Season FINALLY over for us (in the middle of August!),
how did I rate our players, team & manager?
Formula
How I do this, is to keep a full
record-list of players and adjust their score accordingly as the season
progresses. I only rate our players against either Premier League opposition, no matter what competition that may be in, or against
Champions League sides.
I also have a *
& ** rating, which stands for a player being
in particularly good / excellent form on top of their overall rating out of 10.
Ederson Moraes
A few wobbles from the tattooed worrier this
season, especially pre-Covid-19 break. In fact, at one point, he was around the
6, 6.5/10 mark from me.
But then, like so many of his colleagues
and team in general, post-break he really improved both keeper / shot-stopping
wise and some of his passing was incredible!
So…his mark improved to an 8 towards the
end but then he had that performance in the Champions League quarter final,
which notched him down a peg.
My rating:
7.5 / 10
(Last season’s rating: 8.5* / 10)
Claudio Bravo
Did nothing wrong, from what I can recall,
whenever he was asked to start between the posts. Didn’t get many opportunities
and then injuries blighted him in the restart. But he was steady to say the
very least whenever he put on the gloves.
My rating: 7
/ 10
(Last season’s rating: Don’t appear to have given him
one – did he not play / play often enough?)
Aymeric Laporte
Once we’d welcomed him back with open arms,
a little earlier than expected, he simply stepped into slipstream mode and
carried on his high-standard play.
Often seems to have very good games without
necessarily making himself look spectacular and a lot of his solid & classy
work often goes under the radar. Perhaps, a lot of the time, we’re just being mesmerised by
what’s going on further up field to notice…
My rating: 8
/ 10
(Last season’s rating: 8.5 / 10)
Benjamin Mendy
Some poor performances and some absolutely defensive HOWLERS saw the Frenchman around the 4, 4.5 mark at one stage. Then he
settled down for a while and had a number of…decent games without being
spectacular.
That most certainly dragged his score up
but then, once again, injury came back to haunt him.
My rating: 6
/ 10
(Last season’s rating: 6.5 / 10)
Eric Garcia
What an intelligent defender this young, Spanish
Under-21 international is. We all know he’s not the tallest and he can be quite
easily beaten for pace, should a speedy attacker ever get the better of him and
set up a ‘one on one’ run.
But he reads the game so very well that he
rarely gets himself into that situation and he definitely suits our style of
play / what Pep often wants in his central
defenders.
What a shame he then goes on to announce,
recently, that he wants to leave and re-join his beloved Barcelona. Even after he did so, however, he still
produced one the best performances of all our defenders against Lyon, in my opinion.
My rating: 7.5
/ 10
(Last season’s rating: N/A)
Joao Cancelo
Joined us on 7th August 2019
(the start of the season just concluded) and by January, there was talk of a
possible winter move out of the club; possibly – and initially - on loan
but with talk also about a permanent move out of the club in the transfer
window we’re now in. What
the heck?!
He looked a little sullen too, in my opinion,
and it seemed to reflect in his performances that were…underwhelming to say the
least (the modern phrase is…”Meh”).
As it turned out, he didn’t move in winter
and as the rumours of him leaving evaporated; we saw a couple of decent
performances from the Portuguese international.
But then, sometimes when given an opportunity
in the starting 11, he would let himself down again; as we witnessed
nothing of what his £60M price tag lead a lot of us to believe we were getting.
However, the right-sided wing-back was then
asked to perform the role on the opposite flank; particularly with Mendy having
some more injury niggles, as well as being unavailable due to suspension for the 2nd
leg against Real Madrid. Good job too, as
there was little chance of him pushing Kyle Walker aside this season just gone.
Joao did quite well there and together with
some half-decent displays on his usual side whenever given the chance
following the restart; he ends the season with a respectable score.
But I
think we have to ask ourselves, is “respectable” what we thought we were
getting when he was being ‘bigged up’ by a lot of people ahead of his expensive
move to our club?
My Rating: 7
/ 10
(Last season’s rating: N/A)
John Stones
Few appearances, more injuries, then-an-apparent
lack of confidence leading to a few mistakes, which was all followed by more injury niggles
and an apparent lack of confidence in him by his manager in the latter weeks. I
think that pretty much sums up John’s season, doesn’t it?
