Zatman Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 2 minutes ago, Stevo985 said: Laporte was signed for £60m and played 9 games in his first season. Mahrez was signed for £60m and only started 13 games in his first season Nathan Ake signed for £40m and has only played 11 times for them in the league Cancelo signed for £60m and only played 9 games in his first season Mendy signed for £52m and only played 4 games in his first season They're not £100m but most of those wouldn't be far off in today's money. In fact signings like Mahrez would probably be more. Thinking Grealish isn't playing well is fine. It's an opinion which is obviously valid. I disagree with it (except for the past 7 days) but obviously you're entitled to it. But this nonsense that he's only playing because he cost so much is exactly that, nonsense. Mendy was mainly injured, Laporte was a mid season signing for a team that broke the points record. Cancelo played over 30 times in his first season and Mahrez too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 2 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: I just can't see how they can play Foden, KDB and Grealish all in one team at the same time regularly. Unless the plan is to sell de Bruyne some time as he is injury prone. Long term surely they will build around Foden as he is a man city player since he was a kid and is 5 years younger than Grealish. Pretty sure they wanted Jack as an 8 but then probably never saw him play there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 (edited) 1 minute ago, Zatman said: Mendy was mainly injured, Laporte was a mid season signing for a team that broke the points record. Cancelo played over 30 times in his first season and Mahrez too Correct me if I’m wrong mate but I don’t believe any of them had the commercial exposure of the Jack signing either? He’s Englands poster boy. Edited October 4, 2021 by Vive_La_Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted October 4, 2021 1 minute ago, Zatman said: Mendy was mainly injured, Laporte was a mid season signing for a team that broke the points record. Cancelo played over 30 times in his first season and Mahrez too Cancelo played 17 times in the league in his first season. 13 starts I don't see why Laporte signing mid season for a good team has anything to do with it. He still only played 9 times. Man City are a good team NOW. They won the league at a canter last season. So the situation is the same. Mahrez played 27 times in the league in his first season, but only started 13, which is the topic of discussion. The agrument was that Jack is only STARTING because he is a big money signing. It's bollocks. Man City are not the kind of team, and Pep is not the kind of manager, that plays players because they cost a lot. This is demonstrably true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 (edited) 17 minutes ago, StanBalaban said: He's an amazing footballer, but City have amazing footballers that can play in Jack's place, yet still don't have a centre forward. If they wanted marketability they could have got Messi, so I don't understand why they thought they needed him to the extent that they met our release clause. I think the centre forward situation at Man City is a bit overplayed, if I'm honest. They "need" a genuinely world class forward who would suit the way they play, but they've scored 5+ goals in 4 out of 11 games this season (6 against Wycombe, feel free to remove that and call it 3 times in 10). They aren't exactly a side lacking a goal threat - but it could definitely be argued that, say, Haaland would add something that they currently lack. Would Ings (who they were linked to, loosely)? Probably not. Ferran Torres has actually looked good to me this season, but he seems to have been dropped now as well. So they targeted Kane, didn't get him and decided that Jesus/Torres/Sterling/whoever would be "fine" which, let's face it, is probably about right. In any case, on Grealish, people keep saying this "they have great players who can do what Jack does" - I actually disagree. They don't. They have KDB and that's it. Mahrez, Sterling, Silva, Foden are all fantastic players, but they don't do what Grealish does. They don't create anywhere near as much. They don't draw fouls in the same way. They don't keep the ball to bring the entire team up the pitch (actually, maybe Foden does). Man City scored 83 goals in the league last season - at least 10 more than any other side. Yet, in terms of assists, only KDB registered over 10 (next best was Sterling with 7). In terms of "big chances created", KDB clocked in with 19 - next best was Sterling with 9. Grealish was at 14. In short, that Man City attacking setup, for all it's ability, just does not create enough. So they've targeted an achievable player who will absolutely sort that issue out whilst they don't have a fully recognised "world class centre forward" - they went for Grealish. But, according to some, he isn't playing well and it isn't working. Really? Grealish currently averages 2.6 key passes per game (thanks WhoScored) - 6th highest in the Premier League this season. Next best for Man City? Gundogan on 2.0. Next best? Jesus on 1.5 - he's 32nd in the league. Grealish is fully 1 key pass ahead of the rest of the Man City attacking setup this season. This is exactly why they've gone for him. It isn't because of his hair or his funny shin pads. Edited October 4, 2021 by bobzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Just now, Stevo985 said: Cancelo played 17 times in the league in his first season. 