SecretSam

I don't think Brentford are a realistic benchmark. Very few clubs have done what they have; for every Brentford, there's far more Stokes, Sunderlands, Portsmouths, who have been at the top table, got their parachute payments and wasted them.

FFS, what a shambles

The fact is that there were points deductions, and you only have to look at the points totals of teams around us to see the impact - half a dozen sides on less than 50 points, clear indication (to me) that everyone has set the bar lower - and that also, like the Prem, there's a clear gap between the good and bad teams in the league.

Spot on, a big issue being that we don't have parachute payments and can't offer the same sort of wages as those clubs who do.

To be fair, Uncle Pete got quite a few wrong...? As for Burt's golden June - absolutely, spot on. But everyone admitted that we identified a whole series of players as targets that summer, and basically got the lot! That happens very infrequently, as does the fact that ALL of them performed at an astonishing level.

Absolutely. We aren't going to attract quality Championship players, we're too constrained wages-wise and we're not that attractive as a club. But signing like Atkinson and Tanner are entirely possible. But we have to accept that they are very rough diamonds, they will need time to settle, and will make mistakes. That's where having experienced players around them helps. As for departures...I know everyone's talking about the obvious HNM, Scott and Semenyo possibilities, but we should also consider if Kalas, Bentley might also go.

I remember when LJ was in charge, someone on here chatted with Les Ferdinand, and he basically City is seen as a good club, but badly run. I would hope RG might change some of that. But I do wonder about JL.

He could be right. I still think there's huge work to do behind the scenes

Keith Burt was clearly a huge loss.

I agree, we need someone to battle through. I appreciate this season was always going to be a struggle, but there seem to be precious few signs of light.

He's had health issues, the club's a mess, no money, possible points deduction, we'll have to sell our young talents...plus fans are unhappy...will he just say "stuff this" and jack it?

ArsENAl?

Pearson clearly has a longer-term plan in place, there's a real structure behind the scenes (medical team, scouting, coaching) and you can see the genesis of a concerted effort to bring the youngsters through. But I think we need to be realistic - City are not a 'rich' club any more, not compared to the parachute clubs. We will sell this summer - it could be all 3 of HNM, Scott and Semenyo. Likewise, as @Davefevs and others have said, Kalas and Bentley may be off. That won't generate huge fees, but should release wages. The key is what is the plan for using that money, or whatever proportion of it is made available? I think more signings like Atkinson and Tanner make sense. There's little risk there. And with many clubs in lower divisions cash-strapped still due to COVID and so forth, there have to be opportunities to pick up some decent players. Certainly, the experiment with signing tried and trusted ex-Leicester stalwarts has failed - none of King, Simpson and co have really made an impact. Back to the 4 pillars? (Or was it 5?)

What on earth are you on about?

It's not the size that matters, etc

you sunk my battleship!

Yes, relatively, in winter it can get chilly at night.

Qatar is tiny, and it only really has two cities. Well, Doha and a town. The rest...is dust. ...and the vast majority (85%) aren't even from Qatar.

Plus - it's what people see of us, it represents who we are. It is a literal visual representation of our team, so yes, it really matters.

Me - we get bespoke kits. No more Star Trek horror shows.

oops Yes, actually

Six year deal signed - I think it's good news, we get decent kits and they're unique to us, no copy and paste templates (remember the Star Trek kit??) New Hummel deal

Tuchel could bail out of Chelski any day ?

Yes, 100%. Sorry, my post probably sounded callous, but I was thinking in economic terms.

Is Baker OOC in the summer? Assuming Klose stays, that's him, Kalas, Cundy...I would assume Vyner and Moore will move on. Towler I think needs a loan to L1.