Aly Cissokho

[Lancet Fluke]

Our defense allowed .87 goals per game last season (tied for first with Chelsea). Do you really think we had a left back that couldn't defend?

I think we defended well despite him rather than because of him, for the most part. Maybe if we had a better left back then we would have conceded 0.75 goals per game. I also thought he was a disappointment going forward too. Like I said, I'm not saying he can't improve and be a good player but if you're saying he played well last season then I am going to have to disagree, regardless of any goals against stats.

 

[depps]

Has everyone given up on Kolarov already so? The lad was in his first season in a new league and had injury problems all year. I really don't see the point in splashing out another 15mil on a replacement left back who won't be significantly better than Kola was last season.... and both Baines and Cissokho are no better than he was last season, and are poorer players when all are at the top of their game.

As for those giving out about Kolarov shooting a lot, that is half the reason he is rated so highly and why we signed him. I say give the lad until xmass at least. We are seriously jumping the gun looking to replace him already.

If all we want is cover then sign a kid or someone who can cover a few positions like Vertonghen. Cissokho or Baines would be a serious waste of money.

We only have 1 left back, so we were likely to sign another anyway. Whether the new signee benches Kolarov is up to Kolarov. I don't get it with you guys who are scared of competition. Let the lads compete. Maythe best man win. And City the overall winner for it.

The same argument was used about why we need to sign Vertonghen, "oh but Lescott has looked great the last 2 months" they say. My response, well if Lescott is that good, then he will keep Vertonghen on the bench. The argument of we shouldn't sign X because Y played well is obtuse. As it can apply to every position. We have AJ at RM so no need to sign a winger, or an AM as we have Yaya, or LM as we have Silva, or even DM as we have Barry and Milner can always take over. Same argument can be used for any position barring backup striker Jo.

So it is a weak argument. Let Kolarov beat out the competition. That is what good players do. Not hope the team doesn't buy anyone.

Just in case you haven't realised this, although I'm sure you probably have, big money signings don't like sitting on the bench. Two specialist left backs with big price tags may mean more competition but that can also mean difficulties in the dressing room that we just don't need.

 

[Lancet Fluke]

Has everyone given up on Kolarov already so? The lad was in his first season in a new league and had injury problems all year. I really don't see the point in splashing out another 15mil on a replacement left back who won't be significantly better than Kola was last season.... and both Baines and Cissokho are no better than he was last season, and are poorer players when all are at the top of their game.

As for those giving out about Kolarov shooting a lot, that is half the reason he is rated so highly and why we signed him. I say give the lad until xmass at least. We are seriously jumping the gun looking to replace him already.

If all we want is cover then sign a kid or someone who can cover a few positions like Vertonghen. Cissokho or Baines would be a serious waste of money.

Personally, it isn't about giving up on Kolarov necessarily. He might well come good, it would take a huge improvement imo and personally I'm not convinced he will but I admit that he might. The problem for us is, can we afford to go into the season just assuming that he is going to be twice as good as he was last season? What if he doesn't? I don't think spending money on a left back can be seen as a waste of money considering our current left back has barely had more than a couple of good matches for us. It just seems common sense to me.

I see what your saying but for me it seems just as likely that Cissokho will have trouble settling in in the same way as Kolarov has and add to that the fact that this will definitely unsettle Kolarov as well. If we were signing someone like Ashley Cole or Conetrao then I would be up for it but Cissokho and Baines just don't strike me as being vast or even guaranteed improvements on what we already have

I take your point on Cissokho settling in totally. He does look fast and strong though from the clips I have seen which is a better starting point for settling in than being as slow as AK. I don't particularly want us to sign Baines, I suspect we can do better but from the Everton matches I saw last season, he looked a ton better than Kolarov did for us, only imho of course. Don't forget Mancini moved Kolarov to midfield at one point last season with a right back playing behind him at left back. I took that to mean that he was fairly unimpressed with Kolarov's efforts at left back. He did improve after that but not enough to justify the left back spot in a team that wants to challenge for the title, again, imo.

 

[Dax777]

Our defense allowed .87 goals per game last season (tied for first with Chelsea). Do you really think we had a left back that couldn't defend?

I am not one of those who think Kolarov can't defend. But that is neither here nor there. He is brainless offensively with his decision-making. And that alone is demoralizing. Even if he doesn't cause goals per see, he does cost us many chances on offense.

