I am sad to see him go, enormous amount of effort. 

Agree with Just above.... if Kova had anywhere near the shooting boots of Essien he would have been one hell of a player, but his end product was woeful at times.  The odd occasion it came off it was great. His consistency was awful but frankly that can be said of all most of our first team players 

All the best Kova, except against us! 

 

 

Along with Kai I think this is a good fee. 30mill given Koavs age, injury record and 1 year left is door business and an FFP profit of 22mill.

1 hour ago, dermott said:

He was rarely fully fit last season, carrying knee and calf problems, but was selected regardless. The WC flattened him. Great servant, I wish him well.

It was painful to watch him knowing he was not fit. It was an indictment of our squad depth that our managers (plural) felt compelled to select him when he couldn't perform.

27 minutes ago, andy said:

I am sad to see him go, enormous amount of effort. 

Agree with Just above.... if Kova had anywhere near the shooting boots of Essien he would have been one hell of a player, but his end product was woeful at times.  The odd occasion it came off it was great. His consistency was awful but frankly that can be said of all most of our first team players 

All the best Kova, except against us! 

 

 

I agree. He could look a world beater in his approach play and then would show the shooting technique of a crocked old man.

Can't believe City are letting Gundogan go and replacing him with Kovacic. That is a massive downgrade and they will need others to chip in with more goals and assists now as they ain't coming from Kova!

 

21 minutes ago, Nibs said:

Can't believe City are letting Gundogan go and replacing him with Kovacic. That is a massive downgrade and they will need others to chip in with more goals and assists now as they ain't coming from Kova!

 

Knew you would be sad to see him go Nibs. 

55 minutes ago, Nibs said:

Can't believe City are letting Gundogan go and replacing him with Kovacic. That is a massive downgrade and they will need others to chip in with more goals and assists now as they ain't coming from Kova!

 

Just goes to show how much pull Barcelona have, although having said that.. the guy has captained a treble winning side so what more is there to do. 

Just like Havertz, a good yet frustrating player. He will have a great time at City, maybe magically play 50 games a season.

11 hours ago, STATS said:

I officially have to change my favourite player now 😞

I think £25/30m for Kovacic is a steal. He is still in his 20s, a national team regular and oozes quality. Leicester got relegated and are quoting £50m for Barnes and Maddison and Maddison also has also 1 year left on his contract and they are quoting double the price. I think that is brilliant business for City tbh. We are short on CM as well. Struggled with injuries last season but on form, brilliant player to watch. Will miss him. I would rather him go City than any other English team, that being said though.

He just turned 29😭

Do like Kovacic as a player, but its clear watching him this season that his heads not here anymore and he needs the move. He went from being one of our best players to absolutely terrible. Just have to hope this terrible form continues at City and he doesnt suddenly go back to his best

4 hours ago, Big Nigel said:

He just turned 29😭

Do like Kovacic as a player, but its clear watching him this season that his heads not here anymore and he needs the move. He went from being one of our best players to absolutely terrible. Just have to hope this terrible form continues at City and he doesnt suddenly go back to his best

Which validates my point. He is still in his 20s. We signed Koulibaily for more who was 31 when we signed him. 

Terrible is such a stretch as well. Last season, let's face it, no player can hold their heads high and I don't even think there should of been a POTS but generally speaking he has been a very good player for us and underappreciated.  

He will fit into City easily imo.

16 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

Kante is perfect for a counter attacking team, as it makes the most of all the things he is superb at. He is not the best fit however for a side playing possession football. In reality, we've all complained about our midfield being unable to shield the defence, or contribute enough in attack, for several seasons now, and both Kovacic and Kante have been a big factor in that .... a succession of managers have tried to shoehorn Kante into the line up, starting with Sarri, who tied to push him up into attacking midfield. The only manager he has been a natural fit for was Conte in my opinion. 

Did manager shoehorn Kante? Yes they did.

But the problem is not Kante, He is so good at everything that manager shoehorn him in different role because the other player can't do it. 

Why does Sarri push him up high? It is not because Kante is so good up high. It is because out of Kova, jorgi, kante he is by far the best player playing higher. Kova is very bad at it and Jorgi is just hopeless. 

On paper you drop Kante and play Ruben there (before injury) but it means you play 3 midfielder who all are hopeless at defending = suicide. 

It is the same thing with lamp playing Kante as lone DM. People think lamp was clueless. Nope, when your only natural DM can't defend transition whatsoever, you kinda have to Kante as lone DM. 

