Aymeric Laporte | Txiki doesn't forgive (except for when he does)

[Thunderhead]

Or those players are reaching their peak (like De Bruyne for example).

Oh, and if we give him credit for players he has been improving, then it is fair to also call him about players which have been regressing under him, like Bernardo Silva who looked one of the best talents in the world last season, but has been nowhere as good on this season.

Silva looked lost at the start of the season, a bit like Sane last season but he's now getting more and more game time. Not every player adjusts to the pace of the league straight away but he's getting there. Hopefully he'll be looking to be Silva's understudy next season in the middle as he's nowhere near as effective as Sterling is on the right. But I wouldn't say he's regressed, just getting used to the pace of the league.

 

[Sultan]

Yeah, I already said that for Pogba. As did Mourinho, and it is true. But when we signed him, Pogba should have gone for 50-60m pounds, not 90m or so.

Now, everything has doubled/tripled in transfer fees, and squad players nowadays can cost 50m+ which is batshit crazy.

Absolutely!

Pogba is one of top 5 players in the world with age on his side. Had we purchased him this season he would be valued nearer 175 Million.

 

[Revan]

You just wonder if it will collapse sometime. Surely it cannot be sustainable? Yes TV deals might rise, but the customers wages are rising at the same rate and they might just say enough is enough.

No reason for it to happen IMO. There is so much money in football, and there are second world countries who are getting richer, and so will be able to pay for football.

 

[Maradona10]

If they get Aymeric laporte i think Guardiola will change shape. 3 at the back will come in for him.

 

[charlie9882]

If they get Aymeric laporte i think Guardiola will change shape. 3 at the back will come in for him.

Not until Mendy is back from injury - City don't have a LB/LWB that can provide width/overlap without him.

It won't be as rigid as switching to a 3atb permanently either. Pep will change formations to suit the opposition, he's very flexible tactically, the system has just been hamstrung by Mendy getting a season ending injury and not having like for like depth, rather a central midfielder.

 

[pacifictheme]

If they get Aymeric laporte i think Guardiola will change shape. 3 at the back will come in for him.

I'm not sure it will. They don't have the personel do they? Too stacked up top with not enough cm's?

 

[Maradona10]

Not until Mendy is back from injury - City don't have a LB/LWB that can provide width/overlap without him.

It won't be as rigid as switching to a 3atb permanently either. Pep will change formations to suit the opposition, he's very flexible tactically, the system has just been hamstrung by Mendy getting a season ending injury and not having like for like depth, rather a central midfielder.

Zinchenko/ delph are attacking players, will do better in wing back roles than in Full backs. Hence i think he will go for 3 at the back.

 

[charlie9882]

Zinchenko/ delph are attacking players, will do better in wing back roles than in Full backs. Hence i think he will go for 3 at the back.

It's really not as simple as that. Delph isn't suited to the wingback role - Pep has said himself and that's why City haven't played in that formation. It will be the same case for Zinchenko as well. They're naturally central players, not wide players that hug the wing and have the pace to bomb up and down. Watch them when they play LB for City, they're essentially extra midfielders that drift in when in possession.

 

[Jacci]

8 players signing 4 year contracts with an average wage of 80k. Around 140M

I was just kidding, just referring to how the media handled the Sanchez deal.

 

[red4ever 79]

Great signing for City. Another young player with a lot of potential. Their recruitment is organized and well done since Pep took over.
Ederson, Mendy, Stones, Laporte, De Bruyne, Sterling, Sane, Jesus

Thats a cracking core to build your squad around for the next 5 years

 

[Zoo]

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[Andersons Dietician]

Of course. They are hypocrites. Doubt they will be called out on it though.

Mmmm surely if they pulled out it was due to the extra fee’s and wage demands. 350k basic, 144k image and some sort of 105k bonus is what has been reported. That sets a huge President in their wage structure that they just probably can’t afford to match compared to us. Laporte is probably on something like 50k if that right now probably get wages around 150k I would imagine. It’s not really in the same ball park.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Great signing for City. Another young player with a lot of potential. Their recruitment is organized and well done since Pep took over.
Ederson, Mendy, Stones, Laporte, De Bruyne, Sterling, Sane, Jesus

Thats a cracking core to build your squad around for the next 5 years

It is. Hopefully now we appear to have a settled manager we are now starting to use some joined up thinking with our player recruitment. It has been sadly missing recently. Jose seems to know what type of player he wants. Over the past few years it has been very scattergun. More on reputation than on team needs.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

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That last tweet is interesting. I know I watch them but a lot of things pass me by to be honest. I always look on whoscored.com for their rating as well and Nunez and Yeray have outscored him at times.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Mmmm surely if they pulled out it was due to the extra fee’s and wage demands. 350k basic, 144k image and some sort of 105k bonus is what has been reported. That sets a huge President in their wage structure that they just probably can’t afford to match compared to us. Laporte is probably on something like 50k if that right now probably get wages around 150k I would imagine. It’s not really in the same ball park.

