Txiki Begiristain

[MaineDAWG2008]

Its the Barcelona connection. Should be fired.

 

[PannickAtTheDisco]

the squad's not the issue, apart from LB, DM and LW there's enough there to be at the top of the table. It's the mentality and tactical setup from the start that has hamstrung us.

Give a number of other managers Ederson, Walker, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Stones, Ake, Foden, Bernardo, Kev, Sterling, Torres, Jesus, Aguero, Palmer, Delap, Braaf, Doyle etc. and they'd get plenty out of it.

You can only really look at Mendy, Plodri, Gundogan and Mahrez as key weaknesses, and hey Pep keeps playing them when fit.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

He’s turning us into post-2007 Arsenal.

They kept losing their key players one after the others, season after season, and they brought in players who weren’t as good.

The parallels are there: Vieira (left 2005), Campbell (06), Cole (06), Bergkamp (06), Pires (06), Henry (07), Ljungerb (07)...

Zabaleta (left 2017), Yaya (18), Kompany (19), DSilva (20), Sané (20), Fernandinho and Agüero are pretty much gone, they barely play anymore and be gone soon...

By the end of the last decade we’d taken over Arsenal, they had built a collection of worse players than they’d had, they were a soft touch, and they just kept declining until they were just a solid Europa Lg club.

Are we heading the same way?

 

[Bluesince1979]

He’s turning us into post-2007 Arsenal.

They kept losing their key players one after the others, season after season, and they brought in players who weren’t as good.

The parallels are there: Vieira (left 2005), Campbell (06), Cole (06), Bergkamp (06), Pires (06), Henry (07), Ljungerb (07)...

Zabaleta (left 2017), Yaya (18), Kompany (19), DSilva (20), Sané (20), Fernandinho and Agüero are pretty much gone, they barely play anymore and be gone soon...

By the end of the last decade we’d taken over Arsenal, they had built a collection of worse players than they’d had, they were a soft touch, and they just kept declining until they were just a solid Europa Lg club.

Are we heading the same way?

Yep. I fear so.

difficult to replace such characters and players as those you mentioned but we havent even tried . Rodri at one was chasing after kane and looked like me on woodbank park after a night in fridays and carrying 15 stone. Embarrassing

 

[MeatHunterrr]

the squad's not the issue, apart from LB, DM and LW there's enough there to be at the top of the table. It's the mentality and tactical setup from the start that has hamstrung us.

Give a number of other managers Ederson, Walker, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Stones, Ake, Foden, Bernardo, Kev, Sterling, Torres, Jesus, Aguero, Palmer, Delap, Braaf, Doyle etc. and they'd get plenty out of it.

You can only really look at Mendy, Plodri, Gundogan and Mahrez as key weaknesses, and hey Pep keeps playing them when fit.

Squad is an issue.

Cancelo, Stones, Rodri, Mendy, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Mahrez not good enough for us. This is third of the squad.

Of course squad is issue given we play so many games.

 

[bluemoon32]

Yep. I fear so.

difficult to replace such characters and players as those you mentioned but we havent even tried . Rodri at one was chasing after kane and looked like me on woodbank park after a night in fridays and carrying 15 stone. Embarrassing

And Kanes slow as fcuk

 

[Bluesince1979]

And Kanes slow as fcuk

Hes no ricky holden thats for sure

 

[PannickAtTheDisco]

Squad is an issue.

Cancelo, Stones, Rodri, Mendy, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Mahrez not good enough for us. This is third of the squad.

Of course squad is issue given we play so many games.

Cancelo is fine, Stones as a 4th choice isn't an issue really, you can't have 25 stars. The problem is players Pep considers first choice aren't good enough, the 3 key being Plodri, Gundogan and Mahrez, that's where we fall down. The likes of Liverpool have better suited players in those areas.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Squad is an issue.

Cancelo, Stones, Rodri, Mendy, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Mahrez not good enough for us. This is third of the squad.

Of course squad is issue given we play so many games.

There are more than that.

Sterling is not a good enough footballer when he’s not got a world leading midfield behind him and a world leading striker inside him. He’s just not good enough to step forward and become the player we need him to be. He was alright when truly world class players were doing the business and he was chipping in with goals, but him just chipping in with goals when we don’t have world class players (other than de Bruyne) isn't good enough.

Bernardo was one of the best players in Europe a few years ago . but where’s his form gone?

Have we pinned to many false-hype-hopes on Foden just because he’s a local lad and a City fan? Will he really become great? Or do we just think he will out of blind faith and a bit of delusion? Just because DSilva was great, doesn’t mean Foden will be. Just because United Liverpool and Chelsea have had Scholes Gerrard and Lampard who are English and great, doesn’t mean Foden will be.

Is Jesus really the heir to the throne up front? A striker who is going to lead us to league titles and champions league wins? Or just a really good player who’ll always do well for us but in reality their heir lies elsewhere?

There are too many questions and barely any certainties with our squad.

de Bruyne’s best years are behind him now, he’s 30 next Summer and had a lot of bad injuries in his career.

Walker is already 30, he won’t be getting any better.

With Agüero and Fernandinho even nearer to the end of their careers, and the like of Zaba Yaya Kompany DSilva and Sané gone...

I think this era of us having a great team and winning multiple trophies is over now.

That doesn’t mean that another one won’t come in the next decade. If we get rid of those who aren’t good enough and who aren’t going to lead us, and sign the right players to become our next leaders; we could well go on to consistently win more in the coming decade.

But will we do that?

Ferguson got rid of Stam, Beckham, van Niistelrooy, Keane and more because he saw that their time was up at United and that he could get results with other players.

In the Summer of 2009 Real Madrid got rid of: Cannavaro Robben Salgado Sneijder Huntellaar Negredo Garcia Saviola vanNiistelrooy Faubert and Heinze... and signed CRonaldo Kaka Benzema Alonso Albiol and Garay.

I think we need to completely shake up our midfield and attack. Raise some eyebrows with who we get rid of and who we bring in.

 

[grim up north]

There are more than that.

Sterling is not a good enough footballer when he’s not got a world leading midfield behind him and a world leading striker inside him. He’s just not good enough to step forward and become the player we need him to be. He was alright when truly world class players were doing the business and he was chipping in with goals, but him just chipping in with goals when we don’t have world class players (other than de Bruyne) isn't good enough.

Bernardo was one of the best players in Europe a few years ago . but where’s his form gone?

Have we pinned to many false-hype-hopes on Foden just because he’s a local lad and a City fan? Will he really become great? Or do we just think he will out of blind faith and a bit of delusion? Just because DSilva was great, doesn’t mean Foden will be. Just because United Liverpool and Chelsea have had Scholes Gerrard and Lampard who are English and great, doesn’t mean Foden will be.

Is Jesus really the heir to the throne up front? A striker who is going to lead us to league titles and champions league wins? Or just a really good player who’ll always do well for us but in reality their heir lies elsewhere?

There are too many questions and barely any certainties with our squad.

de Bruyne’s best years are behind him now, he’s 30 next Summer and had a lot of bad injuries in his career.

Walker is already 30, he won’t be getting any better.

With Agüero and Fernandinho even nearer to the end of their careers, and the like of Zaba Yaya Kompany DSilva and Sané gone...

I think this era of us having a great team and winning multiple trophies is over now.

That doesn’t mean that another one won’t come in the next decade. If we get rid of those who aren’t good enough and who aren’t going to lead us, and sign the right players to become our next leaders; we could well go on to consistently win more in the coming decade.

But will we do that?

I’m off to slit my wrists