Kalidou Koulibaly

Bobby Heaton Moor said:
I think that's unfair. Napoli gave it a good go and played some decent stuff. Koulibaly just stuck out as their worst player by far. It's not like he played his part in a collectively shit performance, he was just flat out awful in an otherwise even game.

If you came from Mars and watched the game, you'd say they look half-decent but have a really dodgy centre half, unfortunately for us.
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Are defenders allowed to have bad games?

I seem to recall Van Dijk having a poor game at the Camp Nou last season.
 
Bobby Heaton Moor said:
I think that's unfair. Napoli gave it a good go and played some decent stuff. Koulibaly just stuck out as their worst player by far. It's not like he played his part in a collectively shit performance, he was just flat out awful in an otherwise even game.

If you came from Mars and watched the game, you'd say they look half-decent but have a really dodgy centre half, unfortunately for us.
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Napoli have been a deteriorating side all season and that performance was likely the last hurrah before a rebuild. Koulibaly, like many other Napoli players, had a poor individual game. Worst? No. Demme didn't impress at all(hooked at the break) and Zielinski kept making the wrong decisions. Indeed, Napoli's midfield were absent for large chunks of the game, forcing Mertens and Insigne to drop ever deeper for the ball and giving the defence no out ball. If he was so calamitous, it's a surprise that Gattuso never hooked him, too.

Everyone here was focussing on Koulibaly, so any mistake he made has simply been magnified.
 
The bloke may be better than tonights showing but talk of 80mil etc, no chance, not a chance we should be even entertaining that or anything close. De Laurentis can take a long walk of a short pier if he is thinking of getting anything like that amount for him. You pay that much for a 22yo world class talent who is proven, not a 29yo who is arguably on a decline of some sort. or at least not playing that great currently for whatever reason.

The major sticking point i think is De Laurentis, he is tight as a gnats arse and will be demanding stupid money. Italian clubs are notorious for not wanting to pay but have every other bugger pay through the nose, De Laurentis being one of the worst for it.

I have not seen anything of him really but can only go of what i do see, not "he was good then in such and such a system". If we still want him, fair enough but if we pay silly money we will be absolute mugs.

Players can drop off a cliff, Sanchez last season at Arsenal should have been a big warning to Utd but they were stupid as stupid gets, the blokes explosive speed went and thus his main attribute that allowed him to be good in the prem. Rooney was totally done at 27. We should be very aware this fella could be on more than a bad run of form. We want someone with buckets of energy, not a player on the slide who has to "manage" his performances.
 
Deyna18 said:
Ok devils advocate etc. A few howlers and slack passes but for a centre half, his technical ability on the ball was clear. His height and physical strength looks impressive (except his fall following collision with team mate).
My concerns would be;
Price, for this price we'd want Rolls Royce quality.
His shear build reminds me of Yaya's, possible free-fall drop off with age. He wont be no Ryan Gigs.
Although he has obvious technical skills, he looks ungainly, with Mendy like attributes, which concerns me against the very best as does Mendy.
My knowledge of European football is limited but surely there is someone younger with potential leadership qualities out there for the sort of money we are talking about. I would take Leicesters centre half and I don't mean Jonny Evans, over Koulibaly, but wtf do I know.
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Söyüncü - Barca interested now.
 
Petetheblu said:
Mate, if he playing at a relaxed pace in the champs league against Barcelona, how the feck will he motivate himself for Leeds on a Wednesday night?

Besides is that the right sort attitude for a team like City?


I'm seriously starting to worry about this guys potential.
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He's playing in a team he should already have left. They were a mess.

We have actually seen it many times in the past, when we were a mess, with players who have left City.

I don't believe we will sign him tbh but I hope we do.
 
Neville Kneville said:
The only problem I see with Koulibaly, is the lack of a pre season. He needs properly indoctrinating into City's methods. He is playing at a relaxed pace at the moment.

But we won't be paying their top price for him irrespective.
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I'd agree with that. Looks to me as if he could do with a 4-5 weeks to get up to speed both with the system and the different pace of the game. I imagine the plan must have been to have Garcia and Laporte see us through until he was ready, so presumably, now, Fernandinho/Ake/Laporte will have to rotate until October.
 
