Will we win the league this season?

[Danny Tiatto]

Best keeper in the Premier League? Donnarumma.
Best central defender: Van der Ven but Gvardiol is not far behind imo. And Stones and Dias won't be far behind.
Best central midfielder: Rodri. Ok he's not at the moment, but time is our friend.
Best attacking midfielder: Foden. He was POTY 2 years ago, and he's coming back.
Best winger: Doku. The flashes of brilliance are becoming regular.
Best striker: Erling Haaland.

Contrary to others, I don't see many weaknesses in the squad. We need more goalscorers. We need self-belief and more killer instinct in games. That will come if the players start to believe that the league title is on. At the moment I think City fans are still not sure. Some like me believe it, others don't.

Hmm yeah I’m not sure about this at all. I want to see Donnarumma have full season in the prem before putting him ahead of Alisson. Big game player yes absolutely and can almost win a tournament like the champions league on his own but lets see how he is over 30+ matches

The duo from Arsenal & Van Dijk are better than all our central defenders. A fit Jon Stones definitely comes into the conversation though. Possibly above the Arsenal duo.

Prime Rodri no arguments but lets wait and see

Prime Foden is very good

Doku? Love him but no way can I say he is in the discussion as the best winger in the league at this stage despite current strong form

Haaland no arguments

 

[Danny Tiatto]

You sound like Liverpool when they had the best manager in the league and the best player in every position, yet we kept lifting the title. That is a mental post and to include Stones in that conversation made me spill my tea.

In his defence I would put a fit and firing (rare I know) Jon Stones only 2nd to Van Dijk. Let’s not forget just how good a player he has been.

 

[blueparrot]

In his defence I would put a fit and firing (rare I know) Jon Stones only 2nd to Van Dijk. Let’s not forget just how good a player he has been.

Think if both fit today I’d put Stones above Van Dijk who has been declining for a couple of years and more so this season.

 

[DJBusinesscake]

Hmm yeah I’m not sure about this at all. I want to see Donnarumma have full season in the prem before putting him ahead of Alisson. Big game player yes absolutely and can almost win a tournament like the champions league on his own but lets see how he is over 30+ matches

The duo from Arsenal & Van Dijk are better than all our central defenders. A fit Jon Stones definitely comes into the conversation though. Possibly above the Arsenal duo.

Prime Rodri no arguments but lets wait and see

Prime Foden is very good

Doku? Love him but no way can I say he is in the discussion as the best winger in the league at this stage despite current strong form

Haaland no arguments

Van Dijk has become one of the most overrated premier league players of all time.

 

[KS55]

We usually win it, why change the habit of a lifetime.

 

[iceman]

I think we will

 

[AK45]

In his defence I would put a fit and firing (rare I know) Jon Stones only 2nd to Van Dijk. Let’s not forget just how good a player he has been.

"has" been. Not what a good player he still is. I love the man and he will go down as a cult hero but he probably isn't even in the top 5 of centre halves present day.

 

[Marvin.]

"has" been. Not what a good player he still is. I love the man and he will go down as a cult hero but he probably isn't even in the top 5 of centre halves present day.

Name them then. And you will have to name more than 4 given your comment:

You sound like Liverpool when they had the best manager in the league and the best player in every position, yet we kept lifting the title. That is a mental post and to include Stones in that conversation made me spill my tea.

 

[Marvin.]

Van Dijk has become one of the most overrated premier league players of all time.

He was one of the best central defenders in the Premier League but he isn't now. The only problem Stones has had was with his chronic injuries. If he puts that behind him this season then he is still one of the best central defenders in this league. He's 31. The only question is how many games he plays. So far he looks like he's over that debilitating foot injury he had.

 

[DJBusinesscake]

He was one of the best central defenders in the Premier League but he isn't now. The only problem Stones has had was with his chronic injuries. If he puts that behind him this season then he is still one of the best central defenders in this league. He's 31. The only question is how many games he plays. So far he looks like he's over that debilitating foot injury he had.

He was very good for at max, 2 years. He's been overrated on the whole however.

 

[AK45]

Name them then. And you will have to name more than 4 given your comment:

Better than Stones at centre half present day?
Gabriel,
Saliba,
VVD
Gvardiol
Guehi
Van de Ven

There's six off the bat.

 

[AK45]

He was very good for at max, 2 years. He's been overrated on the whole however.

Bang on, considering he has been here the length of time he has and been fit for around half of that time, he is massively overrated when you actually look at standout moments or consistent quality seasons. I would say probably about 3 seasons if that and he was class during them, but 3 out of 9 is it? Not a great return

 

[KS55]

Better than Stones at centre half present day?
Gabriel,
Saliba,
VVD
Gvardiol
Guehi
Van de Ven

There's six off the bat.

What about Slabhead?
Seriously, you have to take into account Stones’ other role, stepping into midfield. Straightforward CB comparison doesn’t really do the job. Having said that, lack of fitness has seriously reduced his worth. He must be in the same position as Kev was; getting older and not available a lot of the time. To genuinely launch a new team, he has to be left out. I think we’ll let him go when the time comes.
My solution would be:
1. Find a right back.
2. Move Khusanov to CB to partner Gvardiol.

Or: Bring Reis in to partner Gvardiol and leave Khusanov at full back.

There is also the guy who plays CB for U18s (I forget his name) who is very highly rated by our coaches, but he’s a bit young.

