19 Nov 2017 15:40:46
Lindelof will come good but I don't think he's a central defender. I watched him a lot at benfica and he played at right back a lot and looked very solid. Then semedo emerged and Lindelof moved to the right if back 3. I think he could take over from Valencia in the long term. His distribution is excellent. I've also seen him play in midfield and he looked very comfortable there.
19 Nov 2017 17:15:32
I know it's early days and I may get slated for this but from what I've seen I just don't see him becoming a top CB. I've watched him closely and I haven't really seen what he's supposed to be good at. He lacks pace, he's certainly not dominate in the air, he's positioning is questionable at best, he's not a good reader of the game and I haven't been that impressed with his distribution yet.
In my opinion he was a strange signing. We already had 4 good CB's in the squad and Tuanzebe emerging who looks a real prospect. I've been very impressed whenever he's been given a chance and I would have liked to have seen him given more game time. Surely that money would have been better spent on securing a LB.
I hope I'm wrong but at the moment he's looks no where near the required level and whenever he's been given a chance he's looked vulnerable. To improve he needs game time which he's simply not going to get especially with Rojo returning to fitness.
He's still young and maybe one for the future time will tell I suppose.
19 Nov 2017 18:22:54
He played well yesterday. Forget the slip, he was in the right position to cut out the dangerous ball across the goal. He slipped when trying to step out to intercept the cutback, but was in the right place I would have liked to see Matic busting a gut as the second wave to prevent the cut back or to pick up the player.
If we want to see attacking football with the full backs engaged in attacking high up the pitch then we have to be prepared to see the odd break away goal where the defense is scrabbling and not set perfectly.
Out of an excellent match we should not dwell on the one black mark of the day. The spirit shown by the team and the crowd was formidable. Result was never in doubt, which was refreshing confidence from the whole club.
At some point city will slip up. Against Arsenal they benefited from some pretty dodgy decisions. Yesterday Kompany should have received a red in the first 5 mins. Leceister could easily have equalise seconds before the second stunning break away goal. At some point the decisions and the footballing gods will swing the other way, we have to be ready to take advantage. Long long way to go yet.
19 Nov 2017 18:29:14
Hi dodgy,
Been saying this but even the pundits now are calling the very first unbeaten prem season by citeh.
I would love us to b their first defeat!
19 Nov 2017 21:57:02
City will have their slip ups but they will be few and far between. I believe city will loose 3 and draw three between now and the end of the season. That's dropping 15 points. So do the math on that basis we can not afford to drop 8 more points so it's a big ask.
20 Nov 2017 00:54:12
Ken
You may be right. I think they are pretty dependant on a few players though.
Defensively stones and Otamendi have been okay. But Kompany is injured more than Jones and Mangala has been a poor buy. Otomendi was injured for last game, Stones is now out for a few.
Fernandinho is key for them, not convinced with the other holding mids.
Silva and KDB are huge for them. I realise you can say this about any team. But look what happened to us when Pogba was out.
I think they will drop more than 12 points between now and the end of the season.
20 Nov 2017 06:40:19
Great post dodgy with city losing Stones for a minimum 6 weeks will have an effect and I totally agree on kdb best player in the league atm and we all saw the effect losing pogba had on us .
There's a long way to go yet and although city's name is already on the trophy for most people I'm not giving up on us just yet.
20 Nov 2017 07:26:12
Nobody attacks City, so they won't miss Stones at all. They could play with Pep back there and would look just as good.
Until a team says "I think we can beat you" and then exploits their many defensive weaknesses they won't be beat. They have Fernandinho who is awesome, but both KDB and Silva can't defend, Sane and Sterling can't defend, Walker and Delph struggle, Otamendi, Mangala and Stones struggle - they have a new keeper that hasn't been tested, does he know how to organise when under pressure?
They are brilliant going forward, and teams play into their strength. Granted you may get an absolute pounding if you get it wrong, but give them something to think about and see what happens. They have just double downed on their attacking threat, all their warriors go to battle and they leave non-behind to protect the women and children. All it takes is a bit of sneaky tactics and it will be a massacre, at the very least their warriors will have to turn and run backwards, something they are not very good at an you can pick them off!
20 Nov 2017 08:39:32
They defend by keeping the ball . Against napoli he made 2 defensive subs, he brought on both silvas.
You need the ball to attack them.
20 Nov 2017 11:13:42
City are playing well, and they are favourites for the title for good reason. However, let’s not hand out titles in November.
They will slip up at some point this season, how they and everyone else handles that will determine who wins the league this year.
They may struggle over the winter period like they did last season or Pep may have learned something from that and approach things differently this year.
They may get injuries, lose key players. As much as KDB is probably the best player in the league, personally I think Ederson has quietly been a great signing. He pulls off world class saves when needed, has excellent distribution, and unlike Bravo inspires confidence in his defenders. Although City’s defence looks suspect when put under pressure they guy behind them looks far more formidable than any they have had in a long time.
Only when City lose will we see if they have the right mentality. It’s easy rolling over teams that just lie down and let you have the game your way. When they lose it will expose a weakness that others are likely to look to exploit. How the City players cope with that will go a long way to determining if they win the league.
For now all we can do if focus on ourselves, on our games on our results. Then if City do slip up then we should be there to take advantage.
The real irony is that arguably the best football in the league at the moment is being played in a half empty stadium. For me that shows football is about something more than; the best players, the best style of football, the money, and the Messiah. Football is about heart and soul, real connection and passion. That is why City will always be in our shadow.
20 Nov 2017 12:11:49
Love that last paragraph shappy, absolute love it!
And BEAST yes your bang on, someone needs to go in to a game with city with the intentions to go at them. they do hold the ball well but that's because everyone so far has let them. Their defence under prolonged pressure wil crack IMO.
{Ed001's Note - cheers 666, glad you enjoyed. Be interesting to see if Silva's reputation is still as high by the end of the season, as he does have a very good side there.}