Millwallawayveteran1988
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Yep. Over stocked in the middle, under stocked out wide. Why we didn’t spend some of the money we had on a Competent full back is anyones guess.
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25 | Manuel Akanji - 2022/23 Performances
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OrigamiNinja
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It’s really odd given what’s gone before. Pep came in, tolerated our ageing FBs for a season and basically said “these guys are old and shit. Get me new FBs”. It worked.Yep. Over stocked in the middle, under stocked out wide. Why we didn’t spend some of the money we had on a Competent full back is anyones guess.
Pep currently thinking that Stones can play RB, means that not only are we weaker at RB, but we are weaker at CB, because the likes of Ake and Akanji aren’t as good as he is there. Pep sees it as giving these guys the games they are “due”. I see it as unnecessarily weakening the side. Nothing against these guys…Ake is a decent defender. Akanji, in the limited time he has been here looks a decent defender. However, they are not better than what we already had. Teams don’t get better by swapping out world-class for decent.
Dortmund fans didn't particularly rate him very highly and did call him error prone. Though be had a great start, he is not that great as he is being made out and he is not shit as some may suggest. He is serviceable CB who will do okay to good. However when all are fit we will have problems. We neeeded a CB as we have few injury prone - Dias La Porte Stones Ake all have been a but injured but that may not be the case alm the time. This CB playing FB will continue
This is where I stand on him. The Kompany comparisons after 4/5 games were embarrassing but he's clearly a lot better than Dortmund fans told us he was. He strikes me as being about as useful as Otamendi or (pre-2015) Demichelis and I imagine he'll be remembered similarly by City fans when he leaves.Dortmund fans didn't particularly rate him very highly and did call him error prone. Though be had a great start, he is not that great as he is being made out and he is not shit as some may suggest. He is serviceable CB who will do okay to good.
But we can't go through this season with 4 CBs, which sounds ridiculous but Ake and Stones, and even Laporte and Walker these days, can't be trusted to stay fit for more than a month at a time. We nearly threw the league away in May because we had to put Fernandinho in at CB in the last two games of the season.
What Akanji gives us is options - I'd be more worried about his performance against Brentford if he was the only one who struggled but Stones, Cancelo, Rodri, and De Bruyne were all off it as well defensively yesterday. If he can give 10-15 good performances and then drop the odd clanger he'll have been a good cheap purchase.
Txiki Txiki Bang Bang
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100%. Reminds me of when we had Kun, Tereza, Balo and Edin. After a while it became obvious that atleast 2 had to leave. We are in the same situation with our CB's right now. Ake, Laporte or Stones. One has to go.I said it at the time and I will say it again now…Ake should have been sold. We didn’t need 3 top-class CBs + Ake then. We 100% do not need 3 top-class CBs + Ake + Akanji now.
It does not matter one jot that Ake has improved, or that Akanji has looked good since he signed. It’s like having Haaland, Mbappe and Lewandowski all vying for one strikers spot…unsustainable.
No team should be having a different CB partnership every week. If Ake, or Akanji cannot consistently surpass the levels that Stones, Dias and Laporte have shown over sustained, title-winning seasons, they are no fucking use to us. Dias was lauded as the best CB in Europe, now he is on the bench every other week so that CBs a fraction of his quality don’t put a transfer request in. Farcical.
jimmygrimblesboots
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Akanji was bullied against Brentford his postional sense suspect and didnt anticipate danger , he had an awful game but he wasnt on his own , the whole back four were missing in action , the midfield also out of position with Rodri overrun everytime Brentford passed the half way line.
Akanji needs judging at the end of the season , and put his latest game behind him becuase he has looked a decent centre since arriving , every one is entitled to an off day ,but when whole team is garbage then our defence is going to be tested and they all failed miserably.
Akanji needs judging at the end of the season , and put his latest game behind him becuase he has looked a decent centre since arriving , every one is entitled to an off day ,but when whole team is garbage then our defence is going to be tested and they all failed miserably.
daveyboybluemoon
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Id argue Ake has been our best defender this seasonI said it at the time and I will say it again now…Ake should have been sold. We didn’t need 3 top-class CBs + Ake then. We 100% do not need 3 top-class CBs + Ake + Akanji now.
