the spafia 4 years in

[Nigels Tackle]

discuss...

[Hazy2]

Got rid of Mancini, allowed the players to run the gaff for little while, tossed off an FA CUP in the process, piss poor decision. Appointed a caretaker who has taken us backwards. Now have there man in Pep so full steam ahead or they all get fired. Thanks.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

In terms of growing the business they seem to be doing a tremendous job.

We now have an academy that's the envy of the rest of the league so that's another positive, hopefully some more will now starting getting their chance in the rebuild at first team level.

In terms of the first team, we've taken a step backwards there's no denying that but we now have to wait and see if that was worth it in the long run as the decision to hire Pellegrini was taken with a view to holding the fort until they got their man.

[Original Dub]

I think we are now the fastest growing club on the planet in terms of revenue and sponsorship etc. So soriano is doing an absolutely outstanding job.

Cheeky seems to get his man the vast majority of the time in the transfer market. But half the time lately they are not the right players, so identifying them needs serious improvement.

As a club, we have grown in every way off the pitch. On the pitch we have progressed in everything except the fa cup since they came.

We have just appointed the most coveted manager in world football, so this blip of a season won't give me nightmares.

Not when I have seen what happened the rags, Liverpool and Chelsea lately.

We are now a better prospect than every club in England.

Isn't that something?

[City64]

I think we are now the fastest growing club on the planet in terms of revenue and sponsorship etc. So soriano is doing an absolutely outstanding job.

Cheeky seems to get his man the vast majority of the time in the transfer market. But half the time lately they are not the right players, so identifying them needs serious improvement.

As a club, we have grown in every way off the pitch. On the pitch we have progressed in everything except the fa cup since they came.

We have just appointed the most coveted manager in world football, so this blip of a season won't give me nightmares.

Not when I have seen what happened the rags, Liverpool and Chelsea lately.

We are now a better prospect than every club in England.

Isn't that something?

Great post OD . Time for us City fans to look forward not back whether we are in the CL or not .

[Wonderwall]

I am genuinely confused over the spafia transfer policy. Is the manager under instruction to pick a player in the squad because they have been out and bought him? Is the academy just a very well oiled cash cow that will be a profitable business model in no time. Do we actually have any intention of bringing our home grown tale the through?

We have had massive defensive issues this season, yet Angelino, Tosin or Humphreys have not been given a chance. We should have had these players in regularly.

I really don't know what the plans are for our youth and whether it's just one massive smoke screen to make money, unless the next Messi gets uncovered.

[Cocacolajojo]

I am genuinely confused over the spafia transfer policy. Is the manager under instruction to pick a player in the squad because they have been out and bought him? Is the academy just a very well oiled cash cow that will be a profitable business model in no time. Do we actually have any intention of bringing our home grown tale the through?

We have had massive defensive issues this season, yet Angelino, Tosin or Humphreys have not been given a chance. We should have had these players in regularly.

I really don't know what the plans are for our youth and whether it's just one massive smoke screen to make money, unless the next Messi gets uncovered.

D I T T O

[Im_Spartacus]

I am genuinely confused over the spafia transfer policy. Is the manager under instruction to pick a player in the squad because they have been out and bought him? Is the academy just a very well oiled cash cow that will be a profitable business model in no time. Do we actually have any intention of bringing our home grown tale the through?

We have had massive defensive issues this season, yet Angelino, Tosin or Humphreys have not been given a chance. We should have had these players in regularly.

I really don't know what the plans are for our youth and whether it's just one massive smoke screen to make money, unless the next Messi gets uncovered.

This is my only real concern. It seems we're very good at signing deals and boosting revenue, but not very good at a coherent strategy for getting the best talent on the pitch, and bringing through good talent in the background - having said that, Ian has broken through this season so that's a bonus.

I suspect that when you look at how we perform, in the cold light of day Mancini had it bang on when he said he simply couldn't afford to trust youth. It was rumoured that Pellegrini had youth development in his objectives following an interview Tricky did after he was appointed, but I would hazard a guess that Pellegrini would be rewarded much more for success on the pitch, than weighted towards youth development, hence he knows/has gambled that sheer talent (even at 50% effort) would see him through most games and mask his own tactical ineptitude enough to keep him in the top 4.

Until the manager's remuneration is weighted towards an objective for youth development, we won't see any meaningful changes to how a manager approaches the game. I don't buy that some managers are naturally more likely to choose youth - they will choose their own survival first and foremost, and fundamentally, you don't trust youth unless it is either so good you can't ignore it, or unless economic necessity dictates it.

In our case, arguably neither apply, so I wouldn't be too sure that Guardiola will be massively different in his team selections, barring that he might fuck off some of the dead wood we have.

[Ray78]

The problem isn't solely down to either of the "Spafia" and is more to do with the scouting network and is need of an overhaul imo. Our chief scout was brought in when Hughes was in charge.

