Nolito is 30 and Silva is 31 in January. Sterling should be fine if he has some patience and gets his head down.
Our Rivals' squads next year - Manchester City (2016/2017)
- Thread starter Wumminator
- Start date
City's squad is looking tidy but they are a couple of injuries from coming up short especially in the second half of the season.
Was going to say it's the same case for any other team but I actually disagree with that.
Caballero
Zabaleta Denayer Mangala Kolarov
Fernando Touré
Sané Sterling Nasri
Iheanacho
-is better cover than almost anyone else in the league has.Zabaleta Denayer Mangala Kolarov
Fernando Touré
Sané Sterling Nasri
Iheanacho
Saw someone mention in the Bluemoon meltdown forum that City have a better squad. Didn't want to derail that thread; and I believe such an assessment is debatable.
Their attacking options atm I believe is better than ours. It defenitely looks more settled and cohesive than ours. Skill/stat wise we might be even, but theirs look more reliable and settled at least on paper. But injury concerns to key players is certainly an issue
It is in the midfield and defense I find them rather weak and disjoint. For me Pogba-Schneiderlin-Carrick-Herrera looks more appealing than Yaya-Gundogan-Fernando- Dhino. And we could add more,there are talks of it(Matuidi, Diarra) while I have haven't heard anything about City strengthening there.But there is still time in the window, so you never know.
Fullback are an issue for them. Kolarov is just atrocious, while Clichy and Sagna are pretty average and uncomparable to the likes of Alves, Lahm and Alaba. If Pep decides to trust his game with those guys, it could really backfire.
Regarding CBs, I think their troubles are a bit overstated. Unless Kompany continues on the downward spiral fitness wise, they look good now that they Stones is more or less done. But cohesion and understanding of one's roles in a Pep's system, executing it to requirement, it defenitely looks a daunting task.
Our squad looks more reassuring and settled in the defensive department.
Plus we have the better keeper.
I'm not talking them down or anything. For a completely inexperience Pl manager who has specific way of playing football, I'm not sure Pep has the all the right mix to get it done this season.
I must say future looks bright for them, they're adding a lot of talent. With time and effort, Pep could take them to the next level.
Their attacking options atm I believe is better than ours. It defenitely looks more settled and cohesive than ours. Skill/stat wise we might be even, but theirs look more reliable and settled at least on paper. But injury concerns to key players is certainly an issue
It is in the midfield and defense I find them rather weak and disjoint. For me Pogba-Schneiderlin-Carrick-Herrera looks more appealing than Yaya-Gundogan-Fernando- Dhino. And we could add more,there are talks of it(Matuidi, Diarra) while I have haven't heard anything about City strengthening there.But there is still time in the window, so you never know.
Fullback are an issue for them. Kolarov is just atrocious, while Clichy and Sagna are pretty average and uncomparable to the likes of Alves, Lahm and Alaba. If Pep decides to trust his game with those guys, it could really backfire.
Regarding CBs, I think their troubles are a bit overstated. Unless Kompany continues on the downward spiral fitness wise, they look good now that they Stones is more or less done. But cohesion and understanding of one's roles in a Pep's system, executing it to requirement, it defenitely looks a daunting task.
Our squad looks more reassuring and settled in the defensive department.
Plus we have the better keeper.
I'm not talking them down or anything. For a completely inexperience Pl manager who has specific way of playing football, I'm not sure Pep has the all the right mix to get it done this season.
I must say future looks bright for them, they're adding a lot of talent. With time and effort, Pep could take them to the next level.
Denayer, Mangala, Kolarov, Toure, Sterling??? Fairly average replacements.
Yeah I keep saying Nasri mentioned. The same Nasri who was dropped from their CL squad list and deemed too fat to train this summer. That motivation...
Nasri had a serious injury last season
You disagree that they have better cover than most teams in the league?
great post. but aren't Chelsea going with a 424 formation? with 2 strikers up top
I do, one hundred percent I disagree.
For instances we have much much better and relevant cover in:
Romero
Valencia-TFM-Jones-Blind
Schniederlin
Mata-Herrera
Lingard-Rashford-Memphis
Forget lining up cover teams vs cover teams, the fact is when you look at it the side above is abundant in youth, pace, creativity, strength and whats more all of them are far more likely to be considered in the actual line up than any of the City reserves. Rashford alone makes our back ups have excitement and depth.Valencia-TFM-Jones-Blind
Schniederlin
Mata-Herrera
Lingard-Rashford-Memphis
Having Herrera and Mata as back ups is almost an incredible situation, when Mata and Herrera are on song they are absolutely amazing. If Jose can get the best from Schneiderlin then we are well stocked all over the park and with the promise of additions at RB and potentially CB we have a much deeper squad with better ability. The question is, is our 1st team attack as potent as theirs, we will see.
