What do we need?

[doggiesin08]

We won the league but we failed miserably in all the cup competitions. I feel that contrary to popular belief our squad is a bit too thin for 4 competitions. It's pretty obvious that Mancini will be looking to do a double somewhere, so we need to add more depth.

The goalkeeper and wingback positions super covered. However in defense we need a very reliable cb. However I don't think that we need a world class defender if it will cost too much. Lescott Kompany pairing is already great enough and apart from the QPR mistake, Lescott was world class this year. I feel like Savic, Kolo and Boyata are decent cover to Lescott-Kompany however Martinez will be the perfect choice.

In the midfield we are definitely lacking and Mancini knows, that's why he got Hargreaves and Pizarro to add as cover. we have 4 center and defensive midfielders right now(De jong, Yaya, Barry and Milner), compared to last season and if we need to go far in the Champions league, keep the title and win one domestic cup we need at least one more center/defensive midfielder. Another important factor is we are way too reliant on Yaya. I mean without him we look like Liverpool or something. If he gets injured or he goes to the AFCON we need someone that can bring something forward. Obvious choice is Martinez, Can play defensive midfielder greatly, is great moving forward, has great passes, and ESPECIALLY can play super well in defense. So he is the most obvious choice.

Now Kevin Prince Boateng as somebody mentioned is actually a great alternative choice. He's vice captain at Milan, has played in the EPL already, is young, and can play, CM, AM and occasionally DM. So actually he would be a very good choice. It is said Milan is looking to sell either Robinho, Cassano, Pato or Prince to sponsor their summer, so he would be available cheaper. Now someone said he had an attitude problem. Hmmm never heard of it, I mean the guy is vice captain at Milan and does pull out some wicked Michael Jackson impressions.

I would add Mateo Kovacic too. AMAZING talent in the CM role and he is 18 right now. The best is that he is out of contract in June.

Finally we need a winger or attacking midfielder THAT CAN SCORE GOALS and create chances. One of the things I actually have not liked from Silva apart from his half seasons is the fact that he scores rarely. For a person of his talent 10-15 goals per season in a 50 games season would be so much better. 8 goals in 43 games is not enough. We have 3 attacking midfielders right now and only one is a true winger who is pretty inconsistent so we need to address that for next season. Hazard was my first and only real choice because he can dribble, create chances and score. But he's lost so Gaston Ramirez won't be bad. (There are a lot of other good choices)

For the strikers if we don't sell anyone we can't buy and would have to actually address the Guidetti situation.

Obviously a LOT depends on who goes out and whether Yaya actually goes ahead on the plan to retire from international football (wouldn't surprise me if he went to ACON again given we won the PL), but I agree that Kevin Prince would be a ripper choice, plus the Rags are interested so puts them back another choice for their CM position.

I'd sell De Jong. He's only got 1 year left on his contract and yes he could play a role next year but you'd only really keep him if he was going to extend his contract and I wouldn't really want him on a new 4 year contract as by that stage we really should have better.

My DREAM window would be:
Javi Martinez (CB when we need distribution from the back, CM if Yaya goes away for a month)
KP Boateng (DM,CM,AM) again offers so much versatility
Cerci or Krasic (cheap or loan plan B winger, don't need a star for a plan B)

New Striker ONLY if both Tevez AND Dzeko leave.

And then a youngster raid:
Mateo Kovacic
Jules Ntcham
Charly Musonda
Lucas Ocampos (instalment not that 14m straight up)
Adam Maher
Nicola Leili
Would offer return loan deals to get the fees down as we aren't going to need them next year.

 

[nehe11]

So have we agreed that we need a new CB, CM & a winger? We have 4 strikers already and Mancini is saying that they are going to stay, so no more strikers. Who will leave? Probably De jong, Kolo, Johnsson? And the deadwood such as Bridge, Adebayor etc etc.

 

[zoffie]

And then a youngster raid:
Mateo Kovacic
Jules Ntcham
Charly Musonda
Lucas Ocampos (instalment not that 14m straight up)
Adam Maher
Nicola Leili
Would offer return loan deals to get the fees down as we aren't going to need them next year.

