Pep's fullback fetish: 5 reasons why spending so much on fullbacks could backfire

#3 Shouldn't have let Zabaleta, Kolarov, Clichy, Navas and Sagna go, all at once

Losing so many figureheads at once would be detrimental to the dressing room

This summer, Manchester City released Zabaleta, Clichy, Navas and Sagna; not to mention the sale of Kolarov to Roma. Not only does this lead to a complete revamp of the defence as already suggested; the loss of these players who have served City over several years will have a huge impact in the dressing room. The derbies will lose that extra edge. The fans will feel a little alienated from the squad.

Rather than a complete overhaul, he should have phased this generation of City players out. A couple here, a couple there; In fact, if such a rebuild was in his thoughts, he should have released two fullbacks and brought one in last summer itself. Dani Alves from Juventus would have been a perfect signing for his requirements – but ultimately that wasn’t to be either.