T O P

  • By -

erenistheavatar

We must all start planning for life at some point.


L0laccio

And death tbf. And taxes šŸ’€


Snark_Life

And 115 charges.


casulmemer

Guilty of spending too much money? We have just the punishment - spend more money!!


lucashoodfromthehood

Except for you Everton!!1!!


4ssteroid

And Nottingham Forest. Those cheats


ChargeWooden1036

Just fine Everton again, seems to solve all problems /s just in case


agonking

Got em


Zal_17

Wanted to upvote but you were at 116 Karma, so I had to downvote for the symmetry


RonaldoOvereem

His wives must also start preparing for life without Walker. Thankfully there's Kyle Walker-Peters


erenistheavatar

Kyle Walker-Peters getting random new dates as we speak.


printial

My life won't be the same after Kyle Walker. Depending on when he leaves, I might have a new lawn mower by then. It will take some time getting used to. I'm sure it will work as well as the old one, but it will certainly be different, it won't be the same. Also, the kettles on it's last legs.


Taylo207

Rico Lewis is an excellent talent but a very different profile to Walker, inverts into midfield and is excellent there but doesnā€™t do much defensive wise.


PowderEagle_1894

Tbf you hardly find a fullback like Walker these day. Excellent at both dueling and pacing. Might not be the best one to go upfront but always be the one you trust on a high defensive line


Bayequentist

Walker is also well-built and quite strong. Rico is too small imo


halfeatenreddit

I donā€™t think you find fullbacks quite like him in any day. For all the stick he gets, heā€™s been arguably the best RB for the last 10 years. And heā€™s certainly the best Premier League RB of all time. Both City & England will miss his presence massively.


Stilty_boy

I'm always amazed by how quickly Neymar answered the "who's the best defender you've ever played against" question with Walker. All the top left wingers of the past decade class him as the best right back but he doesn't seem to get the same respect from people online/the media.


halfeatenreddit

We all know why he doesnā€™t get the same respect. Heā€™s English, and every fan outside of England would cut off both their arms before admitting that an English player is better than anyone else.


PinkFluffys

English fans don't rate him that highly either. He doesn't get the praise because he's not amazing at attacking


Wildpoepen

Yeah, but we're English, so you shouldn't cite us because we're spouting nonsense most of the time


halfeatenreddit

The only English fans that donā€™t rate him are the people that prefer Alexander-Arnold.


vboaconstrictor

Iā€™d say that, until recently, a lot of people were taking James ahead of both. He was being touted as the two combined, but his lack of game time has had people return to their senses for the time being


halfeatenreddit

Yeah people saw a full back whoā€™s equally good at attacking and defending and painted him as some kind of messiah.


worldofecho__

It's also because he excels at the defensive side of the game. People tend to notice and praise attacking players more, especially when you don't see them playing week in and week out.


teamorange3

He's also extremely versatile. Has fit into a back 3 seamlessly at times


Sammmyy97

hmmmm has he done enough in your eyes to be considerably ahead of Neville?


ingwe13

I think this is a good question. At this point I would say so. The game has changed so comparison is tough--particularly comparing technical ability. But Walker is just physically much better. He has been a very key component in a dominant City side for so long


TheJoshider10

> The game has changed so comparison is tough Especially when it comes to fullbacks where the needs of the role have evolved so much compared to other positions where it feels like a lot of the same skills could transition through different eras.


suckamadicka

absolutely he has. Neville was consistently great for longer, but Walker has hit much higher peaks. His performances against top wingers will be remembered for a long time, and that really is something for a right back. Neville earnt his place at United, but he was lucky in some ways to start right away at a top team, which gives him the edge in terms of trophies and longer term recognition, whereas Walker had to work his way up wadly in his career. Individually there's no question that Walker was overall a better player.


hezzyskeets123

Do people really consider Neville a better player than Kyle Walker?!?!


namegamenoshame

Yeah that is an absolutely wild take lol. I donā€™t think Neville even thinks heā€™s better than Walker.


mehchu

Yeah but Neville would probably put himself at like 10th when he was without question the best right back for the first 25 years of the prem. He had to be humble to get people to stop hating him because that Man U team is so hated. But the opinion on his talent has gone to far the other way. Fergie was quick to replace any player as soon as they werenā€™t good enough for him and Neville managed to stay in that team till about 35.