For the record, I do think we have better cover provided Pogba does come in, but I'm not sure if you're disagreeing with me. Why do City not have better cover than most teams in the league?
Not entirely sure how they have lined up pre-season, thanks for the props, as I mentioned Im not too savvy on how they have been playing all I know is that Conte will likely start with what the team knows best and then adapt and change once he trusts his players. As a detailed coach with an eye for detail I am sure he would have seen how miserable 3 at the back is in the premier league however, if one man can make it work it will be him.
Apologies, most, yes I guess I would agree, although its a close run thing, their back up brigade has no match winner and not even a player I would consider someone who can change a game, there is a lot of quality but there isnt anyone you would throw on to add something different.
The only player I rate from them is Ineacho who is a great prospect and player, I am of the opinion Fernando, Otamendi, Mangala, Nasri are all a waste of time and should be sold. Sterling is too expensive to bin off but also way too light weight and inconsistent to be relied upon, Kolarov and Zabaleta need to be move don also, whilst being great for the club they are ageing and will be up against some lightening wingers in the league this year.
I would argue Arsenal have better back up options in Elneny, Chambers, Wilshire, Welbeck, The Ox, Debouchey, Gibbs, Iobi, Walcott and Campbell. That list is far more promising.
He's been playing something like a 442 /424 in pre season, definitely back 4. I think Chelsea will be a dark horse in the title race this year definitely one to look out for.
City are shaping up nicely Stones and a keeper and they should do well for the season once Gundogan comes back in
---------------De Gea---------------
Bellerin--Koscielny--Kompany--Shaw
-------Kante----------Pogba-------
Mhikitaryan--De Bruyne--Hazard
---------------Aguero---------------
My combined XI from those squads, nice to finally have more than just DDG making it into these made up XI's
Heh thats pretty fun actually and what else is really nice is in that line up its arguable as to who the selections are, Aguero over Ibra? 50 goals last season and Aguero's injury record hmmm interesting. De Bruyne over Ozil? Ozil is a far better player for assists (key to the position). Also 4 players from us, 3 from City interesting.
Our squad is far far stronger than people give it credit for and whats more is LVG had a big part to play in that, its like weve done a build up job in reverse, get the youngsters in then stick some seasoned pros in on top.
They may have better cover than most but that wasn't my point exactly. I just think that with a few key players missing they would get similar results to last season. They wouldn't be able to blitz teams like they did a couple of years ago. I'm not too worried about City tbh.
Disagree that you have the biggest star players/individual inspiration. I think City do. Just for them it's about keeping Aguero fit.
De Bruyne, Aguero, Silva/Gundogan over Pogba, Ibra, Martial for me.
Pog over De Bruyne IMO, a fit Aguero above Ibra, an in top form Silva over Martial although if Martial continues like this, he'll soon eclipse Silva.
Hard to know Gundogan. If he manages to regain 2012-2013 form, then he'll be one of the best midfielders in the world. He was probably just behind Schweinsteiger and Vidal that season.
Thing is your missing a couple more players there, Shaw who is an offensive full back over any City full back, Rashford over any City back up, also dont forget our equivalent of Silva/Gundogan is Mhiki not Martial.
All things considering, I think that our squad is slightly stronger, with us having a far better keeper, probably a slightly better defense, a better midfield with Pogba, but their front four being stronger if Aguero stays fit for the entire season. I fancy us to have a better season, although Mourinho is more predictable than Guardiola (which goes both ways, Mourinho knows the league, but also the other managers know him well).
Silva is better than Mhiki IMO. If we go, full RAWK (and without bias), I would say:
Hart << De Gea
Sagna >= Valencia/Darmian
Kompany <= Smalling
Otamendi/Stones/Mangala ?? Bailly
Clichy < Shaw
Fernandinho/Fernando > Carrick
Gundogan < Pogba
De Bruyne >> Rooney
Silva > Mhiki
Sterling < Martial
Aguero >= Ibra
There isn't much difference in both teams IMO. Both have strong benches too, so it would be interesting to see which one does better.
