End of Season - % PL Minutes Played Analysis - United Worst Hit? Top 10 DONE (Rest of league - Please request individual teams)

BenitoSTARR

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Welcome to the final analysis of minutes played by PL players for their respective sides.

As before in the other thread the selection x%s are colour coded as follows:
x>75%
50% <x< 75%
0% <x< 50%
* = GK or additional circumstance (e.g. Loan)

Manchester United % Mins

Manchester United
Onana 100%
Dalot 92.8% Varane 40.1% Martinez 18.9% Shaw 28.1%
Casemiro 58% Mainoo 56.7%
Garnacho 75.3% Bruno 91.2% Rashford 66.6%
Højlund 63.5%​

Onana 100%
Bayindir 0%*
Heaton 0%*

AWB 52.1%
Dalot 92.8%

Martinez 18.9%
Varane 40.1%
Maguire 48.2%
Lindelof 38.9%
Evans 40.7%
Kambwala 9.5%

Shaw 28.1%
Malacia 0%
Reguillon* 12%

Casemiro 58%
Amrabat 27.2%

Mainoo 56.7%
McTominay 55.3%
Eriksen 33.3%

Fernandes 91.2%
Mount 15%
Hannibal* 3.8%

Rashford 66.6%
Garnacho 75.3%
Antony 38.7%
Diallo 11.3%
Pellistri 4.8%
Sancho* 2.2%
Forson 2%

Højlund 63.5%
Martial 13%
Wheatley 0.4%

For a bonus this would be the most played XI by position (I believe please correct if you feel wrong) note this does not mean these players have all played together the most, only they’ve been the most selected/available.

Onana
Dalot Evans Maguire Dalot
Mainoo Casemiro
Garnacho Bruno Rashford
Hojlund​

Absence Logs: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/manchester-united/ausfallzeiten/verein/985
 
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Top 4 % Mins

Manchester City
Ederson 81.5%
Walker 80.9% Dias 74.8% Akanji 73.5% Gvardiol 68.1%
Rodri 86%
De Brunye 35.9% Bernardo 75.4%
Foden 83.9% Haaland 74.8% Doku 46.6%​

Now there could be arguments made for the inclusion of several players here such is the strength in depth of the Man City squad but even allowing for any change you'd choose to make the only long term injuries have been De Brunye (massive of course) and Stones.

Ederson 81.5%
Ortega 19.1*
Carson 0%*

Walker 80.9%
Lewis 23.5%

Dias 74.8%
Aké 59.7%
Stones 31.1%
Akanji 73.5%
Laporte 0.3%*

Gvardiol 68.1%
Gomez 1.4%

Rodri 86%
Kovacic 45.2%
Nunes 19.1%
Phillips 2.6%*


De Brunye 35.9%
Bernardo Silva 75.4%

Foden 83.9%
Doku 46.6%
Grealish 29.3% (Expensive bench option LOL)
Bobb 8.5%
Palmer 0.3%*

Haaland 74.8%
Álvarez 77.7%

Most Played XI
Ederson
Walker Dias Akanji Gvardiol
Rodri
Bernardo Alvarez
Foden Haaland Doku

Arsenal
Raya 84.2%
White 87.5% Saliba 100% Gabriel 89% Zinchenko 50.4%
Rice 94.5%
Ødegaard 90.7% Partey 23%
Saka 85.8% Havertz 77.1% Martinelli 59.3%​

Arsenal's first choice XI feels a bit more clear cut now.

As you can see remarkable consistency in their back line in terms of % mins share. Again Arsenal can have no real complaints.

