45 | Abdukodir Khusanov - 2025/26

[bobom]

Why don’t we have defenders that can defend and have a keeper that can save aswell . Why does every player we have to sign have to be great on the ball

We have a manager who believes that maximising the time our creative players have on the ball in the opponents' half is the key to winning matches, and he thinks having ball playing defenders is a key component of achieving that.

You might not like that philosophy but objectively Pep has had just a bit of success with this over 17 years.and is unlikely to change his central approach to the game. Apologies if I've been clarkied...

If you're asking "could we not achieve that with players who tilt more to defending than distributing?" then the obvious answer is that Pep doesn't seem to think so. I doubt we'll find out until we have a new manager. Personally, I really rate Khusanov - I'm hoping he gradually gets more and more involved in the first time. Fwiw, one of Pep's other mantras is that if you want to reduce the risk against quick transitions when you're parked way up the field, you need really fast defenders, and Khusanov has that in spades. I reckon he'll get quite a lot of game time this season.

 

[Craig]

We have a manager who believes that maximising the time our creative players have on the ball in the opponents' half is the key to winning matches, and he thinks having ball playing defenders is a key component of achieving that.

You might not like that philosophy but objectively Pep has had just a bit of success with this over 17 years.and is unlikely to change his central approach to the game. Apologies if I've been clarkied...

If you're asking "could we not achieve that with players who tilt more to defending than distributing?" then the obvious answer is that Pep doesn't seem to think so. I doubt we'll find out until we have a new manager. Personally, I really rate Khusanov - I'm hoping he gradually gets more and more involved in the first time. Fwiw, one of Pep's other mantras is that if you want to reduce the risk against quick transitions when you're parked way up the field, you need really fast defenders, and Khusanov has that in spades. I reckon he'll get quite a lot of game time this season.

Get what you’re saying but Dias always plays when fit

 

[B\connellblue]

We have a manager who believes that maximising the time our creative players have on the ball in the opponents' half is the key to winning matches, and he thinks having ball playing defenders is a key component of achieving that.

You might not like that philosophy but objectively Pep has had just a bit of success with this over 17 years.and is unlikely to change his central approach to the game. Apologies if I've been clarkied...

If you're asking "could we not achieve that with players who tilt more to defending than distributing?" then the obvious answer is that Pep doesn't seem to think so. I doubt we'll find out until we have a new manager. Personally, I really rate Khusanov - I'm hoping he gradually gets more and more involved in the first time. Fwiw, one of Pep's other mantras is that if you want to reduce the risk against quick transitions when you're parked way up the field, you need really fast defenders, and Khusanov has that in spades. I reckon he'll get quite a lot of game time this season.

So explain how Dias plays so often. His distribution is really poor, he's slow and far from great in the air either.

 

[bobom]

So explain how Dias plays so often. His distribution is really poor, he's slow and far from great in the air either.

I'm not Pep but if I had to hazard a guess (see Gundo in midfield) it would be connected with his strong need to have experienced people in the team who know what he wants and have a track record of delivering for him. We know he's a control freak - I think some of these selections are because he struggles to let go - some players are his way of having leverage of what's happening on the pitch.

 

[Paul1970]

We have a manager who believes that maximising the time our creative players have on the ball in the opponents' half is the key to winning matches, and he thinks having ball playing defenders is a key component of achieving that.

You might not like that philosophy but objectively Pep has had just a bit of success with this over 17 years.and is unlikely to change his central approach to the game. Apologies if I've been clarkied...

If you're asking "could we not achieve that with players who tilt more to defending than distributing?" then the obvious answer is that Pep doesn't seem to think so. I doubt we'll find out until we have a new manager. Personally, I really rate Khusanov - I'm hoping he gradually gets more and more involved in the first time. Fwiw, one of Pep's other mantras is that if you want to reduce the risk against quick transitions when you're parked way up the field, you need really fast defenders, and Khusanov has that in spades. I reckon he'll get quite a lot of game time this season.

