Three years of bad transfer dealings

[TINY]

Champions.

 

[mosssideblue]

A lot of words there mate. So with the finances avail (inc wage caps) WHO would you have bought?

in fairness, I can better tell you who I wouldn't have bought. I definitely would Not have bought Mangala, Fernando or Caballero. They are all very good players, but weren't going to make the difference BECAUSE none would have improved the staring 11 this season. History should have been our guide. When we improved our staring 11 in 2011 (Aguero) we won the league. We improved the squad in 2012 and won nothing. We went back an improved the 11 with 3 starters in 2013 ( Dihno, MDM, Negredo) we won the league again. Now we have reverted back to 2012 again, improving the squad ;(

My targets would have been Sanchez and Fabregas. I said as much in the summer. Both play in the 2 areas of greatest need. CM and Attacking LM. In one position we were going to be down to 2 players Yaya and Dihno so this was a must need. The fact that we eventually purchased 2 players in that position (Fernando and Lampard) supports my claim that it was the position of most need.

Sanchez on the other hand is not a position buy, he is an option 2 buy. He is the guy you give the ball too when your practiced plan simply isn't working. Sure you start him on the left, but it's not about the position, it's the difference his dribbling/speed/technique brings.

Oh, not to mention Fabregas was homegrown. I mean talk about a no brainer :(

You appear to be in the category of he's the one we need and then shout when City don't secure him.

Fabregas we were (someone will correct me if I am wrong) after him, but he made it clear he wanted to go back to London - so hardly a no brainer
Sanchez, if we were after him and didn't get him, there will be a justifiable reason behind it.

Transfers dont occur at argos where you pick the one you want, pay your money and go collect. There are several parties all involved who's interests all need to align before it will happen.

Because we have a very wealthy owner, doesn't mean we just throw a bigger wad at it and we get them. That is very raggish thinking IMO

 

[mosssideblue]

@numberoneblue

Just look at the defensive record we had when Kompany/Nastasic played in tandem regularly - best defence in the league by a country mile - since that partnership was broken up we've started to ship goals all over the place !
Even if you think Mangala is more promising than Nastasic, which I disagree with, how can you justify spending £32m which, as many others have pointed out, could've bought Fabregas, Costa, Reus etc when all the time we had a perfectly good centre half at a fraction of the cost ( and wages !! ) ????
I hope that Mangala becomes the player that we all think he can be, but it won't alter my opinion that we've spent an awful lot of money that we didn't need to while not attending to the real areas that needed addressing.

Sorry mate and not having a pop.

Most on here recognised we were desperate for a CH
Could have got Fabregas, Costa or Reus for similar money, are you sure on that inc salaries?

And most as usual were wrong! Why exactly did we need a CH? Is it because we didn't have 2 good starting CHs?( Komps and MDM) No! Is it because we didn't have an up and coming young CH? (Nastacic), No! is it because we didn't have a beffy of future starters? (Rekkik, Denayer, Boyata), No? And even in the case of multiple injury, is it beacause we couldn't find talented cover? Sagna, No! In short, once Sagna signed on as a free agent our CH need, pretty much was nonexistent.

The basis for why we needed a CH was predicated on how shaky our defense was at the beginning of last season. An analysis that had become mute by the end of the season, when the defense showed bite, and the CHs were top of their game. I can't how often I have pointed this out.

So, no, we did not have a CH need. We had a CH want. We failed to finish business in January with Porto, but rather than reanalyze get our situation, we simply tried to complete what was unfinished. It's a natural human instinct, but in this case it led to poor decisions.

So your OK with just having two principle names as our leading CBs, therafter were at the Nasty then Junior level? Nasty cannot play the high line and the juniors are not proven. One injury to either Vinnie or MDM and we were in deep poo poo. As for Mangala. He was scouted for some period of time so they must see something there. Our management team are not daft and can throw £30m+ around on a punt.

 

[blueinsa]

Fuck me we have some trolls on here lately.

CHAMPIONS!

