Seems like you're not even aware of how much you've spent, Guardiola's spent over £800m since he's been at City, we've spent £574m.
Man City 2020/21 - General discussion
- Thread starter Suedesi
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We did early on. At Leeds, at Spurs, at home to Leicester (3 penalties conceded, FFS). Don't want to jinx it, but we seem to have largely cut those out. Even if Eddie had one of his occasional brainfarts yesterday evening. We'll need to be on top form to win on sunday, mind. Winning at Anfield isn't easy. Even Liverpool haven't managed it this year!
nicely doneWhat a job pep has.
The amount of money he has spent on defenders is crazy.
Nah don't rate him I need a new one no problem pep whatever you want.
On it goes till it eventually sticks.
Jose wanted maguire after buying bailly and lindeloff we all know what happened there.
The amount of money he has spent on defenders is crazy.
Nah don't rate him I need a new one no problem pep whatever you want.
On it goes till it eventually sticks.
Jose wanted maguire after buying bailly and lindeloff we all know what happened there.
Basically nailed on for the League Cup, clear favourites for the league, hellbent on winning the CL and bound to get dross in the cup. They could have a terrific season.
Yeah it's actually shocking how poor Jose never had the chance to compete in the league due to City's spending. Imagine if there was a budget for him to sign someone for a world record fee and having the chance to manage the squad with the highest wage bill. Would have easily beaten the 100-point City team.
Oh, hang on a bit...
I should say I no fan of mourinho he spent enough money and when he didn't get what he wanted he spat his dummy out.
Pep on the other hand spends whatever he wants on defenders till eventually one sticks with very little criticism compared to others.
The net spent of City since Pep arrived if 555m and United's is 497. Literally just go on transfermrket.com, the numbers are there.
Does that include hidden secondary salaries or....
We'll drop some points but so will everyone else.
We'll gradually pull away from the pack unless we get more bad injuries/COVID casualties. L
Both are relatively young for CB's and have more improvement in them.
They could become a great pairing in time.
You didn't say net spend, did you now? Nor did the poster you replied to. You said you only spent £60m more than us since Guardiola's which is untrue, had you said net spent then maybe you would've had a point, but you didn't. You literally can't even read your own comment properly.
Well apologies for me thinking it's implied given the discourse and prevalence of 'net spend' in recent years. Either way, if we go total spend Chelsea have only spent 30m less than us since Pep arrived. The idea that we're winning things because we have used significantly more resources than rivals simply isn't true. We've just done it better.
Thats the likely outcome for sure but not guaranteed. I think 9 or so points from the upcoming run would be good.
If we come out of that run still in 1st place, I think we'll pull away over the course as we'll have most the tough games outta the way bar Everton x 2 and Chelsea.
Whats important is we don't lose vs Liverpool and Spurs and lets our confidence take a hit, if we were to drop 6 points over the next 2 games, we'd be neck and neck with United and Liverpool would be breathing down our necks for tough games vs Arsenal, WestHam and United. If we somehow get the Anfield monkey off our backs at the weekend I'll be more confident. I mean Brighton just beat Liverpool and Spurs back to back so we're more than capable, just 2 games we haven't turned up in for awhile.
Wasn't John Stones the first CB he signed, Stones, Laporte, Dias and Ake.. Pep's first team CB signings? which one hasn't stuck? Walker was his first RB signing who has been good since he's been here. Cancelo has settled. He's bought 4 and all 4 have worked out... he's had the best defensive record in the league or been in the top 3 every season, even with Pellers CB's. Only Mendy has been a failure and theres been no purchases to replace him.
So I'll ask out of Stones, Laporte, Dias, Ake, Walker, Cancelo and Mendy where has one not stuck and seen Pep buy a replacement for them? The myth he's bought defenders who have failed and replaced them is just that. I'd ask anyone spouting this to name 1.
In fact of all Pep's signings the only one thats been replaced has been Bravo.
Stones, Jesus, Gundogan, Sane (forced a move away), Nolito (homesick, asked to leave) Laporte, Mendy, Walker, Silva, Danilo (bought as backup, club wanted to keep him, asked to leave so was used in the Cancelo deal), Mahrez, Cancelo, Rodri, Dias, Ake, Torres. I don't see any of those discarded after failing and having been replaced unless one counts Walker as a Danilo replacement even though he was signed before Danilo ever kicked a ball.
The problem is that the teams City face in their next games, besides ourselves & West Ham, aren't playing that well. Liverpool & Spurs look totally lost without VVD & Kane. Arsenal are flaky at the best of times. They usually shit the bed in games against City at the Emirates. West Ham are in form but are very much like Watford in games against City. They're happy to take a heavy defeat, some platitudes from Pep & move onto the next game. They will likely have KDB back by the time we face them & the game could be a title decider in all but name. They bottled it last time against us but it's difficult to see them doing it again.
