1 hour ago, Imran_CFC said:

I hope Messi ends up at City as I would like to see how Pep incorporates him into his system at Manchester City. Playing Messi, Aguero, Sterling and KDB in the same team he would need to revise the way the team presses, my guess would be that Pep will purchase Koulibaly at CB and transition to a 4-2-3-1 and play 2 defensive midfielders to protect the backline.

That would ruin them on the long term, Messi is 33, Koulibaly 29. De Bruyne is in his last prime year, after 30 he will naturally decline and they won't be able to rebuild their squad.

7 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

That would ruin them on the long term, Messi is 33, Koulibaly 29. De Bruyne is in his last prime year, after 30 he will naturally decline and they won't be able to rebuild their squad.

I don't think Pep is looking too far ahead, I think it may be the last throw of the dice for him with City. I think he will plan for the next 3 years to recapture the Premier League but more importantly go after the elusive Champions League.

I think he will give it a fair crack and pull it off because once you add Messi and Koulibaly to that City team, they do seem like the best starting 11 in the world however time will tell if they gel and work as a cohesive unit.

9 minutes ago, Imran_CFC said:

I don't think Pep is looking too far ahead, I think it may be the last throw of the dice for him with City. I think he will plan for the next 3 years to recapture the Premier League but more importantly go after the elusive Champions League.

I think he will give it a fair crack and pull it off because once you add Messi and Koulibaly to that City team, they do seem like the best starting 11 in the world however time will tell if they gel and work as a cohesive unit.

I think so too, he might just want to try and convince the Man City owners to get Messi and go for the CL and then leave the team in 2-3 years before he encounters the rebuilding problems.

I personally think Messi would cause City a personality in-balance if he joined them, as he would want to be the main man.  I just can't see City winning the CL under Pep at all, I think they have passed their prime as a squad to do that.

Liverpool were like a whirlwind with their style the last few years, but Salah, Mane and Firmino aren't getting any younger, is the hunger still there for them? I think they will regret letting Winaldum go as well.

On 03/09/2020 at 19:36, DaRick said:

Obviously his father is his agent.

I don't see any evidence that Messi is willing to drop this matter, and while the Barcelona board are drooling nitwits, it would IMO take a special kind of drooling nitwit to potentially let Lionel Messi go on a free. 

Apparently he might have gone and changed his mind.

Part of me thinks, "What a soft cock! All that drama for nothing!" Another part of me sympathises with the man who faced the prospect of leaving his childhood club. Another part is relieved that he won't power up Man City. Another part is mildly peeved because I don't like Barcelona. 

1 minute ago, DaRick said:

Apparently he might have gone and changed his mind.

Part of me thinks, "What a soft cock! All that drama for nothing!" Another part of me sympathises with the man who faced the prospect of leaving his childhood club. Another part is relieved that he won't power up Man City. Another part is mildly peeved because I don't like Barcelona. 

You have many parts.

Just now, Valerie said:

You have many parts.

They always said I was complex. 

?

The Spurs doc is pretty eye opening, Jose is pretty much there to experiment on his new laid back style of coaching after losing the dressing room 3 times in a row.

You can also see why they are a bunch of losers, there is no leader or personality in the whole team. Pochettino was the aggressive leader that pushed them on and ironically the old Jose would have had a similar effect, now they are just a bunch of wet blankets to a man.

Naughty naughty....

http://backpagefootball.com/why-liverpool-wont-win-the-premier-league-this-season/126313/

22 of the 35 players in Liverpool's squad are asthmatic – five times the UK average.

Wonder if they all have a TUE?

Naughty naughty....
http://backpagefootball.com/why-liverpool-wont-win-the-premier-league-this-season/126313/
22 of the 35 players in Liverpool's squad are asthmatic – five times the UK average.
Wonder if they all have a TUE?

Thats some conspiracy

On 04/09/2020 at 15:18, Malcolm9 said:

I personally think Messi would cause City a personality in-balance if he joined them, as he would want to be the main man.  I just can't see City winning the CL under Pep at all, I think they have passed their prime as a squad to do that.

Liverpool were like a whirlwind with their style the last few years, but Salah, Mane and Firmino aren't getting any younger, is the hunger still there for them? I think they will regret letting Winaldum go as well.

They're making the same mistake we made at the end of the 00s and not refreshing a winning team.

They probably have another season in them maybe two but eventually they will stagnate and be faced with a massive rebuilding task like we were.

James Rodriguez to Everton for only £20M is an intriguing signing ... could well turn out to be the best business of the entire transfer window ...

Could a Mod please delete my last post in this thread, as I have re-posted the Rodriguez comment in the 20/21 thread instead.

Probably also worth un-pinning this 19/20 thread and pinning the 20/21 one now ?

 

Cheers !