Man City 2020/21 - General discussion

charlenefan said:
why would they win with ease? Is everyone else's form going to fall off of a cliff suddenly?
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I certainly think us and Liverpool look likely to drop more point than City, they just look more consistent to me. When they get going they get going, maybe they'll drop off again, its a messed up season, but their defence looks sorted and they have plenty of games where they simply blow sides away.

It's not over, but they're obviously favourites in my eyes.
 
Somewhat worried that they could win the CL with their improved defence.

Though Pep would probably play some sort of mad formation that makes no sense and get knocked out again.
 
always_hoping said:
Celebrating? They earned the respect, defending champions and unbeaten at home in the league since 2017. After 18 games played in this season most United supporters should be pleased to be top and find themselves 3 points ahead of Liverpool.

We'll see how City fare in Anfield in a few weeks
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If the plan is to challenge for the league title we can't go around respecting our top 6 rivals. If we don't attack Liverpool when they are fielding a make shift defense then when exactly are we going to attack them?
 
flappyjay said:
If the plan is to challenge for the league title we can't go around respecting our top 6 rivals. If we don't attack Liverpool when they are fielding a make shift defense then when exactly are we going to attack them?
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Liverpool, Spurs and City are all challenging too and all showed respect to their rivals and played first and foremost not to lose.
 
City went and found their mojo again. They couldn't wait 12 months so we could have our moment in the sun? No, of course not.

Selfish.
 
Judas said:
I certainly think us and Liverpool look likely to drop more point than City, they just look more consistent to me. When they get going they get going, maybe they'll drop off again, its a messed up season, but their defence looks sorted and they have plenty of games where they simply blow sides away.

It's not over, but they're obviously favourites in my eyes.
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We have a nightmare mid-Feb to mid-March. If we don't open up ground on you guys before then, we'll be in a bad situation afterwards. Ideally we need 12 points from our next 4 games cause then we are likely to drop a lot of points in a month.
 
Schmeichel's Cartwheel said:
Wish they’d feck off. Their quietly & boringly putting together an incredible run. Nobody talks about them because they’ve got no fans & nobody cares.
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Dont forget the non-surprise of £50 million footballers suddenly producing the goods, and shock horror, the advantage of having a far better and more expensively assembled squad than everyone else in a packed fixture list.

Nothing to see here...
 
flappyjay said:
If the plan is to challenge for the league title we can't go around respecting our top 6 rivals. If we don't attack Liverpool when they are fielding a make shift defense then when exactly are we going to attack them?
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Imagine if Newcastle, Southampton, Villa and United had decided to attack this Liverpool side, rather then sit deep and wait patiently for opportunities to break away. They'd be top of the league by a fair distance in all likelihood
 
diarm said:
I hate it when I make a sarcastic quip about conspiracy theories, only for my club do get caught breaking the rules again a few days later.

State owned City have not, do not and will never play by the same rules as everyone else. This is a 16 year old kid being offered back handers - we all know the same happened with Mancini and only a fool would believe worse isn't happening with their big names players and coaches.

For every kid like this who calls them out on it, there are hundreds who take the money and keep their mouth shut. When club owners aren't accountable to financial regulation (or any other authorities for that matter), this is what you get and it's the reason state ownership of clubs is a stain on the sport.
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Absolutely.
 
I’m more than happy to be top of the league for the first Time in 7 years. Its exciting to be up in the mix at last...
I also have no problem in saying City are the best team in the league right now and imo favourites to be champs this season.. Liverpool look well off the pace atm - but that could change with a couple of decent wins.

Whilst we have had a great run of results (long may it continue) i do feel luck has favoured us at times. We need to be able to control games from midfield as well as just playing a fast counter attack. Against City in the cup semi we were really found out In midfield.

VDB may actually be the answer in midfield - if we can work out how to fit him in. His technical ability is superior to Scott and Fred who, whilst both great work horses just seem to lack the ability to consistently find a team mate with a pass, especially Fred Who is brilliant at passing to the opposition.....
 
flappyjay said:
If the plan is to challenge for the league title we can't go around respecting our top 6 rivals. If we don't attack Liverpool when they are fielding a make shift defense then when exactly are we going to attack them?
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Firstly to stand a chance of getting a result against title challengers such as City, Liverpool you must defend well, secondly the best two scoring opportunities of the game was from United.
 