They've had a lot of luck of late though. The unofficial Winter Break & the crazy goals against Villa, WBA & SU. If as they say ""It All Evens Out" we are still in with a chance.
Their proving SAF right, a good defence wins the league. They are scoring much less than the last few seasons but 2 goals conceded in the last 11 league games says everything. If we our to challenge for the title we really need Liverpool to beat them.
It seems that Pep got it right with the defensive equation that he took so long to solve, one of his main deficiencies, the team is very solid and confident.
And it impresses how the team is doing so well without Aguero and KDB.
Undoubtedly, one of the main advantages they have over the competition, especially if we think of Liverpool, concerns quality in its second line of options.
And how good it is to see Gundogan at such a high level again.
He has been a real leader.
And it impresses how the team is doing so well without Aguero and KDB.
Undoubtedly, one of the main advantages they have over the competition, especially if we think of Liverpool, concerns quality in its second line of options.
And how good it is to see Gundogan at such a high level again.
He has been a real leader.
He joined the club with the following defenders: Sagna, Zabaleta, Kompany, Otamendi, Mangala, Clichy, Kolarov. All of whom were either old, injury prone, shit or a combination of the above.
In his first season he signed Stones as a young player who would initially be one of three decent centre back options (so Kompany’s injury issues wouldn’t be so much of a problem) but also as an eventual leader of the defence and probable captain. He stuck with the full backs he had but they were all on the decline and an obvious weakness.
Zabaleta, Clichy and Sagna’s contracts all expired at the end of 2016-17 and Kolarov went back to Italy so obviously new full backs were needed. He got Walker in as first choice right back who was obviously a massive success. Mendy was intended to be the equivalent on the left but had massive injury issues. Danilo was signed to cover both full back positions but with Mendy out City (it seemed) were suddenly left without any rotation options at full back. The signing of Laporte as Stones’ long term centre back partner was then brought forward to the winter transfer window as he could cover at left back as well as centre back. However, Delph ended up doing so well filling in at LB and Stones struggled with injuries so Laporte ended up becoming a first choice centre back.
In 2018-19, Guardiola stuck with the same group of defenders, rotating Otamendi, Laporte, Kompany and Stones, with Walker and Mendy again intended to be the first choice full backs. Mendy broke down again early in the season so Delph and Zinchenko ended up sharing the LB spot, (with Delph being less reliable than the previous season). Like the previous season, City finished with a brilliant defensive record and won the league.
Summer 2019 was where it went wrong. Kompany and was allowed to leave to see out his career in Belgium. Delph was also sold, along with Danilo (in a part swap with Cancelo). Laporte then got injured in the autumn and missed almost the entire season, while Stones went into a massive rut and completely lost his mojo due to issues in his personal life. This left an ageing Otamendi as the only senior centre back at the club with Fernandino filling in beside him (meaning the team had also lost its sole midfield defensive shield). Mendy also returned but was no longer the player he had been before the injury so basically City played the entire season with a patched up back four which went about as well as it is for Liverpool now.
So now we move on to this season and you have Otamendi departing and Nathan Aké signed as both his replacement as cover for the first choice centre backs and in the problem left back position. Dias is also signed as the long term replacement for Kompany. Stones has been written off and is for sale. However, it becomes clear that Eric García (who graduated from the youth team the previous season) intends to leave for Barcelona so Stones is retained as an extra centre back option.
Then, through a degree of luck and some tactical evolution, it all clicks into place. Aké and García pick up injuries and Laporte doesn’t return to his pre-ACL form so Stones is given a chance next to Dias and the two become the best partnership in the league. Walker gets COVID and Cancelo (who had been much improved at left back) moves back to right back and looks world class. Mendy wastes his last chance under Guardiola so Zinchenko returns to the side from the wilderness and is his typically quiet 7/10 every week at left back. City now have the best defensive record in the league by far, making it three seasons out of four where they’ve had excellent defensice records.
TLDR: Pretty much all Guardiola’s defensive spending has been absolutely necessary and all but one major signing has been a success (and even that has clear mitigating circumstances). They’ve also been excellent defensively ever since Guardiola has been able to build his own defence, with the only season where they were weak defensively being the one where they lost their two main centre backs without signing a replacement and had to use their midfield anchor in defence leaving a huge hole in front of their patched up back four.
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They probably going to do the quad aren't they, no ones talking about it. It's on isn't it.
They’ll get knocked out in the semis of the Champions by Atalanta on away goals (Dias OG). I’d put the mortgage on it.
I just hope they saw our performance against Southampton and improve on it tomorrow against Liverpool. Goal difference could be important at the end of the season for them to claim the #2 spot after we are champions.
