So, Ake remained as backup option at City, Akanji got loaned to Inter Milano, Branthwaite was available in summer, Guehi was Liverpool's target in the summer (but apparently wasn't good enough for us), could've tried Ben White too, Nathan Collins would def take the chance to come, Lacroix is also a genuine option who everybody underestimate.
It's hard to believe none of these was available. The commen in all of them is PL experience. Some profiles were more suitable than others indeed. But yet again, our club report there weren't options on the market.
I'm waiting to see the overall package of the next one (Jaquet or whoever it is) the club will bring in and will be glad to compare it with any of the above-mentioned ones!!!! It's just stinks badly 🙄🤯🙄🤯
And...it hurts as much to know that we still have superstars in the squad like Badiashille, Disasi, Tosin, Fofana, Hato, Gusto, Anselmino, Sarr....I'm provably missing someone.
My only comment on this is that given the SDs bought disas-ter and bad-iashile, i wouldnt trust them to sign a decent CB or to know if one was available that would have improved the first team. Totally agree with not buying someone as a knee jerk reaction to Colwill's injury though.
This isnt a club breifing it is to provide information and context to what is going on. There was no intended dig at Maresca was purely to again give context!
People often overlook context. Before Colwill’s injury we had:
Colwill, Fofana, Chalobah, Badiashile, Tosin, Josh and Disasi in the bomb squad. Those are 6 centrebacks + 1 in the bomb squad.
When Colwill was injured we had 5 centrebacks + 1 in the bombsquad. Chalobah and Fofana can go up against any centreback pairing in the Premier League, I’m convinced of that (bar Saliba and Gabriel). Badiashile is a good back-up to have who can play that “CCB” role as well. Josh is insanely talented but more as a RCB. Tosin and Disasi are alright, but just not for our way of playing. They can’t close down and can’t defend wide channels.
For it to make sense for me to have another centreback is to first sell the other two, before committing more bodies in to a already stacked position.
In my opinion if we want to make a instant improvements to the squad: recall Jackson, get a tall midfielder who can defend and win headers so that we can roll with a 4-3-3. Play Palmer more as a inside RF. That would be a better move in my opinion.
Danny should write more articles as he seems to have a lot more background info from the club and more importantly is willing to respond in the comments section even though Danny is not responsible for the club's mistakes. A far more rounded article and esp on a Friday !
An article on a Friday, what an unexpected treat ! Thanks for the note, interesting and well rounded. Confirms some of what we knew already but puts it all in context. Wednesday certainly showed that we need to strengthen our CBs and it makes sense to only spend the money on a profile that makes us stronger.
One of the clubs biggest issues has been communicating about stuff that doesnt matter but ignoring the key areas that need to be address. I think if they did a better job at that the toxicity would be much less than it is right now!
From my viewing he is very capable of coming in and starting straight away. Very physical, height of 6ft 3, good on the ball, plays CCB at Rennes alot and extremley quick!
If it’s true they could not find an upgrade on what we have then football is in trouble. They have spent a lot of money on central defenders that just aren’t very good. Central defence is a position where you really need someone with experience more than on any other part of the pitch.
couple of interesting profiles there... though i think Ramon would probably go back to Real Madrid as Rudiger would be leaving. He looks decent enough at this young age and would form a good partnership with Huijsen.
You’ll excuse some cynism on “sources confirm”. You really need to hear the other side on that. All these stories since maresca left seem to constantly cast maresca as either dumb, or ignoring g drs advice or not being denied anything.
I guess I don’t care too much about the rights and wrongs of water under the bridge. History is written by management who always win.
What really matters is how much we upgrade the squad and when, and how fast Rosenior can learn on the job.
OZB I agree with you on the cynicism front for 4 months we have been told Maresca was informed the club believed he had adequate CB cover now the story changes.
I understand the cynicism i do, i would assue those stories were put out one to keep the players morale up and 2 not to look desperate in the media. Maresca talking publically for a CB weakens the clubs postion when negocitating becuase it makes us look desperate!
Sorry Danny but it does sound like you are being briefed by the club. They have purchased defenders who clearly weren’t and are not good enough. Our coaches don’t find and buy the players. There is clearly a serious problem with our defence in terms of the quality of the players.
I do not disbute that the current defenders arent good enough and clearly the club agree this is why they are looking at additional CB's. I suspect we will have a clear out of CB's this summer we have Sarr who i understand will be at Chelsea next season and if the club is able to sell a few i wouldnt be surprised if we bring in another.