I’m abit old fashioned mate . 442 and if your good enough you win

 

[noseve]

I’m abit old fashioned mate . 442 and if your good enough you win

Said this before, but in the days before trendy, sophisticated stuff like the double-pivot, or inverted wingers, or the Christmas tree formation, even before the phrase wing-backs was coined, a team with no pace would always play 4-4-2.

Especially if they'd had Erl and Omar as the '2'!

442 expects much less ground-covering by an ageing midfield and the team keeps its shape more because each player's territory is more clearly defined. Full backs used to be that - rarely if ever venturing over the halfway line. The 2 strikers would prowl along the halfway line when defending corners, which immediately put paid to opposing centre backs flooding the area.

Those who still think that, in 2025, possession is key should look at our opposition's possession stats and the number of goals we have conceded since, say, December.

For instance, against Al-Hilal we conceded four goals with them having just 30% possession. That's 4 goals in 36 minutes against Man City, compared to, say, our 1 goal in 115 minutes of possession during the two games against the mighty Saints last season.

Yet, 70% possession vs Al-Hilal is enough for many on here to convince themselves that we 'dominated' the game.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Said this before, but in the days before trendy, sophisticated stuff like the double-pivot, or inverted wingers, or the Christmas tree formation, even before the phrase wing-backs was coined, a team with no pace would always play 4-4-2.

Especially if they'd had Erl and Omar as the '2'!

442 expects much less ground-covering by an ageing midfield and the team keeps its shape more because each player's territory is more clearly defined. Full backs used to be that - rarely if ever venturing over the halfway line. The 2 strikers would prowl along the halfway line when defending corners, which immediately put paid to opposing centre backs flooding the area.

Those who still think that, in 2025, possession is key should look at our opposition's possession stats and the number of goals we have conceded since, say, December.

For instance, against Al-Hilal we conceded four goals with them having just 30% possession. That's 4 goals in 36 minutes against Man City, compared to, say, our 1 goal in 115 minutes of possession during the two games against the mighty Saints last season.

Yet, 70% possession vs Al-Hilal is enough for many on here to convince themselves that we 'dominated' the game.

Different tactics are possible and which tactic is best is a matter of opinion.

I favor posesion as the primary means of defense - which Pep employs - but that tactic will fail if the players aren't good enough to press quickly to win the ball back and defend against balls over the top of the press.

Against Al-Hilal any knowledgeable viewer watching the game - in favor of possession-based tactics or not - would conclude that we were not dominant at all - and the game might have gone either way.

 

[bobom]

Those who still think that, in 2025, possession is key should look at our opposition's possession stats and the number of goals we have conceded since, say, December.

Bit of erroneous analysis here... We dominate possession in 9 out of 10 matches. When we lose, one should not conclude from our opposition's possession stats therefore that their lack of possession helped them win, when most teams with equally low possession lost against us. It's what you do with the possession that counts, where you win possession and what you do in the first 3 seconds after winning possession.

 

[Georgian Maestro]

Kyle Walker leaves in January and in the same month we sign this guy. I'm sure he was brought in to replace what Kyle gave us. Top level physical attributes that allow him to cover half the pitch on his own to stop counter attacks.

Kyle was hardly a footballing technician so I don't think this was much of a consideration when we identified Khusanov but I reckon Pep is shocked at just how bad he is on the ball. He can't seem to get over the first half horror show against Bournemouth in the cup.

 

[noseve]

Bit of erroneous analysis here... We dominate possession in 9 out of 10 matches. When we lose, one should not conclude from our opposition's possession stats therefore that their lack of possession helped them win, when most teams with equally low possession lost against us. It's what you do with the possession that counts, where you win possession and what you do in the first 3 seconds after winning possession.

Unwittingly, I think that you've reinforced my point, perhaps?

I wasn't saying that Al-Hilal benefitted from minimal possession, but that despite them only having the ball for 36 minutes, we conceded four times. I f we are so porous, so often, then we should be addressing our own frailties at the back as the #1 priority. Bringing in an albeit exciting, brilliant-looking player in Ait-Nouri, because of his lack of innate defensive positional play, is unlikely to help matters at all and is worrying to some, as it suggests that the focus continues to be upon our ability going forward.

it's another issue, what we do with it (or don't) when we have the ball, hence the example I threw in of our games against Saints. Or do you think that we satisfied the requirements in your final sentence during those 115 minutes?

