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It's clear we need changes to our squad.

We arguably need to replace a good number
Walker, Stones, KDB, Silva, Gundogan, Akanji immediately spring to mind
And you can argue Ake, Nunes, Foden, Grealish, Ederson have had poor seasons and are not as productive as previous seasons.

Obviously we can't replace that number in one window. And it depends largely on whether Pep is either still at the helm in the summer or has it in him to conduct a big rebuild that will likely take at least 18 months. A new manager for instance might have us playing a different style.

Hopefully the 115 charges cloud will have been resolved. I actually think this has been a big factor in the lack of suitable recruitment last summer as the uncertainty hangs over us. And I also think this has been purposely dragged out by the PL for this reason. The damage and harm it has already caused to our reputation and recruitment is possibly more damaging than the actual punishment meted out will be. So the cunts at the PL see us suffer twice. A bit like an innocent man accused.

We've had our time in the sun and it was stunningly glorious. That quite clearly is coming to its natural conclusion. We needto get the next couple of transfer windows done right or we could end up just fighting for 4th every year

Write this season off to a certain extent. Top 4 is imperative. Focus on a clearout and recruitment in the summer. Let Pep have one more season and go out on a high. One trophy will be sufficient. We'll be a top 4 club for the foreseeable future im certain. A poor season in the middle of success is not the end of the world but is frustrating at the minute to say the least. The bigger picture isn't as bad. Get all the legal shite out the way and concentrate on the football.

Ake hasnt had a poor season

Nick wrote:Ake hasnt had a poor season

Neither has it been decent. He has missed a chunk of it to injury and he isn’t getting younger. There are others who are ahead of him who should be replaced sooner, but he is of an age where time isn't his friend and he still has good sale value

Kippax Sean wrote:Write this season off to a certain extent. Top 4 is imperative. Focus on a clearout and recruitment in the summer. Let Pep have one more season and go out on a high. One trophy will be sufficient. We'll be a top 4 club for the foreseeable future im certain. A poor season in the middle of success is not the end of the world but is frustrating at the minute to say the least. The bigger picture isn't as bad. Get all the legal shite out the way and concentrate on the football.

Spot on.

I'm amazed we haven't buckled before now with the amount of shit thrown at us as a football club.

It's unprecedented and I'm not sure how we would have coped under different management tbh.

Having the world against you and being one of the most successful sporting entities ever seen at the same time is mind blowing.

Let's see how our brand new sporting director gets on in a summer transfer window.

We need 3 big signings imo.

Wirtz, zubamendi (in january) , musialla (make an offer he can't resfuse)

And the rest being the usual under the radar signings we've been so successful at over the last 8 years in particular

Should have happened 2 years ago. People were calling it then. Can’t have a heart in football when there’s trophies to be won - Walker should have been fucked off and Silva has been asking to leave for years now, we should have let him go last summer. Stones - fuck me send the guy to anywhere that isn’t the treatment table for months.

We’re seeing players that have been class for us down tools because they’ve won everything and are at the end of their careers. We should have planned for that years ago. Too fuckin loyal

Original Dub wrote:

Kippax Sean wrote:Write this season off to a certain extent. Top 4 is imperative. Focus on a clearout and recruitment in the summer. Let Pep have one more season and go out on a high. One trophy will be sufficient. We'll be a top 4 club for the foreseeable future im certain. A poor season in the middle of success is not the end of the world but is frustrating at the minute to say the least. The bigger picture isn't as bad. Get all the legal shite out the way and concentrate on the football.

Spot on.

I'm amazed we haven't buckled before now with the amount of shit thrown at us as a football club.

It's unprecedented and I'm not sure how we would have coped under different management tbh.

Having the world against you and being one of the most successful sporting entities ever seen at the same time is mind blowing.

Let's see how our brand new sporting director gets on in a summer transfer window.

We need 3 big signings imo.

Wirtz, zubamendi (in january) , musialla (make an offer he can't resfuse)

And the rest being the usual under the radar signings we've been so successful at over the last 8 years in particular

With reference to your first two paragraphs. No other manager could have handled the off field mud slinging as well as Pep. He has been unbelievable in that regard.

Kippax Sean wrote:

Original Dub wrote:

Kippax Sean wrote:Write this season off to a certain extent. Top 4 is imperative. Focus on a clearout and recruitment in the summer. Let Pep have one more season and go out on a high. One trophy will be sufficient. We'll be a top 4 club for the foreseeable future im certain. A poor season in the middle of success is not the end of the world but is frustrating at the minute to say the least. The bigger picture isn't as bad. Get all the legal shite out the way and concentrate on the football.

Spot on.

I'm amazed we haven't buckled before now with the amount of shit thrown at us as a football club.

It's unprecedented and I'm not sure how we would have coped under different management tbh.

Having the world against you and being one of the most successful sporting entities ever seen at the same time is mind blowing.

Let's see how our brand new sporting director gets on in a summer transfer window.

We need 3 big signings imo.

Wirtz, zubamendi (in january) , musialla (make an offer he can't resfuse)

And the rest being the usual under the radar signings we've been so successful at over the last 8 years in particular

With reference to your first two paragraphs. No other manager could have handled the off field mud slinging as well as Pep. He has been unbelievable in that regard.

Heroic imo

Mase wrote:Should have happened 2 years ago. People were calling it then. Can’t have a heart in football when there’s trophies to be won - Walker should have been fucked off and Silva has been asking to leave for years now, we should have let him go last summer. Stones - fuck me send the guy to anywhere that isn’t the treatment table for months.

