Boy do we need a result today

“We could learn a thing or two from them about how to run a football club.”

And some

I thought it was pretty common knowledge that Manipur was desperate to win the CL?

I dunno, is it? Maybe he does, but I don’t think the actions the club take are indicative of a club desperate to win the CL. Particularly their transfer policy.

If they were desperate to win the CL they’d have invested far more in proven, top level talents and players with experience of winning at that level.

It’s not like they can’t afford to do that, they’ve just been more economical with their squad building, preferring a bigger quality of squad.

And I think it’s been one of the reasons they’ve failed in the CL so often. Defence has been a problem, but their forwards have not been decisive enough when it’s needed to be, and Aguero’s injury problems have been massive for them.

Yeah, a good part of that is Begiristain and Soriano’s strategy though, isn’t it?

Soriano has a pretty rigid philosophy when it comes to the wage budget to turnover ratio; he was the same at Barca where he fought the ratio down hard, whilst still signing up (more) affordable potential with resale value, rather than the finished products Real were (and still are) always chasing.

I think part of what attracted Mansour to the pair must have been Soriano’s approach in terms of getting spending under control and the focus on commercial strategy. He very clearly always wanted City to be considered a viable commercial proposition rather than an oil money joke.

I appreciate they might have gone about the squad building differently, but the club has a relatively very long term outlook, which wouldn’t mesh nearly as well with the kind of desperate chucking money at short term solutions or those ‘top’ players which have become available that we’ve undertaken.

We do need result tonight but I fear we won't get it. Southampton are tricky opponents especially at OT.

I reckon 2-2

Barca did go for finished products with him, but not quite like they did before and after him - this has always been a Barca model, even more so than it was with Madrid, and Madrid have actually gone the other way looking for younger players with resale value rather than finished products, which has probably to their detriment.

I did really sort their finances out with Laporta, after the mess Gaspar left them in. So he obviously knows what he’s doing when it comes to building a sustainable financial model.

Which is fine, and good practice, that has left them in a brilliant position on and off the pitch.

But it’s not a model that screams of desperation to win the CL. I’m not saying other models are the only way to win it, of course, as it’s a cup competition that relies on many different factors. But I’d argue there are solutions to their failures that haven’t been explored as it is at odds with the model they operate under, they’d compromise that model if they were desperate for it. Which is why I don’t think they are.

They’re very much run in a similar manner to what we were for many years under Fergie. It’s been commented before that Fergie’s squad building and focus was always geared towards domestic success, and it probably cost us that chance of being more successful in the CL. I’d level the same accusation at City. And there’s nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

Yeah, I think it’s fair to say that Barca took a different approach after Laporte (I think I read that they only broke their transfer record once while Soriano was there - Ronaldinho?) and a very different approach in recent years, which hasn’t quite worked out as they’d have liked, to say the least

Real’s approach does appear to have changed, but they’ve still been happy to spunk silly money on some ready-made talent in Hazard, Mendy, Jovic and Courtois, for example.

I’m not sure whether they’ll stick with the new model either, given that half of the big money youngsters have hardly had a sniff and/or haven’t pulled up any trees when they’ve been given a chance.

They appear to have decided that there’s nothing wrong with blowing their load now and again; they’re just choosing to do it on younger players, which arguably isn’t any better a plan than the one it replaces if you pick overpriced duds.

I predict a midfield of McFred, Pogba, and Bruno. Cavani and Rashford up top.

That Laporta era is out of character for Barca. They did a good job of giving off the impression that they weren’t like Barca and that the academy and considered signings was their thing, it’s not really the case looking at their history.

I’d only say Courtois and Hazard were readymade talents. The others were still young projects. It’s obviously not worked out how they’d like, but I’m not sure if they’ll completely abandon it.

I remember reading that due to the changes in finances across Europe Perez is reluctant to go for the finished article as it costs so much. I imagine Barca’s fack ups, and Hazard flopping, will put him off even more.

Even if you look at Mpabbe as a Galactico signing for them, he’s still not the finished product. And given his age, he’s still got years in him to make that investment worthwhile.

comment by Donny The King van de Beek (U10026)
posted 1 hour, 8 minutes ago
That Laporta era is out of character for Barca. They did a good job of giving off the impression that they weren’t like Barca and that the academy and considered signings was their thing, it’s not really the case looking at their history.

I’d only say Courtois and Hazard were readymade talents. The others were still young projects. It’s obviously not worked out how they’d like, but I’m not sure if they’ll completely abandon it.

I remember reading that due to the changes in finances across Europe Perez is reluctant to go for the finished article as it costs so much. I imagine Barca’s fack ups, and Hazard flopping, will put him off even more.

Even if you look at Mpabbe as a Galactico signing for them, he’s still not the finished product. And given his age, he’s still got years in him to make that investment worthwhile.
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Only the 9 goals today. That Martial one on one miss in the end was the difference between it being 10. We just need to take it 1 game at a time again and not think about the table.