DSP's Tax Lawyer
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2021
So I had a theory that Man City are feeling the effects of just terrible transfer policy over the past few years and an arrogance that they could take average players, put them into Man City's lineup and make a team of 18-20 players win everything. So I went back to check it out and here is what I found
(All transfers mentioned will be permanent transfers according to transfer mart. Loans don't mean anything because they will get those players back. Won't be including youth players coming in and out because who knows where they left due to the city system of clubs and if their potential would have been figured out.)
20/21 season
Incoming
Ruben Dias- Good transfer from Benfica. Been a great center back and is probably still their best center back
Nathan Ake- Decent bit of business from Bournemouth. He should just be a rotational defender but he counts towards the development amount due to signing for Chelsea when he was around 16 I believe. He is being asked to do too much
Ferran Torres- This was a really solid acquisition. He is currently 24, and would be a great alternative to Haaland that could rotate into the squad.
Outgoing
Leroy Sane- This was a huge outgoing transfer that was more meant to balance the books but looking at the actual wingers City have right now, he might be a little bit better. Probably says more about the quality of City's wingers right now than how good Sane is.
21/22 Season
Incoming
Jack Grealish- I would qualify this as a bust. He has the ability to slow down the pace of play, which can be a good thing, but he hasn't shown an ability to speed it back up and beat his man. His time at Villa showed he can beat men on the dribble and his position on the left should have him cutting in to beat his man with a midfielder or outside back overlapping him but for whatever reason, it doesn't happen.
Julian Alvarez- Honestly, under rated signing. He was overshadowed by Haaland but he offered a different form of striker, with the energy up top, and an ability to play off the creative types is something that City are really struggling with right now.
Outgoing
Ferran Torres- Balancing books reason for the most part. With Alvarez coming in, selling torres for 55 mil euros when you bought him the prior year for 33.5 mil euros is something I can't really fault them for. They bought his replacement as a center forward and made money doing it.
22/23 Season
Incoming
Erling Haaland- Great signing. Gave them a new way to attack and keep teams from just sitting back and letting City have possession 25-30 yards from goal.
Kalvin Phillips- The first serious major blunder of the transfer policy. Grealish can contribute a bit but Phillips was a straight up flop. They still haven't been able to get rid of him and I am pretty sure his contract will just run out before moving on.
Manuel Akanji- A decent center back who shouldn't be relied on as much as they are relying on him tbh. He also doesn't have the youth development tag so why they decided he was important is beyond me
Sergio Gomez- An under rated flop from City. He was only 15 mil euros as a left sided defender and attacking mid, designed to replace an outgoing player but just didn't make it up to the basic level.
Maximo Perrone- He is a defensive midfielder on loan at Como right now but is only 21. He is one of many players City bought to eventually become a Rodri rotational player/replacement in the future. He needs a few more years to see if he is a bust but the injury to Rodri has exposed what little replacement they have for Rodri right now.
22/23
Raheem Sterling- Definitely fell off at Chelsea and is seeing a bit of a career revival at Arsenal but he seems like, had he stayed at City with a better attitude, he would be the player Grealish should be right now.
Gabriel Jesus- Letting him go seems like a mistake now but was the right move back then. Alvarez getting more time and Haaland coming in meant he would not be getting much playing time. But now, when the squad lacks quality, Jesus playing CF or just off Haaland would be a really scary proposition.
Zinchenko- This one, I fell, really hurts them. A perfect plug in for Rodri during most games and could be placed in an outside back roll with a pinch in position while City have possession to help with whoever is playing defensive mid would be great.
Pedro Porro- Selling him seems like a pretty big mistake right now. He could easily be a Kyle Walker replacement (laugh if you want but Walker is TERRIBLE) and Porro could fit in just fine. He was on loan for 2 years at Sporting and they sold him only for Sporting to sell him a year later. He was a year away from being Premier League ready and City really fucked that up.
Ko Itakura- Not sure as I am not a huge Bundesliga fan, but he plays center back and defensive midfielder. Could easily be a squad rotational player in a position that is needed for City right now. Squad depth right now is a huge problem for City and this player could easily rotate in for some games which is probably more valuable than the 5 mil euros they sold him for.
23/24
Incoming
Josko Gvardiol- Another solid transfer imo. He offers something on the back line going forward with a decent ability to defend (not perfect). He is just being stretched out too much with squad depth right now and not playing to his potential.
Matheus Nunes- Why would you buy this player? He has not been impressive in his 1.5 years at City so far and the 62 mil euros could have been used to just keep some other players if needed.
Jeremy Doku- He was a replacement for someone in the outgoing section and he has been a little underwhelming.
Mateo Kovacic- Good signing. He is a box to box, high energy, squad rotational midfielder. I am not sure why we aren't seeing more of him considering the situation currently going on with City, unless he is having an injury that I just don't know about.
Outgoing
Cole Palmer- Big time mistake to let him go. Why Guardiola didn't play him and insisted on buying other players that aren't at his quality is beyond me. He should have been playing way more during his time at City and having him cutting in from the right being a swap player/playing alongside Bernardo Silva would be scary if City had kept him around.