My rating: 6
/ 10
(Last season’s rating: 7 / 10)
Kyle Walker
At the start of last season - and even
going back to the end of the season before - Kyle, and by his own admittance,
just couldn’t find the performances nor form that was the reason we signed the much-respected,
England international. What he needed, a lot of us were saying at the time, was
decent competition in that position of the team. We got Joao Cancelo.
Still, he started the season well enough
and was doing really quite well before the Coronavirus stepped in to put the brakes
on it all.
Once the green light was given for football
to release the handbrake, Kyle really came back to his best. Really strong,
powerful and determined displays were now a regular feature from the Yorkshireman and although some would still argue
that his defending is still questionable at times; his all-round performances
up & down that flank really were very good indeed in the latter months of the
season. Put it this way, most teams in the Premier League – and a few decent
teams in Europe – would like to have him in their starting 11s, I'm sure.
He looked really strong & fit with a
renewed sense of vigour following the restart so I say, well done him!
My rating: 8* / 10
(Last season’s rating: 7 / 10…with a side note that he was
heading towards a 5 at one stage and before an upturn in performances towards
the end of 2018-19 campaign).
Nicolas Otamendi
I
did a…‘who might be leaving in the summer’ piece in April and I think I’ll just
‘copy & paste’ what I wrote about the Argentine defender then:
Some players get
better with age (Fernandinho anyone?) and some become a ‘fading force’. It
could just be, as is sometimes the case too, that Nicolas simply needs ‘freshening
up’ with a move and, should that happen, he may well become a very good
defender for some other club, as he once was for us. He’s never really been a regular 8/10 defender but, for the most part, he’s
definitely been a fairly solid 7/10’er. Sadly, however, those scores are
dipping at a consistent rate. At my ‘end of season’ player ratings piece for
2017/18, I gave him an overall score of 8/10; whereas last season I noted how
little he featured in such an epic season for us and said that his performances
reflected that; giving him a final score of 7/10. Not bad. But this decline has
continued and with some absolutely abysmal displays & form this season from
the Argentine; my current rating for the 32-year old stands at a lowly 4.5/10.
Some may put that down to him working in a defence that, at times, has looked
very fragile on the whole and for all the reasons we know about. However, where
Nicolas has desperately struggled at times, other players have maintained
reasonable standards and even, in Fernandinho’s case, delivered high-marking
performances & consistently-good form.
A little improvement since then in 2 or 3,
rare appearances, so…
My rating: 5
/ 10
(Last season’s rating: 7 / 10)
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Whenever Benjamin was fit, Oleksandr reverted
to his usual position…sat on the bench. Whenever asked to step in, he did…okay.
He is, more often than not, a bundle of
energy with a determination that simply can’t be faulted. He sometimes made defensive
errors - or bad forward-pass-decisions otherwise - but he was always
quick to at least try ‘n’ make up for his mistakes.
I think what sums him up is what I tend to
read about him in the player-rating reports whenever I want to see what other
views are following games and it was said, more often than not, that he had a
very bad first half mixed with a much better second…or the other way round. Yeah,
so…
My rating: 6
/ 10
(Last season’s rating: 8 / 10! Wow…I’ve just-now
read my review of him from last season, so you’d have to say he’s had a very disappointing
season in comparison; hindered largely by a lack of a run in the side, I’d have
to say).
Bernardo Silva
I really like the guy – I like his technical
ability, his determination, his ability to play inside as well as out wide and
the fact that, when on the flank, he’s not one dimensional; being able
to zip inside as well as beat a man around the outside.
It’s for all those reasons I was disappointed
for him that he had such a quiet season by his standards.
I was then further disappointed to hear,
recently, that Barcelona were ‘hovering with intent’; leaving me with a strong
feeling, for some strange reason, that they might just ‘turn his head’.
However,
since then we’ve heard the stories about what state the Catalan club are in and saw what happened to them against Bayern, so it was probably some kind of
desperation story circulated to possibly ‘deflect’ and appease the Barca fans.
Back to Bernardo…
My rating: 7
/ 10
(Last season’s rating: 9* / 10)
David Silva
Just…what a (final) season from the
fella – both pre & post pandemic break!
Why he wasn’t used in the Lyon clash only Pep will know because, for me, he had
been largely playing like he was 30 and not 34-½. Simple as that, really.
My rating: 8.5* / 10, which makes him my runners-up player of the
season.