Are all of these players hot on Football Manager, not a dig, just generally wanted to know as I don't play the game, but, I know about young footballers and I'm wondering how you know them.

 

[BlueBilly]

And then a youngster raid:
Mateo Kovacic
Jules Ntcham
Charly Musonda
Lucas Ocampos (instalment not that 14m straight up)
Adam Maher
Nicola Leili
Would offer return loan deals to get the fees down as we aren't going to need them next year.

Are all of these players hot on Football Manager, not a dig, just generally wanted to know as I don't play the game, but, I know about young footballers and I'm wondering how you know them.

The only one I'm familiar with is Kovacic. We've been linked with 2 Musonda lads, and Ocampos has been mentioned on here by some. The rest are all new to me!

 

[greasedupdeafguy]

Are all of these players hot on Football Manager, not a dig, just generally wanted to know as I don't play the game, but, I know about young footballers and I'm wondering how you know them.

The only one I'm familiar with is Kovacic. We've been linked with 2 Musonda lads, and Ocampos has been mentioned on here by some. The rest are all new to me!

<a class="postlink-local" href="http://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=253859" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=10&t=253859</a>
Thats some info on jules ntcham
Cm is a must for me, when yaya isn't in the side we don't look the same modric would be my choice but theres probably cheaper players that we're looking in the different leagues.

 

[jonmcity]

We need Cover for Yaya, Cover for Centre of defence and a direct world class attacking Winger/Midfielder.

 

[zoffie]

Are all of these players hot on Football Manager, not a dig, just generally wanted to know as I don't play the game, but, I know about young footballers and I'm wondering how you know them.

The only one I'm familiar with is Kovacic. We've been linked with 2 Musonda lads, and Ocampos has been mentioned on here by some. The rest are all new to me!

Okay. They're all good players, for sure. There are actually 3 Musondas. Charly seems by far and away the best, however, I've only seen him out of the Musondas & he's determined on going to Barcelona. I was just curious.

 

[BlueBilly]

Are all of these players hot on Football Manager, not a dig, just generally wanted to know as I don't play the game, but, I know about young footballers and I'm wondering how you know them.

The only one I'm familiar with is Kovacic. We've been linked with 2 Musonda lads, and Ocampos has been mentioned on here by some. The rest are all new to me!

Okay. They're all good players, for sure. There are actually 3 Musondas. Charly seems by far and away the best, however, I've only seen him out of the Musondas & he's determined on going to Barcelona. I was just curious.

It wasn't originally my comment mate! I was just providing my view, I don't play Football Manager either.

 

[Sir Joe Aguero]

I would add Mateo Kovacic too. AMAZING talent in the CM role and he is 18 right now. The best is that he is out of contract in June.

He's amazing on my FM 2012 save, but how is he in real life? I've heard a lot of glowing reports about him, and the prospect of a Messi-Kaka hybrid on a free would be amazing. I can't remember who it was but they said he was superior to Modric for his age in pretty much every way. Can anyone verify any of this?

 

[cibaman]

We won the league but we failed miserably in all the cup competitions. I feel that contrary to popular belief our squad is a bit too thin for 4 competitions. It's pretty obvious that Mancini will be looking to do a double somewhere, so we need to add more depth.

.

Isn't the lack of depth at least in part due to cl squad restrictions?

Not sure how much scope we have to add to the squad with overseas players and still be able to include them in the cl squad

 

[thenabster]

We won the league but we failed miserably in all the cup competitions. I feel that contrary to popular belief our squad is a bit too thin for 4 competitions. It's pretty obvious that Mancini will be looking to do a double somewhere, so we need to add more depth.

.

Isn't the lack of depth at least in part due to cl squad restrictions?

Not sure how much scope we have to add to the squad with overseas players and still be able to include them in the cl squad

We had 23 players registered last year (25 max) and we lost Onouha. So we currently have 22 of those players.


<a class="postlink" href="http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/clubs/club=52919/squad/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague ... index.html</a>

 

[Rammyblues]

thenabster wrote:
We won the league but we failed miserably in all the cup competitions. I feel that contrary to popular belief our squad is a bit too thin for 4 competitions. It's pretty obvious that Mancini will be looking to do a double somewhere, so we need to add more depth.

