The rebuild has started. Who goes?

Stones - make of biscuits.
Silva - thank you David but you've offered nothing all season.
Grealish - I'd like him to stay and play through the middle, look at the Forest game, he also never loses the ball but if your're not going to play him then sell him.
Gunders - too slow for this system now.

New new keeprs required.
Ederson - doesn't save anything.
Ortaga - a better shot stopper than Ederson but kicking not upto standard.
 
itsnevereasy said:
Akanji - the sooner him and his mistakes go the better. Offers nothing going forward, is walked past when defending.
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Seriously fatigued, he needs rest and reconditioning.

He's done a long stint whilst half fit and carrying injuries.

Last man standing !!
 
The two who have their contracts ending in 4 months time?

KDB and Gundo.

They will be replaced.

Walker will also be replaced if Milan keep him.

That’s it. We need a big squad and you don’t sell players because their form is bad. Nobody is playing well, be patient.

This isn’t the match day thread!
 
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Said it elsewhere, but moving Gavrdiol to midfield permanently would be like getting a new player for nothing.
He's a potentially brilliant midfielder, but a walking nightmare in defence.

I can never understand the comments about Foden's attitude - obviously, fewer things are coming off for him now, but I don't see anybody else in the team who has their head up, and looks to go forward when receiving the ball, more than he does.

I'm always happier when he's in the starting line-up.
 
Roachy said:
There seems to have been a bit of a sea change in relation to the attitude of some posters concerning the rebuild job. A few months ago it was "1 or 2 at most" or "a few tactical tweaks and we'll be back". I guess that's what happens though when people see the inevitable after the team gets took to the cleaners all too often. Who stays and who goes is anyone's guess really. If possible, we may as well try and complete the job as much as we can come summer. Sentimentality can be put to one side for me.
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Ahh the old “we’ll still piss the league we just need a tweak” when it was obvious after about 4 games we were going to be shit this season.

Halcyon days.
 
noseve said:
Said it elsewhere, but moving Gavrdiol to midfield permanently would be like getting a new player for nothing.
He's a potentially brilliant midfielder, but a walking nightmare in defence.

I can never understand the comments about Foden's attitude - obviously, fewer things are coming off for him now, but I don't see anybody else in the team who has their head up, and looks to go forward when receiving the ball, more than he does.

I'm always happier when he's in the starting line-up.
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Footballers have many attrIbutes. They are never entirely good at everything, or entirely bad. Gvardiol has won the Premier League with Manchester City and numerous other trophies and he's been an outstanding defender for Croatia. What you might say is that he is not the quickest defender. Rodri is not the quickest midfielder. He is the best midfielder in the world. Haaland's is not as effective as Kane in deep-lying positions but he's the best striker the Premier League has ever seen.
 
Pie:

Nunes
Phillips
Gundogan
Kovacic
Ederson

Keep the rest.

We essentially need 2 top level midfielders to go alongside Rodders, Gonzalez and Foden.

I’d keep Kev and Bernie for one more season for their experience and to give us the ability to rotate them with the first choice midfielders to avoid burnout and injury.

Ederson isn’t arsed anymore and his heart isn’t in so pie him.

Get a top level RB and we’re set.

Fringe players wise pie Simpson and Esbrand. Never going to be good enough in a billion years but will be fine at bottom level PL or top level championship teams.
 
Roachy said:
There seems to have been a bit of a sea change in relation to the attitude of some posters concerning the rebuild job. A few months ago it was "1 or 2 at most" or "a few tactical tweaks and we'll be back". I guess that's what happens though when people see the inevitable after the team gets took to the cleaners all too often. Who stays and who goes is anyone's guess really. If possible, we may as well try and complete the job as much as we can come summer. Sentimentality can be put to one side for me.
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But through that time there have been constants: Injury to Rodri, injuries to the back 4.

Rodri should recover, so should the defenders. DIas and Stones are not 33 and 34 like de Bruyne and Gundogan. They are top class players. At times I have despaired that they will ever be fit. Presumably that is why City bought in Khusanov and Reis because they were getting worried by the extent of the injuries.

I think that the only questionable area of our team is the defence, largely because of the injury record and the lack of a right back. If Stones and Dias return, we should be a lot more solid.

Savinho and Haaland are beginning to gel. Wait until Marmoush settles in too. Then we will have some forward line and with back up too (Doku, Bobb). Behind them is Foden and Rodri. Behind them Stones and DIas. Behind them Ederson.
 
Lewis - tries but just not up to it, maybe go out on loan as he’s still young.

McAtee - needs a loan at a top club but where he can play regularly, then let’s see if he can make it with us, or not.

Gundogan - obviously a legend but too old now, hopefully stay as a coach.

Bernardo - regressed a lot, doesn’t offer goals or assists very much, and looks physically weak; better off selling him.

KDB - the GOAT midfielder in this league. But he’s too old now, go and make a fortune in Saudi Arabia.