Raya 84.2%
Ramsdale 15.8%
Hein 0%*

White 87.5%
Tomiyasu 33.3%
Soares 1.7%

Saliba 100%
Gabriel 89%
Timber 2.1%.
Kiwor 27.5%

Zinchenko 50.4%

Rice 94.5%
Partey 23%
Jorginho 26.7%
Elneny 0.7%

Ødegaard 90.7%
Havertz 77.1%
Vieira 8.5%
Smith Rowe 10.1%
Nwaneri 0.4%

Martinelli 59.3%
Trossard 48.1%

Saka 85.8%
Nelson 7.5%

Jesus 43.3%
Nketiah 31.3%

Most Played XI
Raya
White Saliba Gabriel Zinchenko
Rice
Odegaard Havertz
Saka Jesus* Martinelli


Liverpool
Alisson 73.7%
Trent 63.2% Van Dijk 92.9% Konate 46% Robertson 49.5%
Mac Allister 76.4%
Jones 34.1% Szobozslai 61.7%
Salah 74.2% ____________ Díaz 77.3%
Núñez 59.7%​

Jones up for debate here positionally. Certainly not a perfectly available first XI.

Personally see this as Klopp doing really well in circumstances.

Alisson 73.7%
Kelleher 26.3*
Adrian 0%*

TAA 63.2%
Bradley 22.2%

Van Dijk 92.9%
Konate 46%
Joe Gomez 51.9%
Matip 22.9%
Quansah 34.8%

Robertson 49.5%
Tsimikas 19.8%
Beck 0.2%

Mac Allister 76.4%
Endo 50.3%
Bajcetic 0.7%
Clark 2.5%


Szoboszlai 61.7%
Jones 34.1%
Thiago 0.1%
Gravenberch 32.7%
McConnell 0.1%

Salah 74.2%
Diaz 77.3%
Jota 33.6%
Gakpo 48.1%
Elliot 39%
Doak 0.4%

Núñez 59.7%
Danns 0.2%

Most Played XI
Alisson
Trent Van Dijk Konate Gomez*
Endo
MacAllister Szoboszlai
Salah Nunez Diaz

Aston Villa
Martinez 88.2%
Konsa 89.9% Carlos 53% Torres 72% Digne 70.6%
Cash 62.6% Kamara 48.6% Luiz 87.8% McGinn 88%
Diaby 63.8% Watkins 94.3%​

Aston Villa are very hard to pin to a formation so I've tried my best to show what I believe is in Emery's mind the best mix of players in roughly the right places. Konsa for example has a near perfect split between CB and RB so what do you want me to do?! They are very tactically flexible though so argue with yourself if you disagree.

Martinez 88.2%
Olsen* 11.8%
Gauci* 0%

Konsa 89.9%
Cash 62.6%
Kesler Hayden 0.1%

Torres 72%
Carlos 53%
Mings 0.9%
Lenglet 33.8%
Chambers 4.3%
Hause 0%

Digne 70.6%
Moreno 30%

Kamara 48.6%
Luiz 87.8%
McGinn 88%
Ramsey 24.8%
Tielemans 47.3%
Iroggebunam 4.6%
Dendoncker* 3.3%

Diaby 63.8%
Bailey 60.6%
Zainolo 24.3%
Buendia 0%
Rogers 18.7%* since return in Feb
Kellyman 1%
Coutinho* 0.7%
Traore 0.3%

Watkins 94.3%
Durán 13.3%
Archer 0.1%

Most Played XI
Martínez
Konsa Carlos Torres Digne
Cash Luiz McGinn Bailey
Diaby Watkins​
 
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Other Europe Spots

Tottenham Hotspur
Vicario 100%
Porro 90.4% Romero 81.6% van de Ven 68.5% Udogie 70.1%
Sarr 60.9% Bissouma 60.9%
Kulusevski 80.9% Maddison 63% Son 86.2%
Richarlison 43.6%​

Remember the widely reported injury crisis at Spurs? Yeah… based on the mins shared of the best XI that was a very brief part of their season. A big impact on a handful of games but you can see the above (and below) it’s not derailed the whole season. So if anyone argues 'Spurs had injuries' please promptly slap them and say 'No! Bad comparison'.