Riyad Mahrez, Aymeric Laporte- Lumping them both together because both of them were getting on in years and selling them to Saudi Arabia was the right move. No criticisms here.
Ilkay Gundogan- it was time for him to move on at that time. His time at barcelona proved he couldn't be relied on in a major role and City needed to replace him.
Nahuel Bustos- Going to mention this one even though he wasn't mentioned as an incoming in the 20/21 season. They brought in this forward from Argentina for 6.5 mil, he never played, and then left to go back to Argentina for a free. Going to mention that Slobodan Tedic was bought from Serbia for 3 mil and was allowed to go back this season for free as well.
24/25
Incoming
Savinho- Good young winger signing but needs time. Because of City's situation, they haven't been allowed to develop him into something better and have just thrown him to the wolves
Ilkay Gundogan- And this is the point of showing how desperate City are for squad players. Gundogan is not enough quality to play but he could be playing in your league cup, early FA Cup, and bottom feeder Champions League games along with a few premier league games and subbing in for games where you have things in control. Instead he is playing way too much for a side that lacks players.
Outgoing
Julian Alvarez- Terrible decision to let him go and they are paying for it right now. Haaland looks dead and City have no second form of attack. Everything feels like they are trying to feed Haaland or shoot from distance. Alvarez is doing pretty well for an Atletico side that are dangerously good.
Joao Cancelo- Finally got rid of him and I think it was good to have him leave tbh.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis- Looking into this guy, I have no idea why City decided to sell him. He is a 22 year old center back that could be rotating into a depleted back line right now to develop better but they just let him go to Southampton.
Sergio Gomez- Selling him makes sense, if you kept Taylor Harwood-Bellis. But you let Harwood go, so why would you also let Gomez go? These are quality squad rotational players that are just disappearing as you let your big game players just get dragged down by constant fixtures every 3-4 days.
Liam Delap- Another Center forward just let go without a replacement. This is the perfect player to let out on loan to Ipswich, IF YOU KEPT ALVAREZ, and could develop there. But you sold BOTH OF THEM AND HAD NO REPLACEMENTS.
Tommy Doyle- 23 year old central midfielder who could be rotating into the squad and was allowed to just leave and go to a different premier league team.
So I guess my assumption was mostly right. City just let good, young, squad rotational players just drop away with no real replacement while selling off some of their older big game players and only bringing in some big time players that aren't at the same quality as the outgoing ones and having no squad rotational players so their supposed best players get tired. I think its arrogance but there could be another reason. The cynical person in me makes me think that they are trying to scrap what little value they can before getting hammered with the charges
(All transfers mentioned will be permanent transfers according to transfer mart. Loans don't mean anything because they will get those players back. Won't be including youth players coming in and out because who knows where they left due to the city system of clubs and if their potential would have been figured out.)
20/21 season
Incoming
Ruben Dias- Good transfer from Benfica. Been a great center back and is probably still their best center back
Nathan Ake- Decent bit of business from Bournemouth. He should just be a rotational defender but he counts towards the development amount due to signing for Chelsea when he was around 16 I believe. He is being asked to do too much
Ferran Torres- This was a really solid acquisition. He is currently 24, and would be a great alternative to Haaland that could rotate into the squad.
Outgoing
Leroy Sane- This was a huge outgoing transfer that was more meant to balance the books but looking at the actual wingers City have right now, he might be a little bit better. Probably says more about the quality of City's wingers right now than how good Sane is.
21/22 Season
Incoming
Jack Grealish- I would qualify this as a bust. He has the ability to slow down the pace of play, which can be a good thing, but he hasn't shown an ability to speed it back up and beat his man. His time at Villa showed he can beat men on the dribble and his position on the left should have him cutting in to beat his man with a midfielder or outside back overlapping him but for whatever reason, it doesn't happen.
Julian Alvarez- Honestly, under rated signing. He was overshadowed by Haaland but he offered a different form of striker, with the energy up top, and an ability to play off the creative types is something that City are really struggling with right now.
Outgoing
Ferran Torres- Balancing books reason for the most part. With Alvarez coming in, selling torres for 55 mil euros when you bought him the prior year for 33.5 mil euros is something I can't really fault them for. They bought his replacement as a center forward and made money doing it.
22/23 Season
Incoming
Erling Haaland- Great signing. Gave them a new way to attack and keep teams from just sitting back and letting City have possession 25-30 yards from goal.
Kalvin Phillips- The first serious major blunder of the transfer policy. Grealish can contribute a bit but Phillips was a straight up flop. They still haven't been able to get rid of him and I am pretty sure his contract will just run out before moving on.
Manuel Akanji- A decent center back who shouldn't be relied on as much as they are relying on him tbh. He also doesn't have the youth development tag so why they decided he was important is beyond me
Sergio Gomez- An under rated flop from City. He was only 15 mil euros as a left sided defender and attacking mid, designed to replace an outgoing player but just didn't make it up to the basic level.
