Are Manchester City better without a proper striker? | Extra Time | ESPN FC

[@abg6461]

Gab is 100% right about Ruben Dias signing!!! Everyone on ESPN said it's not the right decision!!! 🙄

[@nishchaychauhan8814]

Cancelo, rodri, Jesus, zinchenko..and the list goes on and on. These players weren't world class but rather made under the tutelage of pep.

[@yatesy117]

When he signed I was like hmm ok this guy might take a season or two to settle in due to his age lack of CL experience but he's been an exceptional signing should be given captaincy next season leads by example.

[@Timliu92]

Thing is, Pep does not sign players simply based on how famous or individually brilliant they are. He signs players based on whether they fit his style of play or if not, can at least be shaped into one who is an integral part of his puzzle. Ederson, Dias, Cancelo, Jesus, Rodri - none of these players were well-known or considered world-class prior to signing for Manchester City.

[@highfiveentertainment298]

@@nishchaychauhan8814 Sterling, Ferran, Sane, Gundo, Foden, Stones,Dias, Silva! Besides Mahrez and Jack who were finished products, Everyone under Pep were improved

[@Xasew]

Gab is completely right about City's signings. Pep's ability to turn good players into great ones is underrated.

[@Prince-tv9xf]

Pep needs money to build a team that is fit for his style of play. That's why he never signs for a team with no $$$ The thing with Barcelona & their home grown players/coaches is that they can only excel when they play their passing tika taka game. Put them in another team and they struggle big time and sometimes even fade away (reason why messi struggles with the national team and now psg). If you put Pep in a team where there are good players, he will mostly under perform due to the lack of other playing style in his repertoire.

[@natural6926]

@@Prince-tv9xf nice joke

[@alibarznji2000]

@@Prince-tv9xf Hazard cost Real a lot of money, but even with his stature nobody could make him into the machine that he was supposed to be, money is not a factor at all. It's about spending wisely and scouting good players.

[@highfiveentertainment298]

@@Prince-tv9xf waiting on klop, Tuchel, Jose, All to go to Brighton and make them Pl champions! Great managers go to big clubs!

[@barcak1912]

@@Prince-tv9xf u must be a pandemic fan cuz if u had seen Pedro Fabregas and Thiago you wouldn't be talking that bullsh¡t

[@karlhans4116]

Gab from 10:08 to 10:40 taught stevie a great lession good for Gab 🤟🤟🤟

[@johnhonai4601]

He needed that

[@philmitchell91]

No he didn't, Gab is a pretentious middle class fake fan. Stevie is a legend.

[@karlhans4116]

@@philmitchell91 Lol Is stevie a legend -- yes is gab a middle age fake fan? - No Gab is one of the most known football journalist in the world.. beside he is well read and has grasp on many things in the world Gab is an intellectual.. but whatever who gab is or who stevie is doesn't matter here!! The matter was, was gab right in these moments? absolutely yes

[@philmitchell91]

@@karlhans4116 I don't care if Gab is an 'intellectual' or how many qualifications he has, he's still a journalist and not a proper fan. Stevie doesn't respect Gab and rightfully so.

[@catalanizuchukwu9922]

As an honest Liverpool fan, klopp really need to change this tactics of the referee helping us to win matches because whenever the ref refuses, we either draw or lose

[@Akkarsollum]

Man city without striker makes Craig and Steven salty lol

[@Hunter-gc1nx]

They can’t stand that it’s working, 2nd most goals in the league w no striker rent free in both of their heads😂

[@Fractalchemystical]

And they make you salty lol. Look in the mirror

[@ps7711]

They are always salty

[@chinortega3]

@@ps7711 valid lol

[@yatesy117]

@@Hunter-gc1nx As soon as Vlahovic or Haaland are available they're coming to City. Last striker City signed was G Jesus in 2017 Peps wanted one for a few seasons.

[@rajchandak8712]

There are two sides to this: a) No striker means more fluidity, all 10 contribute to game control. b) Having a striker increases conversion rate. So more goals in difficult moments.

