Clichy

[MillionMilesAway]

Clichy and Sagna are better defensive fullbacks than Kolarov and Zabaleta.
The reverse is true as attacking fullbacks.

 

[george22]

He has played well lately was fortunate with that one turnover though
Gave it up and their player got a quality look at the goal
no harm no foul I guess

 

[domalino]

Clichy and Sagna are better defensive fullbacks than Kolarov and Zabaleta.
The reverse is true as attacking fullbacks.

The difference is that on the left side there's no real trade off.

When was the last time Kolarov actually did something effective in attack?

Since about November all he's done is smash the ball into the first defender or shoot miles over the bar from 30 yards out. He hasn't been involved in a goal for months.

So neither LB is actually up to much in attacking terms, but Clichy is OK defensively and Kolarov is a liability.

 

[MillionMilesAway]

The difference is that on the left side there's no real trade off.

When was the last time Kolarov actually did something effective in attack?

Since about November all he's done is smash the ball into the first defender or shoot miles over the bar from 30 yards out. He hasn't been involved in a goal for months.

So neither LB is actually up to much in attacking terms, but Clichy is OK defensively and Kolarov is a liability.

That's fair.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

Clichy and Sagna are better defensive fullbacks than Kolarov and Zabaleta.
The reverse is true as attacking fullbacks.

The all-round, world class, attacking and defending full back is a rare animal. The choice is often at the expense of the other element of their game. Zabaleta, a season or two back was the best in the PL. Defensively, he was as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, and his attacking threat posed tremendous problems to PL defences. Sagna doesn't have a great attacking part to his game - he's hesitant to go thrusting down to the goal line, same with Clichy, but as defenders I think they are pretty solid. Kollers seems to have lost a fair bit of his attacking, fizzing balls into the goal area, and his defending must be amongst the worst, even if you include the FOCs from CBL3.

 

[sh249]

He's been consistently good since coming back from injury. Can still look a bit ragged on the ball at times when pressed, but that is, to a large part, also due to our current 'no-player-within-twenty-yards-of-one-another' setup. I also think the 'he offers nothing going forward' argument is overplayed - in the last few weeks, he set up the goal against Spurs, was involved in the build up to one of the goals in Kiev, put a few good balls into the box against Villa (including the one that Bony contrived to miss), and at least one good cross from the byline last night.

I actually think of our four full backs, he's possibly the one most likely to find a measure of favour with Guardiola. Defensively, he's generally sound, and I suspect the fact that he's quick and mobile, and can defend on the front foot will work to his advantage. I can also imagine Guardiola thinking it easier to improve on Clichy's obvious weaknesses with the ball, than, say, to address Kolarov's more wide-ranging weaknesses as a defender.

 

[Lancet Fluke]

He's been consistently good since coming back from injury. Can still look a bit ragged on the ball at times when pressed, but that is, to a large part, also due to our current 'no-player-within-twenty-yards-of-one-another' setup. I also think the 'he offers nothing going forward' argument is overplayed - in the last few weeks, he set up the goal against Spurs, was involved in the build up to one of the goals in Kiev, put a few good balls into the box against Villa (including the one that Bony contrived to miss), and at least one good cross from the byline last night.

I actually think of our four full backs, he's possibly the one most likely to find a measure of favour with Guardiola. Defensively, he's generally sound, and I suspect the fact that he's quick and mobile, and can defend on the front foot will work to his advantage. I can also imagine Guardiola thinking it easier to improve on Clichy's obvious weaknesses with the ball, than, say, to address Kolarov's more wide-ranging weaknesses as a defender.

Good post, agree totally.

 

[Subbed Tskhadadze with Allsopp]

Makes about 80% of the mistakes Kolarov does, offers 50% going forward of what Kolarov does, and gets about 1% of the abuse Kolarov does. Go figure.

 

[mosssideblue]

Makes about 80% of the mistakes Kolarov does, offers 50% going forward of what Kolarov does, and gets about 1% of the abuse Kolarov does. Go figure.

Defensively, they are chalk and cheese

 

[Thenumber1blue]

So I take it kolarov will play Sunday then : (

You know it and probably Bony !