Last season’s rating: 7.5 / 10)
Fernandinho
With a couple of wobbly moments
pre-break in play and in his new role as central defensive cover; the Brazilian
defensive midfielder was having some crackin’ games! Sometimes he’d get to play
in his more-natural position and, at times, was getting ‘man of the match’ accolades
from some corners of the press.
He appeared to be rolling back the years
at one stage.
But those slender legs of his, as fit as he
appears to keep himself, I think ran out of steam following the resumption in
play. He looked ‘off pace’ at times and his manager picked him less an’ less as
we neared the final flag.
I think, at one stage, I had him down as
8*
when he was in a particularly rich vein of form.
My
rating: 7
/ 10
(Last
season’s rating: 8 / 10…with a note also that as the season
progressed we fans saw, once again, less & less of him; as the treatment room
staff saw more & more).
Ilkay
Gundogan
Regular
readers may recall that I often refer to him as ‘Mr Marmite”; adding that I can see both sides of the argument
whenever I listen to those who both like & dislike the German international
in equal measures.
I
think he’s…okay - a few, rare 8/10 performances along with, perhaps, more
than his fair share of 5s & 6s, it has to be said.
But
I think this season - again particularly after the break in service - we saw
more 7 & 7.5s from the versatile midfielder and although he was stuck
around the 6 mark for a large part of the season on my ratings board…
My
rating: 7
/ 10
(Last
season’s rating: 7.5 / 10)
Kevin
De Bruyne
What
a special player. I’m not one to say things like this and I hope it doesn’t
happen…but I’m amazed that we’re not pouring the proverbial boiling oil over
the proverbial castle gates to keep pursuers at bay. Perhaps
another largely disappointing season with no progression in Europe and we might
just be looking at the 29-year old’s last season.
Such
were his performances and his consistent form, I had him down at 9.5** at one point! I don’t think I’ve ever had a player at
that rating before. Slipped ever so slightly in the last few
games…
My
rating: 9* / 10 and my player of the season without a seconds’
thought.
Last
season’s rating: 8.5* / 10)
Phil
Foden
Finally,
he made it into the first team! Not every game but, in comparison to his
very patient history, a heck of a lot.
And,
for the most part, he did very, very well indeed. Still a bit of a ‘rough
diamond’ at times but my word does he have some talent to go with that energy
& determination.
2
or 3 games, as the season came to a close, where his effectiveness faded a
little which, perhaps, was the reason why Pep didn’t include him at ALL against Lyon when we were
in desperate
need
of some attacking urgency!
My
rating: 7.5
/ 10
(Last
season’s rating: 7 / 10)
Raheem
Sterling:
If
I was to sum up his season with one word, I think it would be, “rollercoaster”.
Started
the season very strong but then as winter approached, his performances dipped
dramatically. Nothing he touched turned to either gold or goals.
Then,
as Christmas disappeared behind us, his displayed picked up pace and he was
ripping through defences; creating goals for his teammates as well as getting
back on the scoresheet himself.
The
rollercoaster then got stuck for a time as Covid-19 took hold but once the
wheels were back in motion, Raheem was FIRING! Full of confidence; we saw
the once goal-shy wing-forward banging ‘em in for fun!
Then,
as his rollercoaster was nearing the finish, he appeared to slow a little, as his
‘zip’ faded a little…before the carriages then came crashing into the stop barriers with ‘THAT’
miss against Lyon.
My
rating: 8
/ 10 (I don’t need to tell you that his score was
higher at one stage; possibly even ‘leading the pack’ for a time).
(Last
season’s rating: 8.5* / 10)
Riyad
Mahrez
Another
player, like Ilkay, who often divides opinion.
I’m
divided myself – I’ve seen this fella have many-a-terrific game where he can
often be unplayable…alternatively, I’ve seen others where he’s either
practically invisible or simply can’t do a thing with the ball. Weird.
I
think, season just gone, that sums him up perfectly once again.
My
rating: 7
/ 10
(Last
season’s rating: 7 / 10)
Rodri
Similar
to Aymeric, he’s just class without being spectacular.
A
much-needed player for us with his ability and one I hope, with
a nod towards “Mr Marmite and the age of Fernandinho, we can find a good enough and young enough back-up for; to both keep Rodri's performances high, as well as
being able to rest him from time to time, particularly with the crazy, compressed fixtures ahead of us all over the next 2 seasons.