I think they have sorted out their defense which could be troublemaker for our chance in the title race since I have always believe defense wins you the league.

The only way to stop or slow down city here in my opinion is champions league and final EFL become distraction for them in the league.
 
Got to admit, they're looking like the well oiled pep machine again.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
I think they have sorted out their defense which could be troublemaker for our chance in the title race since I have always believe defense wins you the league.

The only way to stop or slow down city here in my opinion is champions league and final EFL become distraction for them in the league.
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It is easy to sort out defence when you invest 500mil in it. Unbelievable really how many defenders (including gk) he bought

Ederson- 40mil
Bravo- 20mil
Cancelo- 65mil
Walker- 53mil
Mendy- 57mil
Laporte- 65mil
Stones- 55mil
Dias-70mil
Ake- 45mil
Danilo- 30mil
Angelino- 12 mil
 
Andycoleno9 said:
It is easy to sort out defence when you invest 500mil in it. Unbelievable really how many defenders (including gk) he bought

Ederson- 40mil
Bravo- 20mil
Cancelo- 65mil
Walker- 53mil
Mendy- 57mil
Laporte- 65mil
Stones- 55mil
Dias-70mil
Ake- 45mil
Danilo- 30mil
Angelino- 12 mil
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hmmm yeah wonder if we will get a comparison of how much City have spent on their first XI when they play at Burnley, of course we won't because in the media's eyes Pep isn't seen as a chequebook manager even though the above figures says different
 
Andycoleno9 said:
It is easy to sort out defence when you invest 500mil in it. Unbelievable really how many defenders (including gk) he bought

Ederson- 40mil
Bravo- 20mil
Cancelo- 65mil
Walker- 53mil
Mendy- 57mil
Laporte- 65mil
Stones- 55mil
Dias-70mil
Ake- 45mil
Danilo- 30mil
Angelino- 12 mil
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What currency are you quoting? If Euro you should say so.
Are you taking into account fees received when some of the above leave the club and the likely profit on Angelino when RBL pick up their option on him?
Thought not.

City have spent a huge amount on the defence, no doubt about that. A good proportion of it wasted but United’s has hardly been cheap and has no top class performers in it.
 
croadyman said:
hmmm yeah wonder if we will get a comparison of how much City have spent on their first XI when they play at Burnley, of course we won't because in the media's eyes Pep isn't seen as a chequebook manager even though the above figures says different
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He is (rightly imo) seen as a great coach (one of the best ever) who has also spent a lot.
If he leaves City tomorrow, every big club will be lining up to get him if they could. That tells you how high he's regarded.
 
padr81 said:
We have a nightmare mid-Feb to mid-March. If we don't open up ground on you guys before then, we'll be in a bad situation afterwards. Ideally we need 12 points from our next 4 games cause then we are likely to drop a lot of points in a month.
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They are tricky looking games but looking at your performances since Chelsea away I cannot see you dropping many points much as I want it to happen because you are now playing with that real confidence again
 
croadyman said:
hmmm yeah wonder if we will get a comparison of how much City have spent on their first XI when they play at Burnley, of course we won't because in the media's eyes Pep isn't seen as a chequebook manager even though the above figures says different
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You mean like in every single game where people talk about his £400m defence? Because we hear it non-stop.
 
croadyman said:
They are tricky looking games but looking at your performances since Chelsea away I cannot see you dropping many points much as I want it to happen because you are now playing with that real confidence again
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We shouldn't drop as many as earlier but form can change quickly. Just a month ago Pep and Ole were getting sacked and Klopp and Jose were gonna fight for the title. This season is so weird, I wouldn't expect any team to stay in top gear, especially the the CL/Europa comes back.

Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal, CL, West Ham and United in a row will define our season, on current form we probably take 12 or so points from those but form can swing alot and we could well end up only taking 6 or 7 points from said run.
 
Gentleman Jim said:
What currency are you quoting? If Euro you should say so.
Are you taking into account fees received when some of the above leave the club and the likely profit on Angelino when RBL pick up their option on him?
Thought not.

City have spent a huge amount on the defence, no doubt about that. A good proportion of it wasted but United’s has hardly been cheap and has no top class performers in it.
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It is euro, yes. Did you receive any fees for them? I think not. So....?

Edit; you are saying that i should take into account how much money you will get in future for them? Remind me, how much money you spent on Otamendi (good buy) and Mangala (flop)? 80-90 mil euros combined? And for how much you sold them? 20 mil and zero
 
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Andycoleno9 said:
It is easy to sort out defence when you invest 500mil in it. Unbelievable really how many defenders (including gk) he bought

Ederson- 40mil
Bravo- 20mil
Cancelo- 65mil
Walker- 53mil
Mendy- 57mil
Laporte- 65mil
Stones- 55mil
Dias-70mil
Ake- 45mil
Danilo- 30mil
Angelino- 12 mil
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Some napkin math:

In:
Ederson £35m
Bravo £15.4m
Steffen £7m
Cancelo £60m
Walker £45m
Mendy £49m
Laporte £57m
Stones £47.5m
Dias £62m
Ake £40m
Danilo £26.5m
Angelino £11m
Zinchenko £1.7m
Eric Garcia £1.5m
Sandler £2.6m

Out:
Hart £3.5m
Gunn £13.5m
Kolarov £5m
Denayer £5.8m
Maffeo £9m
Danilo £34m
Otamendi £13.7m
Angelino £5m and most likely trigger another £16m

Bar Bravo and Mendy, that looks like money well spent to me.
 
1950 said:
Some napkin math:

In:
Ederson £35m
Bravo £15.4m
Steffen £7m
Cancelo £60m
Walker £45m
Mendy £49m
Laporte £57m
Stones £47.5m
Dias £62m
Ake £40m
Danilo £26.5m
Angelino £11m
Zinchenko £1.7m
Eric Garcia £1.5m
Sandler £2.6m

Out:
Hart £3.5m
Gunn £13.5m
Kolarov £5m
Denayer £5.8m
Maffeo £9m
Danilo £34m
Otamendi £13.7m
Angelino £5m and most likely trigger another £16m

Bar Bravo and Mendy, that looks like money well spent to me.
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there is also Tosin for £2m and 20% sell on fee (he's doing well for Fulham) and possibly another couple of others, it's not been the disaster people have made it out to be
 
Thunderhead said:
there is also Tosin for £2m and 20% sell on fee (he's doing well for Fulham) and possibly another couple of others, it's not been the disaster people have made it out to be
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Its nearly 400m worth of defenders alone!
 
Their attack isn't functioning well for the most part. Hardly surprising since they've lost Aguero, D Silva, & Sane + Sterling & B Silva's form has dropped.

Their season will rest on Dias staying in form & fit. Any injury to Dias would likely lead to a dip in the Stones revival which would compromise them at the back again. Their attack with KDB will always get goals but won't be able to keep getting them out of trouble this season if their defence again becomes porous.

Going deep in the FAC & CL could hamper them but they seem to get very favorable draws in the cup competitions of late. Their uncanny knack of facing teams at the most opportune times also looks like it's returning. Would have expected both Palace & Villa to give them a game. Yesterday Palace were missing their best player & Villa are coming off a major Covid outbreak.

If everything goes as it has been for them recently then i think they win the league by 9 - 12 pts.
 
padr81 said:
We shouldn't drop as many as earlier but form can change quickly. Just a month ago Pep and Ole were getting sacked and Klopp and Jose were gonna fight for the title. This season is so weird, I wouldn't expect any team to stay in top gear, especially the the CL/Europa comes back.

Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal, CL, West Ham and United in a row will define our season, on current form we probably take 12 or so points from those but form can swing alot and we could well end up only taking 6 or 7 points from said run.
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The thing is, all your rivals still have to play those games as well. Utd for instance, still have to go to Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and to City, & play Liverpool at home. Saying that, Utd away form is the best in the country, they'd probably prefer that just now.
 