[@winter3410]

this is probably why city only went for kane. highest goals and assists last season, dropping deep but still being there for the chances

[@myp0h]

@@winter3410 true

[@bigstonez]

@Dantralius vlahovic is terrible at tracking back/ defense have you watched him?

[@MADGUNSMONSTER]

@@bigstonez It’s generally accepted that Top Strikers don’t contribute fully to defence. Look how much Messi and Ronaldo have one. I can’t recall any ‘crunching tackles’ they’ve made.

[@riverplate0101]

Jesus is not delivering? Real question.

[@mattiknowyourmum7521]

Pretty sure rodri,zinni, dias, Laporte,stones, Cancelo, Bernardo and even gündogan weren't top five players in their position when city bought them, they cost a lot of money because clubs know city are rich so the overprice them 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@Tommy_111]

The fact that Stevie said City always buys top 5 players. Ridiculous. Glad Gab schooled him

[@Fractalchemystical]

Gab didn't school anyone. Gab's never even kicked a ball in his life!

[@FOOTIATOR]

@@Fractalchemystical R u in Gab's head??

[@ColbyMcDowell]

@@Fractalchemystical but he did, Bernardo wasn’t World Class, Dias wasn’t, Cancelo wasn’t, Foden wouldn’t be the same player, Rodri wouldn’t be... it’s ludicrous to think he doesn’t improve players lmao

[@virupakshawalla5734]

Mharez was hanging out in airports looking for folk to sign him on the off chance. Even Grealish was no where near top 5 in world. Just paid too much. Kane would actually have been their first signing that that could have been argued.

[@africanhut4979]

@@virupakshawalla5734 I agree with the kane perspective. Should have pursued Kane first, Grealish is not really worth 💯 mil IMO.

[@anthonymoses8830]

Yes they are, City’s whole system is tailor made to function without a central striker. They’re a unique team that can’t be compared to others.

[@MADGUNSMONSTER]

Agreed

[@michaelmullins8866]

There’s nothing unique about City , Barca and Spain were playing a false 9 long before City , plus that question depends on who the striker is

[@unknownunknwn914]

@@michaelmullins8866 very true but with this team there is not one main goalscorer so goals come from anywhere they had gundogan last year as thier top scorer while at barca you had messi

[@michaelmullins8866]

@@unknownunknwn914 well Messi is just a freak play him at right back and he’d be top scorer, Spain played the false 9 but they didn’t score many goals doing it , it was all about retaining possession whereas City score bags full , still though Pep did all he could to sign Harry Kane so his plan A was to start with a recognised striker and they did get 100pts with Aguero upfront so I don’t think they are better off without a striker Pep just doesn’t think Jesus is that striker hence why he wanted Kane .

[@AlexPryrodny]

Liverpool also play without a central striker; their best goalscorer plays on the wing.

[@jasnacar9186]

” Is Manchester City better without proper striker? " Yes! They are ! At least until they lose a match next time....In that case : No! What is Pep thinking ? They just need to sign a proper striker ! This can't go on....

[@xerxestheimmortal1]

But it will.

[@kelseytm6715]

😂😂😂

[@abelmakori]

How they forget easily

[@dranthony1882]

What are you even siding with

[@kennykaul6367]

Guardiola eventually turns every player to world class levels. Just coz he is unable to win ucl yet, people go mocking him but he is the best. also cancelo-danilo swap is the best swap deal in the world.

[@Cropsy-yy9wg]

He's won UCL twice.

[@slimshadyince2412]

Gab is talking the truth The players they signed weren't top 5 in the world when they were signed They became better at city Stevie is just jealous that man city is better than Liverpool

[@thuo1000]

These pundits have no idea of how the Guardiola system works. City's system doesn't require a striker. It does require finishers but not really a striker. City play a brand of football where anyone can score goals from the numerous chances they create. Pep would never play the traditional striker system because he prefers fluidity and overloads. The traditional striker system isolates the striker from the rest of his teammates. It is why Pep converted Aguero from a traditional number 9 to a more involved number 10 that linked up with the midfield to build up play and cause overloads in the middle of the pitch thus freeing the wings for City wingers to attack and make runs in behind. The traditional striker system does not disorient the opponents defensive structures as much and when we watch City play, we constantly see players interchanging positions. This disorients the opposition as they have no idea who to mark. If Pep was to buy an actual striker, he will convert the striker to a number 10 or false 9 or play the striker on the wings and have him constantly interchange positions with the rest of City's attack.

