Tiresias

You can be a great reader of the game like Kompany, or fast enough and good at recovery tackles to cover the space behind you like Rio (not to say he wasn't good at reading the game either, but his pace meant he could be confident he could take more risks), VVD seemed to have both that season he looked impregnable. I don't think he has that anymore though, injuries seem to have slowed him.

Look sometimes a manager is clearly better than another manager, but amoung the coaches who have won multiple champions leagues and domestic leagues it's just a nonsense, they're both great. Ferguson had the longevity, and it can be held against Pep that he basically has had freedom to build whatever he wanted whereas Ferguson had to maybe wring everything out of a team then rebuild it ground up, whereas Pep can just add 2 new players per window and shift it around. They're both great. Pep for me has been tactically influential in a way Fergie wasn't (or at least less obviously so) but Ferguson basically saw every challenge and then worked out how to neutralise it or copy it. Wenger came in and upped the game on the conditioning of players, ferguson saw oh fuck yeah we need to do that, and etc etc etc.

I agree partially but i think we should absolutely keep looking at players off the profile of Bruno, standout talents sure but not already on super wages that will impact ffp and unbalance squad. We should have pull to make this easier and there is not a lack of talent out there. A lot of the players who get constantly get linked everywhere are in the presd a lot due to hyperactive agents trying to flog that. We hired ashworth not to sign the first guys who turn up linked on twitter.

Maguire would be fantastic for everton under dyche or a team looking to defend deep. Anyone wanting him to play out from the back and play high up is asking for disappointment. This isn't to say he is a bad player, like many maligned players he's just good at certain things and in wrong team

Unpopular opinion i don't want us to win by just outspending everyone else, as city have done as aesthetic as are (and they also *allegedly* cheated with the rules as they were). I dont want to win a league where we and a couple other super rich clubs are the only ones with even the slightest bit of a shot...I know there is all kinds of fuckery and self interest in all teh finance rules, but we can be smarter and better managed than everyone else. Bring it all on.

Pep has done excellently with Grealish too, after a season of struggling to adapt he now fits in perfectly and the selfishness is gone. He is a great coach, yes has best resources but in all sport, the best coaches end up at the best clubs, generally, yes i'd love to see what pep would do at Stoke lol but ain't gonna happen. The disproportinate resources they have is an issue (and yes even with us coming on the horizon lol) but that's not pep's doing lol. Does it count against him? Sure, coaches achieving extraordinary things with few resources is always incredible, but as annoying Pep can be god that Barca side...Just incredible to watch. Iniesta isn't underrated really, but he kinda is...what a fucking midfield that was...

I have some sympathy on the isak side the club did break the expected budget due to an intervention from the chairman so they were told in good faith can't afford

It was giving Joe a lift every day, he's wormed his way to Bruno's heart ahead of Paqueta lol

Sensible not inviting Big Dan Burn then, would have really made the Christ the Redeemer Statue look small

Like out takeover eventually the money washes away objections generally

I dunno if Stones is an inverted roaming fullback, i think out of posession when he does drop into the backline he drops centrally, or am I wrong on that? He was using that young left back for that role (and Cancelo before that) doing that from wide, but has adapted it for Stones in centre with Akanji and Diaz staying deep

Possibly looks like they can get Kane so money for that instead?

Nah, remember when everyone panicked that all the players were off to China? It's just another destination to pad out retirement right now.

I mean we may get one season of it before the rest of the league votes that rule in

Oh man we used to fall out about serious stuff like if attending a match was endorsing ashleys regime now there's drama about a slightly realistic chance we could sign Messi (we won't lol) what are you nonces on about?

God these links are going to get tiresome

I suppose it would be a bit daft to get super indignant considering the other owners in comparison...

God I remember him pulling up next to me at petrol station south of Alnwick in a Lamborghini while we were turbo shit. Prick.

Just have to be smarter than the others, and that's not actually that difficult tbh, it's why we went to Brighton for our DoF

Guys he's signing a new deal agent just stirring up links to get us to offer bigger wages calm down

I can totally see, I am pissing this league and I could earn twice as much elsewhere becoming a factor, but I still can't see him kicking up a fuss so soon when he is so publically happy and settled. He said he came because we were ambitious and we have proven that.

I disagree this City team not being their best actually, yes the points total is not as dominating as earlier ones (and the one that beat Liverpool by a point with ridiculous total probably has to be the benchmark) but I think if it wins the treble it has to be classified as the best he's done. Equally maybe it has more dips in quality, that demolishing of Real Madrid may be the best Man City performance I've ever watched. It was just complete, and felt similar to when Pep's Barca did the same to Real Madrid and you thought oh bloody hell this is just unplayable

If we do want him we'll make an offer too, if he picks higher wages and no champions league then oh well we will move on. Before if we missed on a target I assumed "at least we tried" now I know we'll get someone else, plenty of fish in the sea and our rivals are going to sign some very good players unfortunately

Aye Richarlison is a good egg according to my Everton mate, just needs a bit of love really. If Spurs manage to appoint a competent and supportive coach he will be fine, Conte was never a match

I'd love it if he went to Bayern if only for the fume from the pfm pundits