More transfer rumours

[macphisto]

11 minutes ago, Groundhog63 said:

Has to be transitional. 3-4 years. 

Where would you expect us to be after 4 years? Personally, I'm expecting something along these lines:

2022/23-bouncing around between 6th & 11th place

2023/24-bouncing between 4th-10th place but finishing in the lower half of that spectrum

2024/25-A real sustained challenge for the top 4

2025/26-Genuine top 4 team, we may finish 5th but say on the last day or by a point or two

2026/27-Possible challenge for the league

 

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by macphisto

[Groundhog63]

45 minutes ago, macphisto said:

Where would you expect us to be after 4 years? Personally, I'm expecting something along these lines:

2022/23-bouncing around between 6th & 11th place

2023/24-bouncing between 4th-10th place but finishing in the lower half of that spectrum

2024/25-A real sustained challenge for the top 4

2025/26-Genuine top 4 team, we may finish 5th but say on the last day or by a point or two

2026/27-Possible challenge for the league

 

 

 

 

 

Seems reasonable. There'll be no major overhaul because...

a) it costs a fortune and, more importantly..

b) doesn't work

 

Given that timeline there's a huge number of that squad will stay, improve, do a job

[Tiresias]

My expectation/hope would be

 

2022/23 - Solid midtable, maybe 9th with fun cup run

2023/24 - Pushing for top half 6th or 7th and a semi final at least in a cup

2024/25 - First genuine push to get top 4 maybe even expense of a cup, just get 4th

2025/26 - Would expect a very good squad with depth by now so now 3rd and cup final

2026/27 - Now basically in league or champions league contender, not that it won't take time to actually win something still but this is where probably any excuses for not being in the mix due to still building stop

 

Looking back think may well take another season before we get to the top 4 push, but who knows.

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Tiresias

[RodneyCisse]

What was City’s first trophy?

[Lazarus]

1 hour ago, macphisto said:

Where would you expect us to be after 4 years? Personally, I'm expecting something along these lines:

2022/23-bouncing around between 6th & 11th place

2023/24-bouncing between 4th-10th place but finishing in the lower half of that spectrum

2024/25-A real sustained challenge for the top 4

2025/26-Genuine top 4 team, we may finish 5th but say on the last day or by a point or two

2026/27-Possible challenge for the league

 

 

 

PIF:

 

[Sima]

8 minutes ago, RodneyCisse said:

What was City’s first trophy?

FA Cup in 2011

[bowlingcrofty]

I’d be happy with just not having to see the Relegationometer on the first page of this forum after this season.

[Nobody]

5 minutes ago, bowlingcrofty said:

I’d be happy with just not having to see the Relegationometer on the first page of this forum after this season.

It'll still be there when we lose away to Man City on the opening day of the season. 

[jack j]

58 minutes ago, RodneyCisse said:

What was City’s first trophy?

Fa cup 1903-04 season

[Nine]

4 hours ago, Manxst said:

Zapata turned 31 at the start of this month. I can’t see us shelling out for a striker on a hefty contract, who will have turned 32 before the end of next season, and who relies on pace and physicality for his successful characteristics. 

the likes of Antony are currently on £20k pw and a move to the PL would see them quadruple or more their present salary- it’s a no brainer for them and certainly achievable for us, in the same way Bruno came. We were lucky to get him, but I don’t see him as an exception. The issue we have is other teams providing competition to us who may be able to offer European football and chance of immediate silverware. It seems that we snuck in under Arsenals nose for Bruno so potentially were the only bidder- that’s unlikely to happen in the summer for our targets, and those players you’ve mentioned- however, they’re all certainly achieveable imo, especially if the club ‘gets sold’ to them in terms of our future plans, as Bruno himself was.

I disagree, depending on the contract I think we could make very good use of Zapata for 3 seasons despite the age and physical attributes. He was kind of an example anyway, I was saying much like Trippier we will be looking at players of that age not just 20-24 year olds with potential to fulfill.  

 

Paqueta, Diaby and Haidara are on contracts at £40-50k a week at their current clubs, a move to the premier league (and us specifically) would have them looking at contracts well over £100k a week which we just wont see as realistic for at least another season or two. Antony is fair enough, I actually thought he was on more than £20k a week.. for the foreign players we are looking at it will be those of around that number (20-30k pw) whos wage we can triple and the money will still be reasonably around the same as the current core of our squad. Completely agree with what you are saying about the competition we will face from other clubs in the summer and I think that will price us out of moves for the likes of the players I mentioned even more so, Antony will have alot of suitors that might offer him more than the 60-70k pw that we will.. Villa signed Bailey last summer and he is on 90k+ pw, Fabio Silva at Wolves the same. Brining in 4/5 new young players on that kind of money will likely just upset our squad and our current players will want their slice of the pie, it will take 2/3 more windows to get to the point where we can offer contracts of 100k+.