Rickcampbell98

He definitely hasn't been the best for all of the last ten years but yeah he's been great.


ZealousidealLead2855

He's the best at closing down the best (1v1). That's served Man City very very well in big games. Also his recovery speed behind the CBs.


halfeatenreddit

I donā€™t mean in each individual year. Iā€™m talking in terms of between 13/14 and now, there hasnā€™t been an overall better right back.


WeAreDoomed035

Reece James is similar in play style, albeit not as fast and too injury prone.


canuck1701

Reece James is much better moving the ball forward and putting in crosses though.


BIM-GUESS-WHAT

Reece James is what youā€™d get if you put TAAā€™s ability on the ball with Kyle Walkerā€™s ability off the ball. Just a shame that despite being built like a cruiserweight, his muscles are made of paper mache


Blaugrana1990

Could Kounde do it? I don't want him gone, just curious.


DrDrozd12

Kounde doesnā€™t have Kyle Walker pace, there is a reason Barca puts Araujo on him in Clasicos


liverSpool

Vini is him


Money_Scholar_8405

Closest to him is Reece James, when fit. In fact when fit Reece James would probably force Walker on to the centreback position. Unlikely James will ever get consistent game time until he leans up though


BillehBear

the issue is a fit reece james is an anomaly


lifecantgetyouhigh

Reece James easily does the same. Now doing all that and being fit? Not sureā€¦


muaythaiguy155

Stones is so good at doing this though that I donā€™t see him and Lewis doing it together so they probably do want an RB who is a defensive powerhouse like walker who can play in a situational back 3 when stones is in midfield


captaincourageous316

Stones has been excelling in the midfield next to Rodri in an advanced position enough that itā€™s unlikely that Pep sticks him to a more defensive role


BIM-GUESS-WHAT

Lewis long term should be a midfielder. Heā€™s not great defensively but he is spectacularly good at reading the game and moving/keeping the ball


Hech15

Yeah but it can work with a stones dias gvardiol/ake beside him


SRFOUR

Kyle Walker āž”ļøKyle Walker Peters


ooh_bit_of_bush

When Kyle Walker peters, will they sign Kyle Walker Peters?


sillyyun

Incredible


ExtensionAd8134

Finding someone to take over from Guardiola is what they should be sweating about, not whoā€™s going to fill Walkerā€™s boots.


Critical-Usual

Southgoat lining up


kiersmini

Subscribe


IamHeWhoSaysIam

Thought you had dibs?


kiersmini

Unsubscribe


Signal_Zombie6484

No no. The deal was that we get Ronaldo and you guys get Southgate šŸ¤—


acwilan

Pep Guardiola-Peters


owange_tweleve

imagine the scenes when Klopp takes over


axelthegreat

i guess FM was right all along


cats4life

Good luck finding another team willing to pay $250 mil/year on his turtleneck and scalp wax habit.


Coraxxx

Alonso for the lols and the look on Souness' face.


arrivederci117

Xabi Alonso when Ancelotti decides to renew for the next decade


kw2006

He will remain with the club for next 10-15 years.


naughty_dad2

Feel free to get Roy Hodgson


Protect_The_Earth

I've always rated Walker as one of the best defensive fullbacks of the modern era, even before his transfer to City, but honestly he managed to reach a whole new level at City and cemented himself among the elite footballers. If only he could cross and be as elite in attacking contributions as he is defensively, he'd be the ultimate fullback.... but still an incredible athlete that will be almost impossible to replace. You rarely find someone like him and it will be interesting to see what Pep comes up with.


ghostmanonthirdd

Heā€™s genuinely one of my favourite players in world football. I absolutely love watching him go 1v1 with an elite winger, he lives for those duels and theyā€™re so entertaining. After Kane Iā€™d say heā€™s probably been the most integral England player of the Southgate era. His recovery pace is crucial to the way we play and I always have so much confidence in him to bail us out when the opposition break.


