Blender
Registered User
- Dec 2, 2009
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GWT: EPL - Matchweek 16
- Thread starter bluesfan94
- Start date
spintheblackcircle
incoming!!!
- Mar 1, 2002
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gary69
Registered User
gary69
Registered User
Power Man
Grrrr
gary69
Registered User
Blender
Registered User
- Dec 2, 2009
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Jussi
Registered User
Fashion police stepped in and said his hair style is wank, off you go, get a hair cut.
Wee Baby Seamus
Yo, Goober, where's the meat?
Jussi
Registered User
Neville almost spent his monthly quota of facepalms in that video listening to Richards.
maclean
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2014
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robertmac43
Forever 43!
- Mar 31, 2015
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Wee Baby Seamus
Yo, Goober, where's the meat?
Outside of Haaland, Foden, Gvardiol, and Dias all of their core pieces are either 1. old or 2. not of the level they need to be. Even Rodri is 28. The squad has serious structural issues.
Let's go section by section.
Defenders:
Walker - 34
Stones - 30
Ake - 29
Akanji - 29
MF:
KdB - 33
Silva - 30
Gundogan - 34
Kovacic - 30
Grealish - 29
Not old but not good:
Doku - not good enough
Nunes - not good enough
Savio - jury is out
Lewis - young but definitely has been a liability this season
Idk what that needs if not a full rebuild. It is a very old squad. City have been the third oldest side in the PL this season, behind Everton and West Ham. And it's showing. Their transfer business has been very, very poor in the last few years - largely influenced by Pep being hyper-ideological about his present system and so buying players to fit it who have ended up generally looking pretty useless.
Their real sources of creativity (De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva) are north of 30, but their transfers in that area have more been utility players to fit the system than real dynamic players (cough Doku cough). Their defense is totally lost, but Pep has decided that Gvardiol is more useful going forward and so has moulded him in that direction, resulting in a "defender" who is totally wayward when a ball rolls softly towards his own line.
The system rigidity has been boggling to the mind. It very clearly isn't working (and no, it's not just because Rodri isn't there!!!) and yet Pep continues to do the same shit week-in week-out! How in god's name is Kyle Walker still starting? How do you not catch on to the fact that maybe - if an old and battered KdB can't provide creatively - you should try and loosen your system and let Grealish play more freely?
It's an old team. It's not just that they've put on a lot of miles, they're just aging and have not been replaced. And there aren't replacements in the wings. And Pep's endorsed signings for his system are not working. How can we be surprised that a 4-1-4-1 in which the Ghost of Gundogan is the holder isn't working? And why won't Pep admit that it's not?
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
- Aug 8, 2006
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Thats a lot of words and ill be honest im not going to read it all because im not really invested. You listed a bunch of players only to tell me 2 players are over 30 on defence and 2 players over 30 in the midfield. One of who I Said they need replacing. I did get a kick at the Rodri is 28 yes in his prime lol.
Wee Baby Seamus
Yo, Goober, where's the meat?
Counting not your forte bro, 4 midfielders over 30. And “two players over 30 on defense” masks the fact that their other two are both 29, LOL. And if recent history in this sport is anything to go by, 28 is late prime.
City’s squad is old. It’s an empirical fact. It’s the third oldest in a league of twenty teams. And it’s not outliers pulling it up - it’s outliers (Foden and Haaland) making it seem less bad.
Watch City and you can see how old of a squad it is. They’re slow. There’s a reason why they’re getting carved on counters.
If people wanna keep pretending that this is just because Rodri is out, I welcome it. Because Pep clearly thinks so, and it’s why they keep losing. And that makes me happy.
hatterson
Registered User
There’s also no guarantee that Rodri returns at 100% ACL injuries are no joke, especially nearing 30.
Obviously he doesn’t really rely on his pace or agility as much, so theoretically losing a step would impact him less than someone who plays far more physically, but it’s still a major leg injury in a sport that’s all about your legs.
cgf
FireBednarsSuccessor
robertmac43
Forever 43!
- Mar 31, 2015
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cgf
FireBednarsSuccessor
You will need to look elsewhere sadly
Well BMG stole Kleindienst from us, so we're low on options...