Alot of you have a go at Harry Maguire on here by the sounds of it, but he was Pep's choice last season and he's one of the most solid defenders around regardless of the criticism on here. Yet, because he plays for United there's so many on here slating him.

He's definitely improved United defensively and is a leader from the back. Pep knows exactly what he is doing, make no mistakes about it.
 
Been out tonight, so not seen the game, but sounds like Koulibaly had a bad game. Too many people judging his performance on one game/recent games imo. If you watched Laporte against Spurs in the CL (home leg) you would not go near him and his form since the restart has not been good, but we all know he is a very good defender.

The main concern is his age, but the way he played against the Dippers in the CL (this season and last) I still think he is a good defender and if Pep wants him still that's fine with me.
 
Neville Kneville said:
He's playing in a team he should already have left. They were a mess.

We have actually seen it many times in the past, when we were a mess, with players who have left City.

I don't believe we will sign him tbh but I hope we do.
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I understand where your coming from, but he should be up for this match, if not for his team, then for himself.
He was poor this evening and I'll bet he'll have a sleepless night tonight...poor bugga!
 
CenturyClub said:
Are defenders allowed to have bad games?

I seem to recall Van Dijk having a poor game at the Camp Nou last season.
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Of course they are, don't be silly. Surely you understand that when we're rumoured to be spending between 70-90m on a centre half and he plays as poorly as tonight, alarm bells start ringing.

Van Dijk had delivered multiple top class performances before the Nou Camp last season and proceeded to correct it in the second leg. Koulibaly has been poor since the restart and so naturally, we're gonna ask questions.
 
Absolutely no way you can judge based upon tonight. The midfield in front of him was just static, no defense could cope with that in front of them.
 
TCIB said:
The bloke may be better than tonights showing but talk of 80mil etc, no chance, not a chance we should be even entertaining that or anything close. De Laurentis can take a long walk of a short pier if he is thinking of getting anything like that amount for him. You pay that much for a 22yo world class talent who is proven, not a 29yo who is arguably on a decline of some sort. or at least not playing that great currently for whatever reason.

The major sticking point i think is De Laurentis, he is tight as a gnats arse and will be demanding stupid money. Italian clubs are notorious for not wanting to pay but have every other bugger pay through the nose, De Laurentis being one of the worst for it.

I have not seen anything of him really but can only go of what i do see, not "he was good then in such and such a system". If we still want him, fair enough but if we pay silly money we will be absolute mugs.

Players can drop off a cliff, Sanchez last season at Arsenal should have been a big warning to Utd but they were stupid as stupid gets, the blokes explosive speed went and thus his main attribute that allowed him to be good in the prem. Rooney was totally done at 27. We should be very aware this fella could be on more than a bad run of form. We want someone with buckets of energy, not a player on the slide who has to "manage" his performances.
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In the current climate, Napoli will be lucky to get 40-45M and Zinchenko from us

Roma have just been taken over by another US billionaire and Lazio have the Champions League spot, so the pressure in Naples is going to be on De Laurentiis to rebuild the team or see them fall away. With no Champions League money, massively reduced match ticket income, and a country in economic straits, he's not going to get much more. Good time for us to negotiate.
 
I'm With Stupid said:
I watched from just before the penalty. I'd say he gave 3 or 4 stray passes, although to be fair sometimes the movement in front of him wasn't great. It's fair to say that he's the one player in the defence they look to to move the ball forward. He also came for at least a couple of long passes high up the pitch and lost his duel. I think his positioning was generally good and he showed a decent turn of pace at one point. But yeah, if I'd only ever seen that performance, I wouldn't think I was looking at a world class CB.
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Cheers man, thanks for answer
 
Murph said:
Piss poor tonight.

The one player I'm always impressed by when I watch Napoli is Insigne, cracking player.
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If it was down to me I would avoid signing Napoli players. They are all part of an effective team but don't tend to do too well once they leave Naples
 
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