is stagnating very likely ? As for the opposition improving, lets wait and see shall we.

i get that mate but Pep has alwasy been vocal in the need for squad refresh every couple of years as players get fizzled out working for him being so demanding etc and he worries about players dropping off? He also says if the players stop responding then he leaves so fuck that! lol. Younger, fresh hungry next gen stars for him to mould always seems to get his juices flowing as well and gives him extra appetite to go again.

 

[eastmanc]

Mahrez can probably push it to £500 a day

maybe a little more

Ha,ha you're probably right. Still can't spend what he gets paid:)

 

[wolviedinho]

i get that mate but Pep has alwasy been vocal in the need for squad refresh every couple of years as players get fizzled out working for him being so demanding etc and he worries about players dropping off? He also says if the players stop responding then he leaves so fuck that! lol. Younger, fresh hungry next gen stars for him to mould always seems to get his juices flowing as well and gives him extra appetite to go again.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole club takes a breather next season. We need to acknowledge that winning the treble will have an impact on players, coaches and the top brass.

City completed football in Istanbul. Wouldn’t surprise me if we start slow. I understand the need to avoid this by selling older players and bringing in fresh blood. Mentality wise it will be an interesting watch.

Khaldoon said Txiki, pep, Soriano and himself asked how we go again…so I have no doubt we are actively trying to strengthen the squad. We don’t need to throw silly money around, let the floundering competition do just that.

A few shrewd buys should be enough.

 

[bluemystery]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole club takes a breather next season. We need to acknowledge that winning the treble will have an impact on players, coaches and the top brass.

City completed football in Istanbul. Wouldn’t surprise me if we start slow. I understand the need to avoid this by selling older players and bringing in fresh blood. Mentality wise it will be an interesting watch.

Khaldoon said Txiki, pep, Soriano and himself asked how we go again…so I have no doubt we are actively trying to strengthen the squad. We don’t need to throw silly money around, let the floundering competition do just that.

A few shrewd buys should be enough.

I agree, I'm going to go into games enjoying them rather than expecting us to win them. Gvardiol and Kovacic are shrewd buys in there own. Gvardiol for the long-term benefit and Kovacic for the price

 

[BrazilianGus]

Take a look at the people at the top of our club and ask yourself, is stagnating very likely ? As for the opposition improving, lets wait and see shall we.

I guess you could look at how our season went after we won the domestic treble. Not so great for our ambitions. I doubt anyone at the top of the club would want that again
No one can predict how signings will work, but is it really like that they will all fail and no improvement will be made?