***Wolves v Champions Official Match Thread***

[john68]

The stats clearly show that he has scored a lot of goals for us Joihnny but theydon't show the horrendous amount of chances he has missed, some of them relatively easy.
They also don't reflect the number of times he has daudled on the ball, tried to take on a group of defenders and been beaten, nor the number of times he has passed up the chance of taking a shot, when a shot is clearly on.

As a team, we score a shed load of goals and to a large extent that hides the Razza issue.
The recent Wolves game is a great example. How many easy chances did he screw up? But he got a tap in and we scored 5, so all gets forgiven and forgotten, Razza gets another notch on his gun and hailed as a hero.

His chance to scoring ratio is simply not good enough for where we are aspiring to be

All true John, but if he had taken even half of chances he's fluffed he'd be the greatest goalscorer of all time. I'll settle for what we've got - the key is his integration with the other front players developed over 6 years.

I get what you are saying Johnny and domestically over the last few seasons his goal plus his failings and the City successes have made that acceptable.
But, we are now in the last phase of the City project where we have consolidated our domestic and even our general positon in Euro comps.
We are now seeking to finally overcome the very top clubs in Europe.
What we have now has proved to be good but not quite good enough. Those goals Razza scores are great, but the opnes he misses will hurt us at the level we are trying to achieve.
Fine margins Mate

[mr_nool]

The stats clearly show that he has scored a lot of goals for us Joihnny but theydon't show the horrendous amount of chances he has missed, some of them relatively easy.
They also don't reflect the number of times he has daudled on the ball, tried to take on a group of defenders and been beaten, nor the number of times he has passed up the chance of taking a shot, when a shot is clearly on.

As a team, we score a shed load of goals and to a large extent that hides the Razza issue.
The recent Wolves game is a great example. How many easy chances did he screw up? But he got a tap in and we scored 5, so all gets forgiven and forgotten, Razza gets another notch on his gun and hailed as a hero.

His chance to scoring ratio is simply not good enough for where we are aspiring to be

All true John, but if he had taken even half of chances he's fluffed he'd be the greatest goalscorer of all time. I'll settle for what we've got - the key is his integration with the other front players developed over 6 years.

I get what you are saying Johnny and domestically over the last few seasons his goal plus his failings and the City successes have made that acceptable.
But, we are now in the last phase of the City project where we have consolidated our domestic and even our general positon in Euro comps.
We are now seeking to finally overcome the very top clubs in Europe.
What we have now has proved to be good but not quite good enough. Those goals Razza scores are great, but the opnes he misses will hurt us at the level we are trying to achieve.
Fine margins Mate

Think he will be doing better next year when we're playing with a real striker and the onus isn't on him to score the goals.

His pace and tenacity is something no one else in the squad really brings, and I feel we would need a similar player to replace him, were he to leave. And where do you find a player of his ilk that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

[john68]

We have plenty of great creative players to service any strike Noolie Mate.
Should Razza go, we have plenty of options.

One issue I see City having to overcome is the fact that we dominate bith our defensive third and the midfield third in nearly every game but against a well drilled packed defence, we rarely dominate the opposing goal area.
There are games where we struggle to score and our defeats this season clearly show this. It is fine margins and it has to be put right. The likes pf Mahrez and Razza then become a problem. The way they play actually inhibits our chances of scoring.
Jesus is another.

An example:- The Real Madrid semi, 1st half at the Etihad should have seen us possibly 4 or 5 goals up. Missed chances, shots not taken, the keeper not challenged...HT was a 1 goal lead and ultimately we lost the semi.

In Madrid, they created and converted their couple of chances....ThAT'STHE LEVEL WE NEED TO BE AT.

[Tokyo Blue]

Ok, I'll bite.

Who are you going to replace Mahrez, Sterling and Jesus with, then, John? Give me some names. And don't cop out by saying that's the scouts' job. Anyone can say "Player X has to leave", but finding a BETTER replacement is not going to be easy. The pool of players who actually are proven to be better than the three you mention is very, very small indeed and teams really do not want to let them go. Can you convince them to join us? Can you convince the clubs to let them go? And how much is it going to cost? And can it be done within our budget and financial regulation limitations?

[Beefymcfc]

One thing about the hypocrisy in the media though -

Mane - 31 starts - 15 goals - 2 assists
Sterling - 23 starts - 13 goals - 4 assists

Not much at all between them. Yet Mane is class and Sterling isn’t…

To be fair, it’s us as City supporters who tend to criticise him most as we see every shit shot or lost ball. The risk and reward of such a player is astronomic and we tend to aim our angst when it doesn’t come off.

If I was asked whether he stayed or went, I would have to ask the question of who would the replacement be, considering the continued stats that you’ve shown.

