Earlier this week, we asked for your questions on all things Manchester City and you took the opportunity to ask about subjects ranging from the anticipated summer rebuild, the Club World Cup, the attitude towards the academy, the current business outlook, and which players can be expected to come back stronger next season.
Here, Sam Lee answers some of those questions about the latest happenings at the Etihad…
What happened to James McAtee’s season, like next to no game time? — Michael G
I think the McAtee situation has been one of the biggest frustrations for fans this season and, especially in December, it felt really strange that the others were not just struggling so badly but being asked to play again and again and again (think about the period between Liverpool away and Aston Villa away) — and still there was no McAtee.
Given what Guardiola said about him in the summer and how he was ready to play minutes, it felt unusual. What I think has happened is that Guardiola does not believe McAtee is a consistent enough performer. It requires a little reading between the lines, but there was a comment in pre-season about him scoring but needing to be more involved in the match otherwise; I remember McAtee said that himself after the Celtic game in North Carolina.
When he got the hat-trick against Salford City, I thought the same thing.
McAtee played in the FA Cup against Plymouth Argyle (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
In fact, I only re-found the summer comment after that game, and then it all clicked. There was also a comment from Guardiola around Christmas when he pointed out that McAtee didn’t always play when he was at Sheffield United either, and I think that was just a little reminder for fans that maybe he is not as ready as you (and me) thought.
But things were so bad in December, so it still feels to me like he could have been given a go — because it’s not like he’s inexperienced, such as Nico O’Reilly for example, and the others on the pitch really were struggling. So it is, in part, a mystery.
Do you think we will put out a strong team in the Club World Cup, or a hotchpotch of youngsters and those seniors who need game time? — James S
Guardiola is going to treat the Club World Cup as next season, meaning the team will have a short break after the domestic season finishes and then they will go again. I think with that in mind, and given it will be a shorter break than they usually get, and given how in need of a break they all seem now, I think it will be mostly made up of first-teamers, but maybe with more rotation from game to game.
If he can give the senior players a one-game-a-week scenario as much as possible, that might be the right balance between serious competition, pre-season preparations and the obvious need to not flog the players.
I don’t think there will be that many youngsters, maybe two or three off the bench, but it also depends on outgoings. If players know they are leaving, will they want to give up a summer to play in this, or will they want to win another trophy? I guess it will depend on the individual, and some moves may be agreed before the tournament starts.
Have you heard whether City are planning on integrating Divine Mukasa/Ryan McAidoo for next season? Especially Mukasa. Florian Wirtz/Mukasa/Phil Foden and, personally, I’d keep Kev(in De Bruyne), so four No 10’s would be perfect. Claudio Echeverri to Lazio on loan also happening? — Tom G
I think the process of integrating youngsters is pretty informal and common, and, therefore, maybe does not look like a big deal. A lot of the Elite Development Squad (EDS) group get to train with the first team quite often, and if they do well from there, they will get chances in domestic cups etc.
For example, Divin Mubama was signed last summer specifically for the EDS, because they did not have any No 9s. It was not like they signed him with a view to the first team, but he trained with the seniors like a lot of them do and was given a chance because he played well and had a good attitude.
Mubama scored against Salford in the FA Cup (Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images)
That is an example of how it works, although again, in terms of the integration, it is not like he has had loads and loads of minutes even in this difficult season, and that is pretty much how that integration will look if things go well.
For players like Divine Mukasa and Ryan McAidoo, there may be a Rico Lewis scenario where they end up going on a pre-season tour (Club World Cup in this case) and catch the eye; it was pretty unexpected Lewis did that, so it goes to show that it would not necessarily be players with a buzz around them.
Either way, I can’t see Mukasa or anybody being in a situation where they are one of three or four regular options for one role — look how long it took Phil Foden! As for Echeverri, I am not sure if it will be Lazio specifically, but I have reported before that a loan is definitely on the cards. So combined with that and reports of him being in Rome, it makes sense.
Sam, do you rate anyone likely to stay to have a significant bounceback season next year? I thought (Ruben) Dias would this year… but so much for that. — Brian D
I think Bernardo Silva, which may not seem like a particularly big call.
But I think a lot of people have been talking about him as if he is in the Kevin De Bruyne/Ilkay Gundogan boat of being (perceived, at least) on their last legs. However, I think he has just been worn down by this season and, like many of the other younger players, needs a bit of a break and a refresh. He will easily have a place in the new-look squad, for a year or two anyway.
Of course, this may ironically be the season when somebody pays the money for him and he leaves (it would be ironic given he has had far better seasons and nobody has paid the money), but if you asked me which players should stay or go, Bernardo should stay every time.
I think most players will be fine, including Ruben Dias. He has just had a few injuries and is only just getting back to playing without discomfort. I think Foden will be back too.
Pep sets great store in creating a positive environment. Does this need rebuilding, or is it still in place? — J H
I think it needs to be restored, but that will happen after a break rather than any drastic action. There will be a change in personnel and lots of new players coming in, which will be a big help, but I think that is happening naturally: a few players are at the end of the line and the squad needs a refresh — not because of the environment but because of the football.
Any positivity has been fragile at City this season (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
The environment will, I think, be helped as a byproduct of that refresh. It is not like the environment has been broken by some bad apples that need removing. There have been some issues this season, but that has been the case every season and City have been able to thrive despite some of the ‘bad faces’, as Guardiola puts it, who complain when they are not playing.
Ironically, this is probably the least ‘bad faces’ squad they have had in ages, but with the results, the injuries and the massive blows to confidence (Feyenoord, the derby, Arsenal and so on.) it is not going to be the same vibrant atmosphere as before. At the end of November, even when they had lost four or five games, it was all calm behind the scenes, but things unravelled after that.
They just need to get the season over and go again.
Why does the club insist on rebuilding via purchasing players as opposed to harnessing the talents of academy players instead? — Ayoub H
I think this is largely a Guardiola thing, although not necessarily in a bad way. I like to use Cole Palmer as an example here, where there are pros and cons on both sides. In his last season he did not get too many starts and generally only came on at the end of games (and did not play especially well, although he often came on alongside two or three others when the game was won, and it then petered out).
Obviously he is an excellent player and in an ideal world (for City and possibly him) he would be showing that at City to this day. But that season even Foden could not really get a regular place in the team, and it also led to Riyad Mahrez leaving because he did not start in the biggest games. When you have got Mahrez and Foden not able to get games in your position, because Bernardo and De Bruyne are at their top levels, what chance a younger player who did not always show the levels?
It is not a perfect example because not all of the youngsters will be as good as Palmer and City will not always win the treble, but the points are obvious: the academy players are very talented, but the first-teamers are out of this world, and by managing the squad how he has done, Guardiola has made City one of the most consistently brilliant sides of the modern era. As well as the high quality, they also have experience. If that means that some youngsters fall through the cracks then it is a shame, for the club certainly and probably for the players (although they have plenty of options in the market), but when the team is winning it is hard to argue with its management.
I think the club would probably love to have more players in the first team that have not cost them a transfer fee, but they also like making £10-25million by selling them even without that experience! I suppose a good example is Jahmai Simpson-Pusey versus Abdukodir Khusanov: Simpson-Pusey looks good in my opinion but they obviously deem Khusanov to be on another level entirely in terms of potential.
Simpson-Pusey playing in the Champions League in November (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Maybe that is something we need to bear in mind. Not to dig out Jacob Wright whatsoever, but there were calls for him to be in the team in December (which I understand to an extent because things were so bad with the senior players) but he is on loan at Norwich City now. We probably rate young players too highly in a lot of circumstances, too.
Are our owners simply in the milking stage now after years of over investment? — Nic C
I get why it might look this way and I think it is just a case of semantics/perceptions. City are very focused on driving the business side, i.e. making money. The top staff are on bonuses that are directly related to business performance. Does that come at the expense of the playing side? I don’t think so.
There was definitely a big oversight in the summer in terms of squad rebuilding, I even wrote recently that a lot of the leading figures in the club were surprised that the team won the league again last season, which begs the question why try to eke more out of them for one more season? That ties into a perception that they are trying to milk it.
I think one other factor along those lines, though, is that the hearing into the charges had not happened by the start of last season, and perhaps they did not want to fully invest in an overhaul while not knowing how things would turn out charges-wise. Obviously they have genuinely always felt that they would be fine, but I suppose there has to be an element of being prudent.
And again obviously, they then spent a lot in January, which suggests that after the hearing had finished, they had an inkling of how it might go. But that splurge also shows that while they have been making a lot of money over the past few years, and have not really been spending it, they were willing to spend it in January and they are still willing to.
They had always planned to spend in the summer but because of the form and injuries at the end of last year they brought it forward six months. So I suppose my perception is that they are obviously making a lot of money these days and are very driven by business performance, but I do not think that means they are cutting corners regarding the actual football.
The fanbase and most of the media was expecting “legs” and physical power to be added to the midfield in January. Nico has attributes but not physical ones. Can we expect this to be looked at in the summer? Or does Pep have other ideas? — James S
Guardiola made the point the other week that other Premier League teams have always been more physical than City but it didn’t matter because City were better with the ball, and that this season it has been injuries that killed them rather than physicality.
Obviously there is Rodri who can do everything but who would be the other great midfielders that played with him? Gundogan, Bernardo, De Bruyne. De Bruyne is obviously a strong runner but none of those would fit the definition of a leggy, physical powerhouse. Small, combative players who can win second balls will do the job in my opinion.
As for Nico Gonzalez, I think he reads the game very well in terms of second balls/duels and he just needs to be stronger, which I think he can do.
(Top photo: Bernardo Silva by Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