Could easily have new CB from January, Levi, Fofana, Sarr and new CB in the summer by next year which would be massive upgrade on what we have today!
I get Tosin as he was free as a backup but they paid nearly 80 million for the two from Monaco and they would struggle in the championship. Given their record on buying players it’s going to be luck rather than judgement if they get the right one. They need to take responsibility for some of their signings and not blame others.
I mean it was clear for all Maresca the club and the fans CB was a weakness but after Huijsen and before Levi's they were looking at top level CB's to compliment the group with the majority of the hope and coverage to come from Levi and Fofana for the year and the rest of the CB's for rotation. After Levi's injury there also wasnt anyone else to come!
I think its safe to say if Levi didnt get injured and with Fofana's return to fitness this season we would of been much better off but sadly not the case!
And yet we didn’t get a centre back though it was widely reported maresca wanted one, and now Palmer reported to need an operation is to potentially play on the weekend.
What makes sense to me is maresca isn’t there and management are. But it matters not. .
It makes total sense for them to only purchase a player that is 100% the right type of player and not purchase with it resulting in any form of knee jerk reaction. Colwill is a leader that is maturing and we need to give him as much time to recover as possible and build a centre half partnership around him. If you can’t get the right player, don’t buy anybody.
I would love to play poker with Maresca. Pretty stupid coming out so publicly when he knew the club were actively chasing a CH already and weakening their hand. Looks like Maresca was covering his own back or maybe he had already heard that his older brother would probably be leaving City at the end of the season. Some interesting bits coming out from Si that aren't painting Maresca in a good light, giving the impression that you ask the players to put the club and team before the individual, whilst apparently putting your own interest first.
The situation behind the scenes wasnt right with Maresca even before the club world cup and became a really stupid and toxic battle of PR between him and the club.
There is alot of stuff that isnt out in the public about Maresca that would paint him in an even more worse light!
Or maybe this is just the directors trying to cover their ass? They weren't gonna sign a CB in the summer once Huijsen went to Madrid and they just want someone to blame. Saying no available CBs were/are better than Disasi and Badiashille is laughable
I don't think they are talking about those two Logan, certainly not Disasi. As I understand it Josh signed a new contract on the understanding that they would give him as many chances as possible to breakthrough and this was one of the points that was made to Maresca. It was baffling that he didn't use Josh more, said he should have played him more, especially against Leeds and then again used him sparingly. Quite honestly a manager just saying I want a new player rather than trying to improve an outstanding prospect is lazy. If I remember rightly we had eight centre halves at the start of the summer so I can see where the board were coming from if a suitable replacement wasn't available.
I can get why you would think this but its not the case. Who would you of signed that would be Chelsea level and not just a kneejerk reaction to Levi's injury this summer?
I said at the time Danny that I would have liked us to go for Dan Burn. I understand he grew up supporting us. Okay he is a poor man's JT, but I love his attitude. One, he would have brought great experience to the side and two, he would have brought us much needed height at the back. Don't think he would have cost us that much and I don't think his wage demands would have been that excessive. I can't believe Maresca thought that Guehi would have struggled, same as Chilli. I thought it was criminal just leaving him to rot after he had a good spell under Poch and is doing really well at Strasburg.
Regardless if he is good enough or not Newcastle would never sell Dan burn and my understanding is was born in newcastle and is a Newcastle supporter through and throuh.
My educated guess would be Jacquet based on getting the most concereate information on him in the last few months. However Chelsea are keeping their cards very close to there chest in this pursuit so cant be certain :)
So, Ake remained as backup option at City, Akanji got loaned to Inter Milano, Branthwaite was available in summer, Guehi was Liverpool's target in the summer (but apparently wasn't good enough for us), could've tried Ben White too, Nathan Collins would def take the chance to come, Lacroix is also a genuine option who everybody underestimate.
It's hard to believe none of these was available. The commen in all of them is PL experience. Some profiles were more suitable than others indeed. But yet again, our club report there weren't options on the market.
I'm waiting to see the overall package of the next one (Jaquet or whoever it is) the club will bring in and will be glad to compare it with any of the above-mentioned ones!!!! It's just stinks badly 🙄🤯🙄🤯
And...it hurts as much to know that we still have superstars in the squad like Badiashille, Disasi, Tosin, Fofana, Hato, Gusto, Anselmino, Sarr....I'm provably missing someone.
