Why £80m players are needed to break through.

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

Tevez is as good as Rooney I think, or at least can be, but we definitely need a talisman both in defence and midfield of the highest possible quality. The players around them don't all need to be "top 10 in world" material, just very good to excellent and molded into a good team by the manager.

Many would disagree about the Tevez-Rooney comparison, but I wouldn't. If Gatito had the kind of service that a decent midfield provided he would be scoring even more. Some would argue then that he would only be a goal machine, but his goals would have provided us with the points so lacking on Saturday.

We will struggle to get into the NewTopFour without one unless other teams default, and it will the most almighty struggle to stay there without a world class, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian(?), midfielder who creates non-stop.

 

[fbloke]

There are two teams I would like to see City be more like, Chelsea and Man U

Its not by chance that they have the very best players.

Robinho was a flop at any cost and at £32.5m well.........

You buy success with the top players, with the £25m players you buy the chance of success.

I would say we need to buy the best.

This doesnt mean that we cant also bring in young talent as well, but you need those big names.

 

[bowdonblue]

Tevez is as good as Rooney I think, or at least can be, but we definitely need a talisman both in defence and midfield of the highest possible quality. The players around them don't all need to be "top 10 in world" material, just very good to excellent and molded into a good team by the manager.

I would love, love, love to agree with you - but can't I'm afraid. If we had Rooney and Man U didn't, then the balance of power would have well and truly shifted.

It's in the process of shifting as it is, and after 30+ years of waiting that'll do me.

If we bought the best centre half and the best centre forward in the world (debate names at leisure), then we would be the real deal.

 

[Garry.Cook]

I think all we need right now is for Adebayor and Tevez to get something done on the training pitch so that they understand each other. As Ian Cheeseman put it on saturday "Tevez and Adebayor are looking very confused about each other at the moment". Once this is sorted, we have Lescott back and Mancini can do something with our midfield (who haven't really dominated a match since Mancini took over) we would be 5x the team we are now.

Then on top of that if we got Ireland and SWP playing their best football again and by some miracle Robbie came back playing how he did at the beginning, then that really could be a league winning side without buying anyone!

All we're having at the moment is a lot of bad luck with injuries, form and a new(ish) manager. I think in the near future things will start to progress without having the 2 steps forward 1 step back feeling we're used to.

 

[Neil McNab]

Chelsea didn't buy too many £30m players, when they did it was a failure. Like Chelsea we need to bring in plenty of players but also ship plenty out. There are players we've bought in the last year or so that aren't good enough, with a turn over of players we will find enough worth keeping and build a side. There's plenty of exciting young players around Europe at around the £10m mark, get em in, try em out, jetisone the duds.

 

[fbloke]

I think all we need right now is for Adebayor and Tevez to get something done on the training pitch so that they understand each other. As Ian Cheeseman put it on saturday "Tevez and Adebayor are looking very confused about each other at the moment". Once this is sorted, we have Lescott back and Mancini can do something with our midfield (who haven't really dominated a match since Mancini took over) we would be 5x the team we are now.

Then on top of that if we got Ireland and SWP playing their best football again and by some miracle Robbie came back playing how he did at the beginning, then that really could be a league winning side without buying anyone!

All we're having at the moment is a lot of bad luck with injuries, form and a new(ish) manager. I think in the near future things will start to progress without having the 2 steps forward 1 step back feeling we're used to.

I agree with you that there is room for improvement in the current squad.

However if we are to win the league we need better players.

I would agree with the idea of a truly world class Centre Half and Centre Forward.

Torres is likely to be available but where we get the CH from...?

 

[Neil McNab]

There are two teams I would like to see City be more like, Chelsea and Man U

Its not by chance that they have the very best players.

Robinho was a flop at any cost and at £32.5m well.........

You buy success with the top players, with the £25m players you buy the chance of success.

I would say we need to buy the best.

This doesnt mean that we cant also bring in young talent as well, but you need those big names.

United & Chelsea don't build their sides with £25m players, the £32m Robinho was a flop, a bit of self contraction here, very confusing post.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Tevez is as good as Rooney I think, or at least can be, but we definitely need a talisman both in defence and midfield of the highest possible quality. The players around them don't all need to be "top 10 in world" material, just very good to excellent and molded into a good team by the manager.

I would love, love, love to agree with you - but can't I'm afraid.

It pains me to say it, but Rooney really is an incredible and special player. It's not just his abundant skill and incredible Tevez-like workrate. He also has the creativity that you see in the really top (like Messi) players that is very very rare. Tevez is fantastic, don't get me wrong. But Rooney is something special.

God that sounded far too rag-ish. My apologies.

 

[Neil McNab]

I think all we need right now is for Adebayor and Tevez to get something done on the training pitch so that they understand each other. As Ian Cheeseman put it on saturday "Tevez and Adebayor are looking very confused about each other at the moment". Once this is sorted, we have Lescott back and Mancini can do something with our midfield (who haven't really dominated a match since Mancini took over) we would be 5x the team we are now.

Then on top of that if we got Ireland and SWP playing their best football again and by some miracle Robbie came back playing how he did at the beginning, then that really could be a league winning side without buying anyone!

All we're having at the moment is a lot of bad luck with injuries, form and a new(ish) manager. I think in the near future things will start to progress without having the 2 steps forward 1 step back feeling we're used to.

If you think SWP, Ireland & Robinho can form a league winning midfield you're detached from reality, they were as near as dam it our forward line last season, hence why theirr goal talleys looked artifically impressive, they can'y play behind Tevez and Ade.

 

[dctid]

Aston Villa dont have any.

Arsenal dont have any

Spurs dont.

City dont have any

Liverpool do, sometimes.

The truly world class players are the ones who do that bit extra, have that power or speed and City don't have any yet.

Liverpool were looking like a team out of the reckoning until Gerrard came back and will soon bring in Torres again and kick on.

Villa will fall away, as will Spurs as they have to play at the very top of their game to keep up.

Spurs are showing their level way below the top 4.

So are we going to be replacing Arsenal?

A Drogba, Rooney, Terry, Torres, Gerrard is the level we need and until then we cant expect to win the league.

But as it is the stated desire to win it within the first 5 years we are looking at a very busy summer.

No we dont certainly not to break the top 4 - what we need is a manager that can assemble a team that compliments each other - Compare the Lescott signings to the Vermallion (or how ever his name is spelt) - he got slated by many pundits when he joined arsenal in the summer - too small - not strong enought - etc - look at the centre halfs at Villa they have been outstanding and have one of the best defensive records in the league.

We wont finish top 4 because of that run of draws brought about by piss poor defneding. Spuds - Pool - Villa and us all have similar strength squads - and the team that fiinishes 4th is the team who manager is able to motivate his team and the determinaton of those players to win.

Sadly it wont be us - always said 4th is between Pool & Villa i think the best we can achieve is 6th and the nightmare scenario is Villa win the CC and we finish 7th.

Our team does not have a good balance - we have gone from attack attack attack under Hughes to defend defend defend under Mancini - Bolton at home is reports are true Viera is likely to play for Ireland - thats three fookin defensive midfield players at home against Bolton.

Some City fans have become accustomed to large sums of money being spent on players and we somehow equate this to the fact that they must be world beater. Ade is a good example - we bought him from Arse for 20 plus million and doubled his wages - is he twice the player of course not.

The best buy we made was the cheapest ie Shay -