Will we have learnt from the previous mistakes?

[abu13]

We've already learnt from the past, that's why we have a brilliant Director of Football. We've been signing players way below their peak, and nurturing brilliant young homegrown players, so as long as we keep the manager and DoF, the future will look after itself. Don't underestimate the impact of the players' personalities, too. We've been signing well -balanced, hungry team players for years and that all feeds into things.

There's no FFP either. Don't underestimate the impact of that.

I'm not sure i'd describe Mendy as well well balanced, he's off his fucking tree :)

 

[Lancet Fluke]

There's no FFP either. Don't underestimate the impact of that.

When is the vote on the new FFP? And assuming it gets voted through, how quickly are they likely to be able to introduce it?

 

[Dax777]

If we go for players like Mihalovic-Savic, Bailey, Wiegl, Thauvin, e.t.c. i.e guys that our seriously on the rise this season, then yeah a defense is likely.

If we go with just improving the backups, then we'll likely have a harder for of it.

 

[Jordie]

We were fighting FFP and restrictions during our previous challenges and won the league narrowly without improving sufficiently. We will further strengthen as there are still obvious weaknesses in the squad - no obvious cover for Fernandinho being one.

Our young players will all further improve so we are in great shape to defend the title. It is becoming harder to do so. Hopefully Chelsea suffer more turmoil as on paper they are the closest challengers. Without a top class centre forward or central midfielder I do not see Liverpool having enough to win it even with Keita joining.

The rags will improve again but Mourinho wants to play 4-2-3-1 and clearly is not yet comfortable with his squad.

It will be tough but we have a great squad already and if we further improve we should be fighting for the title again. Key players staying fit will be crucial. We have survived despite injuries this season but would we have if De Bruyne and Ferny had been injured? We need to make sure the squad improves so all players have to be on it.

I have to disagree, he wants to play 1-10-0-0.

 

[Gabriel]

Will be interesting to see who makes and wins through in the CL. If Barcelona, PSG and that lot get through to the final stages, will it be interpreted as vindication of the massive outlay on individual stars? Similarly, if Bayern go all the way, will that be seen as vindication of having a larger squad and rotating heavily to maximise full potential over the course of a season.

I'd also like to see if we have been unfortunate with injuries this season or whether it's simply on a par with previous seasons. My hunch is that it's on a par, but that we've been affected by injuries to key areas at different times.

 

[aguero93:20]

As long as we sign players for the first xi and not squad fillers we'll be fine. If they don't have the ability to nail down a starting spot then they're not worth signing.

 

[Shaelumstash]

Assuming that we will win the PL title, do you think we will have learnt from the previous mistakes in order to mount a proper title defence for the first time?

After the 2012 win, many supported Mancini's stance that we should have strengthened the squad with VVD, DDR, Hazard etc and we ended up with Rodwell, Garcia (although crucial 2014), Sinclair etc.

Similar things happened after 2014 where we saw contract extensions to Kolarov and Nasri for example, which seemed logical at the time, but ultimately led to an aging squad with limited hunger, with three straight seasons where we haven't been close to the title.

It indeed looks good with a young, talented squad, Pep at the helm, and not many positions where there are question marks. However, we now have the possibility to put a marker down for a long time to come, and make a super strong squad even better, and aim for years with endless trophies to come.

Question is, will we do it and have we learnt? What do you think?

I think Pep is already on record as saying he doesn't want wholesale changes in the summer. He pushed for Laporte and Fred in January so we wouldn't have to bring in many in the summer.

I'd expect us to bring in Fred. Probably bring back Maffeo to cover at right back. Then I'd expect us to go big for a forward who can play anywhere across the front 3, Griezsmann would be my pick, and I think that will be it.

Of course we will go for it next season, do our best to maintain it. But I don't think we'll see us bringing in 5 or 6 first team players like in seasons gone by. But if you look at it, 9 of our regular starters were here last season and have improved beyond all recognition. If Pep can get a similar level of improvement next season, the sky is the limit with or without reinforcements.

 

[leth]

I'm not worried. Our recruitment has been excellent since Guardiola arrived. I think the club now have a very good sense of what the squad needs in each window. We've bought in many young players who should continue to grow and improve under Pep and we've been especially good at identifying humble, dedicated and likeable characters that seem to contribute to what currently seems a very harmonious squad.

I think we've struck a very good balance between pulling the plug on deals where we've had doubts about over-paying for ageing players and just paying whatever is necessary to get deals done when the players are younger and fit a certain profile we're looking for. It remains to be seen whether we ever really compete for the true superstar £100m+ players when they come on the market, but we've sensibly addressed our problematic Goalkeeper, Full Back and Centre-back positions for the foreseeable future rather than getting caught up blowing the budget on a Neymar, Mbappe, Coutinho, Sanchez or Mahrez deal which was perhaps more of a luxury before now.

Obviously a midfield pivot is the essential priority this summer. Whether it's Fred, Jorginho or someone else, that's the one key signing we have to get right and pay whatever it takes. An additional forward and a second genuine left back would be desirable, but only if the right players for us are available.

 

[CityInWashingtonState]

Assuming that we will win the PL title, do you think we will have learnt from the previous mistakes in order to mount a proper title defence for the first time?

After the 2012 win, many supported Mancini's stance that we should have strengthened the squad with VVD, DDR, Hazard etc and we ended up with Rodwell, Garcia (although crucial 2014), Sinclair etc.

Similar things happened after 2014 where we saw contract extensions to Kolarov and Nasri for example, which seemed logical at the time, but ultimately led to an aging squad with limited hunger, with three straight seasons where we haven't been close to the title.

It indeed looks good with a young, talented squad, Pep at the helm, and not many positions where there are question marks. However, we now have the possibility to put a marker down for a long time to come, and make a super strong squad even better, and aim for years with endless trophies to come.

Question is, will we do it and have we learnt? What do you think?

The parallels with Mancini aren't apt.

Mancini had a difficult relationship with the club director and by extension with upper management - he basically pissed everyone off. Mancini got zero support after winning the title in large part because of this.

Pep, on the other hand, has total backing/support of management at all levels. He won't be given carte blanche to spend whatever he wants - but whatever signings Pep thinks are critical, he'll be backed.

 

[BufordUSABlue]

The parallels with Mancini aren't apt.

Mancini had a difficult relationship with the club director and by extension with upper management - he basically pissed everyone off. Mancini got zero support after winning the title in large part because of this.

Pep, on the other hand, has total backing/support of management at all levels. He won't be given carte blanche to spend whatever he wants - but whatever signings Pep thinks are critical, he'll be backed.

How succinctly well put sir !!