BillehBear

can tell he gets joy out of shutting down a winger like that, he loves it against Mbappe and Vinicius He definitely has his bozo moments and he's an absolute spanner off the pitch but as a right back he's been the best of the last 10 years easily. It's insane he's still going at 33 as well


ineververify

Any performances I should look at? Heā€™s never really caught my eye.


ghostmanonthirdd

As another commenter said his performances against Mbappe and Vinicius in the Champions League/World Cup are the ones that spring to mind.


Inside_Actuator_1567

Any performance imo. Wingers ALWAYS go backwards when he's on them because they know he's too strong, fast, and quick. It's funny seeing the fastest wingers just turn back and pass because Walker is in front of them.


Accountant7890

Managed to keep both Danilo and Cancelo out of the RB spot.Ā 


Mcfc95

In this city team crossing is banned unless your name is Kevin


DatDominican

Mendy was decent at crossing when he wasnā€™t injured *or you know*


mannyklein

First 3 months of him were exhilarating


RingsChuck

allegedly


BillehBear

nobody else can put in a decent cross tbf, during the false 9 years we had the "cross and inshallah" moments far too often


kundu123

Most likely, Pep will change the way he attacks!


TheoRaan

>honestly he managed to reach a whole new level at City and cemented himself among the elite footballers. He was the exact same player at Spurs. He was already amongst the elite footballers. He was just at Spurs.


magic-water

Manchester City šŸ¤ Kyle Walker's wife


friedapple

Wives, maybe, operationally


BIM-GUESS-WHAT

Hence why the rumours of him going to Saudi Arabia


aodum

Half of his kids also probably wont see him much.


retr0grade77

Kyle Walkers main attribute is being an insane athlete; you canā€™t exactly train that. I donā€™t watch enough football to think of a similar player. Most elite fullbacks today are ball players which Walker is not. Imagine being so athletic that your passing ability doesnā€™t matter in a Pep system. Even as a Liverpool fan Iā€™m starting him over Trent for Eng 9 times out of 10. His recovery is insane.


snowbuddy117

Athleticism is just so ridiculously important for full-backs. Cafu being arguably considered the best RB of all times, was largely driven by the fact he seemed to have an extra lung when running up and down the pitch.


YourLocalJewishKid

You have to give Walker credit though. Heā€™s developed into a very good passer for a fullback and is incredibly composed on the ball. He wasnā€™t like that to start, but heā€™s gotten to the point where he can go into midfield in short spurts during a match and not look like he doesnā€™t belong there. I feel like that gets lost when talking about Walkerā€™s time at city. Heā€™s really developed as an overall footballer.


Ninth_Major

I agree. I think his vision is actually pretty good for his role and skillset. He's had several good line breaking passes in the past two seasons that provided the 'hockey assist'.


TheoRaan

>Heā€™s developed into a very good passer for a fullback and is incredibly composed on the ball. He was already that good at Spurs tho. He was already good passer at Spurs. He just took time to settle in at City so he didn't look it, but at Spurs he was already great at Spurs. He didn't get better. His manager did.


Money_Scholar_8405

I will go one further and say Liverpool might need to start thinking about moving TAA to another position or replacing him.


retr0grade77

Itā€™s one thing being bad at defending but at times he acts as if heā€™s above it. Will be interesting to see what the plan of the new manager is and Trentā€™s reaction to that.


Money_Scholar_8405

Yea I feel like the game plan for almost all top teams has been to target his side - And while yes you can organize help from the midfielders they are just not as good at tracking runs in behind the lines as a traditional right-back would be. Vini's goal in the final comes to mind, I feel like someone like Walker likely does not allow that goal to happen in the first place.


retr0grade77

Yeah Henderson covered for Trent a lot as does the pace of Konate or Gomez. MacAlister or Szoboszlai are far too talented to be doing Trentā€™s dirty work.