[@sawdoabdinuur1027]

City need Striker like kane who is more than goal scorer and thats why pep was ready to buy him at 150m i know he is old but he is like 10 and 9

[@iamhim985]

All my years supporting City I’ve never seen us sign a top 5 player a position. Players always come to City and that’s where they make their name

[@sidemenfactory9283]

If De Bruyne was top 5 why did the pundits drag City when he was bought for 50m+🤦‍♂️😭😂😂

[@OzyMandias13]

Last season Jack Grealish was #4 Most Fouls Awarded in Topflight European Leagues, #1 in The EPL. You said Top FIve in a position. He's a natural recumbent but within that position, he has the ability to switch quickly to prone or supine, depending on what's required at the time.

[@mel-bp1kp]

Aguero was Aguero before he came to England please stop

[@XhoowieX]

@Jeremy Grant of course his scoring ratio was higher in his prime. I remember very well all of the talk of how good he was at Atletico.

[@TRiXz_2K]

@@mel-bp1kp Aguero wasn’t seen as a world class player before he joined City he was seen as someone who had potential to become one of the best strikers in the world. City buy potential and turn them into world beaters

[@juanestebankruhsanmguel1960]

Pique Busquets Iniesta Messi Pedro Kimmich Thiago Zinchenko Cancelo De Bruyne Foden Sterling Pep ability to get the best out of his players it'd amazing

[@sahilpanjwani2277]

If i am Haaland and given a choice to leave Raiola for obstructing his move with Pep Or listening to Raiola to not deal with pep I will always take the former

[@edislettuce4218]

We are good without one but I would like a striker, we have so much in midfield defense and wingers but a striker would make the squad 100 percent

[@znhait]

I wholeheartedly agree with Gab. In a perfect world, City would have a Neymar or a Messi being the lead attacker. They’re the types that offer what a midfielder does on the ball and can also be the difference maker in the final third. Of course, these players are rare. The next best choice is a great player who happens to be a striker. I’ve always said only 3-4 such players would make this City team better. The only two available for sale are Kane and Haaland. I laugh at people who actually think Ollie Watkins, Lacazette, Danny Ings…or some Europa League level striker would make City better.

[@highfiveentertainment298]

Neymar can't finish to save his life! relax

[@russellward4624]

Pep would never take Neymar in a million years. He's lazy. Doesn't defend.

[@Timliu92]

Lol Ollie Watkins or Danny Ings 😂 Not saying they are bad footballers (they are not), but they are not UCL quality, and Pep is not going to just sign anyone who is a No. 9 if he does not fit his high standards.

[@znhait]

@@highfiveentertainment298 Neymar’s finishing problems only started last year

[@samuraijosh1595]

@@russellward4624 he tracks back the most in the fron three

[@MrAlanfrancis]

Gab just destroyed Stevie!!!!

[@yandrifadli]

gab is pretty smart. he sometimes provides insights that those other fools cant see from the game

[@Fractalchemystical]

Gab talks a lot of garbage most of the time. He's dumb.

[@waikiankhoo8746]

Spain won 2012 euro without a striker. It is proven possible. So we dont need to debate over this. But the only issue is the efficiency of the chance conversion is debatable.

[@vatsalsingh1555]

France won 98 wc without a proper striker, henry wasn't a starter in KO games then.

[@franciscoalvarado4320]

This is why I only pay attention to Gab and Jules… Pep signs good players that he knows will fit his system, he doesn’t go out there and sign unnecessary world class top 5 players like Barca have with Coutinho and Griezmann who never fit the system

[@ratnesh0307]

it's the same question if city wins or loses do they need a Striker? Please just get over it and praise the team for being clinical and hardworking

[@4thGenna.]

