Transfer Strategy

[Gabriel]

There’s still plenty time for us to sign a striker, but having intimated to Aguero and Delap (I think) that we would be signing one, I’d be surprised if we had nothing else lined up. After all, prising Kane from Spurs was always going to be a tall order.

What I fear now, if we don’t buy a striker, is the inevitable fall out that will accompany every miss or every dropped point. Pundits, let’s just call them critics, will say that we simply failed to get Guardiola what he wanted and that we put the long-term project over immediate success. They’ll then start spouting on about his leaving at the end of next season and seek to disrupt us.

I actually prefer the long-term approach but am conscious that we do need a recognized striker now, someone who can come in and play that role this season. The idea that it was Kane and only ever Kane that could do that simply makes no sense.

 

[Blue back home]

It has to be said we have a fantastic squad and have been very good in the transfer market previously.

However this summer has been pretty awful and the guys at the top are to blame. We should have a replacement for Sergio by now. Say what you want but that cannot be argued, he actually should have been replaced last summer. Of course we can still win the league, if we don’t the transfer team need to be moved on. We had an opportunity to dominate this year, I now think Chelsea and the dippers are ahead of us.

I’m still hopeful we can get trophies this year but am worried that this clusterfuck pursuit of Kane could bite us on the ass.

if Ronaldo arrives at the weekend all is forgiven, that would be amazing.

 

[Pingu the Penguin]

We are a well run club, with a clear strategy. Where we are now though means that only the very very best improve us first team wise, and we are fishing in a limited pool. At the other end of the spectrum we are picking up a lucrative sideline of acquiring v young talent and selling them on to generate a profit. Bit missing for me is the middle ground. Ings for a year or 2 would have added depth at striker, and I can't believe there isn't a half decent LB knocking around out there for a reasonable fee.

That said, the transfer world is a shadowy one - so maybe it's more difficult than it is on Football Manager :)

 

[Homar]

I should add that we haven't yet had the flurry of tweets from journalists well connected to the club saying that our transfer business is done. We've had a couple saying that they think it unlikely, but it doesn't read like a club brief. The window isn't over yet and I think we may have one or two viable alternatives to explore.

 

[kun]

I should add that we haven't yet had the flurry of tweets from journalists well connected to the club saying that our transfer business is done. We've had a couple saying that they think it unlikely, but it doesn't read like a club brief. The window isn't over yet and I think we may have one or two viable alternatives to explore.

This. The club may brief that later but as it stands the market is open.

 

[Del_Bosque]

At the end of the day we've chased Messi for 10 years then let him go on a free to probably our biggest rivals for a CL because we were after someone who was never for sale.

If that doesn't tell you they aren't the smooth slick operation they paint themselves as then nothing will.

The trophies we've won are down to Pep.

 

[not my fault!]

The windows still open for 6 days.

 

[MeatHunterrr]

At the end of the day we've chased Messi for 10 years then let him go on a free to probably our biggest rivals for a CL because we were after someone who was never for sale.

If that doesn't tell you they aren't the smooth slick operation they paint themselves as then nothing will.

The trophies we've won are down to Pep.

Pellegrini era showed our transfer team capabilities.

 

[Sir Joe Aguero]

At the end of the day we've chased Messi for 10 years then let him go on a free to probably our biggest rivals for a CL because we were after someone who was never for sale.

If that doesn't tell you they aren't the smooth slick operation they paint themselves as then nothing will.

The trophies we've won are down to Pep.

This. Don’t know if it’s stubbornness on Pep’s side or just genuine naivety from the board but to turn down every striker (Lukaku, Messi, Ings, Andre Silva, Patson Daka, Vlahovic, possibly Ronaldo) to try and negotiate with the cheapest bastard in football, and to pay way over the odds for a position we’re already overloaded with, it’s fucking frustrating.

We’ve still not signed an out-and-out LB either. Unless there’s a release clause, we just can’t negotiate.

 

[Manchester_lalala]

We definitely have huge blindspots

Cast your mind back to Peps first season the fullbacks had been left to become a massive issue, and we've still arguably not sorted left back with signings.

Striker this has been coming for years and we've not brought in either a top player or a young player who could be developed.

DM has been a problem for a while as well I think, Pep didn't fancy either of the options in the CL final.

It's made me angry, we've got Pep for 2 more years, we'll never have a manager this good again, it's once in 50 years appointment and we're I feel writing one of those seasons off because they couldn't be arsed signing a striker other than Kane.

All this money spent on the CFG scouting network and there isn't one striker other than Harry Kane identified who could improve on having absolutely no number 9. Bizarre.

You have a point, but who would you have gone for? Good strikers don’t grow on trees and the good strikers (Mbappe and Haaland) are far to expensive for City to go near them. Kane was the probably the best, most attainable striker we could have got this summer, but we still couldn’t pull it off.

We could have gone shopping at the under the radar market, but would they have been any better than Jesus/Torres/Sterling/Delap?