How can we dominate possession in most games and then get hit by sucker-punches every other game? We have conceded many more goals than is usual for a top 4 side, particularly a side that dominates possession to the extent that we do.
It's easy to say that our defenders are over the hill or that we have bought badly. I looked at the Chelsea defence and they have Marcos Alonsoo, Azpilcueta, Cahill, Luiz, Terry and Zouma. Are they really better than our defenders? No they are not, they just have N'Golo Kante and matic in midfield whereas we played Swansea with Fernandinho on the right side of the team and just Toure sitting deep.
I am hopeful that the attacking side of our game has improved with the arrival of Jesus and Sane, but we aren't going to win the league unless we can regularly keep clean sheets.
I can not fault the work-rate of the players. I don't think I have ever seen a more committed team than this City side. I've seen us tackle teams like Spurs and Arsenal off the pitch, and yet still against Everton, Spurs and Chelsea for example every single attack led to a goal, and likewise Swansea. Leicester. So many examples.
I thought maybe Kompany's return would help us better one on one, but that doesn't seem like it's going to be the answer. Kompany is back, but Guardiola wont play him. perhaps rightly so. He sees him in training. We don't.
We definitely have a problem with the age and speed of our fullbacks. We could buy a couple of full-backs, or maybe bring through players from the youth team, but is that going to be enough? I was a bit alarmed by Guardiola's decision to move Fernandinho to the right side of the team versus Swansea. We can't do that against stronger teams.
Perhaps we would be better off as a team playing Fernandinho and Fernando in the team at the expense of one our attacking players. I think Toure has to be a squad player, yet he still remains the centre-piece of our team. We aren't going to be successful until we can defend as a team, and I am not sure that the answer is just going to be to swap central defenders or buy new full backs.
I am sure that Guardiola is aware of the problem. It's obvious, but what do you think he is going to do about it? I would play Fernandinho and Fernando, and bring in full backs who can attack and defend. Clichy and Sagna can't. Kolarov can get forward, but he can't defend at full-back. One on one I think our defenders are OK but I think the balance in the team between attack and defence was wrong.
That was very worrying before Jesus and Sane, because we could flood the team with Silvas, De Bruynes and Agueros and still could not get more than 2 or 3 shots on target a game, but now the attacking side has improved. I think the answer is going to be to take a forward out of our starting 11. I would keep the 3 forwards. The other solution would be an Aguero, Jesus front two, but I really like Sane and Sterling. Sterling is actually a terrific defender too. Because of his low centre of gravity he is very effective at hustling and harrying defenders so I don't think we would gain that much defensively by dropping one of the wide players.
It's easy to say that our defenders are over the hill or that we have bought badly. I looked at the Chelsea defence and they have Marcos Alonsoo, Azpilcueta, Cahill, Luiz, Terry and Zouma. Are they really better than our defenders? No they are not, they just have N'Golo Kante and matic in midfield whereas we played Swansea with Fernandinho on the right side of the team and just Toure sitting deep.
I am hopeful that the attacking side of our game has improved with the arrival of Jesus and Sane, but we aren't going to win the league unless we can regularly keep clean sheets.
I can not fault the work-rate of the players. I don't think I have ever seen a more committed team than this City side. I've seen us tackle teams like Spurs and Arsenal off the pitch, and yet still against Everton, Spurs and Chelsea for example every single attack led to a goal, and likewise Swansea. Leicester. So many examples.
I thought maybe Kompany's return would help us better one on one, but that doesn't seem like it's going to be the answer. Kompany is back, but Guardiola wont play him. perhaps rightly so. He sees him in training. We don't.
We definitely have a problem with the age and speed of our fullbacks. We could buy a couple of full-backs, or maybe bring through players from the youth team, but is that going to be enough? I was a bit alarmed by Guardiola's decision to move Fernandinho to the right side of the team versus Swansea. We can't do that against stronger teams.
Perhaps we would be better off as a team playing Fernandinho and Fernando in the team at the expense of one our attacking players. I think Toure has to be a squad player, yet he still remains the centre-piece of our team. We aren't going to be successful until we can defend as a team, and I am not sure that the answer is just going to be to swap central defenders or buy new full backs.
I am sure that Guardiola is aware of the problem. It's obvious, but what do you think he is going to do about it? I would play Fernandinho and Fernando, and bring in full backs who can attack and defend. Clichy and Sagna can't. Kolarov can get forward, but he can't defend at full-back. One on one I think our defenders are OK but I think the balance in the team between attack and defence was wrong.
That was very worrying before Jesus and Sane, because we could flood the team with Silvas, De Bruynes and Agueros and still could not get more than 2 or 3 shots on target a game, but now the attacking side has improved. I think the answer is going to be to take a forward out of our starting 11. I would keep the 3 forwards. The other solution would be an Aguero, Jesus front two, but I really like Sane and Sterling. Sterling is actually a terrific defender too. Because of his low centre of gravity he is very effective at hustling and harrying defenders so I don't think we would gain that much defensively by dropping one of the wide players.