Also you should check where we rank in terms of chances conceeded. I always believe that is a better stat to follow than goals conceded. Chances conceded is a better judge of how resolute your defending is. I don't have the stat at my fingertips so I don't know how well we fared.

 

[Ticket For Schalke]

Our defense allowed .87 goals per game last season (tied for first with Chelsea). Do you really think we had a left back that couldn't defend?

Always room for improvement.

 

[Dax777]

Has everyone given up on Kolarov already so? The lad was in his first season in a new league and had injury problems all year. I really don't see the point in splashing out another 15mil on a replacement left back who won't be significantly better than Kola was last season.... and both Baines and Cissokho are no better than he was last season, and are poorer players when all are at the top of their game.

As for those giving out about Kolarov shooting a lot, that is half the reason he is rated so highly and why we signed him. I say give the lad until xmass at least. We are seriously jumping the gun looking to replace him already.

If all we want is cover then sign a kid or someone who can cover a few positions like Vertonghen. Cissokho or Baines would be a serious waste of money.

We only have 1 left back, so we were likely to sign another anyway. Whether the new signee benches Kolarov is up to Kolarov. I don't get it with you guys who are scared of competition. Let the lads compete. Maythe best man win. And City the overall winner for it.

The same argument was used about why we need to sign Vertonghen, "oh but Lescott has looked great the last 2 months" they say. My response, well if Lescott is that good, then he will keep Vertonghen on the bench. The argument of we shouldn't sign X because Y played well is obtuse. As it can apply to every position. We have AJ at RM so no need to sign a winger, or an AM as we have Yaya, or LM as we have Silva, or even DM as we have Barry and Milner can always take over. Same argument can be used for any position barring backup striker Jo.

So it is a weak argument. Let Kolarov beat out the competition. That is what good players do. Not hope the team doesn't buy anyone.

Just in case you haven't realised this, although I'm sure you probably have, big money signings don't like sitting on the bench. Two specialist left backs with big price tags may mean more competition but that can also mean difficulties in the dressing room that we just don't need.

I see your point but I don't think it will be an issue.

 

[Scooby Blue]

Our defense allowed .87 goals per game last season (tied for first with Chelsea). Do you really think we had a left back that couldn't defend?

Full-backs that can get forward (AND BACK !!!) are key parts of the way RM wants to play football.

It means that the opposition can't double up on Silva / AJ.

I'm in the Dax camp of slightly preferring the more technical Coentrao/Evra type...but if this is unachievable, then Cissokho to put pressure on AK is fine by me.

 

[BlueJill]

Our defense allowed .87 goals per game last season (tied for first with Chelsea). Do you really think we had a left back that couldn't defend?

I think we defended well despite him rather than because of him, for the most part. Maybe if we had a better left back then we would have conceded 0.75 goals per game. I also thought he was a disappointment going forward too. Like I said, I'm not saying he can't improve and be a good player but if you're saying he played well last season then I am going to have to disagree, regardless of any goals against stats.

Not claiming he played great. But for a new player in a new league who had to overcome a serious injury right out of the gate, I think he did ok. Was he the best defender on the field? No. Did he make the best decisions with his shots? No (but that was one of the reasons he was brought in). He got up the field well (even if he wasn't as fast as some would like) and his left foot is one of the best in the world. He certainly did well enough to walk into training this year as our left back. I have no problem signing Cissokho or any other LB that Bobby rates. We HAVE to have two top quality players at every position to compete in the competitions we want to compete in. I am just tired of the buffoons on this board who have already written off Dzeko, Kola, and Boateng after watching them for less than one season. Has City really become so big that we have the luxury of jettisoning anyone that doesn't settle in by their second game?

As to stats. They do matter because the represent facts. Richards, Toure, and until late in the season Lescott weren't setting the world ablaze with their defense. Clearly Hart, Vinny, and De jong deserve the bulk of the credit for the .87 but the other positions matter. Without decent support from the other defensive positions (including LB) we wouldn't have performed as well as we did.

 

[LoveCity]

Would be a terrific signing and as long as he doesn't have problems adjusting (shouldn't be, he is ready-made for Premier League) would quickly make Kolarov a bit-part player.

 

[BlueJill]

Our defense allowed .87 goals per game last season (tied for first with Chelsea). Do you really think we had a left back that couldn't defend?

Always room for improvement.

No doubt. And I agree with Dax that competition is a good thing.