Vicario 100%
Forster 0%*
Austin 0%*
Whiteman 0%*

Porro 90.4%
Royal 33.7%

Romero 81.6%
van de Ven 68.5%
Dragusin 12.4%*
Dier* 5.8%
Sanchez 2.2*

Udogie 70.1%
Davies 31.8%
Sessengnon 0%
Perisic* 2.9%

Sarr 60.9%
Bissouma 60.9%
Bentacur 29.3%
Højbjerg 37.6%
Skipp 20.3%

Maddison 63%
Lo Celso 14.4%

Son 86.2%
Kulusevski 80.9%
Johnson 61.1%
Solomon 5.8%
Gil 5.8%
Moore 0.06%

Richarlison 43.6%
Véliz 1.2%
Werner* 23.8%
Scarlett 0.5%
Most Played XI
Vicario
Porro Romero van de Ven Udogie
Sarr Bissouma
Kulusevski Maddison Johnson
Son

Chelsea
Petrovic 58.1%
James 12.3% Silva 73.9 Disasi 75.4% Chilwell 22.1%
Caicedo 84% Fernandez 64.7%
Palmer 76.5% Gallagher 91.7% Sterling 58%
Jackson 82.1%​

Do any of us know Chelsea's best XI because I couldn't confidently say this is it but I'm going for my opinion here (again swap out what you want). No idea where to put someone like Nkunku maybe instead of Gallagher? Would appreciate suggestions here to report accurately.

Also my god Chelsea have loads of players!

Sanchez 41.9%
Petrovic 58.1%

James 12.3%
Gusto 51.3%
Acheampong 0.1%

Silva 73.9%
Colwill 52.6%
Disasi 75.4%
Badiashile 39.1%
Fofana 0%*
Cahlobah 27.8%
Gilchrist 5.8%

Chilwell 22.1%
Cucurella 52.2%
Maatsen 5.8%*

Caicedo 84%
Fernandez 64.7%
Gallagher 91.7%
Lavia 0.9%
Chukwuemeka 6.5%
Ugochukwu 8.7%
Casadei 2%

Nkunku 12.8%
Palmer 76.5%
Madueke 30.8%

Sterling 58%
Mudryk 46.1%

Broja 13.2%
Jackson 82.1%
Washington 0.3%
Burstow 0.2%

Most Played XI
Petrovic
Gusto Silva Disasi Cucurella
Caicedo Fernandez
Palmer Gallagher Sterling
Jackson


Newcastle
Pope 39.4%
Trippier 65.4% Schär 89.4% Botman 40.3% Burn 79.9%
Guimarães 95.6%
Tonali* 12.9% Longstaff 80.3%
Almirón 56.9%---------------------Gordon 85%
Isak 66.3%
​

I think this is Newcastle's best but the Longstaff CM (Willock/Joelinton possible?) is up for debate. Tonali is due to the betting scandal so personally think that's ok.

Worth noting Almiron only had one period of injury (5 games GW31-35) but was rotated throughout the season with Murphy, Isak missed 6 games and was rotated with Wilson for the rest (lots of sub swaps with the two).

Defensively Trippier missed 8 games from GW28-36 Livramento (his understudy) was injured for 2 of those during that period. Newcastle also had a 2 game period where Schär, Lascelles and Botman were all injured (GW36-37) with Trippier and Targett also injured (GW36). So GW 36 they definitely had one game with a defensive injury crisis. Both Botman and Lascelles were injured from GW 31-38 so Burn became the CB and their other LB options stepped in.

Worth also noting, Dummet a CB, was around for 29 matches but rarely used with Howe preferring to play Burn at CB and Hall or others at LB.

