The falsehood of foreign players needing time.
Eliaquim Mangala was removed at half time here, a casualty of a terrible first half from City. The Frenchman struggled to adjust to the Premier League last season, in spite of his obvious physical virtues. “Ah, just another foreign player who needs time to adjust to our league, our rough-and-tumble league, our thud-and-blunder league”, many said. And yet, this assumption is disproved again and again, not least by a number of players who remained on the pitch in this match. Dimitri Payet has instantly become one of the league’s best attackers. Manuel Lanzini is flourishing. Kevin de Bruyne almost wrestled the three points for City himself. There simply is no excuse for elite players to need, as some say, “a season to adjust”. Of course, some players are perhaps more suited to the Premier League than others, and homesickness and other such issues can play a part. But, really, in this modern age, players are expected to be highly-paid nomads anyway. We need to adjust our views on adjustment periods.
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