 

[01cravend]

Buying a few players with resale value wouldn't go a miss

 

[agyeiboateng]

The CM and winger situation is poor say it how it is....

Bar Toure our CM options are not good enough. I can't see us getting far in the CL with Fernando, Milner, Toure and Fernandinho. Compare them to Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona and PSG...and you will laugh! You will also have to remember that Toure is 30 now...he isn't going to be getting any better especially when you consider that his game relies on strength and pace.

The fact that our 'best' winger is Navas says it all. He is awful for a team competing for CL and PL honours...he can never get a cross in, he can't beat a man, he can't shoot...he is basically the Spanish Aaron Lennon, just really, really fast. Such an infuriating player, and to top it all off...he is almost 30. If he was in his early 20's you could understand that most young wingers will frustrate the life out of you, but Navas isn't this. A top winger has to be priority. How we didnt go for Alexis Sanchez is beyond me.

Since the Aguero signing, we haven't made one top signing that has made you think wow or has improved the team drastically...and that is disappointing.

 

[agyeiboateng]

Fuck me we have some trolls on here lately.

CHAMPIONS!

Trolls or people speaking the truth?

Out of the league cup, out of the fa cup, lost both times to teams who we should be beating and played many first teamers. Lose against Chelsea and the league will be very hard to win. Have to play Barca in the CL, and in recent weeks they are looking much better and Messi is looking much more interested. Exciting times ahead deffo!

 

[ZZmaestro]

I will just paste a post i previously made about it, this is my analysis of the situation.

Bob had momentum with him.
Before the 2011/2012 season, we weren't seen like a threat and were never taken really seriously.
I believe we could have signed anyone we wanted at that time.
Since the 6-1 massacre at the swamp and the PL title, we are recognized as a real threat by the established UEFALONIAN clubs.
And this my fellow Blues, changed everything for us.
Just look at Mancini's struggle to sign first grade player since January 2012 : we missed every single target we went for.
Either the transfer fees asked for were blatant rip-off, or we have been out-played by the competition.
In the mean time, we have also now to fight with a new powerful new raising force : PSG.
With the ffp effect kickin-ing, all this makes it triple difficult for Manuel, while Bob had it easy when we were still " under the radar".

Since 2012 and from now on, any A-grade player we target is seen as a lethal weapon by and against them established Elite clubs.
To sign those will be like going for an arm-wrestling contest, and we will still have to brake the bank outrageously no matter what,
because we are City !

 

[Del_Bosque]

For anyone who thinks Txiki has done a great job

We need a pacey wide left sided player
We need a top partner for Kompany (Big fan of Demi but he’s too old to play twice a week all year)
We need an energetic holding midfielder
We have poor back up to Joe Hart
We don’t have a standout left back

This has been the case for 3 years now, we’ve spent £180m and haven’t addressed any of those well enough

 

[raymondkl92]

Three years of bad transfer dealing and yet still won a few trophies in those three years and got out of the champs league group stages twice,ill take that any day of the week.

 

[pavelsrnicek]

For anyone who thinks Txiki has done a great job

We need a pacey wide left sided player
We need a top partner for Kompany (Big fan of Demi but he’s too old to play twice a week all year)
We need an energetic holding midfielder
We have poor back up to Joe Hart
We don’t have a standout left back

This has been the case for 3 years now, we’ve spent £180m and haven’t addressed any of those well enough

On left sided player we went for Isco and he/his father messed us around so we went for Jovetic which hasn't worked out.
On a partner for Kompany, still believe Mangala will come good though the delays in getting the deal through delayed his introduction.
Holding midfielder- Agreed though I still have hope for Fernando, though I honestly believe that other than matches against Barca, Real, Bayern, Chelsea or one or two others we shouldn't start him at home. He's great for tough always (was brilliant in Rome and at Newcastle) but at home he slows down our passing.
Hart's better form this year makes me think he rates Caballero higher than Pantilimon. Willy's job is to put pressure on Joe
Agreed, Kolarov was good last year, while Clichy was poor. This season Clichy has been much better while Kolarov has been dire. We do need a top class left back.

