Season over - how did I rate our players & 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.
Ederson
Some excellent saves; a few errors - some a little silly / avoidable - and some exceptional passes (including one assist I seem to recall!). Fairly standard goalkeeping fare over a whole season, really. 7.5/10
(Last season’s rating: 7.5/10)
Scott Carson
One outing at Newcastle United in the Premier League in which he had to pick the ball out of his net 3 times but where he also had a decent game otherwise and saved a penalty in a crazy, end-of-season-style match. I slightly disagree with the Manchester Evening News’ rating of 8/10 but, for his one & only game, he certainly gets a 7/10 from me.
(Last season’s rating: N/A)
Zack Steffen
Most definitely decent whenever he stepped in ‘between the sticks’; with 1 Premier League appearance as well as games in both domestic cups, which included a clean sheet in the League Cup final against Spurs. 7/10
(Last season’s rating: N/A)
Aymeric Laporte
Strange season for the fella and I’m sure he was as surprised as most City fans to find himself largely on the side-line; not because of new signing Ruben Dias but because of John Stones’ largely exceptional form. However, that did not detract from mostly fine performances and, up to his-personal last game of the season, he was in excellent form I thought. 8/10
(Last season’s rating: 8/10)
Benjamin Mendy
Even when he managed a half-decent performance it always seemed to come with the rider, “By his standards”. Even IN those slightly better games, it was often in just one half of a match and he never surpassed just better than average, for me at least. He also had some flippin’ awful games and so, over a whole season where he didn’t feature all that much, he gets 4.5/10 from me.
(Last season’s rating: 6/10)
Eric Garcia
Rarely seen this season and I suppose that doesn’t allow any player to gain traction (more to follow on that). But I just wonder also whether his determination to leave us for Barcelona may-have-also affected his performances. All things considered, I suppose 6/10 isn’t TOO bad and was to be half-expected once he’d announced his desire to move on.
(Last season’s rating: 7.5/10)
Joao Cancelo
I remind you that this is a fluid rating system and I’m sure Joao was as high as 8.5 or even 9/10 as he was reinvented as an inverted wing-back / attacking midfielder; where he most certainly flourished for a time. However, prior to that he just looked like the slightly underwhelming wing-back from the previous season, which was his first with us, and as he was eventually withdrawn from his new role and rotated once more with Kyle Walker in his more familiar position; his performances declined steadily in my opinion. He’s capable of having really good games on both flanks of the defence…but he all-too-often has poor ones. Similar to a Covid-19 “peak” chart, he’s had a really up and then down season and has ended with a 6.5/10 from me.
(Last season’s rating: 7/10)
John Stones
What a transformation! And, at his peak, he was pulling in 8.5 to 9/10 performances on a regular basis whilst in terrific form. I have to say that those ratings fell off a little towards the end of the season and I wonder if that was a result of him being rested / protected / rotated a little as the Champions League final (huh) loomed ever closer. Ended in decent form rather than excellent and gets an overall rating of 8/10 from me.
(Last season’s rating: 6/10)
Kyle Walker
Mixed bag really with some really good games but with some real off performances dotted in-between. At one stage he settled into some really good form but like a few of his colleagues he tailed off a little towards the end of the season. Still, a decent 7/10 at the end and overall.
(Last season’s rating: 8/10)
Nathan Ake
It was always going to be difficult for new-signing, Nathan, to get a run in the side; despite the fact that he can play both left-of-centre and at left-back. However, injuries – one quite lengthy – certainly didn’t help his situation. But what I couldn’t quite get my head around was the number of comments on-line from many-a-City fan about how Nathan wasn’t up to standard and that we didn’t need him; we’d wasted our money and should cash in this-coming summer! Okay…I think I can remember one bad game, a bad half-game and a couple of wobbly moments otherwise but, overall, I thought he played really, really well. In fact, of his limited appearances, he’s finished on 7.5/10 in my rating system.
(Last season’s rating: N/A)
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Simply put, what a valuable player Oleksandr has become since his decision 2 summers ago to-not-swap the sky blue of Manchester City for the Gold of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Does he still show some signs every so often that defending / positioning has been something he’s had to learn fast over the last 2 seasons rather than something he’s practiced most of his footballing life so far? Yeah…sometimes. Does he get overly criticised by some, local press included, whenever he makes an error or two? Most definitely in my humble. I love his energy, drive & determination as much as I’m impressed with his increasing skill-set; in a still-learning-curve role that he’s found himself in at our football club. Ended in good form too and gets a season rating of 7.5/10.
(Last season’s rating: 6/10)
Ruben Dias
(Last season’s rating: N/A)
Barnardo Silva
It took some time for the 26-year-old to get going this season, I thought, but then blossomed – as did the whole team – once over an early-season, flaky period. Once ‘in the grove’, he played exceptionally well for a good period of time and was one of the key components in-making us almost unstoppable at one stage. Now I don’t know whether it was because he-then-sometimes seemed to find it difficult to nudge Riyad Mahrez out of the way on the right wing or get ahead of both Kevin De Bruyne & Ilkay Gundogan in the middle…but I think seeing less ‘game time’ effected his momentum a little. Never lacks desire and even a slightly off day often sees him put in a 6.5/10 performance. Overall - and despite below-par performances either side of an excellent period - I suppose 7/10 is still very good.