I really think the only time we really try to force Kante in was under TT. We can get away not having Kante vs majority of our opp. However, once we play team who can attack us, jogavic = praying mode. So you kinda need to play kante so he is in good form/shape so he can be ready vs tough opp. 

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 20233 yr by Bob stark

8 hours ago, icecoolguy22 said:

Just like Havertz, a good yet frustrating player. He will have a great time at City, maybe magically play 50 games a season.

He won't even play 50 games for City in TWO seasons.

It looks like Gundo is off to barca. Gundo has been used by pep as goalgetter in recent years which is not exactly Kova strengh. 

Maybe the plan is to play foden in Gundo position next season. 

10 hours ago, Term_X said:

Just goes to show how much pull Barcelona have, although having said that.. the guy has captained a treble winning side so what more is there to do. 

Well they are La Liga Champions 

I'm pretty sure Pep will make a Gundogan of him. He suits his style, he suits his football philosophy.

We're going to see a different player.

5 hours ago, STATS said:

Which validates my point. He is still in his 20s. We signed Koulibaily for more who was 31 when we signed him. 

Terrible is such a stretch as well. Last season, let's face it, no player can hold their heads high and I don't even think there should of been a POTS but generally speaking he has been a very good player for us and underappreciated.  

He will fit into City easily imo.

saying in his 20's when hes 29 seems a bit... not sure what the word is. 

He has been terrible post world cup, and thats pretty much fact. Think his head's just elsewhere currently. Like I said already, he was one of our best players over the past few seasons and been excellent for us overall, a bit of shame that the last few months have left a bit of a sour taste. 

Just have to hope he flops at city or does a kalvin phillips where he barely plays because there is still an excellent player in there

5 minutes ago, Big Nigel said:

saying in his 20's when hes 29 seems a bit... not sure what the word is. 

He has been terrible post world cup, and thats pretty much fact. Think his head's just elsewhere currently. Like I said already, he was one of our best players over the past few seasons and been excellent for us overall, a bit of shame that the last few months have left a bit of a sour taste. 

Just have to hope he flops at city or does a kalvin phillips where he barely plays because there is still an excellent player in there

'clutching'

4 hours ago, Bob stark said:

It looks like Gundo is off to barca. Gundo has been used by pep as goalgetter in recent years which is not exactly Kova strengh. 

Maybe the plan is to play foden in Gundo position next season. 

Yep.

2 hours ago, Big Nigel said:

saying in his 20's when hes 29 seems a bit... not sure what the word is. 

He has been terrible post world cup, and thats pretty much fact. Think his head's just elsewhere currently. Like I said already, he was one of our best players over the past few seasons and been excellent for us overall, a bit of shame that the last few months have left a bit of a sour taste. 

Just have to hope he flops at city or does a kalvin phillips where he barely plays because there is still an excellent player in there

For virtually all of next season, he will be 29. He is still at a good age. He can easily give them a good 3-4 year service. I did not deny he has not been bad, but last season, you can pretty much say every single player has been terrible. 

It is interesting that Pep is going for both Rice and Kovacic though...

Shame to see him leave. Excellent contributor, although perhaps the final pass or shot away from being at the very top level. 

Another genuine midfield star leaving. Hope Enzo is happy to do it all by himself...

14 hours ago, KonaKai Blue said:

Well they are La Liga Champions 

A financial mess in a sub-standard league. At City he’s literally the captain, won the treble under the best manager in the world in the best league in the world.

Not unhappy with the decision though, obviously anything that weakens City is great but nonetheless it just shows the power of the Barca ‘brand’. 

11 hours ago, STATS said:

 

It is interesting that Pep is going for both Rice and Kovacic though...

He went for Kalvin Phillips too. Just shows he doesn't get everything right.

25 minutes ago, just said:

He went for Kalvin Phillips too. Just shows he doesn't get everything right.

He didn't need to, as long as he got the key signings right. Rice be an upgrade over Phillips, wouldn't be surprised if there's a player swap involved.

1 hour ago, icecoolguy22 said:

He didn't need to, as long as he got the key signings right. Rice be an upgrade over Phillips, wouldn't be surprised if there's a player swap involved.

That would be a smart move from West Ham. Get City to cough up 70mill plus Phillips.

On 21/06/2023 at 12:03, STATS said:

His close-ball control, ability to manoeuvre himself out of tight situations. Was our only CM who was able to do this. Always think he has been an underrated player. The position he plays for us, I don't expect him to score much. I also think we played some of the best football when he was partnered with Jorginho under Lamps. Like I say, I think he will be a quality addition to City.  

Not done this for about 18 months now though. Been out of form as long as Mount, arguably worse so too.