[aaron bond]

Even though they joined as a pair, I think they need to be evaluated separately.

Soriano has done a great job in developing our profile and taking our revenue to one of the highest in the world. We're also becoming less reliant on Abu Dhabi-related businesses which is great for us in the long term. The stake we sold to the Chinese consortium so put us in the best position to crack the China market.

Txiki I have mixed views on. Even with the 'City premium' when buying players, I still think we overpay significantly for players. Fernandinho, despite being a great signing, was ridiculously overpriced at 30m, especially as he was not playing for Brazil at the time, was playing in the Ukraine and we were the only club in for him. We have always paid these large fees because we had the funds from the Sheikh, or later from our revenue, but our negotiation skills are pretty lame. Also, we are terrible at getting value for money when selling players, e.g. Dzeko.

I agree with the above comments that it's not clear what our aim is for the youth set-up. Are we genuinely trying to find players for the first team squad or are we trying to build a system like Chelsea's which makes money from loaning lots of players out and selling the occasional good player for a big fee?

[nottsblue]

Agree with both Original Dub and Wonderwall. The club appears confused. Do we want the academy to produce talent or cash? Have we set up the academy because Barca had one and our DoF thought we should be more like Barca in our business model?

But off the field progress has been rapid, to the point where we are knocking on the door of being in the top 4/5 clubs in terms of revenue. This has come very quickly and maybe too quickly in some respects. We seem to overpay for a lot of our transfers. That said we have managed to get a few top drawer players in and I reckon that will continue this summer.

Compare to the mong at the swamp and our boys are doing ok

[Swales4ever]

Having already outlined the issue three years ago, I don't see any worth in reshuffling the argument, now that we are on the
verge of finally getting managed by the best coach available on the market: the sole reason why these blokes got such a
lucrative posts.

two things are for granted:
a) having let a former footballer and a such controversial ceo play him like a tool, won't do any favour to the bussness
reputation of our esquisite Chairman, given either his utmost qualifications, and the value of worlwide assets he holds accountability for.
b) it must be made crystal clear - and I mean the Carl's SAS-esque way - that the upcoming incumbent will be granted
decisional authority over the market and full backing by those white collars, including fixing of medical staff misperformance and common addressing of tea ladies questioning the way discipline is held.

[South Stand Balti]

I think we are now the fastest growing club on the planet in terms of revenue and sponsorship etc. So soriano is doing an absolutely outstanding job.

Cheeky seems to get his man the vast majority of the time in the transfer market. But half the time lately they are not the right players, so identifying them needs serious improvement.

As a club, we have grown in every way off the pitch. On the pitch we have progressed in everything except the fa cup since they came.

We have just appointed the most coveted manager in world football, so this blip of a season won't give me nightmares.

Not when I have seen what happened the rags, Liverpool and Chelsea lately.

We are now a better prospect than every club in England.

Isn't that something?

That made me feel better. Some great points made there.

[Lee_R]

They're doing just fine overall.

Sorano I was most worried about after his airline failure but I'm amazed how quickly we've grown and his forecasts have been spot on.

Trixi has been a bit hit and miss but I feel his appointment was about getting Pep in and I still won't give up on Messi. I think it all goes hand in hand with raising the clubs profile.

I think the main failure was the expensive signings of Mangala and Otamendi, we've not had solid cover for Kompany and that's why we've failed to kick on this season but they'll learn.

Tell you what though, we miss Garry Cook. His communication and connection with the fans was something personal and English and something that perhaps the Spaniards don't understand or care to replicate or replace.

[Bluedj]

They're doing just fine overall.

Sorano I was most worried about after his airline failure but I'm amazed how quickly we've grown and his forecasts have been spot on.

Trixi has been a bit hit and miss but I feel his appointment was about getting Pep in and I still won't give up on Messi. I think it all goes hand in hand with raising the clubs profile.

I think the main failure was the expensive signings of Mangala and Otamendi, we've not had solid cover for Kompany and that's why we've failed to kick on this season but they'll learn.

Tell you what though, we miss Garry Cook. His communication and connection with the fans was something personal and English and something that perhaps the Spaniards don't understand or care to replicate or replace.

Cookie was indeed exciting, some f@@k ups, but went after things with a passion. As a blue, you could tell his heart was truly blue

[zuricity]

Hundreds of millions gone out . We have gone backwards.

[Dameerto]

I still think some purchases were vanity purchases by Pellegrini - there's no way we scouted Willy and Demi independently in my opinion, so there may be others he is directly responsible for as well.

[Dameerto]

The fact we have a history of buying players we have played against (IE Lemons and Fernandinho) MIGHT indicate manager input too.

[South Stand Balti]

Our lowest points tally in 7 years? It's the buying of Bony, Mangala, Otter, sterling, Delph etc. Maybe MP has paid for the failing of others.