📆 Saturday 4th May
🕒 5:30pm
🏟 Etihad Stadium
📺 Sky Sports
Live @ https://www.ja606.co.uk/articles/viewLiveArticle/461857
One match ban enabled
We did it once could we do it again?
A Pedro Neto inspired OG & a clinical winner by some Korean guy ensured a victory at Molineux back in September against the reigning champions. One of only three PL defeats for the Citizens this season and another tactical masterclass from Gary O'Neil would not go amiss on Saturday evening.
The match back in September was characterised beautifully in a post match tweet by Joao Gomes, along with a photo of him tackling Matheus Nunes, the words "Today's game shows that we have no vanity and we run for each other in favor of the Wolves' success." Ok, he may have used google translate, who cares, we know what he meant. As Liverpool falter and turn the title race in to a head to head, lets disrupt it again, I dont care which one of City or Arsenal win it, but lets not go there and be dismissed or disrespected. Let's go and compete.
This one comes too soon for Pedro Neto to bolster the ranks (or maybe not, edit), but hopefully starts for Cunha again and the Korean geezer (who seems to have come back firing) should give us an edge as they approach full match fitness. I know the guy has far too much humility and respect but I would absolutely love our number 11 to score and stand with his back to their dugout pointing to the name on the back of his shirt.
Gotta be realistic though, a makeshift back line may be able to keep Luton down to one, its gonna get stretched up there, prediction 3-1 Im afraid.
I probably wont care too much personally as by ko time I'll have been dragged around the bars and public houses of Lichfield by some daft Evertonian woman (yes the same one that complains about my waistline), so please pay little heed to my post match ramblings.
Man City v Wolves Match Thread
posted on 7/5/24
Certainly be disappointed if we sold Kilman for less than £30m. One of the most consistent central defenders in the division and disappointing he hasn't yet got an England cap.
Gomes is our biggest asset and if he makes normal progress next season and stays fit he will become our highest ever sale. Don’t see Cunha leaving this summer. Ait Nouri is not the sort to push for a move but if a big club makes a good offer he will go.
Seems to be a consensus that Neto will go, just hope we don’t sell him cheap after his injuries
I’d like us to raise some cash for Podence, Silva and Guedes but don’t see other clubs matching their wages so they are likely to be loaned until their contracts expire. Sa and Semedo should bring in a few bob though
posted on 7/5/24
Dortmund, 5th in the Bundesliga, get through to the Champions League Final. PSG hit the woodwork twice in Dortmund and four times in Paris but didn’t score in either leg. Mbappe did very little tonight
posted on 7/5/24
Probably unrealistic but I'd like to see us just offload Podence, Silva and Guedes, maybe Hoever and keep the rest of the squad together. We might scrape enough together from the sale of those four to afford the elusive no 9 we've needed.
posted on 7/5/24
It would be ideal to just offload fringe players, and I’d certainly like to keep all of our current first team squad. And evidently we don’t need to sell to meet the sustainability limits. The sales of Neves and Nunes fall into this year so we have that credit.
The problem is that we need to try to strengthen the squad, and replace any of our stars that leave with players of a similar quality, and increase our senior squad from 19 players to around 24. So we probably do need to sell at least one of our main assets to meet all those needs.
posted on 8/5/24
One of the possible solutions to increasing our squad size is bringing players from the academy through to full members of the first team squad. Chirewa looks a possible and Hugo has been unlucky not to get more games this season. We will get to see Enso Gonzalez in the Olympics for Paraguay, but not sure there are others.
Then are there players that have been on loan who could now get a chance. Can’t see Podence, Guedes or Silva playing for us again. But Mosquera looks possible and Chiquinho and Cundle have both had good seasons and Hoever too. Lembikisa, Hodge, Fraser, Chiwome probably will be loaned out next season
posted on 8/5/24
Following up Spangles': "So we probably do need to sell at least one of our main assets to meet all those needs."
If only one, which main asset would we be willing to sell. We would have to balance the loss to the squad with the potential revenue received.
I suppose the candidates are Neto, Gomes, Kilman and Ait Nouri. Possibly Semedo or Cunha.
If I had to select one of those to lose, based on the criteria I have mentioned I think I would, reluctantly, choose Kilman.
What say the rest of you?
posted on 8/5/24
comment by Wulfrunnut (U17298)
posted 24 minutes ago
Following up Spangles': "So we probably do need to sell at least one of our main assets to meet all those needs."
If only one, which main asset would we be willing to sell. We would have to balance the loss to the squad with the potential revenue received.
I suppose the candidates are Neto, Gomes, Kilman and Ait Nouri. Possibly Semedo or Cunha.
If I had to select one of those to lose, based on the criteria I have mentioned I think I would, reluctantly, choose Kilman.
What say the rest of you?
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If we could get north of 50m for Neto then I'd say do that, Chiquino has been starring in Portugal (not the same standard I know) but he's similar in pace & dribbling, I'd also re-integrate Hoever as Semedo may not want to extend any further than the 12 months he has left - think we realistically need to try our hardest to keep Gomes& Ait Nouri tho
posted on 8/5/24
No chance anyone pays £50m+ for Neto with his injury record. If someone does then snap their arm off.
posted on 8/5/24
Would agree with Neto if someone were to offer 40+ right now. Kilman as well if 25+ was guaranteed.
posted on 8/5/24
I think with Semedo and Sa entering the last year of their contracts then they are contenders to be sold and between them should bring in £20m. There has also been talk of Sarabia going. Trouble is with selling fringe players rather than one of our main assets is that it means we are knocking an even bigger hole in our very small squad. If we set a target of growing from 19 to 24 then selling 3 players along the way means we would need 8 new signings, which is quite a challenge and not cheap