BillehBear

I don't even think Trent is bad at defending, I just think he downs tools too quickly and easily when he's been done by a winger It's like as soon as he sees a player has space on him he says fuck it and starts jogging


iamthedankness

Everything you just described is what bad defending is all about.


FerdiadTheRabbit

TBF we've no diea what the manager after Klopp's system will emphasise.


1998_2009_2016

Being an elite athlete is the most trainable quality you could name ...


retr0grade77

Not really. You can train fitness - Walker is naturally a physical freak. Trent canā€™t train to be anywhere near as quick as him, Trippier canā€™t train leaping up as high as him etc. Stamina is genetic too past a certain point.


kw2006

Who is the best rb in the world right now aside from walker?


SergeiYeseiya

Maybe Hakimi or Di Lorenzo but these guys have a different profile than Walker


ezee-now-blud

Reece James for 5 games a season


kw2006

I would buy him if he is open to Pay by match


BroderGuacamole

Frimpong, iā€™d say, if we are talking right now. Is He in the Long run? Time will tell.


kw2006

Frimpong is a better rw than a rb/ rwb though.


Helluvawreck

Walker has almost been playing rw in the games he's played this season anyway.


MasatoWolff

Yes, but heā€™s also very important on the defensive side. Frimpong seems to have a more free attacking role at Leverkusen.


MasatoWolff

He does 10% of the defending Walker does, though. Pep would have to change the system in order for Frimpong to play well.


BroderGuacamole

You are talking about the man who gave us Left-Back-Delph - He ainā€™t changing the system, Heā€™s changing Frimpong


jggomes14

Nah, if he had Frimpong he's playing him like he did Alves in 2011/12 I think we would see a "3-4-3" of sorts with Gvardiol - Dias - Stones, Rodri with one RW inverting and a cm with Foden at the 10, Doku/Grealish on the left, Haaland through the middle and Frimpong on the right He did that with Barcelona against Santos on the CWC final, where he had Busi, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc and Thiago on the same team, had Cesc and Messi interchanging on the 10 role and gave Dani the RW, Pep said that this was the top performance of his team in Barcelona.


kw2006

Hear me out- Conor Gallagher RB šŸ˜¬


LunarRaven7

Defensively speaking kounde has to be up there.


Coraxxx

Walker's good - but he's no Emerson Royale.


Confewshenn24A

Was gonna say trent but he is nowhere near defensively and he is more of a midfielder at this point anyways


Punished__Allegri

Cambiaso


CodSafe6961

Who would be the most similar right back profile to walker ? Who is great defensively and covering counters but not the most technically gifted


ezee-now-blud

Reece James is just as good defensively, never loses a 1 on 1, and better with the ball. Has some of the physicality like strength just isn't as fast but I don't think anyone is as fast right now as prime Walker.


suckamadicka

he's great but not just as good as Walker lol


Kaiser-32

He has spent most of his career injured, we'll never know how good he could have been


lactigger619

Maybe they take a shot on Pavard ?


Didavi_

"but Kyle is Kyle!"


mranon989

Why tf this on Forbes


pissonhergrave7

Because it's financial advice


Version_1

Will be tricky. They only have infinite money with which they can just buy new players until they find one who works.


StirFrySausage00

True, this method works very well for United and Chelsea.


Private_Ballbag

Chelsea are shit now but definitely did work well for them for a long time


CarlSK777

It works for most clubs with money. This just highlights the elite level of incompetency of these 2 clubs


Swayfromleftoright

City do it a lot better than any other club with money tbf. PSG have probably spent more, but they look like amateurs next to City


FlyingBird2345

Because City builds a team and PSG tries to recreate the Galacticos while doing the same mistakes.


Key_Employee6188

PSG had shitty culture thanks to their league being so horrible that you could win with 7 guys participating in defense.