It does not matter one jot that Ake has improved, or that Akanji has looked good since he signed. It’s like having Haaland, Mbappe and Lewandowski all vying for one strikers spot…unsustainable.
No team should be having a different CB partnership every week. If Ake, or Akanji cannot consistently surpass the levels that Stones, Dias and Laporte have shown over sustained, title-winning seasons, they are no fucking use to us. Dias was lauded as the best CB in Europe, now he is on the bench every other week so that CBs a fraction of his quality don’t put a transfer request in. Farcical.
At £15 million he was a bargain and in the majority of games where we've been in total control he's looked fine especially as the ball was 70% in opposition half.He was awful at Anfield as well. He's had as many bad games as good games.
However Liverpool and Brentford we got put under real pressure and he looked very shakey indeed.
We've hardly played any of the traditional top 6. Have a look at some of his later performances for Dortmund and he was shakey again and got much criticism.
He will do a job as a squad player, but starters for me are Dias and Laporte.
I think in some of the early games he gotma lot if praise mainly due to his bargain price. However in the 2 real tests he struggled sadly.
This is absolutely spot on.mate.I said it at the time and I will say it again now…Ake should have been sold. We didn’t need 3 top-class CBs + Ake then. We 100% do not need 3 top-class CBs + Ake + Akanji now.
It does not matter one jot that Ake has improved, or that Akanji has looked good since he signed. It’s like having Haaland, Mbappe and Lewandowski all vying for one strikers spot…unsustainable.
No team should be having a different CB partnership every week. If Ake, or Akanji cannot consistently surpass the levels that Stones, Dias and Laporte have shown over sustained, title-winning seasons, they are no fucking use to us. Dias was lauded as the best CB in Europe, now he is on the bench every other week so that CBs a fraction of his quality don’t put a transfer request in. Farcical.
Who do you think will go on summer ?
supercity88
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From what was an excellent start he's looked really poor recently. Jogging about, unsure of where he's supposed to be positionally. He's weak in the air, which has always been an issue. The partnership just wasn't right for Brentford, who were always going to be a physical test. Ake and Dias would have been a better partnership, but in truth we'd have won the game for all the ball we had if we'd have played Lewis and Gomez. We might have still conceded a couple, but we'd have stretched them by having full backs wanting to overlap.
FantasyIreland
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From what was an excellent start he's looked really poor recently. Jogging about, unsure of where he's supposed to be positionally. He's weak in the air, which has always been an issue. The partnership just wasn't right for Brentford, who were always going to be a physical test. Ake and Dias would have been a better partnership, but in truth we'd have won the game for all the ball we had if we'd have played Lewis and Gomez. We might have still conceded a couple, but we'd have stretched them by having full backs wanting to overlap.
Agreed,and Grealish instead of Gundo to take advantage of that stretch.
Dias should 100% of started that game to deal with the physicality.
FantasyIreland
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Im a firm believer that the one position in the side where stability is required,its centre half.I said it at the time and I will say it again now…Ake should have been sold. We didn’t need 3 top-class CBs + Ake then. We 100% do not need 3 top-class CBs + Ake + Akanji now.
It does not matter one jot that Ake has improved, or that Akanji has looked good since he signed. It’s like having Haaland, Mbappe and Lewandowski all vying for one strikers spot…unsustainable.
No team should be having a different CB partnership every week. If Ake, or Akanji cannot consistently surpass the levels that Stones, Dias and Laporte have shown over sustained, title-winning seasons, they are no fucking use to us. Dias was lauded as the best CB in Europe, now he is on the bench every other week so that CBs a fraction of his quality don’t put a transfer request in. Farcical.
It needs a partnership that the team can be built on,that the goal keeper trusts,and the midfield know have their back.Constantly rotating these players just causes confusion and a lack of confidence all over the pitch.
OrigamiNinja
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Ake is an average CB. He has been in England for a decade and the only sides he has been able to hold down a regular place are Watford and Bournemouth. People can argue all they like but the crux of it is, he will never reach the levels we have seen from Dias, Stones and Laporte. If Ake has been our best CB, it means the other 3 are playing levels below their best. I think they probably are below their best and then the question is why?Id argue Ake has been our best defender this season
Laporte has had a bad injury.