 

[Chippy_boy]

For anyone who thinks Txiki has done a great job

We need a pacey wide left sided player
We need a top partner for Kompany (Big fan of Demi but he’s too old to play twice a week all year)
We need an energetic holding midfielder
We have poor back up to Joe Hart
We don’t have a standout left back

This has been the case for 3 years now, we’ve spent £180m and haven’t addressed any of those well enough

On left sided player we went for Isco and he/his father messed us around so we went for Jovetic which hasn't worked out.

Jovetic may be many things, but "a pacey wide left sided player" is not one of them and you can tell that off youtube, never mind a season at City.

 

[crystal_mais]

This smacks to me of spoilt fans wanting the world

Nothing wrong with trsnafer dealings last 2 years -
Champions
Carling Cup
Knockout round of CL

Progress

We 're still 2nd in the league & in with a shout for CL - wow I wonder what it will be like if we have a good transfer dealings

Wake up THIS IS NOT FOOTBALL MANAGER - THIS IS A BUSINSESS AND THE REAL WORLD or is that too grown up for people to understand

 

[agyeiboateng]

Three years of bad transfer dealing and yet still won a few trophies in those three years and got out of the champs league group stages twice,ill take that any day of the week.

Then you have low expectations

Look at what PSG and A.Madrid have done....PSG with money like us, and if you look at their squad, its better than ours. A.Madrid won La Liga last year and got into the CL final, which they lost right at the end. Those teams are ahead of us and we started the rebuild way earlier than them

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

My thoughts on this.

You can’t deny that most of our best players came to the club early or pre Mancini.

However what is forgotten is that we had a scatter gun approach back then, we were accumulating a lot of players in the hope of securing the gems we did find. Back then we had the likes of Robhino, Santa Cruz and Adebayour etc. We ploughed through the muck to get to the brass. We had as a result a lot of players and a lot of disparity in wages / ability.

The signings of, Sinclair and Rodwell were bad moves in a bad summer of transfers however I suspect the club had switched to a more cautious approach that involved picking the right long term targets (evolution not revolution). Good young professionals in the right positions, instead of any available potentially top draw player, this with a view of creating a more stable squad. No more Balotellis and fighting on the training ground or Wayne Bridges hanging around. Add in the mix FFP and the need to live within our means and that is what has driven the approach. We could have spent a lot more, had more player turnover and found anther worldy but there would be a cost in terms of the impact on FFP and a bloated squad. I would assume you sign 3 players for every 1 that turns out to live up to and beyond your expectations (at any level - there are 2 Lee Bradburys for every 1 Ali Bernabia).

In summary, you have to have some faith that Mangala and Fernando have been watched and pursued over the long term and they will come good. Bony was only signed when he had shown real consistency in the PL. That is 3 big money buys in 6 months all with CL or PL pedigree. We are also in a position where the squad has been managed very effectively, bar Sinclair we don’t have any deadwood and all the senior pros are getting game time with good competition for places. The fringe players such as Sagna and Lampard will be off soon having done a job. With FFP under control we have scope to push the boat out again this summer, if we had splurged we would have our hands tied.

 

[mosssideblue]

My thoughts on this.

You can’t deny that most of our best players came to the club early or pre Mancini.

However what is forgotten is that we had a scatter gun approach back then, we were accumulating a lot of players in the hope of securing the gems we did find. Back then we had the likes of Robhino, Santa Cruz and Adebayour etc. We ploughed through the muck to get to the brass. We had as a result a lot of players and a lot of disparity in wages / ability.

The signings of, Sinclair and Rodwell were bad moves in a bad summer of transfers however I suspect the club had switched to a more cautious approach that involved picking the right long term targets (evolution not revolution). Good young professionals in the right positions, instead of any available potentially top draw player, this with a view of creating a more stable squad. No more Balotellis and fighting on the training ground or Wayne Bridges hanging around. Add in the mix FFP and the need to live within our means and that is what has driven the approach. We could have spent a lot more, had more player turnover and found anther worldy but there would be a cost in terms of the impact on FFP and a bloated squad. I would assume you sign 3 players for every 1 that turns out to live up to and beyond your expectations (at any level - there are 2 Lee Bradburys for every 1 Ali Bernabia).