13 starts I don't see why Laporte signing mid season for a good team has anything to do with it. He still only played 9 times. Man City are a good team NOW. They won the league at a canter last season. So the situation is the same. Mahrez played 27 times in the league in his first season, but only started 13, which is the topic of discussion. The agrument was that Jack is only STARTING because he is a big money signing. It's bollocks. Man City are not the kind of team, and Pep is not the kind of manager, that plays players because they cost a lot. This is demonstrably true Mahrez is a good comparison. I wonder if those 13 games he started where early on in the season. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanBalaban Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 1 minute ago, Stevo985 said: Cancelo played 17 times in the league in his first season. 13 starts I don't see why Laporte signing mid season for a good team has anything to do with it. He still only played 9 times. Man City are a good team NOW. They won the league at a canter last season. So the situation is the same. Mahrez played 27 times in the league in his first season, but only started 13, which is the topic of discussion. The agrument was that Jack is only STARTING because he is a big money signing. It's bollocks. Man City are not the kind of team, and Pep is not the kind of manager, that plays players because they cost a lot. This is demonstrably true If I may play Devil's Advocate for a moment... ...how many of those starts for Mahrez, Cancelo and Laporte came at the beginning of their City careers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted October 4, 2021 5 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: Mahrez is a good comparison. I wonder if those 13 games he started where early on in the season. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were. He started 2 of their first 8 games after he signed (league games) 4 of the first 10 6 of the first 15 9 of the first 20 Funny that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted October 4, 2021 4 minutes ago, StanBalaban said: If I may play Devil's Advocate for a moment... ...how many of those starts for Mahrez, Cancelo and Laporte came at the beginning of their City careers? Just now, Stevo985 said: He started 2 of their first 8 games after he signed (league games) 4 of the first 10 6 of the first 15 9 of the first 20 Funny that 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 4 minutes ago, StanBalaban said: If I may play Devil's Advocate for a moment... ...how many of those starts for Mahrez, Cancelo and Laporte came at the beginning of their City careers? 2 starts in his first 7 games for Mahrez - didn't complete a full 90 once (was Man City's record signing at the time) Laporte harder to determine as he made the squad 14 times - but seems he was more used toward the end of the season (5 starts in April/May compared to 1 in Jan, 1 in Feb, 2 in March) Cancelo barely even used when he first joined - 0 starts in his first 7 games 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanBalaban Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 6 minutes ago, bobzy said: I think the centre forward situation at Man City is a bit overplayed, if I'm honest. They "need" a genuinely world class forward who would suit the way they play, but they've scored 5+ goals in 4 out of 11 games this season (6 against Wycombe, feel free to remove that and call it 3 times in 10). They aren't exactly a side lacking a goal threat - but it could definitely be argued that, say, Haaland would add something that they currently lack. Would Ings (who they were linked to, loosely)? Probably not. Ferran Torres has actually looked good to me this season, but he seems to have been dropped now as well. So they targeted Kane, didn't get him and decided that Jesus/Torres/Sterling/whoever would be "fine" which, let's face it, is probably about right. In any case, on Grealish, people keep saying this "they have great players who can do what Jack does" - I actually disagree. They don't. They have KDB and that's it. Mahrez, Sterling, Silva, Foden are all fantastic players, but they don't do what Grealish does. They don't create anywhere near as much. They don't draw fouls in the same way. They don't keep the ball to bring the entire team up the pitch (actually, maybe Foden does). Man City scored 83 goals in the league last season - at least 10 more than any other side. Yet, in terms of assists, only KDB registered over 10 (next best was Sterling with 7). In terms of "big chances created", KDB clocked in with 19 - next best was Sterling with 9. Grealish was at 14. In short, that Man City attacking setup, for all it's ability, just does not create enough. So they've targeted an achievable player who will absolutely sort that issue out whilst they don't have a fully recognised "world class centre forward" - they went for Grealish. But, according to some, he isn't playing well and it