Stones has been shunted out to RB.
Dias is being rotated constantly.
Nothing can be done re Laporte being injured. However, why are two of our best three CBs being treated this way to accommodate players not as good as them? Thats not a slight on Ake or Akanji, but it’s the equivalent of VVD being put at RB to give Konate a game. Or Matip on the bench every other game to give Gomez/Nat Philips regular games. It wouldn’t happen there, why is it happening here?
If Ake and Akanji can’t consistently reach a world-class level (and that’s what we are talking here) they either accept limited time on the pitch or they leave. We don’t need 5 senior CBs and we don’t need Pep having the opportunity to overthink the CB situation.
OrigamiNinja
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God knows. Ake should have gone last summer when Chelsea came knocking. I wasn’t sure what was more baffling at the time…Ake staying or Mahrez new contract. The collective wankfest on here at both blew my mind.This is absolutely spot on.mate.
Who do you think will go on summer ?
kaz7
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And just been made player of the month , some people, i dont knowOne bad game and the haters are out. Just returned from injury, been our best CB this season until today.
Absolutely spot on FI.Agreed,and Grealish instead of Gundo to take advantage of that stretch.
Dias should 100% of started that game to deal with the physicality.
meeesh
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Ake is an average CB. He has been in England for a decade and the only sides he has been able to hold down a regular place are Watford and Bournemouth. People can argue all they like but the crux of it is, he will never reach the levels we have seen from Dias, Stones and Laporte. If Ake has been our best CB, it means the other 3 are playing levels below their best. I think they probably are below their best and then the question is why?
Laporte has had a bad injury.
Stones has been shunted out to RB.
Dias is being rotated constantly.
Nothing can be done re Laporte being injured. However, why are two of our best three CBs being treated this way to accommodate players not as good as them? Thats not a slight on Ake or Akanji, but it’s the equivalent of VVD being put at RB to give Konate a game. Or Matip on the bench every other game to give Gomez/Nat Philips regular games. It wouldn’t happen there, why is it happening here?
If Ake and Akanji can’t consistently reach a world-class level (and that’s what we are talking here) they either accept limited time on the pitch or they leave. We don’t need 5 senior CBs and we don’t need Pep having the opportunity to overthink the CB situation.
Can't disagree with anything you have put,but what I will say,even though you have covered the point and your feelings regarding Ake,he has played 100% committed every game he's been asked,whether at CB,or in a position that doesn't seemed to have been mentioned in all these posts LB.
I'm more concerned about this position than absolutely any other in the whole team,mind you I have been for years
Agree he doesn't come close to the Dias / Laporte/ Stones comparisons,but he does try and can see he is willing to try harder,hence why he turned down the Chelsea move to stay.
Not blessed with too much pace,granted,but let's be honest none of our CB's are really,only Walker can sprint like that,and that won't last too much longer neither.
Nailed it.Ake is an average CB. He has been in England for a decade and the only sides he has been able to hold down a regular place are Watford and Bournemouth. People can argue all they like but the crux of it is, he will never reach the levels we have seen from Dias, Stones and Laporte. If Ake has been our best CB, it means the other 3 are playing levels below their best. I think they probably are below their best and then the question is why?
Laporte has had a bad injury.
Stones has been shunted out to RB.
Dias is being rotated constantly.
Nothing can be done re Laporte being injured. However, why are two of our best three CBs being treated this way to accommodate players not as good as them? Thats not a slight on Ake or Akanji, but it’s the equivalent of VVD being put at RB to give Konate a game. Or Matip on the bench every other game to give Gomez/Nat Philips regular games. It wouldn’t happen there, why is it happening here?
If Ake and Akanji can’t consistently reach a world-class level (and that’s what we are talking here) they either accept limited time on the pitch or they leave. We don’t need 5 senior CBs and we don’t need Pep having the opportunity to overthink the CB situation.
Your point about looking for world class in each key position is the key here. We have to keep looking to improve as Khaldoon said. Its not a criticism of either Ake or Akanje, its just a fact of life.
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