Midfield also had periods where while there was a consistent 2 (Guimarães and Longstaff) the third man was chopped and changed regularly due to injury etc.
Pope 39.4%
Dúbravka 58%
Karius 2.6%

Trippier 65.4%
Livramento 38.1%
Krafth 26.5%

Schär 89.4%
Botman 40.3%
Lascelles 31.6%
Dummett 0.4%

Burn 79.9%
Hall 22.7%
Targett 2.3%
Murphy 0.3%

Guimarães 95.6%
Tonali* 12.9%
Longstaff 80.3%
Joelinton 37.5%
Willock 12.3%
Anderson 29.9%
Miley 35.3%
White 0.3%

Almirón 56.9%
Murphy 34.9%
Ritchie 3.4%
Parkinson 0.7%

Gordon 85%
Barnes 23.2%

Isak 66.3%
Wilson 28.8%

Most Played XI
Dubravka
Trippier Schar Botman Burn
Guimares
Almiron Longstaff Joelinton Gordon
Isak​
 
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UPDATE IN PROGRESS

The Rest of The Premier League

West Ham
Areola 78.9%
Coufal 91.8% Zouma 83% Aguerd 54.4% Emerson 91.9%
Soucek 84% Álvarez 69.6%
Kudus 72.7% Ward-Prowse 87.8% Paqueta 77.2%
Bowen 88.4%​

A very healthy looking first XI there. No major issues or concerns.


Areola 78.9%
Fabianski 20.1%

Coufal 91.8%
Johnson 21%

Zouma 83%
Aguerd 54.4%
Mavropanos 43.8%
Ogbonna 18.5%
Kehrer 0.5%

Emerson 91.9%
Cresswell 12.6%

Soucek 84%
Álvarez 69.6%
Ward-Prowse 87.8%
Phillips 8.9%
Earthy 0.9%

Kudus 72.7%
Fornals 12.2%

Paqueta 77.2%
Benrahma 18%
Cornet 3.1%

Bowen 88.4%
Antonio 50%
Ings 11.3%
Mubama 2.2%
Most Played XI
Areola
Coufal Zouma Aguerd Emerson
Soucek Álvarez
Kudus Ward-Prowse Paqueta
Bowen

Crystal Palace
Johnstone 52.5%
Guehi 59.2% Richards 61.1% Andersen 99.9%
Muñoz 42.1% Lerma 70.3% Wharton* 38.2% Mitchell 93.9%
Olise 37.3% Mateta 66.8% Eze 60.4%
​
A bit of a challenge to get the first XI correct as the change in manager meant they went from a back 4 to a back 3/5 depending on how you view it. So apologies this is unlikely to perfectly reflect the season. A lot of the yellow is down to rotation and formation changes. Wharton was also a Feb 2024 signing so him being red is misleading.
Johnstone 52.5%
Henderson 47.3%
Matthews 0.1%

Muñoz 42.1%
Ward 57.9%
Clyne 39.1%

Guéhi 59.2%
Andersen 99.9%
Richards 61.1%
Tomkins 0.2%

Mitchell 93.9%
Schlupp 39.6%
Adaramola 0%

Doucouré 27%
Wharton 38.2%
Lerma 70.3%
Hughes 55.5%
Ahamada 9.6%
Riedewald 6.7%
Ozoh 4.3%
​
Eze 60.4%
França 6.5%
Olise 37.3%
Ayew 74.6%
Rak-Sakyi 3.8%

Mateta 66.8%
Edouard 45.4%

Most Played XI
Johnstone
Guéhi Richards Andersen
Ward Lerma Hughes Mitchell
Ayew Matate Eze

Brighton

Bournemouth

Fulham

Wolves

Everton

Brentford

Nottingham Forest

Luton Town

Burnley

Sheffield United​
 
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Incredible that, how fans can say "injuries" is just an excuse, is beyond me. When you have 3 of the back 4 playing less than 40% of the minutes, what do people expect?
 
romufc said:
Incredible that, how fans can say "injuries" is just an excuse, is beyond me. When you have 3 of the back 4 playing less than 40% of the minutes, what do people expect?
Click to expand...
More goals. The problem has not been our defence, but our offense. I'm not saying they're completely disconnected, but I would expect a lot more from a United side going forward.
 