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Aguero is NOT better than Ibrahimovic, is this some sort of joke? Not even close in all honesty. He regularly gets benched for the likes of Higuain, ADM & Messi for a reason internationally.
Pogba & De Bruyne are about the same level. Both highly rated but are moments players at this point of their careers. You'll rarely see either one dominate a game.
Silva is a nothing player at this stage of his career. Only has a high reputation because he has zero personality & is nonthreatening. He'd be getting dogs abuse for his performances over the past couple of years if his name was Gerrard, Lampard or Rooney. I'd take Martial easily.
All in all a combined Manchester XI would probably go something like this without pigeonholing players into the lineup
Martial Ibrahimovic Mkhitaryan
Pogba Fernandinho Yaya
Shaw Smalling Otamendi Sagna
De Gea
Honestly my combined Manchester XI would be
David de Gea
Sagna Kompany Otamendi Shaw
Gundogan Pogba
Mhikitaryan De Bruyne Martial
Ibrahimovic
(Guardiola)
Smalling is fitter and less injury prone than Kompanhy but Kompany is a much better centre back. Otamendi is good too but didn't have a great season last season, think he'll be great under Pep. Not sure about full-backs but I'd have Sagna and Shaw because the alternatives are Darmian and Clichy. Gundogan is also very talented when fit, better than Carrick, Schneiderlin, Yaya etc. Pogba is better than them too. Martial on the left but Sane and Nolito both are good players. De Bruyne is better than Mata, Silva or Rooney and Ibrahimovic for me is better than Aguero but Aguero is world class. I'd also have Guardiola over Mourinho but it is very close.Sagna Kompany Otamendi Shaw
Gundogan Pogba
Mhikitaryan De Bruyne Martial
Ibrahimovic
(Guardiola)
I'd remove Otamendi and Ibra for Smalling and Aguero tbh.
Since the Aguero VS Ibrahimovic comparison cropped up, yeah there's no comparison Ibrahimovic simply destroys Aguero in all stats (Over a similar amount of mins played and one more game for Ibra)
If anyone is interested:
http://www.squawka.com/comparison-m...d/successful_take_ons_%/key_passes/assists#90
Yes French league etc, but even if you took 10 goals away from Ibra to allow for that disparity in quality hes still miles ahead.
If anyone is interested:
http://www.squawka.com/comparison-m...d/successful_take_ons_%/key_passes/assists#90
Yes French league etc, but even if you took 10 goals away from Ibra to allow for that disparity in quality hes still miles ahead.
Really? That's how you want to open your argument, by stating that Aguero isn't even close to Ibrahimovic? Just ridiculous. Aguero is easily the best striker in the league and one of the best in the world. His only problem is fitness, hence why I said it's reliant on a fit Aguero. He scored 24 goals in 29 games last season. Let's see how Ibra actually does in the Premier League, because it's going to be very different for him than performing in Ligue 1 for a team that win 5-0 every week and win the league by a laughable amount of points. I like Ibra and think he'll be a success for you, but having him over Aguero in the Premier League is silly in my opinion, the latter has proven himself there over many seasons.
As for being benched, Aguero is very poor for the National Team, that's true. For his club though, it's incredible. As for being benched, he's up against a guy who got 36 goals in 36 games in Serie A and arguably the best player of all time. How shameful - not sure why Di Maria is mentioned, he's not a striker. I imagine Ibrahimovic would be benched from time to time if he played for Argentina.
I agree that Pogba and De Bruyne are close. You could go with either one depending on who you support. Personally, I'd go for De Bruyne for next season as he's already had a season in the Premier League.
A nothing player? He had 11 assists last season. He's still incredible, but has major fitness issues of his own. It's a shame because City's two best players (Silva and Aguero) both have had troubles staying fit. Is he as good as he used to be? No. Is he still class? Absolutely. It's just utter ignorance to call him a nothing player. There's very few players in world football with his technical ability, and he's a perfect Guardiola player. I can understand why United fans would prefer Martial, but for me it's a fit Silva every day of the week. When he plays well, he makes City tick.
Not really interested in a combined lineup that leaves out De Bruyne and Aguero. You'd have to be absolutely barmy to leave out both of them.
Aguero is no where near Ibrahimovic, sorry, thats just a fact.