Man City leading into Christmas. 7 of the last 10 seasons the team winning the Premier League at Christmas went on to win the league. The three that didn’t? All Liverpool

[@Kevon420]

Maybe they shouldn’t have had a striker.

[@omkarmule5725]

and all three won by man city

[@kelvinsmith4894]

Even Pep wanted Fred, Stevie just chatting rubbish today like he mostly do.

[@brianshockledge3241]

No he spoke to Fred to ask if he could sign his wife Wilma.

[@CBear2682]

Barca under Pep never really had a "striker". Messi is a winger/midfielder who just happened to be scoring the goals for him.

[@znhait]

Well, ideally, that’s what Pep would want. He wants a complete attacking footballer as his point man. The only such players in the last 15 years are Messi and Neymar-the latter isn’t as clinical, but he was a very good finisher until 2 years ago. The only player on City who could possibly be similar is Foden, but he isn’t there yet.

[@sahilpanjwani2277]

Imo the perfect Pep forward is Messi Lewandowski Kane Salah And one that's already there Foden

[@robinndjavera5625]

Henry, Eto, Zlatan and Villa of course

[@tylermartin5376]

@@sahilpanjwani2277 Harry Kane is perfect for City. A great passer, drops deep but always available in the box for chances. And he's about as clinical a finisher that you can ever get. But Tottenham sank that ship 5 months ago and it's over now...

[@XhoowieX]

Because Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o aren't strikers...

[@KB-lt8xd]

I love watching City when you have players like Foden Bernardo Gabriel Jesus etc who don’t seem to even have a position and just constantly change where they stand throughout the game. It reminds me of when Real Madrid used to have Bale and Ronaldo, Benzema and Isco and Casemiro and Ramos all constantly switching positions to cater to playing against teams at different times in the game

[@thekardashianseries6608]

It's fascinating even watching sterling coming inside and Jesus going wide then rotating it back lol

[@m77mmdd19]

Ramos doesn’t change positions

[@catalanizuchukwu9922]

As an honest Liverpool fan, klopp really need to change this tactics of the referee helping us to win matches because whenever the ref refuses, we either draw or lose

[@virupakshawalla5734]

Honestly you are a true red lol.

[@shashwatrao6949]

Stevie should refer to the facts before talking about signings of man city

[@serenity6443]

One positive aspect of not having a striker and instead multiple equal opportunity goal scrers is that the opposition doesn't know who to mark. 🤔

[@spark556]

Gab owns Stevie

[@jaredpereira8487]

Gab is great to listen to, one of the best perspectives on the panel.

[@tevinjordan6720]

Gab is the best analysis they have hands down.

[@BlueGorilla111]

Pep is a genius, yes he has spent a lot of money but he has brought new gameplays to the premier league, ball playing goalkeeper who plays like a sweeper, full backs that can play inside as an extra midfielder, no recognised striker which allows the front 3 to rotate across the front, and all the players he has bought have become better players. Wow amazing

[@debasispal4162]

City's players are blessed with Transformational cube, they take any position and play like the best fit player in that position..

[@emaneman2856]

Many coaches can’t do what Pep does with midfield players.

[@TRiXz_2K]

Gab is 100% right City rarely buy ready made stars. Most of the players City bring in have the potential to be starts but weren’t stars before they joined City. That’s the mistake a lot of people make. City pay high prices because there’s a premium added on when they go for players

[@OzyMandias13]

There's a video on here on yt with 3.7 million views it's called "Komodo dragons attack and eat alive deer". Komodo dragons have enzymes in their saliva so when they initially bite potential prey, those enzymes enter into the animal, soon causing blood poisoning. The Komodo Dragons don't have to run after it. They just slowly follow it and eventually the prey falls down unable to move and the Komodo Dragons just come over and slowly, expressionlessly devour it alive, ripping it apart piece-by-piece. That's Pep Guardiola's Manchester City vs The Premier League for the better part of the last four seasons. Ruthless and clinically efficient. We've seen this movie before. #2 thru #6 could hold some surprises, but the PL Title is a lock.

[@imnobody7226]

They need to stop with the "they are without a striker" debates. There are teams that play without a proper striker like liverpool, chelsea, psg but they think only city has this problem.