[nottsblue]

Sterling on his day is a great asset to the team. But the wider issue is his contract. It ends next year. He is reportedly wanting a big pay rise of upwards of £300/350k a week. Our board or whoever deals with such matters, presumably don't think he is worth it. And on his form over the last two years he isn't.

But that isn't to say he can't be a valuable squad player. Replacing him and his output over the last six years wont be easy nor cheap. And of course with any transfer there's no guarantee of success.

On balance I think I'd be happy if he stayed. Not necessarily as first choice as I don't think he is good enough for that and certainly not on wages that he is after. But he knows our way, our style of play, doesn't come across as a gobshite who isn't liked by the team, so there is a lot going for him. He'd be a cracking squad player like Zinch or Ake and like Gundogan this season. Guys like that who can play different roles, who can step in and be part of the necessary rotation and cover for injuries and suspensions give the first team XI a rest

Equally, if he wont sign a new contract on our terms and if we can get decent money for him this summer, and he leaves then so be it. It will be thank you for your contribution, you've been a big part of our success while you've been with us and we will welcome you back in the future and good luck at your next club.

[Mase]

Sterling on his day is a great asset to the team. But the wider issue is his contract. It ends next year. He is reportedly wanting a big pay rise of upwards of £300/350k a week. Our board or whoever deals with such matters, presumably don't think he is worth it. And on his form over the last two years he isn't.

But that isn't to say he can't be a valuable squad player. Replacing him and his output over the last six years wont be easy nor cheap. And of course with any transfer there's no guarantee of success.

On balance I think I'd be happy if he stayed. Not necessarily as first choice as I don't think he is good enough for that and certainly not on wages that he is after. But he knows our way, our style of play, doesn't come across as a gobshite who isn't liked by the team, so there is a lot going for him. He'd be a cracking squad player like Zinch or Ake and like Gundogan this season. Guys like that who can play different roles, who can step in and be part of the necessary rotation and cover for injuries and suspensions give the first team XI a rest

Equally, if he wont sign a new contract on our terms and if we can get decent money for him this summer, and he leaves then so be it. It will be thank you for your contribution, you've been a big part of our success while you've been with us and we will welcome you back in the future and good luck at your next club.

Spot on.

[Beefymcfc]

Sterling on his day is a great asset to the team. But the wider issue is his contract. It ends next year. He is reportedly wanting a big pay rise of upwards of £300/350k a week. Our board or whoever deals with such matters, presumably don't think he is worth it. And on his form over the last two years he isn't.

But that isn't to say he can't be a valuable squad player. Replacing him and his output over the last six years wont be easy nor cheap. And of course with any transfer there's no guarantee of success.

On balance I think I'd be happy if he stayed. Not necessarily as first choice as I don't think he is good enough for that and certainly not on wages that he is after. But he knows our way, our style of play, doesn't come across as a gobshite who isn't liked by the team, so there is a lot going for him. He'd be a cracking squad player like Zinch or Ake and like Gundogan this season. Guys like that who can play different roles, who can step in and be part of the necessary rotation and cover for injuries and suspensions give the first team XI a rest

Equally, if he wont sign a new contract on our terms and if we can get decent money for him this summer, and he leaves then so be it. It will be thank you for your contribution, you've been a big part of our success while you've been with us and we will welcome you back in the future and good luck at your next club.

Spot on.

Seconded. And when it comes to the wage thing, if we were to replace him with, say a £50 mil player, would it not be of equal value to pay some of that signing on fee within his extension contract. Even if we give him a 50 grand a week pay rise, that’s only half of what we’d be paying upfront for a new player.

I suppose we’ll wait and see how the club and him get on with negotiations. Whichever way we go, I’m sure it will be in both parties interest.

[john68]

Ok, I'll bite.

Who are you going to replace Mahrez, Sterling and Jesus with, then, John? Give me some names. And don't cop out by saying that's the scouts' job. Anyone can say "Player X has to leave", but finding a BETTER replacement is not going to be easy. The pool of players who actually are proven to be better than the three you mention is very, very small indeed and teams really do not want to let them go. Can you convince them to join us? Can you convince the clubs to let them go? And how much is it going to cost? And can it be done within our budget and financial regulation limitations?

Please read again Tokyo Mate. I said we have everything we need already not to need to replace Razza.
Jesus, should he decide to go to Arse has already been replaced by the likes of Haaland and Alvarez. It does seem that is a likely outcome.
Although I consider Mahrez to be similar to Razza and Razza, I don't see the need yet to seek to replace him. Evolution not revolution.
I think Mahrez is the better of the three.

Time is also on our side. We have a growing pressure from our academy with players of great quality who just need a bit of time and minutes, like Foden to hopefully flourish.
The likes of McAtee, Palmer, Delap, possibly Tommy Doyle and a couple of others.

We are in a great place to deal with any weaknesses and in a greater place to view our future