Transfer Strategy

[Pubteam Lomas]

We've once again had a poor window, in my opinion
When I left the Estádio do Dragão in May we all realised we were short up front and at left back.
I like Zinchenko but the Chavs identified him as the weak link at the back.
We also needed a DM because, in arguably the biggest game in our history, Pep neither fancied or trusted Dinho or Rodri.
What we've bought is an attacking midfielder. Good player, no doubt, but not what we really needed.
Khaldoon said we'd be creative and aggressive in the market.
We've been neither on the face of it. What we've done is pay a 'release clause' for one player.
And where does it leave us with 5 days left?
Still needing a striker definitely, plus a left back and DM.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

People act as if City are the only club ever looking to sign anyone and that it should be easy to land targets.

People act as if players are sold in a shop and have no ties to an actual football club they’re already contracted to.

People act as if we should just pay what other clubs want us to, even if it’s 70% again on top of what we should be paying.

People act as if football is about one season or one transfer window, but football goes on forever, and ever! So what if we have a season here or there without exactly what we need in a position? Kompany retired at short notice, that’s more his fault than City’s, it was a lot more out of the blue than we give our board credit for. But why does it matter that it was a full year later that we signed his replacement? New football seasons come round every Summer so it doesn’t matter that we have a season’s dip here or there because there will be seasons after that where we get it bang on and challenge for everything again.

People act as if there are dozens of options to replace Agüero and they’re all attainable. Let’s be honest, only really Kane Lewandowski Haaland Mbappe Messi and CRonaldo could replace Agüero. Everyone else would be a downgrade. Not many of them were really attainable: Kane would have been a good option at £90m but there’s no way on Earth City should be paying £160m for him, City were absolutely right not to do that. Why would Lewandowski leave Bayern at his age? Haaland isn’t going anywhere this Summer with his buy-out clause coming in next Summer. Mbappe has said he doesn’t want to sign for us. Messi is a wanker who’s strung us along for years with fucking no intention at all of ever signing for us, just to bump his wages up at Barça. Then there’s CRonaldo who there’s a faint possibility we could get.

So it’s likely we won’t replace Agüero this Summer. There’s no point going for some chancer who we think will be the next Dias, just because Dias worked out. They could be the new Bianchi for all we know. So, just like the Kompany situation, we will have to take a year with no Agüero replacement. But football doesn’t end after this season, this isn’t our last ever chance to sign a striker, football carries on and on forever so we get another chance to have the squad we need in 2022-23. What’s the harm in that? We still might win everything this season anyway, we’ve got the squad to, striker or not!

So i don’t have a problem with our transfer strategy at all. Especially as we walk away from negotiations where the selling club or player start taking the piss. That’s definitely the best thing to do.

One thing I will say though, is that Khaldoon should end the tub-thumping soundbites about signings in his end of season interviews.

 

[StillBluessinceHydeRoad]

People act as if City are the only club ever looking to sign anyone and that it should be easy to land targets.

People act as if players are sold in a shop and have no ties to an actual football club they’re already contracted to.

People act as if we should just pay what other clubs want us to, even if it’s 70% again on top of what we should be paying.

People act as if football is about one season or one transfer window, but football goes on forever, and ever! So what if we have a season here or there without exactly what we need in a position? Kompany retired at short notice, that’s more his fault than City’s, it was a lot more out of the blue than we give our board credit for. But why does it matter that it was a full year later that we signed his replacement? New football seasons come round every Summer so it doesn’t matter that we have a season’s dip here or there because there will be seasons after that where we get it bang on and challenge for everything again.

People act as if there are dozens of options to replace Agüero and they’re all attainable. Let’s be honest, only really Kane Lewandowski Haaland Mbappe Messi and CRonaldo could replace Agüero. Everyone else would be a downgrade. Not many of them were really attainable: Kane would have been a good option at £90m but there’s no way on Earth City should be paying £160m for him, City were absolutely right not to do that. Why would Lewandowski leave Bayern at his age? Haaland isn’t going anywhere this Summer with his buy-out clause coming in next Summer. Mbappe has said he doesn’t want to sign for us. Messi is a wanker who’s strung us along for years with fucking no intention at all of ever signing for us, just to bump his wages up at Barça. Then there’s CRonaldo who there’s a faint possibility we could get.

So it’s likely we won’t replace Agüero this Summer. There’s no point going for some chancer who we think will be the next Dias, just because Dias worked out. They could be the new Bianchi for all we know. So, just like the Kompany situation, we will have to take a year with no Agüero replacement. But football doesn’t end after this season, this isn’t our last ever chance to sign a striker, football carries on and on forever so we get another chance to have the squad we need in 2022-23. What’s the harm in that? We still might win everything this season anyway, we’ve got the squad to, striker or not!

So i don’t have a problem with our transfer strategy at all. Especially as we walk away from negotiations where the selling club or player start taking the piss. That’s definitely the best thing to do.

