You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Centre back options
- Thread starter Tugay One Cup
- Start date
Neville Kneville
Well-Known Member
Chris Smalling... 15 million to replace Kolarov.
Regarding your comment of a 'saviour centre half', no, Pep didn't use the word 'saviour' you did, but in the time he's been here & had people on this forum 'reading between the lines' & dissecting each thing he says, one of the clearest, most unambiguous things he's ever said, is regarding Kompany & us needing to sign a backup for him.
He made such a point of it, not just for now but under Pellegrini, that I would actually be insulted if I was a City cb who has played during that time. He even used the words 'proper defender'.
I don't know how much more clear a manager can be than that, under the circumstances.
So it isn't a group of people such as myself saying this, it's also Pep Guardiola. Take into account the fact the thinly guarded secret we were sniffing around two centre backs last season & I can't think why you, or anyone else, would repeatedly state that it's just a few people on here who think we really need a cb.
It isn't. It's pretty much every ex player, manager, journo, fan of another club, many City fans & our manager who have said it, many of them say it pretty much every time City are mentioned.
Some itk on here says were not in for one & everyone who thinks the back 2 are ok, jumps on that as gospel. Then we get a load of rumours we are in for a cb. And that suddenly becomes 'yes we are but it's not a priority'.
Pep says he wants a cb who is proper backup for Kompany.
If one is available, I'm pretty sure we'll sign him.
If not, we won't sign any old player, we have Tosin Mangala & Denayer already on the books. We will only sign the right bloke, or nothing.
In that case Pep will say how happy he is with the ones we've got, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, you can say 'see I was right' & Txiki will secretly try to get one for winter or next year.
Meanwhile the Prem will be somewhat relieved that we still have a huge potential Achilles heel & won't necessarily run away with the league.
I'd say that pretty much sums it upRegarding your comment of a 'saviour centre half', no, Pep didn't use the word 'saviour' you did, but in the time he's been here & had people on this forum 'reading between the lines' & dissecting each thing he says, one of the clearest, most unambiguous things he's ever said, is regarding Kompany & us needing to sign a backup for him.
He made such a point of it, not just for now but under Pellegrini, that I would actually be insulted if I was a City cb who has played during that time. He even used the words 'proper defender'.
I don't know how much more clear a manager can be than that, under the circumstances.
So it isn't a group of people such as myself saying this, it's also Pep Guardiola. Take into account the fact the thinly guarded secret we were sniffing around two centre backs last season & I can't think why you, or anyone else, would repeatedly state that it's just a few people on here who think we really need a cb.
It isn't. It's pretty much every ex player, manager, journo, fan of another club, many City fans & our manager who have said it, many of them say it pretty much every time City are mentioned.
Some itk on here says were not in for one & everyone who thinks the back 2 are ok, jumps on that as gospel. Then we get a load of rumours we are in for a cb. And that suddenly becomes 'yes we are but it's not a priority'.
Pep says he wants a cb who is proper backup for Kompany.
If one is available, I'm pretty sure we'll sign him.
If not, we won't sign any old player, we have Tosin Mangala & Denayer already on the books. We will only sign the right bloke, or nothing.
In that case Pep will say how happy he is with the ones we've got, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, you can say 'see I was right' & Txiki will secretly try to get one for winter or next year.
Meanwhile the Prem will be somewhat relieved that we still have a huge potential Achilles heel & won't necessarily run away with the league.
Yes, Pep said we have to cover our backs, if he (Kompany) goes down. He also discussed us not having enough quality in both boxes. Then gives an example of players. with great qualities - 'Otamendi and Kompany' quality Centerbacks he calls them. "They win duels." He said. On other occasions he has also spoken glowingly of the quality of John Stonrs. Once or 2ice early in the season he also lauded Kolarov. Pep consistently spoke glowingly about the CBs but no other position on defense.Regarding your comment of a 'saviour centre half', no, Pep didn't use the word 'saviour' you did, but in the time he's been here & had people on this forum 'reading between the lines' & dissecting each thing he says, one of the clearest, most unambiguous things he's ever said, is regarding Kompany & us needing to sign a backup for him.
He made such a point of it, not just for now but under Pellegrini, that I would actually be insulted if I was a City cb who has played during that time. He even used the words 'proper defender'.