Fully expecting you guys to open up a 5 point lead and no doubt it's deserved
Watching Sterling and Foden tonight made me think what would've Rashford and Greenwood done in such situations.
Both Raheem and Phil looked very aware of better positioned players in the box. I somehow doubt Marcus and Mason would've raised the head to look for options.
Foden seems to be in Greenwood 2019/20 form.
Also, their defensive record is quite ridiculous this season.
Both Raheem and Phil looked very aware of better positioned players in the box. I somehow doubt Marcus and Mason would've raised the head to look for options.
Foden seems to be in Greenwood 2019/20 form.
Also, their defensive record is quite ridiculous this season.
They'll still muck it up in Europe.
Seems a bit weird to paint Sterling as a decision making king. He's not. He's frustrating and erratic with his decision making. Foden is quality though.
Pains me to say it but they were very good today. Foden has developed into an exceptional player and is still learning his trade. I’m confident Greenwood will follow on a similar trajectory.
I know we’ve lost more ground on them but it was an absolute joy seeing Liverpool taken apart like that. Now that some of the ‘title talk’ pressure is off, maybe we’ll kick on again as we’re still playing well, just making bad decision/ mistakes in games, particularly at the back. West Brom and Newcastle next in the league, two good wins and let’s see how the table is looking.
I know we’ve lost more ground on them but it was an absolute joy seeing Liverpool taken apart like that. Now that some of the ‘title talk’ pressure is off, maybe we’ll kick on again as we’re still playing well, just making bad decision/ mistakes in games, particularly at the back. West Brom and Newcastle next in the league, two good wins and let’s see how the table is looking.
Sterling is a weird one, his decision is night and day depending on where on the pitch he is. One on one, his decision making is dreadful. However, when coming in from the wing, he's phenomenal at releasing the ball at the right time to the right player. Like against Lyon, it was easy just to smash the ball across the face of goal and hope someone is there. Instead, he cut back, kept his head up and picked out KDB.
Opta: "Man City have now equalled the all-time winning run by an English top-flight side across all competitions, winning each of their last 14 matches – the same number as Preston (ending in 1892) and Arsenal (ending in 1987)."
The whole team has picked up, De Bruyne back to being one of the best in the league. Gundogan and Cencelo both putting up great performances, even Sterling has crept up to 8 goals and 4 assists.
What was the turn around moment for them this season? They were poor at the start. Did Gundogan make that much of a difference?
Nothing really. They just had some inconsistency at the start of the season with 1 bad loss. Similar to United, their start to the season was slow because of the whole pre season situation where neither side was physically ready while teams like Leicester and Spurs were far more prepared. Their defence has been hugely improved all season, at the beginning their attack wasn't clicking and then they just played themselves into form quietly. Motivation after losing the title last season, etc...
They're a level or 2 above any of the other premier league teams this season.
This has always been a bit of a myth though.
His first season wasn't great, 39 goals conceded, the fourth best in the league. But that was with Clichy, Kolarov, Sagna, Zabaleta, Otamendi etc.
Season 2 we had the league's best defence with 27 goals conceded.
Season 3 was even better, just 23 goals against.
Last season was a drop off- understandable when Fernandinho, Rodri and Eric García all had their share of games at CB. 35 goals conceded, the second best in the league and only two more than Liverpool.
So an average of just under 0.8 goals conceded per game in the league since he took over. Our defence looks a lot better now than did last year but for the most part it's been very strong even at it's worst.
The numbers don't tell the whole story. Usually Pep's teams use possession as their defence. The other teams can't score if they don't get the ball. This team on the other hand can actually sit back and soak up pressure and they do it very well
Using possession as defense is a valid form of defense. You don't get more points for soaking up pressure like Big Sam.
The point is this team can do both when needed. In the CL it is almost always needed at one point.
Opta: "Manchester City's current run of 15 consecutive wins in all competitions is the longest in English football history by a top-flight side."
Credit where it is due, that is a fantastic achievement.
We are unlucky to be the closest challengers when they are in such form, they are relentless!
Playing Devils advocate but the ‘Pep defensive problems ‘ surely stem more from city’s Champions League collapses. Your premier league defensive record is expected. You’re one of the best ever teams at beating the shite comprehensively and most don’t have the quality to punish you.
It’s those games against Monaco, Liverpool, Spurs, Lyon where I think the questions arise from.
How boring
Plastic feckers have bought their way to it off the back of some pretty awful human rights atrocities.
Let me guess, the run started sometime around the time when they cheated the system with the ‘COVID issue’ which gave them a nice winter break while all their opponents got knackered and still are.
Plastic feckers have bought their way to it off the back of some pretty awful human rights atrocities.
Let me guess, the run started sometime around the time when they cheated the system with the ‘COVID issue’ which gave them a nice winter break while all their opponents got knackered and still are.