In summary, you have to have some faith that Mangala and Fernando have been watched and pursued over the long term and they will come good. Bony was only signed when he had shown real consistency in the PL. That is 3 big money buys in 6 months all with CL or PL pedigree. We are also in a position where the squad has been managed very effectively, bar Sinclair we don’t have any deadwood and all the senior pros are getting game time with good competition for places. The fringe players such as Sagna and Lampard will be off soon having done a job. With FFP under control we have scope to push the boat out again this summer, if we had splurged we would have our hands tied.

Great Post, Great perspective

 

[Marvin]

The ignorance of these so called blues amuses me. PSG may well not even qualify for the Champions League this season and Atletico are in danger of being overtaken by Valencia and Sevilla

Just 12 months ago Demichelis and Garcia were being criticised and yet we went on to win the title.

 

[agyeiboateng]

The ignorance of these so called blues amuses me. PSG may well not even qualify for the Champions League this season and Atletico are in danger of being overtaken by Valencia and Sevilla

Just 12 months ago Demichelis and Garcia were being criticised and yet we went on to win the title.

They have still performed better than us in the CL. We will see how we do against Barca, but we need to improve in the CL. We can't keep scraping through the group stage and going out in the first round.

 

[blueinsa]

The ignorance of these so called blues amuses me. PSG may well not even qualify for the Champions League this season and Atletico are in danger of being overtaken by Valencia and Sevilla

Just 12 months ago Demichelis and Garcia were being criticised and yet we went on to win the title.

They have still performed better than us in the CL. We will see how we do against Barca, but we need to improve in the CL. We can't keep scraping through the group stage and going out in the first round.

I wonder how they would have faired had they had the same groups as us?

It isn't as black and white as many of you are making out.

 

[casualdeyna]

I'm not disputing our transfer have been underwhelming since Aguero came but we needed to go out and sign two or three top class players every season back then to propel us to challengers, once we are challenging it is a different approach to signing players, and you can see (due to FFP or not) we have chosen to sign hungry players, players with potential, rather than going out and getting finished article, Mangala and Joevtic (and Negredo) perfect examples of this. Also don't be too quick to judge, I hold my hands up and admit to judging Fernandinho and Demechelis too early last season, they both turned out to be crucial members of a title winning team.

There wouldn't be this reaction if two teams hadn't "done a job" on us at home on consecutive weekends, and that for me is the bigger concern. I've said before I think our ills, in the short term, are down more to us trying to play and develop the "City way", basically Barcelona mark 2, it comes from Tixi and Ferran, but also Mansour and Mubarak.

In the long term this is absolutely the right way to go, Pep's barca showed if you are good enough it doesn't matter what tactics others use against you as you will be better and beat them, but for that you need all 11 players singing of same hymn sheet and 11 good footballers, most of that team had come through the ranks playing the same way.

It does mean though that were are very easy to work out how to play against as you know we will play the same way every game, and it is hardly rocket science what teams have done to us this season especially at home. Silva is being surrounded, the full backs aren't being allowed to bomb on and run in to space as zaba has done expertly in the past and the full backs are the only ones providing any width. Navas' final ball just isn't good enough, Jovetic (and I like him) is certainly no centre forward, half fit Aguero up front, and we are always so wide open on the counter attack.

This all means that if we don't play well, there is no plan B, we are not really the type of team to play poor and grind out a result. Teams are going to try to do what Arsenal and Boro have done every week, and I don't think we will do anything about it, we just have to play better.

I'm not getting in to the wrongs or rights of playing the same way week in week out and trying to develop a style of football from top to bottom as I actually think it benefits the club, certainly the kids coming through, but this to me is a bigger concern than transfers or MP's ability as a manager