In the second of our series, Tish Krokosz, from our team of website match reporters reviews last season and looks ahead to next
Before the season started what were your hopes on what we could achieve?
I expected a more successful run in the Europa League competition with less emphasis on domestic competitions. This hope was thrown out of the window after the disastrous “friendly” with Villareal and the awful tackle on Fofana. By the start of the first Premier League match, my hopes had dropped to managing a top half finish to the season and a mediocre run in the Europa League.
As the season progressed was your personal priority progress in Europe or the Premier League ?
I would have preferred priority given to the Premier League. However, we should have been able to do better in the Europa League as the opposition from Eastern Europe was not of a high standard. But as the season progressed and each injury was incurred, I was grateful for any win by the end of each match. Towards the end of the season, as it became clear that City would not progress into Europe next season via their league position, the Conference League was our only hope – and we were so close!
Given how the season panned out, in terms of success how do you rate it out of 10 and why?
A 6 would be a fair result in any other season, but I would increase this to a 7 as there were some remarkable results considering the injury list and for reaching the semi-finals of the Euro Conference League.
What was your personal highlight of the season?
The 4-2 win at home against Manchester United which seems a long time ago now. I believe there were more exciting and nerve-jangling games such as the home win against Liverpool but I was unable to see them.
James Maddison won the Player of the Year Award, would he have been your choice and who else do you think deserves praise for their performances?
Over the length of the season, I believe James Maddison was the most influential player and deserved the award. I think his best position is in the middle of the park rather than on the right or left wing and his best games were when he could dictate play from this central position.
Dewsbury-Hall puts all of his effort into every game that he is involved in, but he has not reached a level where he dictates a game.
What were your views on the signings made during last season?
The loan signing of Lookman was probably the most successful. He scored some crucial goals and often changed the complexion of a match but he was not consistent enough.
I think Daka has a lot of potential but needs a different style of play. His goals away in Moscow show that he can score crackers. He has speed so should receive more long balls played behind a high defensive line.
Soumaré came with a reputation of being able to control a midfield. He did not show much of this and struggled to keep pace with the English style of play. He clearly has skill and can pass well but I was glad to see Mendy return for the second half of the season.
Vestergaard should have been a tower in defence but he did not replicate the success that he has shown in the Danish national side. Like Soumaré, he, too, did not have the speed to deal with many of the opposition forwards.
Bertrand – hmmm! I cannot remember him having a positive influence on any of the matches in which I saw him play.
Which player do you think made the most progress last season and why?
Once Dewsbury-Hall was given the chance to start a match there was no going back. It is said that his style of play fits in with Rodgers’ plans and I can see that. In some of the games when he played with Luke Thomas and/or Harvey Barnes on the left side, he would glide past the opposition with deceptive ease. To win your first Premier League game, to score your first Premier League goal, to score your first European goal, to reach a European semi-final – these are all targets that a young player trying to make the grade will attempt to achieve. KDH manged all of these in his introductory season to the first team – and he soon had the crowd dedicating a song to him.
Which player did you think underperformed the most last season and why?
There could be several candidates for this and most of them were probably as a result of a long-lasting injury. The inability to maintain a regular run of games must be difficult for any player to then achieve a consistent standard of play. For that reason, I would excuse Ndidi, Pereira, Barnes and Evans not being at their best. As for Bertrand – hmmm!
Youri Tielemans was the player of the year in the previous season, so I had expected him to have even greater influence during 2021-22, but I was disappointed with the number of times when, at the end of the match, I found his role forgettable, He had a difficult season, partly because he had to stand in as a defensive midfielder on too many occasions. The beauty of his game is in his creativity and ability to play a telling pass that leads to a goal. I cannot forgive him, though, for the pass he tried towards the end of the Spurs match which allowed them to take all three points from us.
In a season of many injuries, which players injury do you think had the most detrimental effect on our season ?
Without a doubt, I would pick that diabolical tackle on Fofana in the Villareal match, in which the culprit was not even properly punished, and thus bringing the City defender’s season to a halt for many months as having the most detrimental effect. Not only did this injury stop Fofana’s progress in a City shirt, it meant the club had to spend money on defenders that were not up to the standard required.
What is your view on the club not wearing blue in some away fixtures last season when the kits clearly wouldn’t have clashed ?
As there were so many matches close to one another, perhaps the home shirts were still in the wash? Otherwise, I am quite neutral on the matter.
Moving onto next season
Ongoing media coverage indicates we are looking for a centre back, midfield player and right winger as the main priorities, if you had to choose one position as the most important as to where we needed to strengthen, what would it be and why?
Although City made the emergency purchases after Fofana’s injury, I still think that a quality central defender is the main priority for next season. The number of goals conceded was diabolical and more than Burnley, who were relegated. The media made constant reference to the statistics highlighting the goals from set pieces, so a (preferably young) defender who can help to stop leaking these goals would be my preference.
It has also been made clear the club needs to move out a number of players, who do you feel time at the club should come to an end?
As he was a late emergency purchase, Bertrand should be allowed to go.
If a decent price is offered for Söyüncü, then I think he could be allowed to move too, although that would mean searching for yet another central defender.
I still do not know what role Perez is expected to fulfil, although he has scored some crucial goals, so I would consider including him on a list.
Dennis Praet has been out on loan for a season. If he is not utilised within the current plans then he should be sold.
The media are convinced that Tielemans will not stay at City and, although he has not had the most influential of seasons, I would rather he was sold to some European team rather than to Arsenal or Spurs.
Choudhury has probably reached the peak of his abilities at City and would benefit from regular first team action so I would be prepared to see him go to a Championship team.
Despite my earlier comments regarding Soumaré, I would not move him on at this stage unless another team is prepared to make an offer that cannot be refused.
Would you be looking to add some experience to a fairly youthful squad or would you continue bringing in younger players and develop them?
As City are not in Europe for the forthcoming season, I find it difficult to believe that experienced players would be comfortable coming to us. Everyone worth his salt is looking for the opportunity to play in Europe these days, so City’s hands are somewhat tied behind their backs in their quest for decent experience. Furthermore, there will be no European money coming in so finances may dictate the level of experience that can be brought in.
If you had a chance for a word in the owner’s ears, which player(s) would you be advising to sign?
Ademola Lookman is not the perfect buy but is a known quantity so I would look at making his stay long term.
Brennan Johnson made a mockery of us in the FA Cup match at Forest so he could be a potential right winger, but as they have been promoted, I doubt whether he would wish to make the short journey to City.
On a more cautious note, I would not look at buying any players that could be chosen to play in the African Nations Cup as this has a disastrous effect on team choice during the late winter months.
What are your expectations and fears for next season?
My expectations are limited to a hope that City will manage to gain a spot in the European competitions again. As there will be less of a necessity to keep revolving players, I would hope that a more settled side and one which becomes used to one another’s game will allow us to see more victories, more points and a higher finish in the table.
However, if we lose experienced players during the summer and are not able to replace them with similar capabilities, this could start a slow downward trend.
I have been against the decision to hold the World Cup in Qatar in the middle of the European season. I hope this does not interfere too much with the domestic timetable. There will be very little time between the end of the World Cup and the restart of the season after Christmas. Who knows how much this will affect players in terms of injuries and tiredness?
Any other observation you would like to make
It is disappointing that the City planning department and/or Council have not been able to come to a decision on the ground extensions.
I hope the Covid interruptions of the last two seasons are behind us.
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation