sparrow1988

This reminds me of when City just started bullying clubs with their financial muscle. 2009 - Gareth Barry, 2010 - James Milner 2020 - Emi Martinez, 2021 - Emile Smith Rowe

Ok genius was probably the wrong word but it's a cracking post.

Ah they're only interested in the location.

I know you weren't asking me but it's the head coach/manager. I don't really care what you call them. As here it's Smith, the cone putter outer I suppose After that it's a team effort. The team needs to be set up correctly and know exactly when the right time to press is and what triggers this press and it needs to led from the front and everyone needs to know exactly what their role is within the system. The team needs to be set before pressing and not having Watkins shooting up to the defender and nobody following - they'll pass it around him and they'll be further up the field. This responsibility ultimately falls to Smith. I read somewhere that Dalglish used to give Rush the shout to go and start pressurising the defenders when they had the ball as he would first check to see that everyone else was in position to start pressing as a team. You assign the responsibility of ball winning to one player and you get other players passing that responsibility on to that player. Every single one of them has a responsibility to win the ball and stop the opposition playing but the ultimate responsibility lies with Smith in my opinion.

Shame on all of you for not recognising the genius of this post more.

It is exactly what we need but IMO not in place of Dougie. I've been saying this for I don't know how long. Win the ball further up the field and Luiz at DM will shine. You see how Jorginho, a player largely ridiculed when he came to England, plays for Italy when the players up the pitch put pressure on the oppostion. He still does a fair bit of winning the ball back himself, as Dougie also does, but the team don't wait until the opposition are 40 yards from goal to engage and therefore it is easier to win the ball back in the DM position as the opposition are rushing their passes under pressure and can't be as precise. And this is what I think that Dean and co are building towards with signings like Watkins, Buendia, chasing Smith Rowe. Players who are comfortable pressing high.

A good few reports came out around Oct/Nov last year saying we were interested in Summer 2020 and got knocked back.

As a primary strategy that is the case but if a quality older player becomes available and fits then we'll try to bring them in (I believe Mandzukic was pursued last summer). We just won't fill the squad with them as we have done in the past. The older experienced heads are there to supplement the youthful core and bring a bit of experience/nous to the setup and to set standards. It's telling that the older players that we have been linked with/signed are players who have played at the very top for a very long time.

19 year old footballer in a new country struggles in a struggling team (they were relegated that season weren't they?). I'd say flop is a bit much. He was probably described as such in the press to make a headline and the tag stuck to him.

I read these two sentences one after the other because Dave's post was quoted in another post. Fudging hell.

I know. I meant two years of speculating on here that they wait to take him on a free. It was meant in jest due to how this thread has often been over the last year or so.

You mean we have two more years of speculating that City are just waiting for the contract to expire before taking him back? Can't wait.

You too. Looking to tomorrow's reminder.

on holiday

He's small but he's not a grasshopper.

Worng thread? Or are City just buying our whole squad?

My opinion is I think it can only be learned in very formative years. For example if you take a right handed 13 year old and say "ok write a sentence with your left hand". How long do you think it takes for them to write a sentence with their left hand to the same standard and in the same time as it takes with their right hand? There's that and the multitude of other skills that they need to master, along with understanding tactical play, fitness work, strength work and maybe although I know this sounds ridiculous - let them have a bit of downtime and be a kid. Add to that about a very small proportion of kids that sign to a club in their teens "make it". I don't think it's really that important. Person in job centre: So you've been let go by X club, have no interest in pursuing a career in professional football. What are your skills and interests? 20 year old kid: Well I can kick the ball with both feet. Person in job centre: Ok...., lets put down.... capable of adapting to various challenges. What else?

350k/w, no? Point still stands. EDIT: Just checked. You were right. 250 k/w

Stumbled across this pic on Twitter - no undersoil heating in them days

You might want to rethink your business model.

I guess we'll never know

This is an awfully sensible and reasoned post. You're not going to get much love for it in this thread. It's all about outrage, hyperbole and unfounded anger.

As kids we went on family holiday to one of the faceless Spanish coastal towns and in one of the shops with the knock off jerseys my brother asked if there were any Newcastle ones. The guy (I'm guessing of North-Indian/Pakistani origins and with a corresponding dialect) replied "what is Newcastle?". I still laugh when I think of it.

You asked for it