Not only goodwill, but maybe points as well! If they have promising defenders in their Academy, it's unacceptable they don't get game time really. But they've spend the equivalent of a small nation's GDP on mediocre CBs so I guess they just want to carry on playing them?
Our rival's squads next year - Man City
- Thread starter Wumminator
- Start date
I remember at the start of the season, it might have even been before the season started, talking to @BobbyManc and saying that I thought City were taking a big risk going into another campaign relying on the same core of 4 or 5 players again. It's been virtually the same set of players for 5 or 6 years and it's clear this season that it's been too much.
KDB has been a big miss for them because he came in and instantly became part of their core of important players but all teams suffer with injuries. I think it's only because of how shambolic we've been this season that City have, until pretty recently, avoided too much scrutiny for their performances.
Pep has a much tougher job on his hands than he may have first thought.
KDB has been a big miss for them because he came in and instantly became part of their core of important players but all teams suffer with injuries. I think it's only because of how shambolic we've been this season that City have, until pretty recently, avoided too much scrutiny for their performances.
Pep has a much tougher job on his hands than he may have first thought.
£42m 
Seems like someone briefed. All the papers are talking about dynasty, world domination, how everyone wants to play for them etc.
Wonder who briefed the bombshell that Mangala will have to be sold at a loss?
I know people mock our spending, but City's spending on the following is great:
Mangala 42 million
Bony 28 million
Jovetic 26 million
Navas 23 million
Total 119 million
Mangala 42 million
Bony 28 million
Jovetic 26 million
Navas 23 million
Total 119 million
Hart, Aguero, Kompany, Silva, De Bryune - that's their top lot. Then Sterling is a good player with question marks on whether he is top quality. Besides them it's filled with either mediocre or aging players.
The money that the premier league clubs have waste of ordinary talent is staggering.
The money that the premier league clubs have waste of ordinary talent is staggering.
Don't forget Otamendi, Fernando etc.
For all the praise that their structure and academy gets, the results of those have been feck all so far. Their best players are still what they signed under Mancini and Hughes. I think only Fernandinho and KdB are the two good signings made by them in the last six transfer windows and even in that Fernandinho hasn't been that great considering how open Man City look in the midfield. Woodward gets the criticism and rightly so, but these Barcelona lads at Man City are equally rubbish in their job.
Two of them are injured constantly(Aguero and Kompany) and other has been a shadow of himself for the last year or so(Silva).
Slightly harsh on Navas - he's had one more excellent season than the rest. Very important to their 2014 title win.
Mangala had to be one of the worst signings ever though. Worse than Andy Carroll easily.
That's not too bad, about the price of a decent computer.I
Pep likes pace and with and is not scared of using players in different positions. Won't surprise me if he makes Navas a RB
I didn't know he was that important important to them. I thought he was always that winger at Seville everyone said they needed, had a few decent months and then was consistently mediocre and a spacegoat. To put it in perspective Valencia is mocked by United fans often but was once our player of the year and cost 17 million. I suppose navas can be removed if he's been alright.
Good catch, but what about £470m in 5 years?The amount of money wasting in this league, at least by some clubs, is amazing.
Pep's no fool. He knew the strengths and weaknesses of the squad before signing on.
He will replace some players, improve some with his tactical knowhow, demote some and promote others.
Most people assume that he's only coming for 3 years but I can see him staying longer if things work out.
There will be a shitstorm in the press as soon as they slip out of top 4. It's already started with the likes of Shearer, Savage and Neil Custis leading the choir.
The LC win, CL progress (remember Chelsea's win in the comp) together with the fall into mediocrity of United have bought City some time but that respite may soon be over.
Do you have a credible source for the Jovetic and Navas fees?
They were 26 and 20 million Euro respectively from my info.
Navas cost 15m pounds and I think he's been a decent signing. I have a feeling Pep will make him a RB.
Lurking on a Barca forum they're claiming Pep plans on taking Brazil to the Copa America in 2019 to build for the WC in Qatar.