Cool idea for a thread! Interested to see how it pans out for each tier of the league.
 
matsdf said:
More goals. The problem has not been our defence, but our offense. I'm not saying they're completely disconnected, but I would expect a lot more from a United side going forward.
Click to expand...

Yes, agreed you expect more goals but you are also relying on a 20 yr old ST with limited experience, 19 year old winger in his second season... I mean really?

No backup ST so when things aren't going well, you cant change things?
 
romufc said:
Yes, agreed you expect more goals but you are also relying on a 20 yr old ST with limited experience, 19 year old winger in his second season... I mean really?

No backup ST so when things aren't going well, you cant change things?
Click to expand...
But these facts were known in August, EtH willingly (well perhaps unwillingly and this is where the problem is) went into the season this way. Why we did not go for Guirassy in January is beyond me, but I digress.
 
matsdf said:
But these facts were known in August, EtH willingly (well perhaps unwillingly and this is where the problem is) went into the season this way. Why we did not go for Guirassy in January is beyond me, but I digress.
Click to expand...

Yes the facts were known well before August. It was clear for a while he wanted another CF, but is that on the manager? He got Hojlund last game of pre season. I mean its not hard to see when a manager is playing whole pre season with Sancho (false 9 type) then gets Hojlund, its a different style. Then you have off field issues and injury after injury all season.
 
romufc said:
Incredible that, how fans can say "injuries" is just an excuse, is beyond me. When you have 3 of the back 4 playing less than 40% of the minutes, what do people expect?
Click to expand...

Varane was available for at least 400 additional minutes also both Maguire and Lindelof are adequate backups. The only actual issue exposed here is the left back position.
 
If you’d have shown me that at the start of the season and said this is how it’s going to go with injuries then I would genuinely have zero expectations for us to achieve anything at all particularly in the league.
 
Reserved my opinion until I see the full thread
 
JPRouve said:
Varane was available for at least 400 additional minutes also both Maguire and Lindelof are adequate backups. The only actual issue exposed here is the left back position.
Click to expand...

Do you think Maguire and Lindelof are the same level as Varane and Martinez?
 
Just to note, Villa have played 4 at the back almost exclusively this season. Would be interesting to see something for Newcastle too (more work though)
 
matsdf said:
But these facts were known in August, EtH willingly (well perhaps unwillingly and this is where the problem is) went into the season this way. Why we did not go for Guirassy in January is beyond me, but I digress.
Click to expand...

We can’t just sign more players all the time. That’s not possible.
 
romufc said:
Do you think Maguire and Lindelof are the same level as Varane and Martinez?
Click to expand...

No but they are decent PL players and Maguire in particular has been solid this season. I could understand the point if we were talking about lower league level players like having to start a Blackett or McNair but we are talking about good depth players.
 
Waiting for the other clubs ones like Newcastle & Chelsea who we are regularly compared against and told they had worse injuries - Be good to also know (Expecting a lot) how often their first choice replacements were available as I'd argue we often had to go beyond that (Kambwala etc)
 
JPRouve said:
No but they are decent PL players and Maguire in particular has been solid this season. I could understand the point if we were talking about lower league level players like having to start a Blackett or McNair but we are talking about good depth players.
Click to expand...

There is a massive difference.

When you have an aggressive LCB who is left footed and used to break lines, you replace with a slow, used to playing in a low block CB in Maguire, you cant play the style.

I dont understand why people think Licha and Maguire can play similar roles.
 
Question - Does it not skew these results if it's "minutes played" rather than "minutes available"? As if a manager doesn't pick someone who is deemed first choice but he's available it makes us look more injured than we are.
 
romufc said:
There is a massive difference.

When you have an aggressive LCB who is left footed and used to break lines, you replace with a slow, used to playing in a low block CB in Maguire, you cant play the style.