 

[citeh94]

Best keeper in the Premier League? Donnarumma.
Best central defender: Van der Ven but Gvardiol is not far behind imo. And Stones and Dias won't be far behind.
Best central midfielder: Rodri. Ok he's not at the moment, but time is our friend.
Best attacking midfielder: Foden. He was POTY 2 years ago, and he's coming back.
Best winger: Doku. The flashes of brilliance are becoming regular.
Best striker: Erling Haaland.

Contrary to others, I don't see many weaknesses in the squad. We need more goalscorers. We need self-belief and more killer instinct in games. That will come if the players start to believe that the league title is on. At the moment I think City fans are still not sure. Some like me believe it, others don't.

Since when is Van de Ven the best defender in the league? And lets be honest mate John Stones probably isn’t in that conversation at present.
Rodri isn’t even at 50% of his capabilities,
Doku just isn’t the best winger in the league yet, and Foden isn’t the best attacking midfielder in the league at the moment,


We are talking about THIS SEASON, not 2 or 3 years time. And i have a bad feeling, Arsenal will finally do it.

 

[AK45]

What about Slabhead?
Seriously, you have to take into account Stones’ other role, stepping into midfield. Straightforward CB comparison doesn’t really do the job. Having said that, lack of fitness has seriously reduced his worth. He must be in the same position as Kev was; getting older and not available a lot of the time. To genuinely launch a new team, he has to be left out. I think we’ll let him go when the time comes.
My solution would be:
1. Find a right back.
2. Move Khusanov to CB to partner Gvardiol.

Or: Bring Reis in to partner Gvardiol and leave Khusanov at full back.

There is also the guy who plays CB for U18s (I forget his name) who is very highly rated by our coaches, but he’s a bit young.

I must be honest, this stepping into midfield line that gets trotted out, it has been a while since I seen that. He done that from right back treble season and fantastically well. I don't see much evidence where he steps into midfield and glides about? He was capable of it but considering our defensive frailties and the fact he has played centre back ever since, he sits in position He may have been forced to slot in at right back but not often.

He is older, slower and yeah KDB is a good comparison. It doesn't mean he has no talent, t means it is nowhere near what it was. I agree, Khusanov looks great and he himself can do a job right back. It would be nice to see a centra back pairing of Gvardiol and Khusanov for me and buy an actual right back.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Since when is Van de Ven the best defender in the league? And lets be honest mate John Stones probably isn’t in that conversation at present.
Rodri isn’t even at 50% of his capabilities,
Doku just isn’t the best winger in the league yet, and Foden isn’t the best attacking midfielder in the league at the moment,


We are talking about THIS SEASON, not 2 or 3 years time. And i have a bad feeling, Arsenal will finally do it.

Agree 100%. Arsenal are for me the favorite to win the league - I said so even before Liverpool lost 3 straight games.

My side and yours - Manchester City 100% - are in flux. Pep - will likely soon leave us. On top of this, we've recently abandoned ball control, high press as the only way we play - now changing our style sometimes. This formula might work - who knows - but it seems to me that to play this way we'd need players able to play both styles proficiently if not excellently. Do we have such players in our side... beats me.

I look forward to a time when all of this chaos is behind us - when we have a manager who is with us long term (barring poor results); when the bullshit FFP charges are behind us; and when we have a clear identify/style of play - backed by a manager who in turn is backed by management.

Currently... chaos abounds.

 

[CΛL]

I truly believe we can do it, I don’t think Liverpool can come back strong enough, despite it being early.

It’s Arsenal we have to beat and I think whilst they edge us in terms of the general strength of their squad, we edge them in terms of big game players, game changers and winning mentality.

To see a newer, more steely aspect to our team, grinding results. Form follows function. I love to see it. I think we can claw in front and win the whole thing.

 

[Marvin.]

I must be honest, this stepping into midfield line that gets trotted out, it has been a while since I seen that. He done that from right back treble season and fantastically well. I don't see much evidence where he steps into midfield and glides about? He was capable of it but considering our defensive frailties and the fact he has played centre back ever since, he sits in position He may have been forced to slot in at right back but not often.

He is older, slower and yeah KDB is a good comparison. It doesn't mean he has no talent, t means it is nowhere near what it was. I agree, Khusanov looks great and he himself can do a job right back. It would be nice to see a centra back pairing of Gvardiol and Khusanov for me and buy an actual right back.

You saw his footballing ability last night at Latvia where he was playing diagonals to the wingers. He is 31. Not yet old. He is a top quality central defender and the only issue last season was his availability.

 

[Cobwebcat]

Will be easier to guess after 12 games rather than 7.

Right now I would say Arsenal, not because they are top but because currently they are performing the best. We have the biggest margin to improve though. I don’t think we are out of second gear yet. There is a lot we can improve whereas Arsenal look the finished article. I don’t see Liverpool as a big problem to us long term.

 

[AK45]

You saw his footballing ability last night at Latvia where he was playing diagonals to the wingers. He is 31. Not yet old. He is a top quality central defender and the only issue last season was his availability.

Read that first line again and then say it seriously. We saw his footballing ability last night against fucking Latvia. His issue was availability the year before and about 4 other seasons here since his arrival. Interestingly you have commented on this post and not where you challenged me to name more than 4 better defenders than him............