I doubt Pep will stay in England beyond his contract. If he leaves Bayern in the position they are in then God knows what shape City will need to be in for him to stay on.
Add in being up against Jose and the stress that brings
Unfortunately that's likely to change under Guardiola, who has a very good record for promoting and making effective use of academy players.
I think this is more of a hope. I don't think anyone knows what Pep will do including some random posters on a FCB forum.
The rest of your quote would indicate that you know very little about Pep. From reading Pep Confidential I would say he is more interested in coaching and performance than trophies. At City I think he will be left alone to concentrate and what he loves doing and this may tempt him to stay (or maybe not). At Bayern & Barca there was too much interference, not enough freedom.
What's his record has been at Bayern? I don't see many academy players that have made a name under him.
Tbh the spending of PL teams for average to shitty players in the last couple of years has reached new proportions of stupid.
What interference has he had at Bayern? He's had free reign getting rid of Bastian and bringing in Alonso / Thiago etc all the way to getting rid of their long serving medical staff.
In no way do City have any advantages over Bayern.
But I haven't read Pep confidential so im not a Pep expert like yourself.
In the current squad I think it's not really that easy to break into but so far only Kimmich seems to come to mind and he was more of a last resort than a first choice but in general Pep always seems to give young players a chance but they are often gone from the team just as fast again. Weiser comes to mind who seemed to be on the verge of breaking into the first team just to be loaned out.
If you want to you could also count Coman into the list of young players he is giving a chance but he didn't really come through their own ranks, so I don't know if he should count.
I think at Bayern, the manager usually has little say over the player acquisitions so not sure if I should count Coman.
Neither did Kimmich, we bought him in the summer. Pep gave a few of our academy players a chance and some showed really promising signs like Gaudino for example, but none of them made it in the first team and they're all sold (for example Weiser) or on loan (Gaudino, Hojbjerg).
I see. So pretty much no youth player really made it into the first team under his reign? Kinda disappointing.
Do you by any chance remember who of the youngsters he brought into the first team for Barca? Messi and Busquets I think? Pedro as well, no?
There's an argument that with the depth of Bayern's squad (he's probably got the best resources in Europe) he just hasn't needed to. He has given a lot of game time to Joshua Kimmich though, particularly this season, and he did promote Gianluca Guadino last season, though I don't think much has come of him.
They are shite but will edge us for the top 4.
Busquets, Thiago, Pedro, Bartra, Montoya. There could be more, but I'm not sure how much Tello, Sergi Roberto, Dos Santos played under him or when exactly they made their debut.
I'm far from a Pep expert but Pep Confidential does provide some insight.
I think selling Kroos who Pep wanted to build the team around constitutes interference. If everything were dandy he would surely have stayed.
At City he will have the support of the Spanish CEO and DoF who are both trusted friends. The hope (of City fans) is that this will provide Pep with the right environment for him to stay and concentrate on doing what he loves best - coaching.
Pep's time with City is as yet unwritten. Anything is possible.
There's another argument that given how easily they've won the league there and the supposed injury issues they've faced, Pep could've easily blood in youngsters in that squad.
Didn't Kross leave because he was winding down his contract and Bayern couldn't meet his demands though?
2 league titles with some of that spending tho
If Pep wants a City player to stay he wont leave because of a few grand a week.
But he worked under the same guys at Barca, didn't he?
You never fail to look for worst case scenario when it comes to City, do you?
Remember his remark about seeing himself managing "here" one day when at OT? Many used that to justify their belief that he was United bound.
Now some random on a Barca site speculates what Pep's next move will be and you give it credibility?
What's worst case here? It's his track record. If we're saying Pep will stay because past 3 years because...why? Rumours of Pep wanting to lead Brazil into the Qatar world Cup has been around for years. Pep wanting to stay at City beyond 3 years hasn't.You never fail to look for worst case scenario when it comes to City, do you?
Remember his remark about seeing himself managing "here" one day when at OT? Many used that to justify their belief that he was United bound.
Now some random on a Barca site speculates what Pep's next move will be and you give it credibility?
There's only one man wanting to believe here