I dont understand why people think Licha and Maguire can play similar roles.
Click to expand...

They are both slow but it's true that they have different styles and roles which is why a good manager, one that isn't stubborn, would use them differently. Managers tweak the team's organization for different players, they rarely are in a situation where they can just plug and play.

An example of that is ETH with Ajax, at different points he had De Ligt, Magallan, Martinez, Schuurs, Blind, Alvarez or Timber these players are not similar so he adapted the team organization based on which combination he had, though I should include the fact that the midfield was involved, in some cases he had a midfielder dropping, in other cases he had one of the fullback either covering defensively or being a main feature in terms of ball progression, the point being that the animation or defensive assignments changed which is what a manageer is supposed to do.
 
AngeloHenriquez said:
Question - Does it not skew these results if it's "minutes played" rather than "minutes available"? As if a manager doesn't pick someone who is deemed first choice but he's available it makes us look more injured than we are.
Click to expand...
I am looking more at how often our best XI was played under the premise that managers will usually want to play their best players as much as possible.

If we can broadly agree with the premise, managers play their best players when possible, then it holds.

Availability actually makes it worse for United, way better for City, Arsenal and Liverpool. I'll share the link for purely 'availability' once I'm done with more teams.
 
BenitoSTARR said:
I am looking more at how often our best XI was played under the premise that managers will usually want to play their best players as much as possible.

If we can broadly agree with the premise, managers play their best players when possible, then it holds.

Availability actually makes it worse for United, way better for City, Arsenal and Liverpool. I'll share the link for purely 'availability' once I'm done with more teams.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, great work here also.
 
JPRouve said:
Varane was available for at least 400 additional minutes also both Maguire and Lindelof are adequate backups. The only actual issue exposed here is the left back position.
Click to expand...
With those additional 400 minutes (I haven't checked the exact number) it would still only represent 51.8% available (assuming every benching was fully fit - which we know is seldom the case).
 
BenitoSTARR said:
With those additional 400 minutes (I haven't checked the exact number) it would still only represent 51.8% available (assuming every benching was fully fit - which we know is seldom the case).
Click to expand...

Which is a substantial difference, around 25%.
 
romufc said:
Yes, agreed you expect more goals but you are also relying on a 20 yr old ST with limited experience, 19 year old winger in his second season... I mean really?

No backup ST so when things aren't going well, you cant change things?
Click to expand...

No real excuse for that when we’ve spent so much money. There’s 160m worth of wingers that have either been ostracised or are completely useless. Another who has been barely used despite being the best player in the championship last season. 55m spent on a midfielder we didn’t need. And no obvious patterns of play.

In defence, we went into the season relying on the French Phil Jones as our first choice CB, knowing we only had one fit left back, and sent away the left back we signed on loan despite still only having one fit left back.

And even in the event of an injury crisis, I never expect to get drilled 4-0 by Crystal Palace, that only happens if we are in tactical disarray. Also worth remembering that we lost 6 of our first ten games, when we had a virtually fully fit squad.

No doubting injuries have been bad. But performances and results have been disproportionately terrible. Squad planning and signings certainly contributed to the shit show we put out on the field most of the season.
 
simonhch said:
No real excuse for that when we’ve spent so much money. There’s 160m worth of wingers that have either been ostracised or are completely useless. Another who has been barely used despite being the best player in the championship last season. 55m spent on a midfielder we didn’t need. And no obvious patterns of play.

In defence, we went into the season relying on the French Phil Jones as our first choice CB, knowing we only had one fit left back, and sent away the left back we signed on loan despite still only having one fit left back.

And even in the event of an injury crisis, I never expect to get drilled 4-0 by Crystal Palace, that only happens if we are in tactical disarray. Also worth remembering that we lost 6 of our first ten games, when we had a virtually fully fit squad.