Not sure about his wages, I know when he signed his new contract everyone was surprised by the wages, so it could be more than 50k.

 

[Maradona10]

Think city will go something like this
----Stone---Kompany----Laporte----
-walker-------Fernandinho-----------Zinchenko
-------------------Kdb-----------------
---Sterling--------Jesus-------------Sane

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Not sure about his wages, I know when he signed his new contract everyone was surprised by the wages, so it could be more than 50k.

Had a quick look and all I could find was the Mail reporting that he would get a big pay rise on his £40k a week wages to resign for Bilbao last year.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Not sure about his wages, I know when he signed his new contract everyone was surprised by the wages, so it could be more than 50k.

I can only find a news story from 2016 that says City will Triple his wages to 120k a week. I’d be surprised if Bilbao were able to go to 80k a week so must be around that sort of area now.

Have you seen a bit of him this year? He really looks like he has put on a good bit of muscle to me, actually looks huge now. It’s weird to think that he is now only 23 as Fergie was linked with him, Pep at City was linked with him, Real last summer seems like he has been around forever.

 

[charlie9882]

Mmmm surely if they pulled out it was due to the extra fee’s and wage demands. 350k basic, 144k image and some sort of 105k bonus is what has been reported. That sets a huge President in their wage structure that they just probably can’t afford to match compared to us. Laporte is probably on something like 50k if that right now probably get wages around 150k I would imagine. It’s not really in the same ball park.

Unlikely to be on anything as high as £150k p/w - KDB was on around that only last week before his extension. Stones is on £100k p/w and they are exactly the same age/profile/came in at a similar price, I would imagine this is more realistic. Kompany is allegedly 'only' on £120k p/w - he's not going to be earning more than him.

To put in to context, the total of Sanchez's basic salary at £350k p/w is nearly as much as Laporte's over 4 years - nearly the length of Sanchez's contract with United.

As you've said, you can't compare the two signings.

 

[arthurka]

They will need to keep on buying CB as there isn´t one out there that can replace Kompany..

 

[Xeno]

They will need to keep on buying CB as there isn´t one out there that can replace Kompany..

Umtiti?

 

[haram]

Think city will go something like this
----Stone---Kompany----Laporte----
-walker-------Fernandinho-----------Zinchenko
-------------------Kdb-----------------
---Sterling--------Jesus-------------Sane

Kompany is done lets be honest.

 

[Baxter]

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Honestly no idea how Balague still holds any sort of credibitly.

 

[NYAS]

He costs us much as Bailly and Lindelof combined, but he is better than both of them. He would also be a perfect partner for Jones, Bailly or Smalling. We had money to go for him instead of Lindelof (to be fair, I rate the Swede too).

The problem with City is that he suits them perfectly. He is a left footed but much better Stones, and he complements Otamendi perfectly. It is what they exactly need.

There are other defenders right there who are good and we can get like Gimenez, but there aren't many ball playing defenders. And now City has two best ball playing CBs in the world. Wankers.

The best ball-playing CBs in the world by far are Bayern’s: Boateng and Hummels. Neither Laporte or Stones come close in terms of passing ability from the back.

 

[SwSw]

The best ball-playing CBs in the world by far are Bayern’s: Boateng and Hummels. Neither Laporte or Stones come close in terms of passing ability from the back.

Who so happen are coached by Baldy in the past.

 

[red4ever 79]

It is. Hopefully now we appear to have a settled manager we are now starting to use some joined up thinking with our player recruitment. It has been sadly missing recently. Jose seems to know what type of player he wants. Over the past few years it has been very scattergun. More on reputation than on team needs.

We have a good core as well
Bailly Shaw Pogba Martial Rashford Lukaku Lingard

However we are lacking some quality youth additions in FB and particularly the CM areas. Would like to Tuanzebe and Forsu Mensa be given first team opportunities next season and start to slowly phase out some of the older players

 

[Crimson King]

He's decent and can get better. Perhaps still recovering from the leg break slightly, but that's understandable.

It's a lot of money but I suppose the way transfers are going it can be seen as a 'fair' price, which is fecking mental in itself really.

Will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the Premier League if they do sign him.

 

[Infra-red]

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Got him confused with Íñigo Martínez, perhaps, also a one-time City target. He really knows very little about football, Spanish or otherwise.

 

[VanGaalEra]

As an aside Ballague said he wasn't that tall (he's 6 ft 3) and he's quick (he's really not got much pace).

 

[RexHamilton]

that's fair enough, but even with say Laporte and Fred taking spending to £500m that's 17 players purchased at an average of £29.5 million, with probably more importantly an average age of 23, I'd argue those 17 players are worth substantially far more than that now, 2 of the players have left Nolito for £5m less than we paid for him but Mooy for £8m more.

Cheque book manager yeah but there is plenty of value in there even with a few duff buys.