[@chewleongchin7900]

MC players are very good with their foot work...credit to Pep......

[@dimirockeropoulos6104]

For Liverpool or Chelsea to have any chance of catching City they are going to need to win at the Etihad whilst keeping pace with them...that's really difficult to do.

[@martavioustarver5675]

I believe Stevie was very threatening to the official 😂

[@gloryhunter1474]

They play with striker when aguero still there and play amazingly good football. Still think city need striker for big games. They can win league without one but they need world class striker in cup competition when the margin is so small. There's couple of times, their finishing is so bad and cost them. Psg away games and liverpool first half

[@sahilpanjwani2277]

Yes or they can rely on Mahrez Foden and KDB to do exactly that in cup competitions Considering they did that to reach the finals

[@benpeck9255]

ah man, they edited out the question of stevie explaining how smashed some dude on the left testicle (his ACTUAL words) 😂 you can see the edit at 6:21 - if you have ESPN+, it's worth a watch 🤣🤣

[@bitterbloods]

Chris wood would be great at city, he's very underrated

[@wanphrangdiengdoh2884]

In football it's all depends on the confident of the team, if the confident is high then even defenders score goals!!! And City is looking good at present with high confident😄😁😅😅👍

[@aceventurapetdetective1736]

No. Cause when they had Agüero at his prime they were a lot more dominant.

[@kattphatt]

City have just broken their record for most goals scored in a calendar year already without a striker. Previously 104 in 1929, soooo how were they more dominant before?

[@myp0h]

I like the fact that City have a price limit to their aignings. They do not go ridiculous on their apending like psg, man United, barca (years back).

[@polygonrong095]

No they would be even better with a proper striker which would be terrifying

[@Fractalchemystical]

Any chance of showing some footage of Stevie and Craig on the golf course?

[@briankin1827]

They have 5 or 6 " strikers".The only significant person that have not scored for City is Ederson

[@brendanobrien8198]

Where can I sign up for the 5 towns in Scotland tour?

[@ALMOSTUNITED]

A well coached team with hardworking, willing and unselfish players doesn't need traditional pieces to work A United fan is saying this 😭

[@VONCEIL1]

Love the sweatys banter...... The ponce needs to do one

[@laminsanyang7960]

Lol these guys are really funny. Four months ago, Were these not the people who said that City won't be able to compete this season without a number nine? Crazy!

[@RecencyBiasRadio]

To be fair, City has spent half a billion to build a team that doesn't need a Striker. Whole team is full of classy midfielders.

[@serenity6443]

City doesnt need a striker/designated goal scorer to win the league but they do need one if they want to win UCL.

[@DbxDnb]

Stevie is on the ball, ‘Why would I get her anything......she has everything she wants’!👍😂😂

[@sureshvijay6982]

And now i understood why the cut the portion abt Stevie's tackle 🤣🤣

[@Trenchfood]

It's "Are Manchester City better..." Are you trolling or what?

[@jorgejimenezgarcia4979]

Stevie has had a wonderful career no doubt but it seems to me like he is always throwing his opinion into the conversation without proper arguments and afterwards just blindly defending it without listening to the other’s arguments. You’ve outgrown the game old man .. i’m sorry

[@kingpro5857]

man city is quite fine

[@johntenkorang304]

Yes they are! Sometimes having a striker makes the whole team focus on that person for goals. But with their system every player can score even the goal keeper if given the chance

[@JR-em3mo]

Possession attacking football hits different

[@markshields5883]

Craig ,Stevie and Gab are the best three on the show

[@trevorregis8143]

City have a good team, and will win lots of games but when you are playing against good defense ,a goal getter can make a difference .

[@rayb2542]

A good team…? Very funny. Recording breaking Champions of England. Probably the best EPL team ever as the stats can’t lie. And what more they’ll stroll it again this season. 8 successive wins and just warming up !

[@princesofthepower3690]

@@rayb2542 He does have a point. That game against PSG is a perfect example, they dominated play but didn’t manage to score, in the knockout rounds it is going to cost them when having that guy that can reliably get you those goals, could make all the difference in a match. Pep and City know this, which was why they were going in hard for Kane in the Summer.