.


Isn't the lack of depth at least in part due to cl squad restrictions?

Not sure how much scope we have to add to the squad with overseas players and still be able to include them in the cl squad


We had 23 players registered last year (25 max) and we lost Onouha. So we currently have 22 of those players.

I reckon we only have one place, 2 if we promote Johansen from EDS as third keeper.

 

[Any1aBlue]

I agree Savic is still a kid on a learning curve. He hasn't realised his potential yet and I am sure this is what the boss would think. Lets all cut him some slack.

No no no no! Shame , but the kid aint got it, full stop, end of................<br /><br />-- Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:58 pm --<br /><br />

Until Mancini deems Savic not good enough we should as city fans support the lad. All of them bar Santon and Vertonghen have played in England all their lives so they have experience of the league, players and so on.

Savic is THE worst defender i've seen for a long, long while - even taking into account his age. Even Titus Bramble was better...................

 

[Why are you Guehi?]

Savic is THE worst defender i've seen for a long, long while - even taking into account his age. Even Titus Bramble was better...................

He has to be in the Guinness book of record or something as the WORST defender in top flight football lol. The Age excuse is boring now and people need to drop it .

 

[BobbyQ90]

A deep lying play-maker. Martinez isn't one for me, he doesn't have the passing ability to spread play quickly. An expensive option would be someone like De Rossi or M'vila. Two very inexpensive options would be Jordy Clasie and Michael Bradley. Both very tenacious and good tacklers and both very good passers. I would prefer Clasie, as he is the younger one of the two, but Michael Bradley is the more experienced and physically imposing player.

Bradley got shorted a little at Villa, not really getting his chance. He went to Chievo and has transformed into one of the best midfielders in Serie A, taking over the "regista" duties with his exquisite passing and excellent work-rate and tackling.

Clasie on the other hand has become the engine for Feyenoord's push for the title in Holland this year. He reminds me a lot of Cabaye from Newcastle. He's small but he makes up for that with skill and pure determination.

Either of these players I would take, Bradley is probably the more polished player who could dominate our midfield right away. Clasie would need work because playing in Holland is a huge drop in class when compared to playing in Italy or England but he does have the higher ceiling when it comes to potential.

<a class="postlink" href="http://youtu.be/xDwGrQDBm-o" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://youtu.be/xDwGrQDBm-o</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://youtu.be/5miZxF4trvE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://youtu.be/5miZxF4trvE</a>

 

[greasedupdeafguy]

A deep lying play-maker. Martinez isn't one for me, he doesn't have the passing ability to spread play quickly. An expensive option would be someone like De Rossi or M'vila. Two very inexpensive options would be Jordy Clasie and Michael Bradley. Both very tenacious and good tacklers and both very good passers. I would prefer Clasie, as he is the younger one of the two, but Michael Bradley is the more experienced and physically imposing player.

Bradley got shorted a little at Villa, not really getting his chance. He went to Chievo and has transformed into one of the best midfielders in Serie A, taking over the "regista" duties with his exquisite passing and excellent work-rate and tackling.

Clasie on the other hand has become the engine for Feyenoord's push for the title in Holland this year. He reminds me a lot of Cabaye from Newcastle. He's small but he makes up for that with skill and pure determination.

Either of these players I would take, Bradley is probably the more polished player who could dominate our midfield right away. Clasie would need work because playing in Holland is a huge drop in class when compared to playing in Italy or England but he does have the higher ceiling when it comes to potential.

<a class="postlink" href="http://youtu.be/xDwGrQDBm-o" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://youtu.be/xDwGrQDBm-o</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://youtu.be/5miZxF4trvE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://youtu.be/5miZxF4trvE</a>

Michael Bradley really, do agree with you about martinez though he would be a good signing but I still think we need a younger version of pizarro and scholes. Modric is would be my choice, Mateo Kovacic also looks good but ive only seen him on you tube.
I would offer 40 million plus ade to spurs for modric and bale they will want more so I would go to about 50 mill.