Kovacic - decent and could probably play another season but he’d be even slower then, better off leaving.


The rest I’d like us to keep, obviously.

But we have to go big in summer, show proper ruthless ambition in the transfer market. Need top class replacements for Kev and Bernardo but with physicality and aggression. And two proper full backs.
 
Cobwebcat said:
The two who have their contracts ending in 4 months time?

KDB and Gundo.

They will be replaced.

Walker will also be replaced if Milan keep him.

That’s it. We need a big squad and you don’t sell players because their form is bad. Nobody is playing well, be patient.

This isn’t the match day thread!
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I agree with that but would say that Savinho is now playing well and there are signs that Foden is playing much better
 
noseve said:
Said it elsewhere, but moving Gavrdiol to midfield permanently would be like getting a new player for nothing.
He's a potentially brilliant midfielder, but a walking nightmare in defence.
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I completely disagree with this, I think Gvardiol is a great defender, but he’s playing LB which isn’t his position.

If Gvardiol was played regularly as a centre back I think he could end up the best central defender in the world.
 
Stoned Rose said:
Ahh the old “we’ll still piss the league we just need a tweak” when it was obvious after about 4 games we were going to be shit this season.

Halcyon days.
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Few more arrivals in the summer more than likely as well. Wonder if the "only need 1 or 2" gang will voice their opposition, lol.
 
Semper aggressus said:
I completely disagree with this, I think Gvardiol is a great defender, but he’s playing LB which isn’t his position.

If Gvardiol was played regularly as a centre back I think he could end up the best central defender in the world.
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Don't be silly, that title belongs to Van Dijk. Ask any of the TMM cultists; they'll confirm it.
 
woodymacclad said:
Stones - make of biscuits.
Silva - thank you David but you've offered nothing all season.
Grealish - I'd like him to stay and play through the middle, look at the Forest game, he also never loses the ball but if your're not going to play him then sell him.
Gunders - too slow for this system now.

New new keeprs required.
Ederson - doesn't save anything.
Ortaga - a better shot stopper than Ederson but kicking not upto standard.
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Bit harsh on Dave that tbf.
 
For me, I’d move on the following

Ortega - not good enough to displace eddy fulltime so no real point in him being here.

Stones - made of glass unfortunately, may get half decent fee.

Akanji - think his best form is behind him.

Gundogan - age has caught him up, hopefully a coaching role

Nunes - he is not gonna be a squad player for RB and not good enough for starter there or midfield either.

We need, a couple of FBs

A goalkeeper preferably a new number 1

One more decent midfielder.
 
Marvin. said:
But through that time there have been constants: Injury to Rodri, injuries to the back 4.

Rodri should recover, so should the defenders. DIas and Stones are not 33 and 34 like de Bruyne and Gundogan. They are top class players. At times I have despaired that they will ever be fit. Presumably that is why City bought in Khusanov and Reis because they were getting worried by the extent of the injuries.

I think that the only questionable area of our team is the defence, largely because of the injury record and the lack of a right back. If Stones and Dias return, we should be a lot more solid.

Savinho and Haaland are beginning to gel. Wait until Marmoush settles in too. Then we will have some forward line and with back up too (Doku, Bobb). Behind them is Foden and Rodri. Behind them Stones and DIas. Behind them Ederson.
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I agree to a limited extent but if it was just that we wouldn't have splashed the cash to this extent this window and in all likelihood the coming summer. Quite a few posters called it months ago and copped flak. Peps recent comments have intimated the ageing squad is a concern as well. The main focus now is to rebuild the squad with the correct personnel. A bonus would be to not repeat some of the mistakes of the previous transfer windows.
 
All these players people are going to ‘move on’, just how are you all proposing to do that, if they don’t want to go until their contract expires?
The only way would be to give them all free transfers AND pay their contracts up, which really ain’t happening.
Players by contract dates.
2026
Stones, Ortega, Ederson, Bernado and MacAtee

2027
Kovacic, Ake, Grealish, Dias, Akanji, Rodri and Foden

2028
Gvardiol, Doku, Nunes, Lewis,

There are only 3 players at the end of their contracts in 2025.
Carson, KDB and Gundogan and the latter might well have played enough games already to have triggered an extra year.

This is the exact same problem that the rags have had for 10 years and, as much as us fans like to think we’d be off like a shot if we weren’t playing, that’s not how the vast majority of footballers think, especially given the wages we pay…
 
Ideal for me:

Gone: Gundo, Kev, Ortega, Walker, Mcatee, Doku, Kova, Kalvin

Reduced role: Bernie, Akanji, Stones, Nunes

Leaves a core of:

Ederson, Lewis, Reis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, Ake, Rodri, Gonzalez, Grealish, Marmoush, Bobb, Savinho, Foden, Haaland

And that shows the desperate news for 4-5 signings in the summer to get us back into contention.
 
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