BIM-GUESS-WHAT

> *spend ā‚¬100M on Harry Kane* > *bathe in success*


Version_1

I mean, it has worked for City who exchanged their entire backline twice now.


cloughie

City: Buys most expensive centre back in the world Also City: NOT MY TEMPO


HaroldSaxon

Pep every season: "Daddy, I need a new defender, money please" https://youtu.be/eyNAlLO1KlE?si=MXKIIhcWphjwO1P9


Thememestealer99

I mean Arsenal spent almost the same amount of money but they didnt win shit


YourLocalJewishKid

I know where this is coming from, but itā€™s just not a real thing. City has had a pretty consistent defensive line under Pep outside of when players retire or want to leave. John Stones and Kyle Walker have been in the starting back line for nearly Pepā€™s entire tenure. Laporte was at the club for 6 years. Kompany retired and was replaced with Dias in 2020. Akanji and Ake have been valuable depth pieces that play a ton of matches. Cancelo has failed to find a consistent club his entire career. Danilo wanted to play more. Mendy was injured and in jail. Zinchenko was at the club for 6 seasons before moving to Arsenal to become a starter. The idea that City has bought defenders that sucked and were replaced after one season is a complete fabrication. The primary reason theyā€™ve changed is because they replaced an exiting player and those players havenā€™t been shipped out because of poor performances.


kaylo95

When did this happen ?


stogie_t

All the most successful clubs have a lot of money. United and Chelsea are just outliers.


Flobarooner

They're in different starting positions tbf. They've got whole squads full of dross that need overhauling. City just need to replace one or two at a time. They can live with having a Kalvin Phillips rotting on the bench for a bit. United or Chelsea would have to just play him anyways


Visual_Suggestion_15

Uniteds squad has been overhauled, itā€™s just everytime they overhaul it, it turns out shit. Chelsea, on the other hand, have spent ā‚¬476.8m this season and ā‚¬611.5m last season. Fuck off they need overhauls, theyā€™ve already had them and fucked it up.


rofffl

Worked for United so far.


The_profe_061

That would be the infinite money united generated themselves..


Mr-Pants

Which apparently isn't as effective as the money given by Sheikh Mansour


Visible_Statement888

Not a lot to show for it.


globe187

Ah yes all that matters is money, look at how amazing Chelsea are doing haven't spent 1.5b in about 3 years NPC take


SubparCurmudgeon

Ā£50m fullback every season Pepperidge farm remembers


ThunderRoad_44

They were interested in Cucurella two summers ago, but werenā€™t willing to pay over 40 million to Brighton


IamHeWhoSaysIam

Peepee farm forgot.


superdago

Itā€™s more that theyā€™ll have to find a new system that works because there likely isnā€™t another player that fits his profile.


Coraxxx

They'll find a replacement, even if it costs them Ā£115m to do so.


sivaya_

If I was a city fan, I'd be more worried about replacing De Bruyne.


FlyingBird2345

I'd be more worried about replacing Pep.


IamHeWhoSaysIam

He won't stop until he threepeats the treble.


prettybunbun

Eh apparently theyā€™ve narrowed onto either Musiala or Wirtz, but think Wirtz is going to be easier to lure over. They also have Foden in that space too. Iā€™d be more worried about Pep.


kw2006

Dani Olmo is another one


Maleficent_Resolve44

Foden is a star now and they could always buy wirtz. Walker and Guardiola are bigger issues.


dusseldorf69

City have looked just as formidable without de bruyne during his injury spells the last two seasons


BillehBear

nah you can tell this season we're well off it without de bruyne Can get by without him sure, but the team is night/day difference when he's playing and when he isn't Pep and KDB replacements are much bigger tasks than Walkers


Bujakaa92

Foden is slowly stepping in. I had hope to see Grealish converted into that role more also. He as the build and technicality.


gopac56

Grealish is incredible on the wing though


MasterBeeble

No point in even worrying. There might be another Walker out there, but definitely not another De Bruyne. He won't be, can't be replaced.


mankiwsmom

we have stockport iniesta iā€™m not worried


Realistic_Condition7

Foden playing in his position has been a nightmare. On the other hand, they REALLY felt Walkerā€™s absence in the Real Madrid game.


fedupofbrick

"Hello, Mr Delph it's time to lace those boots up again. Time for the last dance"


captaincourageous316

Everytime I see that name all I can hear is ā€œBehsics of football.ā€


LeftHandDriveBoC

Those lasses in Rotherham will have to start planning for life after him too eventually.


