alias75

Commentator on my stream keeps calling Kelly, Flannagan!!

He can definitely improve in front of goal, last season he snatched at a lot of chances which is understandable when a forward comes to a new club and is eager to make an impression. But his overall contribution was amazing really given he came off the back of a long lay off for Ajax. Really looking forward to him and Stevie playing together, just imagine all those free kicks he's going to win for Adam to take next season!!!

If its that much then it clearly comes under the bracket of being over market value. As someone else said this is Man City we're talking about not a really big club, If we're also looking at naming rights then UEFA will have another example to compare their deal with and see what the true market value is. If its around £100 million over 10 years thats probably close enough but that alone won't stop them breaking the rules, their wage bill compared to their income is massively out of whack.

was a really interesting guy on talksport yesterday talking about pre-season training and how outdated we are in the UK. He talked about how football is a short burst game yet still teams slog their players in pre-season and get them running loads. It was good to see in that footage a lot of short sharp work and lots of stuff with the ball too. Of course players need to be physically fit but being match sharp over those short distances is much more important. Most runs in a game are over very short distances so that's the type of training that is beneficial.

Would like to see Sterling play on the right a bit more, i know he switches a bit when he plays for the U18's but when he's on the left its easier for him to be double teamed, although hes very good at cutting inside and getting a shot off as we saw many times for the U18's last season and England yesterday. Physical advantage always has to be taken into account at this age as it can make a huge difference, it was quite telling in the youth cup game against Man Utd and when the U18's played Everton that physically they were bigger and stronger than us. But i see that as a positive, these kids are still competing despite not being developed physically, that will come with time but its much more difficult to improve those technical aspects of a player, and in those games despite being physically smaller i thought our players were technically better which is much more important. Morgan looked really good when he came on, he could have scored a couple with chances he created for himself and he created a great chance in the last minute that should have been taken.

morgan was excellent in the 10min he was on, playing wide left too...

is Sterling a year younger than most of these guys?? i think the age usually starts from when qualifying starts so im guessing most of these are closer to 18 than 17.

Smith and Sterling start for the U17's against Argentina kicking off soon i think....

thought it was quite telling in the youth cup game against Utd and also looking at the Everton side our U18 team lost the league too that physically they looked a lot more developed than our boys, but ive heard from people within Everton that they think only 2 players from that group have a future which has to be the ultimate goal. It was also telling that until our boys lost their heads against Utd we were technically much better. Its easy to stand out in the younger age groups if physically you've developed quicker than others but that advantage doesn't last and once you start playing with men you have to have something more than physique. Thats why im really hopeful about our current crop because apart from a few there aren't too many that are physically big for their age yet they still manage to compete and play some fantastic football at times. As they grow that will come but what's much more difficult to improve on as you get older is that technique. Its common sense really and it says a lot for English football that they've only cottoned on to that now.

Pearce got a 2 year contract recently, watching the way the U21 played thats frightening for any young english players.

the biggest thing Guardiola did was turn Barcelona into a pressing team when they didn't have the ball, before that when they lost it they were happy to get men behind the ball now they press like demons and usually win it back very quickly. on another note we've signed a kid called Lloyd Jones from Plymouth, aged 15 he plays for Wales youth.

Good read that, but reading what he had to say about the importance of the players attitude and how it was very difficult for someone thats had a bad attitude in the past to change, it does make me wonder why on earth we would have been interested in Barton (if we were)

was that Wisdom that just flattened the Spanish CB??

Typical end of season game with nothing on it. I know its easier to say now but i do think not being in the Europa will be a blessing in disguise. The Thursday / Sunday games take their toll and we just don't have the squad to cope, PL has to be our total focus and it can be now. I also think it helps in terms of recruitment in the summer because the need to beef up the squad as well as the starting 11 isn't really there with no European football, so hopefully we can add the 3 maybe 4 players that can come straight into the first team squad and then next season add another 2 or 3 of top quality instead of having to get 6 or 7 now just so we have the numbers to cope with Europe which would have an effect on the quality of player we would sign. I think with 3 players of the quality of Suarez we can make big progress next season, the squad needs improving but even with todays team we were missing 4 players that would probably be in our strongest 11 plus Maxi so almost half a team missing. Obviously the attacking positions have to be a priority, hopefully we can bring in 2 top quality attacking players that can come straight into the first team. Its been a poor season but its finished with everyone optimistic again, we've got rid of the owners and have Kenny back in charge, 2 or 3 young players have come in and showed they can do a job when needed and we have owners that will be committed to spending what we need to get back into top 4.