One thing I will say though, is that Khaldoon should end the tub-thumping soundbites about signings in his end of season interviews.

Hits the nail (several in fact) right on the head. To seek is not necessarily to find and City are seeking replacements for players who are literally irreplaceable. Some of the candidates to replace Vinnie are quite simply laughable and we were wise not to rush in like fools just to get a CB. Harry Kane would have been an excellent addition to our team but he is not Aguerro and he would have involved a process of adjustment. And there is no god of football that ensures the transfer window goes smoothly to plan for City. And this is exactly the problem. Too many City fans have fallen for this idea that "winning the transfer window" is actually a meaningful trophy instead of part of a continuous process. Its only winners recently have been United but its the only trophy they ever win!

So, thanks very much for an excellent post.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Needing a replacement for Sergio, a left back, a defensive midfield destroyer and if Laporte leaves, a signing at CB - we have signed no one at all for these key positions. I expressed my worry that this transfer window would unfold basically as it has at the start of the window - in the, "It's Quiet Thread 15 - Txiki Blinders." And I was banned from that thread for 3 days for "flapping." LOL.
===
Our squad is a year older. We've moved Aguero on - when fit, Aguero is one of the best strikers in world football (yes, he's often injured lately). And we've signed only Grealish - I like Grealish but I think that we are far more in need of upgrade at positions Grealish does not play.
===
So...
Am I happy with this transfer window - not at all.
Was this the best that the club could do? - possibly. It would take a lot of effort to unpack the complete window to see if there were missed opportunities at the positions I think we're in need of upgrade.

 

[bluetonium]

As I mentioned in the it's quiet thread, I'm mostly relaxed as I know we were already quality and have brought in quality. I also think we have a very high standard of younger players coming through now - Foden may be the most gifted, but he's not the only one capable at this level.

But I also agree that we have 2 or possibly 3 positions that need addressing. Ok we will still play great football, score plenty and get far, buy pushing us to that next level does require these positions to be addressed and I don't believe that it can all be done on the training groups or through the academy.

Therefore I am also surprised a little at our activity specifically given what Khaldoon had said. I think we have to sell to buy now, not financially maybe buy definitely for squad space, so maybe our hands are tied a little if the players we are willing to let go don't actually want to go or we don't receive bids for them.

But I sense there is also an awareness of pep going in two years time playing a factor, and I feel it will only be more difficult to attract players next summer knowing pep is likely off in less than a year.

So in summary I can see why this has happened and it's not a bad position to be in,but it's hardly the proactive and aggressive stance I expected given the fighting talk over summer.

This season could go either way, no trophies, multiple trophies or somewhere in between. But mainly that is due to stronger competition more than us not bringing in more players.

 

[kaz7]

I feel like this is a poorly timed thread.

The op is not surprising ,he has done a few like this ..

 

[Keeper!]

We've once again had a poor window, in my opinion
When I left the Estádio do Dragão in May we all realised we were short up front and at left back.
I like Zinchenko but the Chavs identified him as the weak link at the back.
We also needed a DM because, in arguably the biggest game in our history, Pep neither fancied or trusted Dinho or Rodri.
What we've bought is an attacking midfielder. Good player, no doubt, but not what we really needed.
Khaldoon said we'd be creative and aggressive in the market.
We've been neither on the face of it. What we've done is pay a 'release clause' for one player.
And where does it leave us with 5 days left?
Still needing a striker definitely, plus a left back and DM.

You make some fair points, we once identified our targets and got them very quickly and with little or no fuss.

When we have decided to spend big money on big players the negotiations do seem to drag on and we end up paying what the selling club wanted or simply don't want to pay the asking price and walk away.

Our chairman said we would have to be creative this window, as of yet, have we seen that creation?

 

[Gabriel]

Our chairman said we would have to be creative this window, as of yet, have we seen that creation?

We don’t know the ins and outs of the Grealish transfer, but we also haven’t seen anyone leave. I interpreted ‘creativity’ to involve players leaving, perhaps as part(s) of a deal, yet the praise of Laporte and Jesus after Norwich suggests those two are likely to remain, which just leaves Bernardo.

 

[Bluesince1979]

Think its difficult to have plan B’s when you are aiming for top drawer talent.

but as englands most successful team in the last decade you could argue we havent done too bad in our recruitment.

 

[Keeper!]

We don’t know the ins and outs of the Grealish transfer, but we also haven’t seen anyone leave. I interpreted ‘creativity’ to involve players leaving, perhaps as part(s) of a deal, yet the praise of Laporte and Jesus after Norwich suggests those two are likely to remain, which just leaves Bernardo.

The Grealish transfer involved us paying his release clause, hardly creative and groundbreaking.

We have at least two players that seem to want out in Bernardo and Laporte, both reportedly wanted by top clubs in Spain and Italy. Those clubs have top players, swop, exchanges are the order of the day.