[@scaria1998]

Guardiola want's more fluidity he wants everyone to score if possible ederson too can 😂. For example as the role cancelo is playing nobody expect him to shoot bcauz he is a defender they are looking for the person who is possibly recieve that pass on that way they left some space in the mid and they covered the front 3 player's. So he got a good space to cause Chaos ... As a Team it's a Nightmare to take a Clean Sheet againt CiTY💥

[@c3920]

ESPN FC Extra Time is the best sport show of the night, every night. Always funny.

[@thekardashianseries6608]

Without a striker we gets to exploit our players and you see more team than rather than focusing on A player to strike. Look at tottenham today they were only focusing on kane uptop.

[@4thGenna.]

Speaking of Manchester City. Arsenal is already the best home team in the league so far in points won, but there are some other factors going on on the pitch which is so encouraging and frightening at the same time. First of all, at home, Man City is averaging 7 shots on target, 2nd is Liverpool (6.8 on target), Chelsea (6.4 on target), Arsenal 4th 6.3 on target. Therefore, elite company to be in for shots on target at home already, when even taking into consideration this Arteta lineup just getting started. This brings us to another important factor: Goals. At home, Man City have scored 25 goals, Chelsea 22, Liverpool 22, Arsenal 17. Again, encouraging and scary at the same time Then we move on to another important element of attack: Assists. Yet again, Arsenal youngsters are right among the leading pack for in assists. Man City have 14 total assists at home and Arsenal are with 12 assists at home. Gooners, a juggernaut is brewing at the Emirates Stadium 🏟

[@hossein.g5685]

As an arsenal fan myself we aint finishing above 6th Spurs and united gonna finish above us

[@christianopulinaldo8319]

Arsenal won't finish top 7 Come back to his comment when the season ends

[@4thGenna.]

@@hossein.g5685 Do you want to change the subject?

[@4thGenna.]

@@christianopulinaldo8319 Do you want to change the subject? We're building that old Arsenal home vibes from Highbury. Scary stuff TBH

[@paradoxmartin1283]

We gotta play braver away from home and really go at the opposition ! Let them know we are in the mood to pull a surprise!

[@elonslawsuit5004]

Klopp had no problem with Tierney when he didn't send Milner off at Anfield for a clear 2nd yellow did he - hypocrite!

[@colanitsabedze5818]

I also don't understand why people say City always buys top 5 players in the world? Jesus, Laporte, Dias, Rodrigo, etc who knew that much about those guys?

[@ThePlaguebloom]

Dear City please dont buy Haaland. Do not get close to Mino Raiola and your talent will give you all the success.

[@MADGUNSMONSTER]

Not all the time, but sometimes when I see Stevie and they discuss his managerial past, it makes me think of and miss Paul Mariner.

[@CyperN077]

False 9 is the way to go. With talented players you really can't mark anyone. The mind set is: if you have three ball, your a striker. If you don't have the ball, your a defender.

[@internationalo9750]

Gab is right and they just avoid the the topic to make it seem like he’s wrong.

[@DequanClarke]

Same question EVERY SINGLE WEEK😩😒 don’t y’all get exhausted???

[@virupakshawalla5734]

"How threatening were you?" lol

[@anandchowdhury9262]

what is stevie on?? every position we boguht is top 5 in the world, show me even one !! none were top 5, they are just great prospects who developed better.

[@shikhargovil9579]

Pep perfectly summed up the striker question. "When we win, we don't need a striker and when we lose we need a striker". And actually it's a question you can't answer.

[@TheDragonballzyo1]

Gab comes out with a detailed analysis of how CF play in the city and other pundits are like they wanted to buy Harry Kane.

[@bassfaceinspace]

Gab was spot. on. about the "proper #9"

[@victormwongela5669]

At this point the only thing left is a UCL match between Man city & Bayern... that'd be exhilarating to watch

[@herbertduke9408]

Do you think city will win the league or is there still too much time to say?