Maximo Perrone- He is a defensive midfielder on loan at Como right now but is only 21. He is one of many players City bought to eventually become a Rodri rotational player/replacement in the future. He needs a few more years to see if he is a bust but the injury to Rodri has exposed what little replacement they have for Rodri right now.
22/23
Raheem Sterling- Definitely fell off at Chelsea and is seeing a bit of a career revival at Arsenal but he seems like, had he stayed at City with a better attitude, he would be the player Grealish should be right now.
Gabriel Jesus- Letting him go seems like a mistake now but was the right move back then. Alvarez getting more time and Haaland coming in meant he would not be getting much playing time. But now, when the squad lacks quality, Jesus playing CF or just off Haaland would be a really scary proposition.
Zinchenko- This one, I fell, really hurts them. A perfect plug in for Rodri during most games and could be placed in an outside back roll with a pinch in position while City have possession to help with whoever is playing defensive mid would be great.
Pedro Porro- Selling him seems like a pretty big mistake right now. He could easily be a Kyle Walker replacement (laugh if you want but Walker is TERRIBLE) and Porro could fit in just fine. He was on loan for 2 years at Sporting and they sold him only for Sporting to sell him a year later. He was a year away from being Premier League ready and City really fucked that up.
Ko Itakura- Not sure as I am not a huge Bundesliga fan, but he plays center back and defensive midfielder. Could easily be a squad rotational player in a position that is needed for City right now. Squad depth right now is a huge problem for City and this player could easily rotate in for some games which is probably more valuable than the 5 mil euros they sold him for.
23/24
Incoming
Josko Gvardiol- Another solid transfer imo. He offers something on the back line going forward with a decent ability to defend (not perfect). He is just being stretched out too much with squad depth right now and not playing to his potential.
Matheus Nunes- Why would you buy this player? He has not been impressive in his 1.5 years at City so far and the 62 mil euros could have been used to just keep some other players if needed.
Jeremy Doku- He was a replacement for someone in the outgoing section and he has been a little underwhelming.
Mateo Kovacic- Good signing. He is a box to box, high energy, squad rotational midfielder. I am not sure why we aren't seeing more of him considering the situation currently going on with City, unless he is having an injury that I just don't know about.
Outgoing
Cole Palmer- Big time mistake to let him go. Why Guardiola didn't play him and insisted on buying other players that aren't at his quality is beyond me. He should have been playing way more during his time at City and having him cutting in from the right being a swap player/playing alongside Bernardo Silva would be scary if City had kept him around.
Riyad Mahrez, Aymeric Laporte- Lumping them both together because both of them were getting on in years and selling them to Saudi Arabia was the right move. No criticisms here.
Ilkay Gundogan- it was time for him to move on at that time. His time at barcelona proved he couldn't be relied on in a major role and City needed to replace him.
Nahuel Bustos- Going to mention this one even though he wasn't mentioned as an incoming in the 20/21 season. They brought in this forward from Argentina for 6.5 mil, he never played, and then left to go back to Argentina for a free. Going to mention that Slobodan Tedic was bought from Serbia for 3 mil and was allowed to go back this season for free as well.
24/25
Incoming
Savinho- Good young winger signing but needs time. Because of City's situation, they haven't been allowed to develop him into something better and have just thrown him to the wolves
Ilkay Gundogan- And this is the point of showing how desperate City are for squad players. Gundogan is not enough quality to play but he could be playing in your league cup, early FA Cup, and bottom feeder Champions League games along with a few premier league games and subbing in for games where you have things in control. Instead he is playing way too much for a side that lacks players.
Outgoing
Julian Alvarez- Terrible decision to let him go and they are paying for it right now. Haaland looks dead and City have no second form of attack. Everything feels like they are trying to feed Haaland or shoot from distance. Alvarez is doing pretty well for an Atletico side that are dangerously good.
Joao Cancelo- Finally got rid of him and I think it was good to have him leave tbh.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis- Looking into this guy, I have no idea why City decided to sell him. He is a 22 year old center back that could be rotating into a depleted back line right now to develop better but they just let him go to Southampton.
Sergio Gomez- Selling him makes sense, if you kept Taylor Harwood-Bellis. But you let Harwood go, so why would you also let Gomez go? These are quality squad rotational players that are just disappearing as you let your big game players just get dragged down by constant fixtures every 3-4 days.
Liam Delap- Another Center forward just let go without a replacement. This is the perfect player to let out on loan to Ipswich, IF YOU KEPT ALVAREZ, and could develop there. But you sold BOTH OF THEM AND HAD NO REPLACEMENTS.
Tommy Doyle- 23 year old central midfielder who could be rotating into the squad and was allowed to just leave and go to a different premier league team.
So I guess my assumption was mostly right. City just let good, young, squad rotational players just drop away with no real replacement while selling off some of their older big game players and only bringing in some big time players that aren't at the same quality as the outgoing ones and having no squad rotational players so their supposed best players get tired. I think its arrogance but there could be another reason. The cynical person in me makes me think that they are trying to scrap what little value they can before getting hammered with the charges