My
rating: 8
/ 10
(Last
season’s rating: N/A)
Gabriel
Jesus
The
still-young (just turned 23) player was pretty much stuck on a 6 with me; with
little chances being given leading to underwhelming performances whenever he
got the chance.
Then
he got his chance as, once again, Sergio spent his annual time out having
treatment or, in this season’s worse case, actual surgery.
And
it took time for the South American forward to get traction, as his performances
screamed lack of confidence.
As
always, however, there was never a lack of effort and he simply stuck at it
until his efforts paid dividends for both him and team. The assists &
secondary assists are nearly always there but, this time, the goals came too;
as he also appeared to be offside far less often.
Goals
dried up as he faded a little in the last few games (there’s
a theme throughout the team here)
but still…
My
rating: 7.5* / 10
(Last
season’s rating: 7.5 / 10)
Sergio
Aguero
Very
good and really missed when not available…but without being spectacular this
season, are my strange, mixed thoughts about our Argentine hero.
A
little bit inconsistent I recall? Most certainly devastatingly brilliant at
times and managed bags of goals to add to his impressive tally before his
injury…but there were also games where he was hardly involved in play before
being ‘hooked’ by his manager. I think he was playing with a niggle most of
the season and, in fact, I think I recall us being told just that at some stage
of the season.
So,
all things considered, I don’t suppose this is a bad rating.
My
rating: 7.5
/ 10
(Last
season’s rating: 8 / 10)
The
team as a whole?
This
isn’t an ‘adding up of scores’ and ‘dividing by’ thing – once again, it’s a fluid, ever-changing rating based on how well we play each game against top opposition.
At
one point, for instance and when we were having a particular stinker in the
league, I think we were looking at a 6! Then again, when we were absolutely
on FIRE after the break, we hit 9.5.
It’s been a strange season for all teams – it’s
been much more than that for many, lower league teams who have seen their clubs
sadly fold.
As for the Premier League, the resumption,
following the forced stoppage, proved to be an interruption that they just
couldn’t handle; as some sides saw strong positions slip from their grasps…while
others slipped out of the league.
For
us, the resumption appeared to mostly help…mostly.
We
were swiping aside teams as easily as you’d waft away a small fly at times - it
was both frightening and slightly embarrassing, in a strange way on occasions.
But
those devastating displays were all-too-often interspersed between baffling performances
and results both in the league as well as domestic cups. Ironically, we were
more consistently-good in the Champions League until we pressed the blue self-destruct
button.
We
won the Community Shield (tick); won the League Cup for the 3rd
time running (tick), finished league runners up (sort of…tick) and got to the quarter final of the
Champions League, having beaten Real Madrid twice 2-1 (again…sort of, tick). And if, like me, you’re a
Manchester City fan of a certain vintage, you’d have once been drooling over that sort of season “success”!
But
we have moved on now.
Still…we
have added more silverware and those largely fantastic displays in the last few
months have contributed to a decent final score of…
My
rating: 8.5
/ 10
(Last
season’s rating: 10 / 10)
The
Manager
To
be honest, what I’ve said about the team is most of what needs saying when
trying to DARE rate such a bloomin’-good manager; (still) one of
the best managers in the world.
Criticisms?
I think he has been too slow to change things in games on occasions
domestically and, yeah, I think that partly contributed to some of the 9,
Premier League defeats.
I
think, also, he could have been more proactive in the F.A. Cup semi-final too; a strange, flat performance by us that I
believe he could have influence more if he’d tried harder.
Do
I need to mention the game against Lyon? Huffff…when
I first saw the team sheet I thought, ‘Oh hello. He’s spotted something here and is about to pull
off some tactical masterpiece’. In hindsight? We just didn’t play to
our strengths, did we?
And, once again, he just didn’t move to
change things significantly enough, as we slipped out of the competition at the
same stage.
The owners and the Chairman will see this as
a failed season, I’m sure, and will secretly be a little ‘ticked off’ with Mr
Guardiola, I’m betting.
We, with our new high standards attained,
should be a little disappointed at the 2019-20 season too; that is without
getting all Billy-big-biscuits
and arrogant about it all.
My rating: 7.5 / 10
(Last season’s rating: 9.9 / 10…with a brief note about a slight blemish
against his name for what he did in the first leg of the quarter-final of the
Champions League).
If you managed to get
through all of that, a BIG thank you for taking the time to both ‘click on’ and
read.