1950 said:
Some napkin math:

In:
Ederson £35m
Bravo £15.4m
Steffen £7m
Cancelo £60m
Walker £45m
Mendy £49m
Laporte £57m
Stones £47.5m
Dias £62m
Ake £40m
Danilo £26.5m
Angelino £11m
Zinchenko £1.7m
Eric Garcia £1.5m
Sandler £2.6m

Out:
Hart £3.5m
Gunn £13.5m
Kolarov £5m
Denayer £5.8m
Maffeo £9m
Danilo £34m
Otamendi £13.7m
Angelino £5m and most likely trigger another £16m

Bar Bravo and Mendy, that looks like money well spent to me.
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I am using euro so it is not napkin math. Those are fees from transfermarkt in euros. And that is 500mil euros in Pep's era for defenders and goalkeepers. You can try to spin it as much as you want but 500mil (euros!!!) spent on defence is a fact.
You only got money back for Danilo so far.
And i am not talking are those players good or not. I am just saying that Pep spent 500mil euros on defence. Nothing else.
Give Moyes or Bilic 500 mil and their defence will work too.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
I am using euro so it is not napkin math. Those are fees from transfermarkt in euros. And that is 500mil euros in Pep's era for defenders and goalkeepers. You can try to spin it as much as you want but 500mil (euros!!!) spent on defence is a fact.
You only got money back for Danilo so far.
And i am not talking are those players good or not. I am just saying that Pep spent 500mil euros on defence. Nothing else.
Give Moyes or Bilic 500 mil and their defence will work too.
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There is a reason why no one until date has entrusted Moyes or Bilic with that amount
 
GoonerBear said:
The thing is, all your rivals still have to play those games as well. Utd for instance, still have to go to Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and to City, & play Liverpool at home. Saying that, Utd away form is the best in the country, they'd probably prefer that just now.
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Thats a fair point, I'd say we're faves right now but the idea that we are comfortably gonna win as many suggest is crazy If we win our next 4 and then win 3 vs United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs then I'd say we're in a fantastic position but we've beaten only one of those 4 in the league this season and you never know which Arsenal will turn up. If we ever get a fit Aguero I'll be slightly more confident but right now it feels like the goals could desert us at any moment.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
I am using euro so it is not napkin math. Those are fees from transfermarkt in euros. And that is 500mil euros in Pep's era for defenders and goalkeepers. You can try to spin it as much as you want but 500mil (euros!!!) spent on defence is a fact.
You only got money back for Danilo so far.
And i am not talking are those players good or not. I am just saying that Pep spent 500mil euros on defence. Nothing else.
Give Moyes or Bilic 500 mil and their defence will work too.
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Wasn't 7/8ths of that defence called over priced and a waste of money last season? Maybe just maybe tactics exposed them more than their ability. The upturn in defence at City is a change in tactics not players.
 
croadyman said:
They are tricky looking games but looking at your performances since Chelsea away I cannot see you dropping many points much as I want it to happen because you are now playing with that real confidence again
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It's really not that bad for them.

Spurs at home is a game they should be expected to win given Spurs will just play for a point so will give Man. City mass possesion and they always seem to stroll to victory at Emirates nowadays, won 3-0, 2-0 and 3-0 on last three league visits and they hammered a strong Arsenal team just a few weeks back in league cup.

Then West Ham at home after Gladbach first leg and again can't remember them failing to win too many home games v West Ham in recent times. Also got likes of Fulham and Wolves in March which will be tricky but you'd expect them to win.

Main problems is can they finally end their wretched run at Anfield and Man. United in last 5 years have a pretty good record at Etihad so that will be interesting one to watch but if they win pretty much all the other games either side they can afford a draw or two from those games.

I'd actually say their run in April could be more tricky.

Leicester away
Leeds home
Villa away
Palace away
Chelsea home

Inbetween probable CL ties and FA cup that will be a bit of a minefield to get through so they probably do need a 5 point buffer for that period.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
I am using euro so it is not napkin math. Those are fees from transfermarkt in euros. And that is 500mil euros in Pep's era for defenders and goalkeepers. You can try to spin it as much as you want but 500mil (euros!!!) spent on defence is a fact.
You only got money back for Danilo so far.
And i am not talking are those players good or not. I am just saying that Pep spent 500mil euros on defence. Nothing else.
Give Moyes or Bilic 500 mil and their defence will work too.
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Napkin math was simply alluding to listing transfer fees without considering ammortisation, wages etc.

It's obviously a lot, but you have to consider that over those 5 years the entire backline was replaced, including subs. There isn't a single goalkeeper or defender at the club who was there before Pep arrived. If you add up the transfer fees of all current Utd keepers and defenders you will be at, what, 300m? And that's with some fees fom 2011 who would quadruble by now at least. I simply don't get the outrage.
 
City's sub defence these days is what

Cancelo
Laporte
Ake
Mendy
?

200m odd just on the subs. It's incredible really
 
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