Ibra doesn't play for Chelsea.
international football means sod all
John Barnes was the best player in England for a number of years, yet he was pants for England
John Barnes was the best player in England for a number of years, yet he was pants for England
How good is Sane? I haven't seen him play, strengths? what would you rate him?
You're comparing the statistics of a player who's team finished 4th in the league to a player who's team won the league by 34 points. I mean really, it's not even an argument. I'm really not interested in Ibra scoring 5/6 goals against Troyes, to me it's almost meaningless. They shouldn't even be in the same league as PSG, they lost 9-0 to them for god sake.
10 goals? How is that fair? Aguero with an injury free issues, playing for that PSG side, would run absolute riot in Ligue 1.
Jesus there isn't much between them. To dismiss either choice is ridiculous.
Yeah, I think that they are close. Aguero is likely better, but Ibra surely had the better season and manages to stay fit all the time.
I don't think that there is much point on comparing their stats considering that Aguero played in a far more competitive league, while Ibra played for a club that won the league in March. PSG was a few levels above other clubs there, and obviously that the stats of their best player would be fantastic.
I don't think that there is much point on comparing their stats considering that Aguero played in a far more competitive league, while Ibra played for a club that won the league in March. PSG was a few levels above other clubs there, and obviously that the stats of their best player would be fantastic.
Yeah, ok. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that Ibrahimovic plays for United and Aguero for City.
Ibrahimovic's best season in Serie A by the way was 28 league goals for A.C Milan, in 2011-2012. That's only 4 more than Aguero managed last season, despite him having major injury issues. I'm sure in your mind that that wasn't peak Ibrahimovic and that he's miraculously become a much better player since then, but the truth is he's scoring a lot more goals and getting a lot more assists because he's playing in a side that wins the league by over 30 points and beats sides 9-0.
They're two brilliant strikers and there isn't much between them, but I'd go for Aguero due to his wealth of experience in the Premier League. I also think he's better suited to the speed of the game in England. This idea that he's "no where" near Aguero is utterly ridiculous and if you genuinely believe that, you're in for one hell of a shock next season.
Last year Ibrahimovic was considered the third best player in the world, now he signs for United suddenly he looses a bunch of ability? no chance. Hes a different player to Aguero but if you are comparing them as strikers, purely goal-scoring players, Goal-scoring ability Ibrahimovic is still one of the best in the world and has season after season of top numbers, He is bigger, stronger, more skillful, has better control of the ball and is more agile even at 34 than Aguero, Aguero is only faster.
He supports Chelsea? My bad.
By who?
The third best player in the world was pretty quiet when he played against a partnership of Otamendi and Mangala last season, a couple of defenders who no doubt are also utter shit in your eyes. Using Ibrahimovic's stats in the French league for PSG against Aguero's in the Premier League during a season where the best side City beat were Southampton is ridiculous.
When has anybody stated that Ibrahimovic has lost his ability? He wasn't the third best player in the world last season, he did very little in the Champions League but tore apart Ligue 1 with a side that won the league by 30+ points and thrashed sides every other week by 4 or more goals. They won the league with a 9-0 victory for god sake, are we really treating this like a serious league?
Ibrahimovic is brilliant, I'm not going to deny that. I think he'll get 15+ goals in the league and do very well for you. He was an excellent pick up on a free, your best transfer in this window. He's not a better player in the Premier League than Aguero though, and your opinionated view on their respective attributes doesn't change that.
Just ridiculous to say that Aguero's nowhere near Ibra, insanity. You're basing it purely off Ibra shredding apart Ligue 1 for PSG.
The fact that City finished on a +30 goal difference whereas PSG finished on a +83 goal difference tells you it all really. Honestly, there isn't a top striker in the entire world that wouldn't score absolute bucket loads for PSG.By who?
The third best player in the world was pretty quiet when he played against a partnership of Otamendi and Mangala last season, a couple of defenders who no doubt are also utter shit in your eyes. Using Ibrahimovic's stats in the French league for PSG against Aguero's in the Premier League during a season where the best side City beat were Southampton is ridiculous.
Maybe I am jumping the gun on him being better in the Premier League but my opinion isnt based off of one season in Ligue 1 its based on his entire career and his playing ability. The type of goals he scores, his range of goals from free kicks to headers to tap ins to driven shots from miles out, his link up with the players around him, the leadership he shows and the skillset on show when he has the ball at his feet.
In my opinion he is simply a better player than Aguero and I think youll find many people who share that opinion.