We’re seeing players that have been class for us down tools because they’ve won everything and are at the end of their careers. We should have planned for that years ago. Too fuckin loyal

Complacency has set in and the hunger isn't there. The next 3 or 4 signings have to work out.

Wish we had that player who has scored 12 goals and two assists in 24 appearances...whats his name ?..Alvarez I think hes called.!!

carl_feedthegoat wrote:Wish we had that player who has scored 12 goals and two assists in 24 appearances...whats his name ?..Alvarez I think hes called.!!

….not to worry, Escheveri is coming in January.

Sparklehorse wrote:

carl_feedthegoat wrote:Wish we had that player who has scored 12 goals and two assists in 24 appearances...whats his name ?..Alvarez I think hes called.!!

….not to worry, Escheveri is coming in January.

Whatever natural position he is I'm sure he will soon be given another one.

Mase wrote:Should have happened 2 years ago. People were calling it then. Can’t have a heart in football when there’s trophies to be won - Walker should have been fucked off and Silva has been asking to leave for years now, we should have let him go last summer. Stones - fuck me send the guy to anywhere that isn’t the treatment table for months.

We’re seeing players that have been class for us down tools because they’ve won everything and are at the end of their careers. We should have planned for that years ago. Too fuckin loyal

Spot on Mase. Held on for too long to some of them and didn't recognise the young talent we had but lost. Haaland and Grealish slowed our tempo down and made us 1 dimensional, Nunes hardly used but hasn't done well Doku lively but as per Nunes, Savinho great talent but we have ruined him. Gundogan was good very clearly isn't anymore. Gvardiol is a great young talent but is being played out of position. Scape goated by many but he is a keeper. Him and Dias should form the centre of our defence.
We quickly need to fuck off Walker, Silva, KDB. Stones.
It isn't going to get sorted overnight and I think until the 115 charges are judged and sorted.
I am happy that Alvarez, Palmer, Harwood Bellis and the rest of our ex players are doing well and thriving. Seems being at City isn't all its cracked up to be these days

The thing is to do a squad overhaul you need to do it smart. And we didn't.

I was all aboard of what we did in the 2022. We've got rid of Sterling and Jesus and brought Haaland and Alvarez and won the European Cup. In 2023 we got rid of other players, but instead of getting the right players, we fucked up big time.
In the summer was the biggest fuck up of fuck ups.

I think it's a mix of wrong players brought in and not playing the ones we have in the right way.
In the summer we will be for the first time in 15 years without a world class orchestrator, after Dave and Kevin (thinking he will leave). If we fuck that up also, then we have real problems.

carl_feedthegoat wrote:

Sparklehorse wrote:

carl_feedthegoat wrote:Wish we had that player who has scored 12 goals and two assists in 24 appearances...whats his name ?..Alvarez I think hes called.!!

….not to worry, Escheveri is coming in January.

Whatever natural position he is I'm sure he will soon be given another one.

Ha ha our next goalie then !

Too many central defenders no proper fullbacks.
Too many forward thinking midfielders, not enough cover of defensive midfielders.
Two inexperienced wingers, still raw.
Get a few quality players in, we have the money, get rid of the old and play the players in their correct positions.
Sorted

When you look at the 'design' of the squad, in particular why we've maintained such a small squad over the years, we've made it work over the years because we have multiple players who can play in multiple positions.

Right now, the issue seems to be that most of the players who can play/are trusted to play in multiple slots, are either unfit or bang out of form.

Injured - Stones, Rodri, Kovacic,
Out of Form - Foden, Silva, Gundo
Suspended for weekend - Lewis

Thats the entire spine of the team and the players who we base our flexibility on

Of the rest who are currently available to play most weeks, Nunes, Doku, Savinho, Haaland, KDB, Silva, Grealish either can't or won't be trusted to play different roles or in a different way. I think KDB, Silva or Grealish playing deeper would be a great stop gap - clearly Pep disagrees albeit he's showing signs of using Grealish in a different way of late, perhaps out of desperation.

I don't think it's a passion issue, I just think we're bloody unlucky for the first time in living memory to be hit with these circumstances - and we will come good again in the weeks ahead as some of those key players return to form and fitness.

Its a curious paradox, that one of the most innovative managers in the modern era, seems to have innovated himself into this hole - and barring trying Grealish a little deeper and having had a career at city of playing players out of position arguably to our detriment, he's not prepared to innovate now when there's arguably nothing to lose.

The "Just get to January" mantra has died down, probably as most now realise its going to take at least two windows to sort this mess. I have written this season off, I have written off the champions league and the FA cup, were not good enough to win either. Would love to be proven wrong and we bounce back and start spanking everyone. But old legs are old. So until we get the 7 or 8 we need its going to be a painful process.

sheblue wrote:The "Just get to January" mantra has died down, probably as most now realise its going to take at least two windows to sort this mess. I have written this season off, I have written off the champions league and the FA cup, were not good enough to win either. Would love to be proven wrong and we bounce back and start spanking everyone. But old legs are old. So until we get the 7 or 8 we need its going to be a painful process.

…..and if the recent purchases, and those we have let go are anything to go by there is no guarantee that we will get that right. Gems like Merlin, KDB, Serge, Ya Ya, Vinny do not come along like buses……they are rare

Walker, stones KDB,Bern,grealish,ake, gundo and any one of the keepers can go all have dropped off, KDB should have a statue he's been monumental to our trophy cabinet pure class when younger.
This is a 2 season fix but if rumours are right we have lost the case it could 5 yrs!!!