My only comment on this is that given the SDs bought disas-ter and bad-iashile, i wouldnt trust them to sign a decent CB or to know if one was available that would have improved the first team. Totally agree with not buying someone as a knee jerk reaction to Colwill's injury though.
Why does every club briefing still have to contain an anti Marrsca dig?
It just comes across as petty now. I'd like to think my club was bigger than that, but it clearly isn't.
This isnt a club breifing it is to provide information and context to what is going on. There was no intended dig at Maresca was purely to again give context!
People often overlook context. Before Colwill’s injury we had:
Colwill, Fofana, Chalobah, Badiashile, Tosin, Josh and Disasi in the bomb squad. Those are 6 centrebacks + 1 in the bomb squad.
When Colwill was injured we had 5 centrebacks + 1 in the bombsquad. Chalobah and Fofana can go up against any centreback pairing in the Premier League, I’m convinced of that (bar Saliba and Gabriel). Badiashile is a good back-up to have who can play that “CCB” role as well. Josh is insanely talented but more as a RCB. Tosin and Disasi are alright, but just not for our way of playing. They can’t close down and can’t defend wide channels.
For it to make sense for me to have another centreback is to first sell the other two, before committing more bodies in to a already stacked position.
In my opinion if we want to make a instant improvements to the squad: recall Jackson, get a tall midfielder who can defend and win headers so that we can roll with a 4-3-3. Play Palmer more as a inside RF. That would be a better move in my opinion.
Danny should write more articles as he seems to have a lot more background info from the club and more importantly is willing to respond in the comments section even though Danny is not responsible for the club's mistakes. A far more rounded article and esp on a Friday !
Really appericate the kind words!
An article on a Friday, what an unexpected treat ! Thanks for the note, interesting and well rounded. Confirms some of what we knew already but puts it all in context. Wednesday certainly showed that we need to strengthen our CBs and it makes sense to only spend the money on a profile that makes us stronger.
Great article once again. I get the impression that the SDs are learning the benefit of better communication. Helps prevent false narratives after all
One of the clubs biggest issues has been communicating about stuff that doesnt matter but ignoring the key areas that need to be address. I think if they did a better job at that the toxicity would be much less than it is right now!
Let’s say it’s Jacquet, I haven’t seen enough of him but would he come in and be starting straight away or another rotation option? Is he that good?
From my viewing he is very capable of coming in and starting straight away. Very physical, height of 6ft 3, good on the ball, plays CCB at Rennes alot and extremley quick!
If it’s true they could not find an upgrade on what we have then football is in trouble. They have spent a lot of money on central defenders that just aren’t very good. Central defence is a position where you really need someone with experience more than on any other part of the pitch.
I understand what you are saying, the club wanted to be 100% certain on who they bring in to stop another Disasi, tosin ect situation!
Who would you of signed last summer?
The same guys making the decision on this are the ones who signed disasi and badiashile though!
couple of interesting profiles there... though i think Ramon would probably go back to Real Madrid as Rudiger would be leaving. He looks decent enough at this young age and would form a good partnership with Huijsen.
You’ll excuse some cynism on “sources confirm”. You really need to hear the other side on that. All these stories since maresca left seem to constantly cast maresca as either dumb, or ignoring g drs advice or not being denied anything.
I guess I don’t care too much about the rights and wrongs of water under the bridge. History is written by management who always win.
What really matters is how much we upgrade the squad and when, and how fast Rosenior can learn on the job.
OZB I agree with you on the cynicism front for 4 months we have been told Maresca was informed the club believed he had adequate CB cover now the story changes.
I understand the cynicism i do, i would assue those stories were put out one to keep the players morale up and 2 not to look desperate in the media. Maresca talking publically for a CB weakens the clubs postion when negocitating becuase it makes us look desperate!
Sorry Danny but it does sound like you are being briefed by the club. They have purchased defenders who clearly weren’t and are not good enough. Our coaches don’t find and buy the players. There is clearly a serious problem with our defence in terms of the quality of the players.
I do not disbute that the current defenders arent good enough and clearly the club agree this is why they are looking at additional CB's. I suspect we will have a clear out of CB's this summer we have Sarr who i understand will be at Chelsea next season and if the club is able to sell a few i wouldnt be surprised if we bring in another.
Could easily have new CB from January, Levi, Fofana, Sarr and new CB in the summer by next year which would be massive upgrade on what we have today!