[Manxst]

25 minutes ago, Nine said:

I disagree, depending on the contract I think we could make very good use of Zapata for 3 seasons despite the age and physical attributes. He was kind of an example anyway, I was saying much like Trippier we will be looking at players of that age not just 20-24 year olds with potential to fulfill.  

 

Paqueta, Diaby and Haidara are on contracts at £40-50k a week at their current clubs, a move to the premier league (and us specifically) would have them looking at contracts well over £100k a week which we just wont see as realistic for at least another season or two. Antony is fair enough, I actually thought he was on more than £20k a week.. for the foreign players we are looking at it will be those of around that number (20-30k pw) whos wage we can triple and the money will still be reasonably around the same as the current core of our squad. Completely agree with what you are saying about the competition we will face from other clubs in the summer and I think that will price us out of moves for the likes of the players I mentioned even more so, Antony will have alot of suitors that might offer him more than the 60-70k pw that we will.. Villa signed Bailey last summer and he is on 90k+ pw, Fabio Silva at Wolves the same. Brining in 4/5 new young players on that kind of money will likely just upset our squad and our current players will want their slice of the pie, it will take 2/3 more windows to get to the point where we can offer contracts of 100k+.

We’ll see on the likes of Zapata. I’ve read several reports recently about wanting to lower the age of the squad, as well as targeting younger up and coming players. 
I think older players were needed in the Jan window to make an instant impression, but with safety nearly guaranteed, we will want players to grow with the club now and see their best years with us, rather than being brought in at the back end of careers.

[Stottie]

Since Howe's first game, Nov 20, we are eighth in the form table over what is now 20 games. One more point and a game in hand over West Ham in ninth. Twenty games is over half a season.

 

I don't think we've been especially lucky over all twenty games. Most have been without Wilson, and the early ones had Lascelles as a starter and Joelinton as a striker, so I don't see how this twenty-game form could be dismissed as flukey or not a geniune indication of where the club currently is. I believe we are already eighth to tenth in the PL level. As the summer priority, we need to move out the deadwood, to complete the De-Ashleyfication if you like, and replace them with players capable with challenging for the first eleven. Assuming that we stick with 4-3-3, the main signings, as everyone says, should be a striker and wide forward. Targett too, but he's a given. If the initial goal is to thereabouts for a challenge for Europa League, I don't think we need wholesale changes, and would be tempted put them off until challenging for CL places becomes the goal. Spurs look like they are heading for fourth and that's with Conte, Kane, Son, .... That is streets ahead of what is at Wolves or West Ham, with a bigger jump from Spurs to West Ham than from West Ham to us.

 

Zaha is out of contract in 2023, so he won't command an exhorbitant fee any more. He'd definitely improve the team and wouldn't look out of place at an Arsenal/Spurs level team, but is not one for the future. If the immediate goal for next season is just sixth or seventh, this would open up the possibility of using the season to bed in high-potential young players like Ekitike or that lad at Forest. The past twenty games have demonstrated that ninth is something that can be achieved with Krafth, Ryan Fraser, Murphy, pick your least favourite midfielder, and an off-form Wood up top. We're likely to have better players than all of them for the majority of games next year.

[Guest HTT II]

Zaha has WHU all over him, or Everton maybe. I’d like us to stay clear, can’t stand the diving, remonstrating, points the blame to team-mates all the time for when things don’t go his way cunt.

[Conjo]

9 minutes ago, HTT II said:

Zaha has WHU all over him, or Everton maybe. I’d like us to stay clear, can’t stand the diving, remonstrating, points the blame to team-mates all the time for when things don’t go his way cunt.

 

He's allegedly on £130k now, and assume he'd be after at least a 3 year deal on more than that. Quite high risk for somone who's 30 this year and so reliant on his pace and physicality. 

[AJ9]

Zaha does not strike me as the kind of personality we will look for. Also got a feeling he wouldn’t enjoy the move out of London up here.

[The College Dropout]

What's the point in targeting mid-table next season?

 

Will still spend lots of money. Look at Villa - Buendia, Bailey, Digne £100m. We need to set our sights higher.

 

Sign players that we think will be good enough for the CL or close to it. The best of the rest in the PL and top European young talent.

[gjohnson]

51 minutes ago, HTT II said:

Zaha has WHU all over him, or Everton maybe. I’d like us to stay clear, can’t stand the diving, remonstrating, points the blame to team-mates all the time for when things don’t go his way cunt.

Zaha has London boy written all over him...had his big chance at Man U and didn't do it. He's just one of those players that ego won't let go anywhere beyond the capital. Not right for us, never will be. Too much ego

[Fantail Breeze]

14 hours ago, Lazarus said:

 

ASM on the right??

 

Schar and Burn as 1st choice??