(Last season’s rating: 7/10)
Played 2 games in the space of a month against Burnley in the League Cup and came on as a sub against Marseille in the Champions League. Both games he rated as a 7 and so, of course, gets 7/10.
(Last season’s rating: N/A)
Fernandinho
‘Rolling back the years’ is most definitely the phrase to use to describe our captain’s season. I don’t think I saw a performance from the Brazilian veteran less than 7/10 and there were certainly many games where he performed even better. I think some of the credit must go to his manager for the way he’s…well, managed the 36-year-old over the whole season. But speaking of rolling back the years; towards the end of the season I just think we saw a little of the previous…“less mature” midfielder; as he started to take a few ‘nibbles’ at opponents even beyond his now-famous, “tactical fouling” tag. A whopping, “well done” 8/10.
(Last season’s rating: 7/10)
Ferran Torres
I’ve already mentioned the word “traction” when-talking about another Spaniard and that same word definitely comes back into play here. I felt a little sorry for the young, new signing; certainly early on in the season when Riyad Mahrez was showing the same, inconsistent and below-par performances of previous seasons. It didn’t help either that he, like some of his teammates, was struck with Covid-19 around early January and while some displayed little if any after effects; it was reported by his manager at the time that Ferran was struggling with post-Covid fatigue, which saw him ruled out for a number of weeks. Result of that sporadic action throughout the season? He looked a little out of sorts at times, which I think often-then saw him trying TOO hard with little in the way of positive outcomes. But you can see that he’s got talent and when it ‘clicked’ in a few of his rare appearances, he really did explode onto the scene with intelligent runs and some fine goals. And he’s largely a winger too, of course, so even more credit to him for his goal contribution when asked to play in a central attacking role. A very creditable 7/10.
(Last season’s rating: N/A)
Ilkay Gundogan
I wonder what odds you’ve have got down the betting shop for the German international being our season’s top goal scorer? Similar to Bernardo Silva but even better; Ilkay started in with similar performances to previous seasons and tailed off a little towards the end (there’s that line again). But he was on fire for a good period of time in-between all of that and I would say at the peak of that he was practically unplayable! Having played a heck of a lot of games this season, which leaves more room for under-performing games to drag scores down, 8/10 is a score to be proud of for sure.
(Last season’s rating: 7/10)
Kevin De Bruyne
(Last season’s rating: 9/10)
Phil Foden
He has truly arrived. What a talent and what a season he’s had. I recall being awe-struck by some of his moves / tricks so to have those ‘in his locker’ as well as desire & energy by the skip load AND being a locally-born, Manchester City fan…what more can we ask?! Seemed to hit form early on and then largely stayed there and he’s also turned my thinking of-him-being better in the middle than on the left wing. He’s become a regular ‘must pick’ player now and so I think 8/10 is a fine rating indeed.
(Last season’s rating: 7.5/10)
Raheem Sterling
Another one of those players who started really well, despite the fact that the team looked so ‘off colour’ in the first few weeks. But as the team settled down and gained some REAL momentum, Raheem regressed; regressed further…and then regressed even further STILL towards the end of the season. Simply put, he appeared to lose all self-belief and returned to the previous version of Raheem Sterling from-when we first signed him from Liverpool; full of indecision and leaving everyone unsure which Raheem was going to show up. I swear I recall him-being on an 8 at one stage but his long, downward spiral sees him finish on an alarmingly-low 5.5/10.
(Last season’s rating: 8/10 and I think it’s worth noting, in his case, that he got an 8.5/10 form me 2 seasons ago so ARE we indeed seeing continued regression from the England international?)
Riyad Mahrez
Another phrase for you to apply to a City player and this one applies to the start of his season, which is, “Here we go again”. In that time, we saw some very good moments, some bad ones and times where he disappeared / may as well not have been on the pitch. Inconsistent, once again, to say the least. Then…SHAZAM! Around about half way through the season and into the final third he was consistently (now there’s a word I didn’t think I’d use anywhere near the name, Riyad Mahrez) ‘banging out’ 8/10 performances; with hard work, skills, creativity & goals. Like many of his colleagues I thought he tailed off a little towards the very end but for him to-still get 7.5/10 after previous season’s showings is definitely credit to him.