 

[Why are you Guehi?]

A deep lying play-maker. Martinez isn't one for me, he doesn't have the passing ability to spread play quickly. An expensive option would be someone like De Rossi or M'vila. Two very inexpensive options would be Jordy Clasie and Michael Bradley. Both very tenacious and good tacklers and both very good passers. I would prefer Clasie, as he is the younger one of the two, but Michael Bradley is the more experienced and physically imposing player.

Bradley got shorted a little at Villa, not really getting his chance. He went to Chievo and has transformed into one of the best midfielders in Serie A, taking over the "regista" duties with his exquisite passing and excellent work-rate and tackling.

Clasie on the other hand has become the engine for Feyenoord's push for the title in Holland this year. He reminds me a lot of Cabaye from Newcastle. He's small but he makes up for that with skill and pure determination.

Either of these players I would take, Bradley is probably the more polished player who could dominate our midfield right away. Clasie would need work because playing in Holland is a huge drop in class when compared to playing in Italy or England but he does have the higher ceiling when it comes to potential.

<a class="postlink" href="http://youtu.be/xDwGrQDBm-o" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://youtu.be/xDwGrQDBm-o</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://youtu.be/5miZxF4trvE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://youtu.be/5miZxF4trvE</a>

For a cheap alternative i would go with Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe , You can look him up or Dembele but for a seasoned Midfielder for me it would KPB or Lassana Diarra / Sahin.

 

[LoveCity]

If we want a cheap midfielder with very good passing range from deep, Benat from Betis has been super impressive in his first two games for Spain (vs. Serbia, vs. South Korea). And Betis want Santa Cruz permanently...

Some footage of him for Betis:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF_bqmggbz0[/youtube]

 

[MCFC4EVR]

Inler would be a good buy got good long range shots and with Napoli out of Champions League.

 

[BobbyQ90]

A deep lying play-maker. Martinez isn't one for me, he doesn't have the passing ability to spread play quickly. An expensive option would be someone like De Rossi or M'vila. Two very inexpensive options would be Jordy Clasie and Michael Bradley. Both very tenacious and good tacklers and both very good passers. I would prefer Clasie, as he is the younger one of the two, but Michael Bradley is the more experienced and physically imposing player.

Bradley got shorted a little at Villa, not really getting his chance. He went to Chievo and has transformed into one of the best midfielders in Serie A, taking over the "regista" duties with his exquisite passing and excellent work-rate and tackling.

Clasie on the other hand has become the engine for Feyenoord's push for the title in Holland this year. He reminds me a lot of Cabaye from Newcastle. He's small but he makes up for that with skill and pure determination.

Either of these players I would take, Bradley is probably the more polished player who could dominate our midfield right away. Clasie would need work because playing in Holland is a huge drop in class when compared to playing in Italy or England but he does have the higher ceiling when it comes to potential.

<a class="postlink" href="http://youtu.be/xDwGrQDBm-o" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://youtu.be/xDwGrQDBm-o</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://youtu.be/5miZxF4trvE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://youtu.be/5miZxF4trvE</a>

Michael Bradley really, do agree with you about martinez though he would be a good signing but I still think we need a younger version of pizarro and scholes. Modric is would be my choice, Mateo Kovacic also looks good but ive only seen him on you tube.
I would offer 40 million plus ade to spurs for modric and bale they will want more so I would go to about 50 mill.

I used to think the same about Bradley, until I watched him this season in serie A. He put out great performances one after another. Very consistent player who is a workhorse, like Barry except much more adventurous with his passing.

Modric would be a good buy, but his defensive qualities are lacking, especially if Yaya makes a run forward, I wouldn't trust him at stopping Rooney or Ramires when they're counterattacking.<br /><br />-- Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:48 pm --<br /><br />

If we want a cheap midfielder with very good passing range from deep, Benat from Betis has been super impressive in his first two games for Spain (vs. Serbia, vs. South Korea). And Betis want Santa Cruz permanently...

Some footage of him for Betis:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF_bqmggbz0[/youtube]

I really like the look of him, would link up well with Silva. I saw him play against South Korea, he played alongside Alonso and had a good game.