Manchester City

[Andrew M]

Almost 1b spent since Pep joined them. He has yet to develop any player, maybe Foden?

Does not look good if you ask me.

You could argue Sterling has improved

 

[FC433]

^
of course, but he was bought for 63m. I was thinking of players that were not popular/ bought for cheap/ brought from the academy.

For example, Klopp managed to develop Robertson, Arnold, Wijnaldum, and maybe Salah? While Pep only Kimmich at Bayern.

 

[Birdy]

Almost 1b spent since Pep joined them. He has yet to develop any player, maybe Foden?

Does not look good if you ask me.

OK, you seriously think that he has developed only Foden since 2016?

Look at Sterling, Sane, Jesus, Laporte, Bernando, before him and compare to now...
These are the most notorious ones, but he has also developed even already established players:
like Aguero, by adding new dimensions to his game: playing for the team and not for himself,
like De Bryine, from having potential to world-class,
like Fernandinho, from useful to best DM in EPL for two seasons in a row,

 

[FC433]

^
I agree. I really do not know how to say what I am trying to say. I was thinking of bringing cheap/ unpopular players. Buying good players does not make him a bad manager, by the way.

For example, Pique, Busquets, Pedro at Barcelona.

 

[Birdy]

^
of course, but he was bought for 63m. I was thinking of players that were not popular/ bought for cheap/ brought from the academy.

For example, Klopp managed to develop Robertson, Arnold, Wijnaldum, and maybe Salah? While Pep only Kimmich at Bayern.

You have to specify better the criteria then. Even the four you mention are not all alike.
Salah was known, no one wanted him in 2017. Winaldum was also known.

Plus, price depends on many factors. City paid a lot of money to buy Sane in 2016, but it was a risk, he was not an established player.

You are really talking about a no name player either coming from the academy or being transferred in from no name team (models being Arnold and Robertson)?

 

[Jenks]

Almost 1b spent since Pep joined them. He has yet to develop any player, maybe Foden?

Does not look good if you ask me.

Yes, and he couldn't even convince Sancho to stay.

 

[Andresito]

^
I agree. I really do not know how to say what I am trying to say. I was thinking of bringing cheap/ unpopular players. Buying good players does not make him a bad manager, by the way.

For example, Pique, Busquets, Pedro at Barcelona.

It's always harder to develop players in an already working team. All those Liverpool players came through when they weren't competing for the biggest titles.
The Barca players you mention came after Rijkaard's shit last season, kind of where we are now with the rebuild phase.

With City's high demands it's tough to give time and room to 'unknown' players. Especially when they actually have the resources to buy already developed players, they don't have to be as cautious as other teams, although maybe a bit more now.
I'm fairly certain developing cheap players is secondary, and winning is the primary priority from City's leaders at the moment.

 

[Jenks]

I'm not sure I understand this Ferran Torres signing. Pep must think he has a high ceiling, because so far he looks like a massive downgrade.

 

[Fati_Future_BallonDor]

Foden was so good yesterday. Looked like a lite version of De Bruyne.

 

[Richard.H]

Next stop PSG, he needs that 1 billion fund for transfers

 

[Messigician]

Was reading the city forum

"Nice players don?t fight when the going is tough. We have too many nice players. We won by having fighters and technical players. Fight is gone. Moan instead when the teams don?t roll over. Fern is the last to go from zaba,komps, etc. maybe bring Kante in?"

Hmmm sound familiar?

 

[JohnN]

The Messi influence. Only linked with them and they get destroyed, probably because Messi didn't press hard enough.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Was reading the city forum

"Nice players don?t fight when the going is tough. We have too many nice players. We won by having fighters and technical players. Fight is gone. Moan instead when the teams don?t roll over. Fern is the last to go from zaba,komps, etc. maybe bring Kante in?"

Hmmm sound familiar?

Sounds like what Mourinho was saying in the Tottenham documentary. Nice guys don't win.

 

[BBZ8800]

Sounds like what Mourinho was saying in the Tottenham documentary. Nice guys don't win.

Nice guys win ONLY if they are vastly superior in terms of technique.
Like in once in a lifetime Messi-Xavi-Iniesta-Busi-Alves generation.

If you aren't superior and you are tied on skills with tougher-combative guys, you will mentally crumble in majority of cases like on away matches, in the last 10 minutes etc

No wonder that Barca historically is the worst big European team on away matches.
Because we get bullied and we are more prone to crumble under pressure.

Also, it is not a surprise that Pep's City, who is mostly built aroung technical choirboys guys, crumble under pressure whenever the stakes are high in CL matches.

There is something primal in those matches and in those final do-or-die minutes.

Iirc, since 2008, Barca managed only two last minute clutch wins in 12 years: Chelsea 2009 and Psg 2017.
And even then, street boy asshole Neymar turned the match and not Messi, Busi or Iniesta.

 

[Rory]

If City win nothing this year (likely) then at least the biggest clown club of the last 5 years might be shared between us. Their bad transfers are also eclipsing ours now. Can't understand spending 40m+ on ake to also buy Dias for 55m when they could have bought Koulibaly who would 100% been the quality at the back they needed.

Of course time will tell if Dias is good enough but Ake was always only going to be a good 3rd choice defender similar to what Lenglet should have been