I don't know how much more clear a manager can be than that, under the circumstances.
So it isn't a group of people such as myself saying this, it's also Pep Guardiola. Take into account the fact the thinly guarded secret we were sniffing around two centre backs last season & I can't think why you, or anyone else, would repeatedly state that it's just a few people on here who think we really need a cb.
It isn't. It's pretty much every ex player, manager, journo, fan of another club, many City fans & our manager who have said it, many of them say it pretty much every time City are mentioned.
Some itk on here says were not in for one & everyone who thinks the back 2 are ok, jumps on that as gospel. Then we get a load of rumours we are in for a cb. And that suddenly becomes 'yes we are but it's not a priority'.
Pep says he wants a cb who is proper backup for Kompany.
If one is available, I'm pretty sure we'll sign him.
If not, we won't sign any old player, we have Tosin Mangala & Denayer already on the books. We will only sign the right bloke, or nothing.
In that case Pep will say how happy he is with the ones we've got, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, you can say 'see I was right' & Txiki will secretly try to get one for winter or next year.
Meanwhile the Prem will be somewhat relieved that we still have a huge potential Achilles heel & won't necessarily run away with the league.
His rant about lacking quality in both boxes, was an indictment on our goalie and offense if you pay careful attention. As he said it while pointing out we give up so few chances but concede too much.
Yes, the Kompany backup comment supports what you and the English punditry believe. But it was a way of saying he wasn't confident Kompany was out of the woods yet. I didn't take it as him being literal about buying. I rank our weakest to strongest positions as follows:
LB,RB,GK,DM,WF,ST,CB,AM
In terms of depth and strenght. Only the core of David Silva, Debryune and Gundogan were stronger than our CB core.And yet our first signing was at AM/WF. Which is quintessential counterintuitive Pep smart thinking. Pep doubled down on our strongest posituon. Sure, If we could get Hummels, or Varane of course this would be great and probably another example of doubling down on strengths.
But the notion that CB is our weak spot simply isn't backed by the body of comments by Pep on the issue of our squad. Not just single instances, but the whole. it Isn't backed by how few chances we concede. It Isn't backed by how every statistical measure rates both Ota and Kompany highly, and Stones and Kolarov above average.
Can we get better at CB? Yes. Is it a glaring weakness that is most key. No. Not by a long shot. And the totality of Pep's musings on the issue backs that up.
Last edited:
Daz_Blue
Well-Known Member
Rudiger having Chelsea medical...... various twitter feeds
Lancet Fluke
Well-Known Member
Just out of interest, if Kompany goes down with a long term injury where would CB be on your list?I rank our weakest to strongest positions as follows:
LB,RB,GK,DM,WF,ST,CB,AM
BimboBob
Well-Known Member
Yes, Pep said we have to cover our backs, if he (Kompany) goes down. He also discussed us not having enough quality in both boxes. Then gives an example of players. with great qualities - 'Otamendi and Kompany' quality Centerbacks he calls them. "They win duels." He said. On other occasions he has also spoken glowingly of the quality of John Stonrs. Once or 2ice early in the season he also lauded Kolarov. Pep consistently spoke glowingly about the CBs but no other position on defense.
Maybe, just maybe, his comments were aimed at the centre backs we have, you know, to give them a manager boost. Install a bit of confidence into them. No one likes to be told that their position could do with an improvement.
The truth of the matter is, we were weak in the whole of defence last season including goalie. The full backs were either too inconsistent, injured or not adapting well to what Pep wants from them. The defence looked a lot better when Kompany returned at the back end of the season. This might have had something to do with Pep's words and them getting used to his ways but it also shows that without our captain's organisation skills and leadership qualities we were worse off.
Could we survive another season with an injury prone leader, 2 other central defenders and a fill in? Maybe. Should we if a player comes along that fits the bill? No.
It's a bit of an ambiguous question you are asking. So let me flesh it out and then answer it:Just out of interest, if Kompany goes down with a long term injury where would CB be on your list?
If we get all our targets barring the mystery CB. Say Ederson, Silva, Walker, Alves, Mendy, Bertrand, and Sanchez
And assuming all of the acquisitions are fairly successful in transitioning to our style and thus our able to perform at close to their peaks
What would be my ranking of CBs, If Kompany went down?
CB will fall to the weakest link.