The Title Race - 2024/25

[Semper aggressus]

Our arrogance this summer has come to bite us on the arse but hey we won the net spend trophy and retained it

It often does. Need to be more ambitious and ruthless in the transfer market.

Could do with an attacker in January to give Erling a break some games and strengthen the squad. No top team can operate with just one reliable goalscorer.

 

[Beanhead]

Let's be honest.
And look on the brightside.

We've got pep.
if any manger can sort it it's him.
We're 2nd in the league.
Lost once in 30 odd games

Precisely this.stay in touching distance by Feb and I’ll fancy us within 5/6 points of top spot.

 

[Betterdeedthan red]

It often does. Need to be more ambitious and ruthless in the transfer market.

Could do with an attacker in January to give Erling a break some games and strengthen the squad. No top team can operate with just one reliable goalscorer.

We've win the league without one before

 

[WestGorton]

It often does. Need to be more ambitious and ruthless in the transfer market.

Could do with an attacker in January to give Erling a break some games and strengthen the squad. No top team can operate with just one reliable goalscorer.

Missing Alvarez for sure but I get why he left etc. We need another striker to help Erling.

 

[Semper aggressus]

We've win the league without one before

Players were in form then, Gundogan & Walker were younger, Rodri played most games.

This set up isn’t working. No need to deliberately make things harder than need be. Just because we got away with it before.

 

[ali benarbia's studs]

Not bothered, either should you blues.long way to go.


Well done Forest, up to 3rd.

 

[SWPISHOME]

How come that fucker is never injured?

 

[alexmcity]

A combination of aging players, fatigue and Rodri's injury will make it difficult for us. Having Guardiola and several young players eager to get better and improve themselves may help us, though. Will be difficult, Rodri was fundamental to how we played in the last 2-3 seasons. He helped us not only to pin down teams and stop counters, but also to save energy while moving the ball around. The players have to run more to make up for his absence, which may cause fatigue and injuries. Let's hope we will have new heroes and some of the young players will step up.

85 pts are likely to be enough.

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

Maybe this is the year where we don't win it, it'll have to happen one year. But it does crack me up that this is the fifth season running where people absolutely lose their heads around bonfire night as the performances don't look right.

 

[M23 Citizen]

Something feels different this time around though.

Team looks tactically tired, ageing, constantly getting injured, no attackers other than Haaland are showing anything of any note offensively and defensively this is as bad as Pep's first season.

We will be there or thereabouts because we still have lots of quality but the edge just doesn't look there this season.

Something does feel different. I never feel unsure about us.

Firstly, the only players in their prime years even when everyone is fit are:
Akanji
Aké
Dias
Foden
Grealish
Haaland
Nunes
Rodri
…8 the 25 man squad, 32%, not even ⅓

I always think the 24-29 age bracket should be the majority of the players in the squad, with youngsters and ageing players supplementing that major group of players in their prime.

Youngsters and ageing players are over ⅔ of our entire squad.

The ageing midfield trio today remind me of the ageing four full backs we had under Pellegrini/Pep’s first season that really affected the way we played. And midfield is a more crucial area of the pitch than full backs.

The average age of our midfield of Bernardo, Gündoğan and Kovačić is 31 (31.3) and the average age of our outfield bench options today (taking out de Bruyne who was never coming on) was under 20 (19.8). That’s only with Dias, Grealish and Rodri not available from all of the 24-29 year olds we have in the full squad.

That sort of issue will be a factor with any squad. We don’t have enough players who are at the peak of both their ability+physicality combined to make a player the best he’ll be in his career.

We got away with this in the treble season because we barely had any injuries all season and had no injuries at all in the final three months. Plus more of the players were in or were closer to their prime. Never known anything like that season for lack of injuries for any team. Last season we had a spine of players Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Rodri, Foden and Haaland all playing really well with very few injuries (apart from the big one to de Bruyne).

I’m not saying we won’t win the title, as I’ve said in my posts throughout this thread that I’m not impressed with anyone this season. I’ve watched Liverpool a few times and they’ve been poor in every game. I’ve watched Arsenal even more and they look the worst of the three.

I can see an 80-85 points title win. Could well be us, Guardiola will find something to change and will make us tick, I’m sure. But we’ve not looked like this for years. We look well off it. We look like a squad that’s had £-70m spent on it over five years and regressed back to the pack when we (and Liverpool for a couple of years) were light years ahead of the rest for years.