Football Manager 2016 Team Guide: Manchester City
Manuel Pellegrini’s future is coming under question more than ever at the moment, so it seems a fitting time to give you a guide on what it would be like to step into Pellegrini’s shoes.
Could you deal with Yaya’s strops? Can you keep Aguero fit and fresh?
Here is the guide on how to get the Citizens to become the best side in Europe…
What you start with…
It must be because of their big spending last summer, but it still seems a bit harsh that the board aren’t even willing to give you a penny in the first transfer window of your save. Fortunately, you have magnificent youth and training facilities.
What’s expected…
Premier League: Just win the title. Nothing less.
FA Cup: The City board are sort of cruel on FM, aren’t they? They want a clean sweep of trophies and the FA Cup needs to be won, you can’t even try to lower their expectations.
Capital One Cup: Of all four competitions, the league cup is the only one that the board aren’t all that fussed about. However, if you’re falling short in other competitions, success in the Capital One Cup could save your job.
Champions League: The board are a bit kinder in the Champions League… they only want you to make the final in your first season.
Three to buy…
Eric Dier – Dier, considering he is at a league rival, will set you back a huge amount – once you have any sort of budget – but he is surely worth it. Natural as a right-back, centre-back and a defensive midfielder, the ex-Sporting Lisbon man would immediately be an upgrade on Fernando and could cover across the defence whilst adding to the troublesome homegrown quota.
Antoine Griezmann – The lack of natural width at City is a concern and signing Griezmann could begin to address this.
He has been a central striker for most of his time with Atleti, but the ex-Sociedad man would still be a class act out wide.
Ruben Duarte – Both Kolarov and Clichy are nearing the end of their time at the top level and Ruben Duarte would immediately offer more defensive stability than either of his more senior rivals.
He will be cheaper than Shaw was on previous versions of the game and quite a prospect.
Three to sell…
Fernando – A defensive midfielder should be one of your first signings and Fernando will be a player you can move on relatively easily, considering his obvious weaknesses.
Jesus Navas – The additions of De Bruyne and Sterling have pushed Jesus Navas even further down the pecking order and, despite a need for natural wingers, Navas is not up to scratch for a squad with the lofty ambitions of City.
Martin Demichelis – Kompany, Otamendi and Mangala are all comfortably ahead of the Argentine in the pecking order and he is an easy player to offload if you need to free up wages. Alternatively, you could sell Mangala and use Demichelis as the cover option to free up more funds.
Youngsters…
Kelechi Iheanacho – Iheanacho isn’t ready to start for City until the second or third season, so you will need to make sure you keep Bony fit for when Aguero inevitably picks up an injury. However, the young centre-forward is a reliable finisher even with a finishing stat of only 13.
Patrick Roberts – Roberts doesn’t have quite the potential that he did on FM15, but the ex-Fulham winger still becomes a dangerous prospect if played as an inside forward on the right wing.
Jason Denayer – Mangala and Otamendi are competing for the space alongside Kompany, but Denayer will easily be getting into your XI within a couple of seasons on your save. Loaning the Belgian out might be a good option whilst your rotate the other three, but he is a powerful force to be reckoned with.
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