No doubting injuries have been bad. But performances and results have been disproportionately terrible. Squad planning and signings certainly contributed to the shit show we put out on the field most of the season.
Click to expand...
City have done the same with Grealish. Nunes etc
 
Wouldn't availability %age be way more interesting and telling?
 
BenitoSTARR said:
City have done the same with Grealish. Nunes etc
Click to expand...

You’re right. I’ll concede the point. Us and City, it’s an apt comparison. Doesn’t matter, we have 4 consecutive PL’s to fall back on and a recent treble. It’s not like we just had our worst ever PL finish and couldn’t score in a brothel. Pfffft, what was I thinking?
 
It's better to just use the data towards accumulative injuries sustained over the season, there were periods where both Rashford and Varane were fit but omitted due to the managers own decisions.

Also Stones should be over Akanji. When you assess it aside Arsenal every team has had key personnel missing to fundamental teams this season, it's likely fixture congestion and the previous world cup that has the most impact for the league teams this season.
 
romufc said:
There is a massive difference.

When you have an aggressive LCB who is left footed and used to break lines, you replace with a slow, used to playing in a low block CB in Maguire, you cant play the style.

I dont understand why people think Licha and Maguire can play similar roles.
Click to expand...
Guardiola described him as a top 5 CB in world football. He highlighted how good his passes through the lines were for us.

altodevil said:
Wouldn't availability %age be way more interesting and telling?
Click to expand...
Be my guest :lol:
thisisnottaken1 said:
You put Aston Villa’s squad for Chelsea’s.
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Do you see the big red bold sign above the post?
simonhch said:
You’re right. I’ll concede the point. Us and City, it’s an apt comparison. Doesn’t matter, we have 4 consecutive PL’s to fall back on and a recent treble. It’s not like we just had our worst ever PL finish and couldn’t score in a brothel. Pfffft, what was I thinking?
Click to expand...
Point was that other clubs have spent an awful lot of money on signings that don't quite work out. Are we going to lambast Guardiola for wasting money too or do we accept someone else decided the fees?

Also worth noting the difference in experience levels of all the front lines ahead of us.
 
BenitoSTARR said:
Guardiola described him as a top 5 CB in world football. He highlighted how good his passes through the lines were for us.


Be my guest :lol:

Do you see the big red bold sign above the post?

Point was that other clubs have spent an awful lot of money on signings that don't quite work out. Are we going to lambast Guardiola for wasting money too or do we accept someone else decided the fees?

Also worth noting the difference in experience levels of all the front lines ahead of us.
Click to expand...
Yeah, fair enough. My mistake.
 
BenitoSTARR said:
Guardiola described him as a top 5 CB in world football. He highlighted how good his passes through the lines were for us.


Be my guest :lol:

Do you see the big red bold sign above the post?

Point was that other clubs have spent an awful lot of money on signings that don't quite work out. Are we going to lambast Guardiola for wasting money too or do we accept someone else decided the fees?

Also worth noting the difference in experience levels of all the front lines ahead of us.
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There are whole threads dedicated to Guardiola’s spending, so I think that’s already been done. Difference is, he plays by different rules. It’s a pointless comparison.

Lots of managers waste money. And all can be lambasted for it, but it becomes a stick to beat the manager with when (a) control over recruitment was a contingency on becoming manager in the first place, and (b) results are dreadful.
 
simonhch said:
There are whole threads dedicated to Guardiola’s spending, so I think that’s already been done. Difference is, he plays by different rules. It’s a pointless comparison.

Lots of managers waste money. And all can be lambasted for it, but it becomes a stick to beat the manager with when (a) control over recruitment was a contingency on becoming manager in the first place, and (b) results are dreadful.
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It’s not pointless in that other sides can spend £100m on a player and still have enough quality within them to not play that £100m player for 70% of their season and still win the league.

I just think we’re being very disingenuous here with what we allow other managers to “waste” (and even then I’d argue it’s down to club recruitment).
 
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