 

[Blue_Lightsaber]

Kyle Walker leaves in January and in the same month we sign this guy. I'm sure he was brought in to replace what Kyle gave us. Top level physical attributes that allow him to cover half the pitch on his own to stop counter attacks.

Kyle was hardly a footballing technician so I don't think this was much of a consideration when we identified Khusanov but I reckon Pep is shocked at just how bad he is on the ball. He can't seem to get over the first half horror show against Bournemouth in the cup.

That's hardly a problem as Pep develops players into what he needs.

Walker was terrible on the ball when he joined, he got better.

Ruben was a terrible ball carrier, but now he can probe when needed.

Nunes was terrible when he joined, but now he can do a job and is getting better.

Khusanov will get better under Pep's training.. and a blind man can see he has skills Pep can use.

The only exception seems to be Kalvin Philips and Claudio Bravo!

 

[bobom]

Unwittingly, I think that you've reinforced my point, perhaps?

I wasn't saying that Al-Hilal benefitted from minimal possession, but that despite them only having the ball for 36 minutes, we conceded four times. I f we are so porous, so often, then we should be addressing our own frailties at the back as the #1 priority. Bringing in an albeit exciting, brilliant-looking player in Ait-Nouri, because of his lack of innate defensive positional play, is unlikely to help matters at all and is worrying to some, as it suggests that the focus continues to be upon our ability going forward.

it's another issue, what we do with it (or don't) when we have the ball, hence the example I threw in of our games against Saints. Or do you think that we satisfied the requirements in your final sentence during those 115 minutes?

I'm not quite sure what your arguing for. Pep's not about to change his whole approach any time soon. His approach in Germany, when he first encountered the problem of teams that were good at counterattacking, and here too no doubt, remains focused on possession- based play, but taking certain positional precautions to defend against counterattacks. Speed in defence is another precaution and Walker was particularly effective obviously, but what happens ahead of the defence in midfield is clearly at least as important, as the absence of Rodri highlighted last season.

Most teams will struggle when they lose possession high up the pitch with few defenders back - it's particularly obvious in our team because the goals we concede that way are a particularly high proportion of goals we concede from open play - we very rarely concede goals when our defence is well set up, simply because unless we are playing very very good teams we seldom face a team in possession.

Fwiw, from watching him, I think Ait-Nouri is quite fast - he's not going to be a problem, in fact I'm delighted we finally have a left back.

I don't think recruiting more "defensive minded" defenders will do much tbh other than increase the number of misplaced passes we make, unless Pep is about to completely change how we play - it won't do much because (recovery pace aside) it's less the personnel and more the positional play of our defenders and midfield that leave us exposed.

So obviously it's been a problem. But I'm not convinced it's a recruitment problem. With the exception of a RB we ought to have the personnel to fix this.

 

[noseve]

I'm not quite sure what your arguing for. Pep's not about to change his whole approach any time soon. His approach in Germany, when he first encountered the problem of teams that were good at counterattacking, and here too no doubt, remains focused on possession- based play, but taking certain positional precautions to defend against counterattacks. Speed in defence is another precaution and Walker was particularly effective obviously, but what happens ahead of the defence in midfield is clearly at least as important, as the absence of Rodri highlighted last season.

Most teams will struggle when they lose possession high up the pitch with few defenders back - it's particularly obvious in our team because the goals we concede that way are a particularly high proportion of goals we concede from open play - we very rarely concede goals when our defence is well set up, simply because unless we are playing very very good teams we seldom face a team in possession.

Fwiw, from watching him, I think Ait-Nouri is quite fast - he's not going to be a problem, in fact I'm delighted we finally have a left back.

I don't think recruiting more "defensive minded" defenders will do much tbh other than increase the number of misplaced passes we make, unless Pep is about to completely change how we play - it won't do much because (recovery pace aside) it's less the personnel and more the positional play of our defenders and midfield that leave us exposed.