isn't working. Really? Grealish currently averages 2.6 key passes per game (thanks WhoScored) - 6th highest in the Premier League this season. Next best for Man City? Gundogan on 2.0. Next best? Jesus on 1.5 - he's 32nd in the league. Grealish is fully 1 key pass ahead of the rest of the Man City attacking setup this season. This is exactly why they've gone for him. It isn't because of his hair or his funny shin pads. I kind of agree, but he's not producing anything tangible that other City players can't do. 1 assist and 1 goal in 7 PL appearances. It could be a bedding-in period, it could be the system they play or it could be because he sees a lot less of the play compared to when he was at Villa....time will tell. With their overseas plastics however, he won't get much time to start producing. He's already getting pelters on cesspit media. Still don't get why an effective forward wasn't their priority though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 1 minute ago, StanBalaban said: I kind of agree, but he's not producing anything tangible that other City players can't do. 1 assist and 1 goal in 7 PL appearances. It could be a bedding-in period, it could be the system they play or it could be because he sees a lot less of the play compared to when he was at Villa....time will tell. With their overseas plastics however, he won't get much time to start producing. He's already getting pelters on cesspit media. Still don't get why an effective forward wasn't their priority though. That puts him as Man City's third top scorer and second top assister (is that a word?) FWIW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted October 4, 2021 2 minutes ago, bobzy said: 2 starts in his first 7 games for Mahrez - didn't complete a full 90 once (was Man City's record signing at the time) Laporte harder to determine as he made the squad 14 times - but seems he was more used toward the end of the season (5 starts in April/May compared to 1 in Jan, 1 in Feb, 2 in March) Cancelo barely even used when he first joined - 0 starts in his first 7 games This can't be right. Man City always play their expensive signings all the time even if they're shit. It's the only reason grealish is playing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted October 4, 2021 Just now, bobzy said: That puts him as Man City's third top scorer and second top assister (is that a word?) FWIW It also drives me mad that the same set of fans that used to (rightly) defend jack for his lack of attacking output in terms of numbers, are now using the same logic against him. We're better than that 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 1 minute ago, Stevo985 said: This can't be right. Man City always play their expensive signings all the time even if they're shit. It's the only reason grealish is playing! Yeh because that’s what I said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanBalaban Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 1 minute ago, bobzy said: That puts him as Man City's third top scorer and second top assister (is that a word?) FWIW But they're not "Jack at Villa" numbers. Maybe if they had a decent forward those number would go up for all their creative players.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted October 4, 2021 1 minute ago, Vive_La_Villa said: Yeh because that’s what I said. I mean, it literally is 39 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: At the moment he has to start because he is a marquee 100m signing 34 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: They don’t sign a big player and then stick him on the bench straight away 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 1 minute ago, StanBalaban said: But they're not "Jack at Villa" numbers. Maybe if they had a decent forward those number would go up for all their creative players.... Possibly. Still think Torres/Jesus is "fine" whilst they wait for a world class player. (FWIW, Grealish has 2 goals and 2 assists if you include the 2 CL games as well...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanBalaban Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Just now, bobzy said: Possibly. Still think Torres/Jesus is "fine" whilst they wait for a world class player. (FWIW, Grealish has 2 goals and 2 assists if you include the 2 CL games as well...) I choose not to as it weakens my argument In all honesty, yesterday was the first time I've watched him play for City in the league, and he wasn't great. The other time was the PSG game, and he wasn't great either. We all know he's got the ability to glide across the pitch in a way that no other player in the Prem can do, but he'll need to find his spark quickly as, rightly or wrongly, he has the weight of being the most expensive player in a billion pound squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Stevo985 said: I mean, it literally is In any of that did I say he will play even if he is shit? I thought he was decent in the early league games, just nothing special. You and your mate Bobzy are clearly too in love with Jack to have a reasonable discussion about him. Too much emotion involved Edited October 4, 2021 by Vive_La_Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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