I don't care if he signed 500 players at a million each. He'll still have spent 500 million yet gets lauded as this tactical great who can do no wrong, while Mourinho is a chequebook manager. The media love in with Guardiola is laughable. He's never achieved what Mourinho achieved with Porto or even Inter. He's gone into ready made teams who can outspend the majority of the world. Yes, the Barcelona team was probably under performing when he came in and he deserves some credit for what they achieved. But he inherited Messi, Yaya Youre, Xavi, Iniesta, Henry, Dani Alvez, Puyol, Valdez, Busquets, Abidal, Pedro etc...

He has City playing some remarkable football, no doubt about that. But with the money spent, he should have. Considering Mourinho has United in second, with the 3rd most goals scored and in the last 16 of the Champions League while being accused of parking the bus and having a poor season, I think the love in with Pep is a bit much.

 

[devilish]

I never understood this obsession about ball playing CB nonsense. Sure, the times when you had a big lump shooting the ball to god knows where for little reason at all is over (unless of course you’re Smalling). CBs at top level football must be able to control the ball and pass the ball neatly to midfield even under pressure. But that is all about what CBs should be able to do. CBs shouldn’t be expected to be the new Pirlos and they certainly shouldn’t get used in getting the ball out of defence themselves. One mistake is all it takes and the defence will end up exposed.

In my opinion defenders should be judged about their ability to defend. The rest is a bit of a bonus. I cant help thinking that this ball playing defender nonsense is an elegant way how to defend CBs who aren't actually very good in their job.

 

[VanGaalEra]

150M!!

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[SirAF]

Honestly no idea how Balague still holds any sort of credibitly.

It's crazy that so many people still view him as some sort of authority - he is regularly invited to the Premier League studio in Norway ffs and they treat him like a superstar!

 

[haram]

150M!!

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Can't believe they're spending 200 million on a CB

 

[VanGaalEra]

Can't believe they're spending 200 million on a CB

Tweet doesn't include his signing fee or agent fee.

 

[haram]

Tweet doesn't include his signing fee or agent fee.

What was that tax we had to pay when we tried to sign Herrera? 300 million for a CB that has recently had a bad injury. Crazy from City.

 

[devilish]

@DomesticTadpole
Oh I understand that. What annoyed me is claiming City are some form of shrewd operators after spending 500m in under two years that inflates the market, then claim they're making a financial profit on said players that can only be possible due to the inflation bubble they helped create.
Its madness.

I like Mourinho. He’s a great manager whose leading United towards success. However we have admit 2 things about him

a- He’s a cnut. SAF timed his mind games brilliantly and only played that sort of games when he felt they were necessary for the good of the team. In matter of fact, some wise guy once said that managers shouldn’t be happy to be in SAF’s good side because that means that the man doesn’t fear them. Mou simply loves teasing people and he does that irrespective whether he’s helping his team or not. That's fair enough but under such circumstances he can’t expect others to treat him well

b- Mourinho’s game while being brutally effective is a bit boring. Pep has a ‘philosophy’ which usually end up with some form of entertaining football. Mou would park the bus and he would probably throw the fans and himself under a bus for an extra trophy something Pep will never do. Don’t take me wrong that type of ‘can do’ mentality is exactly what United needed and still needs. There’s no way Pep would have accepted the job considering the mess United were in during that time. I mean can you imagine trying to implement tika taka in a team made up of Jones, Smalling, Fellaini, Lingard, Young, Depay and Darmian? It would be easier to teach nuclear science to a bunch of lobotomised squirrels. There again, journalists and pundits want entertainment (unless the team is of course managed by some old boy/homegrown manager. In that case he’s given a pass) and Mou will rarely give them that.

So in few words we need to accept that until Mou is here then we’ll always going to be seen as the bad guys. Its the typical Mac vs PC debate. The former is more expensive and it might be less functional but it will always be more likeable among the gullible people then a good old PC running on the usual run on the mill windows.

 

[TheReligion]

Mmmm surely if they pulled out it was due to the extra fee’s and wage demands. 350k basic, 144k image and some sort of 105k bonus is what has been reported. That sets a huge President in their wage structure that they just probably can’t afford to match compared to us. Laporte is probably on something like 50k if that right now probably get wages around 150k I would imagine. It’s not really in the same ball park.

Lets just forget about the 60m on the transfer fee then?

The hypocrisy is based on city complaining about money yet spending it by the truckload.

 

[giorno]

I still can't see it. Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Silva are the perfect midfield combo with Sane, Aguero, Sterling a quality front three. Can't see Pep wanting to mess with that (even with their 12 point lead in the league). Stones has been struggling a bit since his return from injury so can see Laporte partnering Otamendi in the short term.

If he does shift to 3-4-3 what would you expect the team to look like?

Guardiola has basically resuscitated formations from the 1920s and 1950s, adapted to the modern game and players. Most likely he'll just drop Delph, push Walker further up and get Sterling to play closer to Aguero. 3-2-3-2

 

[whatwha]

What is this bullshit of reporting wages after tax?