(Last season’s rating: 7.5/10)
Rodri
Mmmmm…similar to how Ilkay Gundogan used to have a varying effect on City fans; I think Rodri has become the new “Mr Marmite”. In fact, I was often in the camp of quite liking – without necessarily going overboard – the Spanish, defensive midfielder but not only am I ‘sitting on the fence’ that separates both camps; I’ve recently put one foot on the grass of the adjacent camping field. Basically, I just don’t think he can be relied on most of the time to help protect the back line. So ineffective did one City fan think he is when he posted on-line a few months ago that he called him a, “chocolate fireman”. Others say that his slow and / or slow to turn. Although I don’t think he’s terrible, I do find myself SLOWLY starting to agree. Ends with a 6.5/10 after being largely on a 7; occasionally seeing a 7.5 early on in the season.
(Last season’s rating: 8/10)
Gabriel Jesus
Puts a real shift every time he pulls on the shirt. Doesn’t shirk challenges no matter how big the defender is and certainly has skill. But what a lot of City fans point out is that he’s supposed to be a striker and, for that, he just doesn’t score enough goals. Yes, he brings other things into games and often opens up spaces for attacking midfielders to do damage to the opposition and that’s why a lot of fans would rather see him being given a chance on the left flank; a position I recall seeing him have some really good games. But that’s highly unlikely to happen while Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and even Ferran Torres are available and so as a striker who doesn’t hit the back of the net nearly enough, he gets 6.5/10 this season.
(Last season’s rating: 7.5/10)
Sergio Aguero
9 hours and 23 minutes of league football (not sure how many minutes in other competitions but it wasn’t much at all). That’s how much ‘game time’ Serg got this season. Injured; not yet match fit, STILL not quite match fit, injured again, needs more time or, “…has a little niggle”. We’ve heard ‘em all this season; his last season with us, “Long live the King”. And for most of those minutes he’s looked like a player who hasn’t played much or was trying not to aggravate an underlying leg problem. Away at Palace and at home to Everton in the last domestic game of the season we were, at least, treated to sights of the ‘old Aguero’, which was a delight to see. Seems sad to give him a send-off 6.5/10 but that’s just how it is, unfortunately.
(Last season’s rating: 7.5.10)
Pep Guardiola
My word was he heading for a 10, even fairly late on in the season! First of all, he turned a stumbling City side at the beginning of the season into an unbeatable machine; he reinvented Joao Cancelo for a time, continues to reinvent and nurture Oleksandr Zinchenko and has somehow managed to get some consistency out of Riyad Mahrez. Oh…and then there’s John Stones and Phil Foden to think about under his coaching too! He then equalled the all-time record of consecutive League Cup final wins by lifting the trophy for the 4th season in a row and regained the league title with a whopping 12-point gap. Took us to Wembley twice too; with an F.A. Cup semi-final trip to face (I’m gritting my teeth now)…Chelsea. And this is where he starts to drop a couple of half-points. Now…I’ve not got a short memory for certain things - not quite yet anyway – and so I clearly recall and fully understand that he had a few fires to fight which, of course, are all part of being a very successful team. We’d already won one cup but found ourselves in the exciting – if not slightly daunting – situation of being in very close reach of 3 more. So, of course, there’s a bit of balancing to be done and player protection to be mindful of. However, I don’t think I’m alone in-thinking that he should and COULD have picked a better 11 to face Chelsea at Wembley on 17th April. I don’t actually think Chelsea looked ‘all that’ in the very early stages on this particular day but when we ‘rocked up’ with the side Pep put out to face The Pensioners and didn’t do much to worry the London side; they quickly grew into the game and the rest is history. They fully deserved the win but, for me, it was another big occasion against a very good tactical manager gone avoidably wrong. Anyhoo…we eventually wrapped up the league after what, at the time, seemed like ages to confirm and with all domestic stuff out of the way and players being rested / protected; we headed into (the biggest game in our history?) to face the same, very good tactician. Now I’ll be honest here, I saw the ‘starting 11’ 75 minutes before the kick-off of the Champions League final and text my mate something like, ‘I like the look of that line-up’. In hindsight, there were 2 glaring errors…but I had sucked back a few beers by then and, I assume, Mr Guardiola hadn’t. Quite rightly, it’s been pointed out by fellow Blues…
1. Why play such a terribly out of form Raheem Sterling on the left instead of Phil Foden [who was slipped into the middle] and…
2. …NOT play such an ‘on-the-pitch-leader’ / defensive midfielder as Fernandinho; a player who was also in form?
Another big occasion against a very good tactical manager gone avoidably wrong? I’d have to say…”Yeah”.
But I’m certainly not going to end on a dour note; even though I’m typing this the day after the Champions League defeat with a dicky tummy and a slightly fuzzy head. It’s been a really, really good season; slightly tarnished by the way it finished with both the F.A. Cup and, most certainly, the Champions League but a flippin’ marvellous one nonetheless. I’ve loved it. As for Pep’s rating? 9/10.
(Last season’s rating: 7.5/10)
Thank you for taking the time to read.
Coming up soon’ish:
- My season predictions results
- A summer ‘ins & outs’ piece (either in one blog-posting or split into two)
- Some blog-postings on new kits as they get released
