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. 

Agree Kova was good at that. But so too was Kante. Excellent control and ability to come away with the ball when surrounded by opponents.

Confirmed....he has gone!

Good. Never took to him

4 minutes ago, nonotnowjim said:

Confirmed....he has gone!

A few more to go, going ok so far.

Was indifferent to him staying or leaving. Cheers for everything Kova. 

‘I enjoyed nice years but now it’s time to turn a new page and win’

Is this prick for real? Entitled, ungrateful tosser.

11 minutes ago, Blue Exile said:

‘I enjoyed nice years but now it’s time to turn a new page and win’

Is this prick for real? Entitled, ungrateful tosser.

Also sounded like he's jumping ship too imo after reading his statement. 

 

Edited June 27, 20233 yr by Sconnie Blue

Poor @CaitlinCFC, I know how she feels...

He was largely underwhelming for us, but I expect that he’ll become some mix of Makelele and Cryuff at the Etihad.

If he made the snide ‘win’ comment, then he’s a bit of a twat. Our losing was as much down to him as everyone else.

Edited June 27, 20233 yr by Snedger

2 minutes ago, Valerie said:

Poor @CaitlinCFC, I know how she feels...

Aye what a swine. Got what he wanted from her then sods off... the cad...

Mateo who.

1 minute ago, CaitlinCFC said:

Mateo who.

You're so brave!

Why's he snide? He is saying the truth. He's won with us, had nice years but time to go and win again.  City Win!!!

If as fans we feel frustrated at the way things have gone how about the players that cane to a winning club and have seen it tank since 12 months ago or so. 

The club from management, non playing personnel and even players has been gutted top to bottom. It feels like a totally different club in 12 months so no surprise if players feel a bit disconnected from things and leaving. 

Rather than us celebrating Boehly shifting players, not saying we shouldn't acknowledge it, but maybe the players themselves are actively looking to leave so easy thing to sell. 

Apart from Lukaku obviously lol

Edited June 27, 20233 yr by abister1

Nice little graphic he decided to post, classy way to leave it. 

1 hour ago, CaitlinCFC said:

Mateo who.

@Mod move the thread. He’s dead to us now. 

There are a few to move now I think!

He's been a good player for us, last season was below par but most were. It's a great move for him, lots of wins guaranteed. I don't think he's having a go at us with his last few words, every comment could cause an outrage, it's depends on people want interpret it.

So happy we have improved City and Arsenal. Now let's send Sterling to Sp*rs. FFS

One of my favourite players to watch for both Chelsea and Real Madrid, but what a puzzling player and career he has had. Along with Ivan Rakitic, Kovacic was supposed to be the next in a generation of Modric clones. Yet Modric is still first-choice for Real Madrid and outshines both. 

Kovacic carries the ball and beats the press like peak Iniesta but has the attacking instincts of peak Makelele. He is uniquely flawed in that he is the best defender of his own one-man counter-attack; perfectly capable of beating 3-4 players on the dribble only to pass the ball back into midfield. Like Jorginho and Kante to an extent, teams eventually worked out it was often better to just give our trio time on the ball as they were unlikely to actually do anything with it. 

I understand why Guardiola wants him, because he is the perfect possession player and can fill multiple roles across their midfield. I think he will go on to be an excellent squad player for them. However, I don't think he strengthens them and possibly even weakens them overall.

Absent some major tactical shift, Kovacic will be expected to compete with and cover for Bernardo Silva, replace Gundogan and provide a more attacking option than Rodri. Historically though, he has never had the output. He simply does not have the attacking instincts to replace Silva or Gundogan's goals and assists and you can cut back passes across the box all season but Kovacic is never going to nail those outside of the box finishes with the same regularity as Rodri. 

With Gundogan gone and de Bruyne injured for probably the first half of the season, Guardiola's squad looks really heavy on players who want to run with the ball and retain possession but none (bar Silva?) capable of incisive passing. Which would probably be fine in the days they still had Aguero and Sterling to finish intricate moves but Haaland and Alvarez are both strikers who are best when the ball is given to them early. My too-early-prediction is that they will struggle in the league because Kovacic simply isn't going to match the attacking output of Gundogan. It's possible we'll see a bizarre scenario where Haaland "only" scoring 25 goals ( as opposed to 50+) could see them struggle to break down sides that defend deep. 

Many feel that Pep is now the greatest manager of all-time. Still think he is behind Sir Alex IMO, but if after a season or two he manages to turn Kovacic into the player we all hoped he would be and he adds goals and assists to his game, then fair play, I will concede Pep is THE BEST!

Have a feeling it won't happen.

Edited June 28, 20233 yr by Nibs

8 hours ago, Nibs said:

Many feel that Pep is now the greatest manager of all-time. Still think he is behind Sir Alex IMO, but if after a season or two he manages to turn Kovacic into the player we all hoped he would be and he adds goals and assists to his game, then fair play, I will concede Pep is THE BEST!

Have a feeling it won't happen.

Do you think yourself and Kovacic will stay in touch Nibs? 

Me and Jorginho said we would but we hardly ever phone each other now.

5 hours ago, just said:

Do you think yourself and Kovacic will stay in touch Nibs? 

Me and Jorginho said we would but we hardly ever phone each other now.

Did Darren Wood ever call you back?

Can't say I'm disappointed to see Kovacic move on. Nothing against him in terms of his attitude or commitment. Just never thought he was all that. Like Jorginho he is a player I never saw as being someone who would be a key player in a consistently  trophy winning/league challenging team. He won a watch a bit by us signing him due to the transfer restrictions. 

Didn't do badly for us but never really shone either. 

On 28/06/2023 at 02:16, SydneyChelsea said:

With Gundogan gone and de Bruyne injured for probably the first half of the season, Guardiola's squad looks really heavy on players who want to run with the ball and retain possession but none (bar Silva?) capable of incisive passing. Which would probably be fine in the days they still had Aguero and Sterling to finish intricate moves but Haaland and Alvarez are both strikers who are best when the ball is given to them early. My too-early-prediction is that they will struggle in the league because Kovacic simply isn't going to match the attacking output of Gundogan. It's possible we'll see a bizarre scenario where Haaland "only" scoring 25 goals ( as opposed to 50+) could see them struggle to break down sides that defend deep. 

That may be why he has bought him for that dribbling ability to break down sides that defend deep, being Pep he will also work on Kova's final ball in these circumstances.

As a neutral will be interesting to see if he can adapt his game under Pep.