 

And Gvardiol as backup?

 

It’s a surprise until you realise Keith posted it.

[Emotic]

Antony would be a good piece of business, but with Ten Hag seemingly set to manage Manu, he's nailed on to join them. The top names would have other suitors and I think we'd be looking at the "second-tier stars", much like Bruno, who flew pretty much under the radar. 

[Lenny]

I honestly can't see Zaha being the type of player that would fit into Howe's gameplan, and he's already accommodating ASM as it is.

He's clearly got talent and productivity, but Howe has made it very clear that he [rightfully] favours group cohesion on the pitch over relying on individual brilliance to win a game.

[macphisto]

2 hours ago, Stottie said:

Since Howe's first game, Nov 20, we are eighth in the form table over what is now 20 games. One more point and a game in hand over West Ham in ninth. Twenty games is over half a season.

 

I don't think we've been especially lucky over all twenty games. Most have been without Wilson, and the early ones had Lascelles as a starter and Joelinton as a striker, so I don't see how this twenty-game form could be dismissed as flukey or not a geniune indication of where the club currently is. I believe we are already eighth to tenth in the PL level. As the summer priority, we need to move out the deadwood, to complete the De-Ashleyfication if you like, and replace them with players capable with challenging for the first eleven. Assuming that we stick with 4-3-3, the main signings, as everyone says, should be a striker and wide forward. Targett too, but he's a given. If the initial goal is to thereabouts for a challenge for Europa League, I don't think we need wholesale changes, and would be tempted put them off until challenging for CL places becomes the goal. Spurs look like they are heading for fourth and that's with Conte, Kane, Son, .... That is streets ahead of what is at Wolves or West Ham, with a bigger jump from Spurs to West Ham than from West Ham to us.

 

Zaha is out of contract in 2023, so he won't command an exhorbitant fee any more. He'd definitely improve the team and wouldn't look out of place at an Arsenal/Spurs level team, but is not one for the future. If the immediate goal for next season is just sixth or seventh, this would open up the possibility of using the season to bed in high-potential young players like Ekitike or that lad at Forest. The past twenty games have demonstrated that ninth is something that can be achieved with Krafth, Ryan Fraser, Murphy, pick your least favourite midfielder, and an off-form Wood up top. We're likely to have better players than all of them for the majority of games next year.

I really don't get this kind of thinking, why would you put off changes that you'll make at some point in the future? Take away Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea and possibly Spurs and we are more than capable of matching any other team by the end of the 2023/24 summer transfer window if we make the right signings, starting this summer. One other thing to bear in mind regarding FFP, prices are only going to go up in the future so if we can get the right players now then we should go for them as we'll save money. 

 

We should focus primarily on 1st team starters, with current 1st teamers moving down to squad players. This would be supplemented with the odd top quality youngster to boost the squad/impact substitute.

 

We'll see how this summer goes but I think we'll be pleasantly surprised by PIF's ambitions. They're not messing about, just look at them so far:

• Director of Football, gone for one of the best in the business
• Manager, went for Emery who has worked for some top clubs. We can see with Man U's search for a manager that there are not many top quality managers around and Howe fits in with where we are as a club with the potential to also grow as a manager.
• January Transfer Window=2nd highest spend in Europe and could quite easily have been a lot more with confirmed bids in excess of £60 million
  • Including a sought after Brazilian international
  • A £25 million striker who will not be viewed as a 1st team starter after this season. It begs the question how much would they be willing to pay for a striker that they see as part of our long-term future?
• Mark Leyland joining from Liverpool as Analyst coach when Liverpool are widely regarded as being one of the best clubs in their use of data
• Academy: Only rumours on this message board so I'm possibly scraping the barrel, but rumours today that we are after academy staff from Chelsea

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by macphisto

[The College Dropout]

39 minutes ago, gjohnson said:

Zaha has London boy written all over him...had his big chance at Man U and didn't do it. He's just one of those players that ego won't let go anywhere beyond the capital. Not right for us, never will be. Too much ego

 

What's this based on?

 

He had a bad time under Moyes. Re-built his career at Palace. His only mistake is the same one Kane made - signing a massive long-term contract.

[gjohnson]

50 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

 

What's this based on?

 

He had a bad time under Moyes. Re-built his career at Palace. His only mistake is the same one Kane made - signing a massive long-term contract.

just everything i've seen and heard from him. You know when you get  a gut feeling from a player that they wouldn't fit in....he's one of them

[The College Dropout]

13 minutes ago, gjohnson said:

just everything i've seen and heard from him. You know when you get  a gut feeling from a player that they wouldn't fit in....he's one of them

Interesting that. 

[JNK]

Fernandinho is leaving  man city.

 

Says he's gonna come back to Brazil and retire on his former club, amazing transfer for us if true (yeah it's my club).