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It's about time ladies & gentlemen.

Last season we filled 24 spots in the Premier League, including Nimely & Boyata. Likewise in the Champions League, including Johansen & Boyata. That's more or less a 22-man squad, respectively.

So far, our squad looks like this (Mangala included):

Premier League

17 Non-HG: Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Demichelis, Kolarov, García, Fernando, Fernandinho, Touré, Silva, Navas, Nasri, Agüero, Jovetić, Džeko, Negredo (18 total)

8 HG: Hart, Wright, Boyata, Clichy, Richards, Rodwell, Milner, Sinclair, Guidetti (9 total)

U21: Nastasić, Rekik, Zuculini, Huws et al.

Champions League

16 Non-HG: Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Demichelis, Kolarov, García, Fernando, Fernandinho, Zuculini, Touré, Silva, Navas, Nasri, Agüero, Jovetić, Džeko, Negredo (19 total)

5 HG: Hart, Wright, Boyata, Clichy, Richards, Rodwell, Milner, Sinclair, Guidetti (9 total)

B List: Nastasić, Rekik, Huws et al.

Some trimming is required of course, but surprisingly mostly in the homegrown department, who'd thunk it! I expect García to leave with Fernando being his like for like replacement. If Zuculini stays, he will most likely be left out of the CL squad.
That would leave us with one surplus non-homegrown player in the CL squad. Yes, we could always sell a player (Navas? Demichelis?), but I think registering Demichelis or Negredo (due to injury) only for the Premiere League is also a possibility, at least during the group stage. Nastasić moving to list B helps us a gret deal.

I expect a minimum of one player out of Richards, Rodwell, Sinclair & Guidetti to leave. Even if all of them left we should be fine as we seem to have adequate cover for any of their positions. Any of those staying will be left out of the CL squad, naturally.

Thoughts?

The Italian Job wrote:It's about time ladies & gentlemen.

Last season we filled 24 spots in the Premier League, including Nimely & Boyata. Likewise in the Champions League, including Johansen & Boyata. That's more or less a 22-man squad, respectively.

So far, our squad looks like this (Mangala included):

Premier League

17 Non-HG: Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Demichelis, Kolarov, García, Fernando, Fernandinho, Touré, Silva, Navas, Nasri, Agüero, Jovetić, Džeko, Negredo (18 total)

8 HG: Hart, Wright, Boyata, Clichy, Richards, Rodwell, Milner, Sinclair, Guidetti (9 total)

U21: Nastasić, Rekik, Zuculini, Huws et al.

Champions League

16 Non-HG: Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Demichelis, Kolarov, García, Fernando, Fernandinho, Zuculini, Touré, Silva, Navas, Nasri, Agüero, Jovetić, Džeko, Negredo (19 total)

5 HG: Hart, Wright, Boyata, Clichy, Richards, Rodwell, Milner, Sinclair, Guidetti (9 total)

B List: Nastasić, Rekik, Huws et al.

Some trimming is required of course, but surprisingly mostly in the homegrown department, who'd thunk it! I expect García to leave with Fernando being his like for like replacement. If Zuculini stays, he will most likely be left out of the CL squad.
That would leave us with one surplus non-homegrown player in the CL squad. Yes, we could always sell a player (Navas? Demichelis?), but I think registering Demichelis or Negredo (due to injury) only for the Premiere League is also a possibility, at least during the group stage. Nastasić moving to list B helps us a gret deal.

I expect a minimum of one player out of Richards, Rodwell, Sinclair & Guidetti to leave. Even if all of them left we should be fine as we seem to have adequate cover for any of their positions. Any of those staying will be left out of the CL squad, naturally.

Thoughts?

Cheers for this, I expect Richards and Sinclair to leave, maybe Guidetti on loan again, but to somewhere that will give him a game, possibly Huws as well to continue his development, but this time to a prem club, maybe southampton or swansea.