So obviously it's been a problem. But I'm not convinced it's a recruitment problem. With the exception of a RB we ought to have the personnel to fix this.

Read mine again - I didn't argue with anybody. Although I shall query your post now, about Al-Nouri for instance - I pointed out his poor positional sense, you respond by saying that he's fast. We're talking about two completely different issues.

I gave my opinion, because I thought that this was supposed to be a forum, not a love-in ! :-)

 

[Georgian Maestro]

That's hardly a problem as Pep develops players into what he needs.

Walker was terrible on the ball when he joined, he got better.

Ruben was a terrible ball carrier, but now he can probe when needed.

Nunes was terrible when he joined, but now he can do a job and is getting better.

Khusanov will get better under Pep's training.. and a blind man can see he has skills Pep can use.

The only exception seems to be Kalvin Philips and Claudio Bravo!

I agree that ability on the ball was certainly not a strength of Walker and Dias but I just wonder whether Khusanov is deemed another level of terrible.

 

[Marvin.]

Unwittingly, I think that you've reinforced my point, perhaps?

I wasn't saying that Al-Hilal benefitted from minimal possession, but that despite them only having the ball for 36 minutes, we conceded four times. I f we are so porous, so often, then we should be addressing our own frailties at the back as the #1 priority. Bringing in an albeit exciting, brilliant-looking player in Ait-Nouri, because of his lack of innate defensive positional play, is unlikely to help matters at all and is worrying to some, as it suggests that the focus continues to be upon our ability going forward.

it's another issue, what we do with it (or don't) when we have the ball, hence the example I threw in of our games against Saints. Or do you think that we satisfied the requirements in your final sentence during those 115 minutes?

We had 2 problems last season not 1. Our attacking and defending weakened as seen through the drop in goals scored and increase in goals conceded.

In January we brought in 3 defenders. In June we brought in another. Furthermore, Rodri and Kovacic should be back next season. The risk is how well they recover. I think every City fan can see that City are now weak defensively but there's not much we can do now. I think a right back would have a marginal effect

 

[noseve]

We had 2 problems last season not 1

Agreed - but we're only addressing 1.

 

[bobom]

Read mine again - I didn't argue with anybody. Although I shall query your post now, about Al-Nouri for instance - I pointed out his poor positional sense, you respond by saying that he's fast. We're talking about two completely different issues.

I gave my opinion, because I thought that this was supposed to be a forum, not a love-in ! :-)

Its simple. I don't agree with you. Forums attract all sorts, including people who choose to block you because they think you are more trouble than you're worth.

 

[noseve]

Its simple. I don't agree with you. Forums attract all sorts, including people who choose to block you because they think you are more trouble than you're worth.

Strangely confrontational - if you're really that precious, you're going to be blocking a lot of people...

 

[mattcity5]

Unwittingly, I think that you've reinforced my point, perhaps?

I wasn't saying that Al-Hilal benefitted from minimal possession, but that despite them only having the ball for 36 minutes, we conceded four times. I f we are so porous, so often, then we should be addressing our own frailties at the back as the #1 priority. Bringing in an albeit exciting, brilliant-looking player in Ait-Nouri, because of his lack of innate defensive positional play, is unlikely to help matters at all and is worrying to some, as it suggests that the focus continues to be upon our ability going forward.

it's another issue, what we do with it (or don't) when we have the ball, hence the example I threw in of our games against Saints. Or do you think that we satisfied the requirements in your final sentence during those 115 minutes?

Don't think it's the people, it's more the organisation. It's easier to make space and score in a 4v4 attack than in a 9v9. We need to find ways to make sure we have more players back when breaks occur.

 

[noseve]

Don't think it's the people, it's more the organisation. It's easier to make space and score in a 4v4 attack than in a 9v9. We need to find ways to make sure we have more players back when breaks occur.

Well time will tell, as it always does.

But if it really is a matter of organisation, not people - then why haven't we addressed it since, say, December?

I am a natural optimist, who's looking forward to the new season - but I haven't seen anything yet, including at the CWC, that suggests it won't be a continuation of the last season, mindset-wise.

We'll soon see