what are we supposed to do?? we all complain that we don't spend enough money for players etc.. well we're competing against teams that all charge significantly more for season tickets than we do and whose match day revenues far exceed ours, they will also be increasing their prices too. How are we supposed to compete?? Of course it would be horrible for locals to be priced out of going to watch the team but as someone else said it works out at around £60 a month which isn't a huge amount when you consider what people spend on nights out, or on their satellite TV, if your working and you prioritise going to watch the football its affordable. It will be interesting to see what finance options are available as that should make it easier on people instead of having to pay it all in 1 go.

Improving players is his passion (he tells a hilarious story, moving the condiments again, about the challenges of teaching Ryan Babel) would like to hear that story...

reckon Carroll for Raul, Kuyt on the right

For some Norwegian agent it was!!

Maxi?? Kuyt?? I guess it depends on how Kenny wants to play, neither Downing or Young have the technical ability or intelligence in their movement of someone like Maxi, so if we want to play with a narrow midfield with the fullbacks providing the width and a front 3-4 that are very fluid in their movement we're better off looking elsewhere. If we're looking to play with proper wingers who hold their width and look to whip balls into the box for someone like Carroll maybe Downing and Young are options. I think we'll maybe look to play both ways through the course of the season so will look for players that can do both.

Article here from Australia about our left back Brad Smith. Hes been playing for England U17's but Australia are keen for him to commit to them.... (scored a pretty good goal in their 3-0 win a few days ago) Article

think its win win with Aquiani if we find a buyer at a price we're happy with good. If not im sure he'll do well under Kenny, especially playing the type of 1 and 2 touch football we currently are, suits his style of play.

Not sure if its been posted here but im sure i read that we have 7 players in the latest England U19 squad... Wisdom, Flannagan, Robinson, Shelvey, Coady, Ngoo and Ince

Ok i think it was a bit of both, by the time that team had evolved we had Mascherano and Alonso in central midfield so of course it made sense to use Gerrard further forward but i also remember some comments from Rafa i think after a game against Everton where he was critical of Gerrard in terms of losing shape (think it was the game where Lucas came on and won the penalty) the thing us fans love him for that Roy of the Rovers style can work against a team too depending on where you played him, if he plays in a 2 man central midfield he does have to be more disciplined and yes he is capable of doing that but hes also capable of not keeping his shape which causes problems. Its a nice problem to have and im sure Kenny and Steve Clarke know what they're doing, as i said the team can only get better for having Gerrard in it.

He's obviously a great player but it has been clear in the past that he hasn't trusted some of his team mates and when that happens everyone loses. Lucas was a prime example playing in the position he does for us he should see a lot of the ball but if people are afraid to pass it to him that creates more problems than it solves. Gerrard clearly didn't trust him in the first few years he was at the club and it didn't help. Also playing in a 2 in the middle of midfield you can't afford him to go running here there and everywhere trying to do it all on his own because that creates too much space which good teams will exploit, thats definitely a part of his game Rafa didn't like which is probably why he played him off Torres where he had that freedom to drift. If he played as 1 of the front 4 then he would have that freedom but if he played the Spearing position he would have to be more disciplined because a big reason why we've done so well since Kenny took over has been the work rate of the 2 in the middle and their discipline which allows the players in front of them the freedom to do what they've been doing. Im sure he will be able to adapt and of course any team is better for having Gerrard in it, but the "secret" of our success under Kenny has been a team all pulling in the right direction all playing their role, within that framework there is lots of freedom too and im sure Gerrard will thrive playing in a more offensive setup where we're trying to take the game to the opposition.

Yeah i agree Kenny has to get it through to Gerrard that he doesn't have to do it all on his own, thats probably been his biggest "fault" he needs to understand he's 1 player in a team, a very important part of that team but unless he trusts his team mates and just plays his role in that team the whole thing can fall apart. When he first came into the team he was obviously nervous and he kept it nice and simple picking his moment to try the killer pass or join the attack he has to get back to that way of playing.