I think Zuculini is a cert to be loaned and also Rekik again. apart from that i think once we get Mangala, we are good.

was reading in the guardian that garcia may have to be expendable to meet the premier league foreign player quota of 17 because with mangala or benatia we would be at 18.

for the chumps league we can only have 16.

their argument, however, was under the assumption that negredo was likely going to be sold.

so, even selling garcia will not be enough to meet the criteria champions league.

you have to figure zuculini is not going to make the champions league roster (unless...his being under 21 is relevant to not being counted?)

even so, that counts as 17 players (assuming nasti is sold or does not count as an under 21 as well).

seems garcia may very well be needed to be shipped out.

Zucilini is not yet officially a City player. I've seen suggestion that he's still only on trial, don't know how true that is.

Agree that Garcia looks the most likely of the non-homegrown to make way, just as he was finding his feet too. ( Napoli allegedly keen )

Agree too that Negredo likely won't be named in CL squad due to his injury.

PrezIke wrote:you have to figure zuculini is not going to make the champions league roster (unless...his being under 21 is relevant to not being counted?)

even so, that counts as 17 players (assuming nasti is sold or does not count as an under 21 as well).

seems garcia may very well be needed to be shipped out.

Unfortunately, Zuculini will not be eligible for the Champions League B list as he'd have to be at the club for two seasons. Nastasić, on the other hand, is as of this season. Both are considered under 21 for Premier League squad purposes, as there is no restriction besides age & both meet the required cutoff date of Jan 1st 1993. Hence, both needn't be registered as part of the 25-man squad.

Those facts make the suggestion that Nastasić is going to be sold ludicrous in my opinion.

I'm absolutely certain that García is on his way out. With the purchase of Fernando his primary duty, shoring up a three man midfield, has been assumed by a player who has been rated as quicker & more mobile in general. Rodwell provides a homegrown alternative, should he stay. Thanks to squad restrictions, we simply can't afford to keep him.

Apart from that, Boyata strikes me as fairly pointless, but he signed an extension in May, so I don't see him leaving. Rekik has been handed the no. 19 shirt so might be staying. Demichelis has been excellent in the latter third of the season or so, including the World Cup, so it would be a shame (and a potential disaster) to let another experienced CB leave with question marks over the maturity and/or quality of Mangala, Nastasić & Rekik.

The Guardian story is idiotic - just dont name Garcia, so what? Other clubs do it. We never use our full quota and can use 300 kids if needed so I cant see any reason to panic. Txiki gets paid to worry about this.

I don't seem to understand, so help me out for a second: Just don't name García? As in, don't include him in the Premier League squad, have him sit on his arse picking up his substantial wages for a whole season not being eligible to play in the Premier League, nor in the Champions League, where even less 'foreign' players are allowed in our squad this season? I'd rather we got him off the wage bill & pocket a fee, however small, instead. Thanks.

The Guardian story is therefore perfectly reasonable.

And I for one am not panicking, but rather contemplating who in our squad is going to have to leave the club or be left out of the Premier League squad & interested in the opinion of others on here.

Wonderwall wrote:Cheers for this, I expect Richards and Sinclair to leave, maybe Guidetti on loan again, but to somewhere that will give him a game, possibly Huws as well to continue his development, but this time to a prem club, maybe southampton or swansea.

I think Zuculini is a cert to be loaned and also Rekik again. apart from that i think once we get Mangala, we are good.

I think, and hope, that Rekik will be staying and will get a fair amount of game time over the coming months. There's a talented lad in there and I hope that we get to see him blossom in a City shirt. He'll be 4th choice, no doubt, but as last year proved there'll be plenty of injury and suspension opportunities for him, along with Capital One cup games.

Huws gone to pie eaters on six month loan

Although Garcia improved towards the end of last season, with the signing of Fernando, I think it'll be difficult for Garcia to get much game time this season, especially considering who else we have in centre mid, so I think there's a good chance he may leave.

Hopefully Nastasic leaves simply because he's shite.