I get Tosin as he was free as a backup but they paid nearly 80 million for the two from Monaco and they would struggle in the championship. Given their record on buying players it’s going to be luck rather than judgement if they get the right one. They need to take responsibility for some of their signings and not blame others.
Hi Danny
I suspect Maresca felt given the quality of the CB's at his disposal he had no choice.
This probably occurred because he had been told there were no plans to improve the CBs.
We all know the SD's got that wrong dont we.
Hi mate!
I mean it was clear for all Maresca the club and the fans CB was a weakness but after Huijsen and before Levi's they were looking at top level CB's to compliment the group with the majority of the hope and coverage to come from Levi and Fofana for the year and the rest of the CB's for rotation. After Levi's injury there also wasnt anyone else to come!
I think its safe to say if Levi didnt get injured and with Fofana's return to fitness this season we would of been much better off but sadly not the case!
Well it was 100% clear in the summer that Chelsea did try for CB. This is not news.
It's also clear that the Head of Performance was on the bench, nobody questioned why at the time.
And we did have a couple of players play a lot of time right after injury (Palmer, Badiashile) unlike most players that seem to be eased back in.
So it all makes sense.
And yet we didn’t get a centre back though it was widely reported maresca wanted one, and now Palmer reported to need an operation is to potentially play on the weekend.
What makes sense to me is maresca isn’t there and management are. But it matters not. .
It makes total sense for them to only purchase a player that is 100% the right type of player and not purchase with it resulting in any form of knee jerk reaction. Colwill is a leader that is maturing and we need to give him as much time to recover as possible and build a centre half partnership around him. If you can’t get the right player, don’t buy anybody.
I would love to play poker with Maresca. Pretty stupid coming out so publicly when he knew the club were actively chasing a CH already and weakening their hand. Looks like Maresca was covering his own back or maybe he had already heard that his older brother would probably be leaving City at the end of the season. Some interesting bits coming out from Si that aren't painting Maresca in a good light, giving the impression that you ask the players to put the club and team before the individual, whilst apparently putting your own interest first.
The situation behind the scenes wasnt right with Maresca even before the club world cup and became a really stupid and toxic battle of PR between him and the club.
There is alot of stuff that isnt out in the public about Maresca that would paint him in an even more worse light!
Or maybe this is just the directors trying to cover their ass? They weren't gonna sign a CB in the summer once Huijsen went to Madrid and they just want someone to blame. Saying no available CBs were/are better than Disasi and Badiashille is laughable
I don't think they are talking about those two Logan, certainly not Disasi. As I understand it Josh signed a new contract on the understanding that they would give him as many chances as possible to breakthrough and this was one of the points that was made to Maresca. It was baffling that he didn't use Josh more, said he should have played him more, especially against Leeds and then again used him sparingly. Quite honestly a manager just saying I want a new player rather than trying to improve an outstanding prospect is lazy. If I remember rightly we had eight centre halves at the start of the summer so I can see where the board were coming from if a suitable replacement wasn't available.
I can get why you would think this but its not the case. Who would you of signed that would be Chelsea level and not just a kneejerk reaction to Levi's injury this summer?
I said at the time Danny that I would have liked us to go for Dan Burn. I understand he grew up supporting us. Okay he is a poor man's JT, but I love his attitude. One, he would have brought great experience to the side and two, he would have brought us much needed height at the back. Don't think he would have cost us that much and I don't think his wage demands would have been that excessive. I can't believe Maresca thought that Guehi would have struggled, same as Chilli. I thought it was criminal just leaving him to rot after he had a good spell under Poch and is doing really well at Strasburg.
Regardless if he is good enough or not Newcastle would never sell Dan burn and my understanding is was born in newcastle and is a Newcastle supporter through and throuh.
Am i getting him mixed up with Lewis Dunk?
That’s what I thought too, a lot of Newcastle fans wouldn’t even have Burn in their best back 4 anyway
They have been consistently asking for him to be drop for months!
Yeah the only issue with Dan Burn is that he’s shit
Thanks for this. Hopefully we strengthen defense and attacking if possible - even if it’s a loan move. UCL qualification being the definitive aspect
I am not sure attack will be possible in January and will likely have to wait untill the summer!
Thanks guys. Who do you think we will sign and who would be your pick to sign?
My educated guess would be Jacquet based on getting the most concereate information on him in the last few months. However Chelsea are keeping their cards very close to there chest in this pursuit so cant be certain :)