Virgil van Dijk

[TRUE BLUE NO1]

Mangala's defending looked good & strong and his positioning looked much better but his distribution looked woeful and that's what Pep will have been watching.

Agree...in the right system he can be a solid CB but never a Pep player...looks uncomfortable on the ball.

 

[ninjamonkey]

Agree...in the right system he can be a solid CB but never a Pep player...looks uncomfortable on the ball.

Looking uncomfortable and being uncomfortable are different things though. Mangala looks awkward, makes people nervous and seems to never have the ball under control but he doesn't actually give it away all that often. At least not significantly more than say Stones who looks relaxed as anything but gives simple balls away fairly regularly. Same can be said of Otamendi too. I also don't think it's necessary for all 3 defenders to be comfortable on the ball in a 3-5-2. There's enough space created by having the extra man there to be able to avoid the opposition team pressuring us into giving it Mangala all the time and forcing mistakes. He can play simple 10 yard balls and that's all we need him to do,

 

[Joe Hart's Dandruff]

Mangala's positioning was all over the place yesterday. Fair play, he did make a few good last ditch tackles, but that was because he was tucked in when he should have been in a wider position. I would feel a lot more comfortable going into the season with Virgil, but really don't see it happening.

 

[blue5ter]

Is it about covering VK though? VVD is better than both Stones and Otamendi. I would expect if we did sign him, then Otamendi would find himself as back up. One of my biggest concerns about the current 3-5-2 setup is that we are a CB injury away, from us having to either having to abandon the formation or go with a huge drop off in quality. We are waiting for Vinny to be the one to get injured but when we are playing with three CBs and we actually only have three decent CBs at the club, we are playing with fire. Can you imagine going into a big Prem or CL game and having to play Tosin? I think if we intend to play four at the back for the majority of games we can probably get away with what we currently have, if three CBs is the way we are going to go, then for me, VVD would arguably be our most important signing of the summer.

agree with all this

Having played with 3 at the back thru pre season and for the opening game, we are obviously going to play it a lot and potentially, most games

we have 4 CBS, Vinnie (the best) who is injury prone, Otamendi who I am afraid is simply too rash and not good enough but probably staying (and has been linked to a sale recently), Stones who should be good but still has a slight element of 'jury out' and then Mangala who was on his way out. You can't go into a season where you plan on playing 3 CBs with just those 4 senior CBs on the books

What we could really do with is Kolorov ! Cover for when our only senior LB can't play and cover for CB, plus he's particularly suited to the WB position when we play a back 3 given his pace and crossing ability...............

 

[gomer27]

What we could really do with is Kolorov ! Cover for when our only senior LB can't play and cover for CB, plus he's particularly suited to the WB position when we play a back 3 given his pace and crossing ability...............

im so glad you arent running this team haha

 

[Cobwebcat]

Mangala's positioning was all over the place yesterday. Fair play, he did make a few good last ditch tackles, but that was because he was tucked in when he should have been in a wider position. I would feel a lot more comfortable going into the season with Virgil, but really don't see it happening.

That's exactly what I thought despite the commentator singing his praises v Girona. In the Premiership those last second challenges will be penalties. His passing is terrible, he either passes to the opposition or fires an uncontrollable ball to a sky blue shirt.

VVD would be the answer for years to come and it's been obvious for quite a while. Can see us trying another Mangala,Savic or Nastasic rather than a proven young Premiership central defender. Still great value for money over the course of his contract even at 60 mill. Should be a priority signing before anything else, even a striker.

Would fit City perfectly just the price that is stopping us. Missed out on Cahill years ago for the same reason. False economy in the end.

 

[CityInWashingtonState]

I'm not at all sold on VVD. Had some really iffy games last year when I watched him. But haven't watched him enough to be sure one way or another.

 

[Cobwebcat]

I'm not at all sold on VVD. Had some really iffy games last year when I watched him. But haven't watched him enough to be sure one way or another.

Southampton fans say he is their best defender, midfielder and striker. A bit tongue in cheek but I see what they mean. Give us a little height too.

https://www.whoscored.com/Players/95408/Show/Virgil-van-Dijk

Interesting strengths and weaknesses!

 

[Joe Hart's Dandruff]

That's exactly what I thought despite the commentator singing his praises v Girona. In the Premiership those last second challenges will be penalties. His passing is terrible, he either passes to the opposition or fires an uncontrollable ball to a sky blue shirt.

VVD would be the answer for years to come and it's been obvious for quite a while. Can see us trying another Mangala,Savic or Nastasic rather than a proven young Premiership central defender. Still great value for money over the course of his contract even at 60 mill. Should be a priority signing before anything else, even a striker.

Would fit City perfectly just the price that is stopping us. Missed out on Cahill years ago for the same reason. False economy in the end.

Agree. I also agree with the poster above who said he would immediately come in and command a starting position ahead of Stones and Otamendi. We can't afford to have a centre pairing of Stones and Otamendi for any extended period this season, or we will be found out again. Personally thought the defence looked better yesterday after Stones went off. Worrying signs, as City have invested so much in him turning into an elite player. Looks a long way off.

 

[Cobwebcat]

Agree. I also agree with the poster above who said he would immediately come in and command a starting position ahead of Stones and Otamendi. We can't afford to have a centre pairing of Stones and Otamendi for any extended period this season, or we will be found out again. Personally thought the defence looked better yesterday after Stones went off. Worrying signs, as City have invested so much in him turning into an elite player. Looks a long way off.

Stones does the difficult things well and the easy things badly. Concentration issues. I still believe he will be ok.