[@khalzo7804]

Stop the background music

[@tans430]

Have to agree with Dylan. At the start of the season I'm hopeful it'll be better this season, it never is, ever. And, it is obvious sometimes that refs are either biased or very forgetful. This is seen by fact that the same offence is not punished equally by some refs.

[@federalmoney8795]

Leave pep alone! He doesn't need a striker so you all should deal with it! Man city is outscoring teams with proper strikers so what's your problem

[@anilbodar9394]

Manchester city manager purposely choose false 9 system so they can keep more possession of the ball dats y he spended 100 million on grealish otherwise they can sign any striker they want .hary kane saga is not a financial problem its more to do with system they play so please stop giving him excuse of striker

[@salah3339]

So ESPN are shy to make a video about Barcelona game Assuming we lost last night all of them by now would have made two or three videos criticizing Xavi, dembele and Barcelona

[@johnk9019]

"Best places in Scotland to get your nose broken" Classic.

[@umangdesai6408]

Would to see this team face jose mourinhios intermilan team.

[@stevencooke6451]

That question about rather losing 11-0 or winning 1-0 might be the stupidest thing I've seen on Extra Time. An infinitely better question would be whether a manager would feel better winning 4-3 or 1-0, the one being more entertaining but risky, whereas the other would demonstrate defensive mastery. And in terms of a striker or non-striker, the real question is whether those "false nines" know what to do when they get chances in the box. If Grealish, Jesus, De Bruyne, Foden or Sterling can finish better than the embattled Chris Wood then you don't know a pure striker. The problems occur when NO ONE is good in the box. At times Sterling has failed when he overthinks, but he has gotten better in terms of his decisiveness under Guardiola.

[@UncouthTiger]

Wow never seen Craig happier. Won a lottery or something?

[@russellward4624]

Gab made some great points except for 2. Pep 100% wanted a striker. They tried desperately to sign Harry Kane. So you can't argue he doesn't want a striker. Thats nonsense. He wants one, he doesn't have one and he's adjusted for that fact. Second false 9 is very different than a traditional 9.

[@paulalba9244]

Liverpool play without a CF or natural 9 tbf so they good

[@ryanschultz4119]

Cole Palmer will be Man City's designated striker in time. And Haaland's coming to Man City this summer!

[@sagarranjan4585]

No strikers means no player standing and just asking the ball. Everyone keeps moving and can make overlapping runs.

[@mattsmith4589]

Ive been a Man City fan since 2008 Wilfred Bony was the biggest bust that i can remember

[@kingsmwiya]

City can win the ucl if they sign dusan vlahovic this season

[@heartthrobbb]

you know football

[@eduardoderosa23]

They really love golf

[@shashwatrao6949]

Cancelo was being said as overrated and avg signing, and look what has he done now. Tearing apart the league

[@lucasphillyfan6172]

European national leagues need playoffs if they want to regain some unpredictability. Salary cap can help but I don't think it's enough. In the playoffs the chances of surprises occurring are bigger. After all, do you prefer to compete against Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Manchester City, etc., for one or two games or per 38 rounds? It can be a two legs game or, even better, one home game for the best placed team in the regular season. This would be wild! Imagine the tension level. Could be like that: 20 teams, 38 rounds (home-away). At the end of the regular season, the last 4 are relegated; the top 3 guarantee a spot in the champions league along with the champion of the playoffs. If the champion is one of the top three with a guaranteed place, then the spot goes to the fourth place in the regular season; the next two or three teams get the Europe league spots. That way, the regular season is valued and we still have the emotion of the playoffs. The first 8 compete in the playoffs (quarter finals, semifinals and finals). One game only in the home of the best placed team in the regular season.

[@alohatigers1199]

Uh no. That’s your American mindset. Doesn’t work like that in Europe. Salary cap and luxury tax (Basically FFP but better) Look at the NBA and how they helped small market teams. Small market teams will receive a pick. That “pick” allows you to grab the best young player. This helps small market teams start rebuilding and build a team around this player.

[@n.h187]

It's not the squad that's amazing, it's Pep, if it wasn't for him everyone would be much closer.