Three Takeaways: Manchester City drop points to West Brom

Manchester City’s season has taken its most head-scratching turn yet with a 1-1 draw against West Brom.

Manchester City missed an opportunity to make up ground on the league leaders with one of the easiest fixtures on the calendar. Matches are not played on paper, however, and despite a flurry of late chances, City were unable to beat a newly promoted side and prime candidate for relegation at home.

1. If Not Now, When?

There aren’t many fixtures in the Premier League that should be surefire wins. Nevertheless, if they do exist, West Brom at home is one of them for Manchester City. This point leaves them five adrift of the top and level on games despite Liverpool and Tottenham both dropping points this weekend.

City’s poor form this year has been attributed to a slow start, with a full expectation that they’ll suddenly click back into the gears of 2017-18 or 2018-19. However, the eye test this season tells a completely different story: a sideways passing team that cannot buy a goal. City have now played against all three newly promoted sides, two of them at home, and have taken just a meager five points total.

The climb only gets more difficult from here, as City have missed opportunities to win crucial games against their top four rivals as well, with draws against Liverpool and Man United coupled with humbling defeats against Tottenham and Leicester. There may be a sudden change where City jolt back into their old form, but football does not tend to work that way, and there have been next to zero signs of that coming to pass.

2. You Don’t Know What You Have Until Its Gone

While David Silva’s departure was truly a sad moment for City fans, a majority of fans and the media had come to the conclusion that it was a perfect time for both parties to move on. Silva was “past it”, and City had up-and-comers such as Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva to compete to fill the void. While David Silva’s Real Sociedad sit atop La Liga with El Mago pulling the strings, City are desperately crying out for creativity or the ability to unlock a defense.

Foden has been deployed out wide and hasn’t quite made the impact we anticipated, while Bernardo has provided maximum work rate and effort but very little end product for over a year now. Much like how City’s defense crumbled after the departure of Vincent Kompany, the attack has looked anemic with David Silva gone and Sergio Agüero injured for nearly the entire first half of the season.

3. The Chosen One

From all of the drama currently surrounding the club, one thing has become abundantly clear. To the Manchester City board: Sign Erling Haaland. No more £65 million per player budget cap, no more guessing on unproven talent and attempting to develop them. Sign the world’s most clinical young striker, the perfect replacement for Agüero’s poacher’s instinct. His father played for the club and he is exactly what the team needs. If City want to truly dance with the big boys once again, it’s time to make a statement. Haaland is the only proper replacement for Agüero, and if the club miss out on him over a fee like they did Virgil Van Dijk, they are making a massive mistake.

Three Takeaways: Manchester City drop points to West Brom

By J.C. Gonzalez | Dec 15, 2020

Manchester City’s season has taken its most head-scratching turn yet with a 1-1 draw against West Brom.

1. If Not Now, When?

2. You Don’t Know What You Have Until Its Gone

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3. The Chosen One