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No Kane No Gain said:
I just think there's a difference between discovering a player and taking him through every level of your youth sides and developing a player through your academy. 17 is far from the complete article and those players came through are youth system and developed. I wasn't having a dig at Arsenal, I just felt you'd think that some of the young players you've signed over the years also were developed in your academy. It doesn't really matter anyway.

Bale was a bit different, he'd had CL football with us and then saw us falling away from that level again(despite coming close). It didn't help that Real Madrid told him that it was now or never, either. We may well lose some players in the future but again it comes down to sustainability. Can we keep bringing in academy players and reasonably placed youngsters? We're certainly an attractive prospect given Pochettino's record for bringing through youngsters. If Lloris' quotes this morning are to be believed he's also playing a big part in the thinking of older players too.

Other clubs may be able to attract the more expensive players but still, it's not getting them very far, is it? City would be a long way clear if it was just down to the money spent.
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So what did Lloris say NKNG?
 
Lloris said that he was thinking of quitting the club before Poch took over, and that it's due to Poch's influenece that he decided to stay.
 
No Kane No Gain said:
I just think there's a difference between discovering a player and taking him through every level of your youth sides and developing a player through your academy. 17 is far from the complete article and those players came through are youth system and developed. I wasn't having a dig at Arsenal, I just felt you'd think that some of the young players you've signed over the years also were developed in your academy. It doesn't really matter anyway.
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Like I said, it depends on your definition. Yours happens to be different to mine which is totally fine. Harry Kane joined you from us when he was 9 years old but I'd still consider him to be one of your players that was developed through your youth academy. At 17, you're at an age where you're beginning to train with some of the first team players, the methods and the training regimes are a bit more rigorous and it's when you have to begin to start taking your career very seriously to the extent that you have to fit your life and eating habits around your football and training. He was on the fringes of first-team football at Leeds until they had to sell to raise some funds after going into administration.

Bale was a bit different, he'd had CL football with us and then saw us falling away from that level again(despite coming close). It didn't help that Real Madrid told him that it was now or never, either.
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What's to say that the same won't happen with Kane, though? Also, even if you don't get CL again and you're continuously finishing 5th/6th, it may only be a matter of time before he would ask to leave assuming he continues his goalscoring record because there's a strong possibility of him wanting to win silverware and play amongst the best teams in Europe. The longer he's deprived of that, surely the chances of him leaving is higher?

Equally, you could say that he's been developed at Spurs and would show a huge amount of gratitude to the club for giving him the chances to showcase what he's capable of, but it all remains to be seen on whether you keep the top players and the players that you develop into first-team regulars. If/when your resolve gets tested with a large bid from a rich club, that's when we'll see if it's sustainable or not.

Other clubs may be able to attract the more expensive players but still, it's not getting them very far, is it? City would be a long way clear if it was just down to the money spent.
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City have won 2 league titles in 4 seasons. The others who won it were United and Chelsea, both equally established and wealthy teams. Hardly terrible, is it? And I never claimed it was just down to money spent, but it clearly is the biggest factor. Hence why the most successful teams are coincidentally the most expensively assembled ones.
 
BrunelGooner said:
Genuine questions - out of all of these teams, who do you think will end up winning the most league titles and cups? Not denying City buying lots of flops whilst Spurs invested shrewdly, but who do you think will come out on top in the end when it comes to silverware?

And also, do you honestly think that these players e.g. Kante, Mahrez, Ighalo etc, if they keep up their form, will not move on to something better in the future when the bigger clubs come calling? City and Chelsea may well spend bonkers fees on players, but it is because of their willingness to spend so much that they always end up getting the man they want.
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Genuine answer: I don't know. The combination of FFP and TV money have without question levelled the playing field. Will that mean that Watford or Leicester will win the league? Probably not. Will it prevent any one or two teams from dominating for long periods as United and Chelsea have done? Probably yes.

It's counter-intuitive to base 'success' on the simple question of who walks away with the trophy. Only one out of 20 can win the PL. Only one out of around 100 can win the COC, only one out of thousands can win the FAC. And often, as we both know, those wins are thoroughly undeserved. I refer you to Chelsea's recent CL success. That was a footballing travesty on a galactic scale.

Surely it's far more sensible to look at success relatively? And, in this sense, for Leicester to finish 4th or Watford to challenge for Europe...these things are immensely successful that just wouldn't have been plausible 3 years ago. Not to mention the enormous difference in prize money, publicity and consequent TV rights that finishing 10 places higher than last season can bring.

And as for your second question: of course, the usual vultures will be circling for those players come the summer. But as Liverpool have so wonderfully demonstrated with Lovren, Lalllalalalana and Lambert, taking a fish out of its natural habitat won't necessarily mean it takes to your pond. So again, it boils down to spending clever, which the likes of Stoke and Watford are now able to do every summer, so it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see Igalho going to United for stupid money only for Watford to use the money to buy another two new Igalhos and still manage to beat United when the two meet.
 
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At the end of the 13/14 season, Lloris said his goodbyes to everyone at the club. You could have put your mortgage on him leaving. Dueing the summer of 2015, he made it quite clear that if Man Utd came calling, as it seemed they might do, then he would go.

The guy is committed to us, but only up to a point. He is an ambitious man and wants the best for himself and his family, in what is a short career. I have no problem with his attitude, because at least he is honest and open about it with the club.
 
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O.Spurcat said:
At the end of the 13/14 season, Lloris said his goodbyes to everyone at the club. You could have put your mortgage on him leaving. Dueing the summer of 2015, he made it quite clear that if Man Utd came calling, as it seemed they might do, then he would go.

The guy is committed to us, but only up to a point. He is an ambitious man and wants the best for himself and his family, in what is a short career. I have no problem with his attitude, because at least he is honest and open about it with the club.
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I've often thought it strange that fans demand that players are as loyal as they are. Players should honour contracts if they are required to do so, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to play for another club whether it's for financial or personal or family reasons. It's a career, not a vocation.
 
humanbeingincroydon said:
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Says a lot that Kyle Walker has scored as many first half goals at Old Trafford than any combination of ten outfield players that Van Galling can come up with...
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It also shows that we scored more goals in the first half of our last home game than Man Utd did in their last nine home first halves.
That's pretty ridiculous, as we were only 2-0 up! <laugh> It was even against one of the sides that the played. And lost to...
 
Roberto Martinez is so boring, he is even more boring than Wenger.
Is he the most boring after match speaker in the PL?

He gets my vote.
 
humanbeingincroydon said:
Pellegrini comes close - this is his third season at City, and I can't remember a single thing he's said after any of their matches.
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Pellegrini looks like an alcoholic or a serious depressive. I find it hard to imagine him motivating anybody but he must do because he has kept his job for what in his business and his position is a very long time. If you remember the film The Bad Lieutenant he could have played the lead role.
 
Has to be Steve McClaren as most boring. But to be honest i find prematch and post match interviews all rather dull. Like when Ronaldo scored 40 goals in a season for man utd, he was taking it round the whole of the other team and scoring 35 yarders for fun and after the games he thanked his teammates. There's no real honesty, just say it how it is :). I miss the John sittons of this world ha
 
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