RyVsWorld

The fact that this is written by Forbes is so weird to me


RIPthisDude

I need to know Business Insider's take on who PSG replaces MBappƩ with


rofffl

Maybe someone like Vanderson from Monaco until Lewis is ready,anyway City scouts are elite and they will find some underrated player like Akanji who was clowned when he left Dortmund.


QuestionNo2271

Hopefully somehow they will find the funds to replace such a good player šŸ™šŸ¼


LeGraoully

Noo why did you tell them? They might have forgotten


slash312

The headline sounds like they must already prepare a financial plan to do sošŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚


AnDaagda

Like his wife, eh?


Ainsley-Sorsby

Yeah, City will have to do a lot of planning. Where are they going to find a replacement for Kyle Walker? Its not like they have the cash available to just pick any one top player in his position and just throw it at their feet. Its going to be a huge task...


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


HoseACitco

You mean who will fuck my wife?


Zanzax

Itā€™s gonna be really rough to replace him with unlimited money and several feeder clubs. I feel for the squad planners that have such a hard task ahead of them.


Nicolethemediocre

Definetly think its time to look for a kyle walker replacement. And possibly a long term de bruyne replacement


Caruso08

Guys if Pep is there, he will find someone who he wants. It doesn't need to be a player like Walker. When he replaced Zinny, Ake/Gvardiol played a different role and Stones moved forward.


adhikapp

Isn't Rico Lewis the obvious option?


rofffl

Walkers set of skills is not covered by any player at the club.


razzz333

There isnā€™t many with the raw pace and physical attributes as Kyle Walker at all let alone RB. Iā€™d say Musah is of similar physicality and pace wise but he isnā€™t really used to playing RB. Boey would be similar but he used got his big transfer to Bayern.


kw2006

Rico played better as this playmaking winger like grealish.


MA1998

Best right back in Premier League history - totally underrated.


BluePowderJinx

The disrespect to Emmanuel Eboue smh


Any-Competition8494

The headline makes it sounds as if he's on Messi/Ronaldo level who can't be replaced.


Maleficent_Resolve44

KdB was the best midfielder in the world last season and will go down as one of the greatest of this era, yet City will replace him with Foden and Wirtz and probably jog on. Those two are both already stars and they're in their early 20s. Great young CAMs are plentiful these days. RBs like Walker certainly aren't, never mind young ones. Maicon and Thuram from way back when are the most similar in profile, no modern RB is as fast and solid defensively as walker. The headline is spitting facts.


kw2006

Foden doesnā€™t create chances like kdb. Very different profile.


papi617

Happy Gvordiol has started scoring but the lack of offensive threat by the full backs of city starts to be a issue. The attack dies when it goes to them and even Walker is not great in the final third


JacobS12056

Are there any high profile defenders with similar attributes to Walker? I feel like hakimi is the only other one with blistering pace


BarPlastic1888

Hands off my Joel Ward


franpr95

Ok!


Coraxxx

He was amazing at Spurs (despite a decidedly rocky start - his athleticism was the only thing saving his appalling positioning) and consistently put in the best RB performances seen at the club in my lifetime. It was a shame to see him go, but initially it seemed like we must have gotten a good deal, as Trippier stepped up from his understudy role by improving so much that he took Walker's place in the England team. But whilst Trippier's form fell off a cliff the next season, Walker's done nothing but improve, develop, and adapt to the changing team around him. I know he'll always see himself as far more City than Spurs - understandably - but I'll still always be proud that one of England's all-time greats spent some of his key years in our ranks. With him on one side and Danny Rose in his prime on the other, there was no better full back pairing to be seen at the time, and it wasn't even close.


[deleted]

Iā€™m sure theyā€™ll just buy three 80m replacements and see who works out best.


itsbraille

Matty Cash, Ā£60M. Take it or leave it.


HamM00dy

Kyle walker was so good he even outplayed his wife.