Centre back options

Dax777 said:
Mangala was always a terrible footballer with freakish Athletism. This was obvious even before we were in for him. Lindelof looks a footballer. That's easy to see.
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If you could see that before we bought him, why did no one at City notice the same thing before we spent 40 million (or whatever it actually was) on him?
 
Lancet Fluke said:
I still think Mangala looked no worse than anyone else in that Pellegrini defence by and large. None of them stood a chance of looking like high class defenders and people forget that even Kompany went through a spell of looking like an absolute chump in the 14/15 season. Reckon we should have kept him this season and at least have given him a chance to show what he could do under a different manager. He is at least fairly quick and strong, doubt he would have been bullied by Costa like Otamendi was the other week.
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I think Mangala's best game for us was against Chelsea last season, he kept that dirty, cheating gobshite quiet for the whole game.

I actually think he's better than Otamendi, who still just dives in and spends too much time sat on his arse as yet another forward takes the ball past him.

My dad tells me of a player of whom it was said "Either the ball gets past him, or the man, but never both together." That's the kind of centre back we need, especially to deal with pricks like Costa. Stand up to him, niggle at him, stand on his toes at corners, whisper things about his mum or his mrs to him, he'll get himself sent off sooner rather than later, easy.
 
The Riot Club said:
I think Mangala's best game for us was against Chelsea last season, he kept that dirty, cheating gobshite quiet for the whole game.

I actually think he's better than Otamendi, who still just dives in and spends too much time sat on his arse as yet another forward takes the ball past him.

My dad tells me of a player of whom it was said "Either the ball gets past him, or the man, but never both together." That's the kind of centre back we need, especially to deal with pricks like Costa. Stand up to him, niggle at him, stand on his toes at corners, whisper things about his mum or his mrs to him, he'll get himself sent off sooner rather than later, easy.
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We've had plenty you know ..in no particular order as I loved even all :-)

Tommy Booth
Andy Morrison
Mike Doyle
Mick McCarthy
Dave Watson
Tommy Caton (had a nasty streak in him that didn't show up a lot, but it was there)
Keith Curle

And this was pre-Sheik!!
 
BufordUSABlue said:
We've had plenty you know ..in no particular order as I loved even all :-)

Tommy Booth
Andy Morrison
Mike Doyle
Mick McCarthy
Dave Watson
Tommy Caton (had a nasty streak in him that didn't show up a lot, but it was there)
Keith Curle

And this was pre-Sheik!!
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dave Watson was the best centre back ive seen at city.also booth and doyle were good would love them in this city team
 
We have to admit that Kompany is simply not going to stay fit for long periods.

Stones, Otamendi and Kolarov as our three centre back options is not good enough to win the league. I don't think any of the three are top centre backs, although Stones should go on to become world class in years to come.

Van Dijk is a no brainer in January.
 
CityFan94 said:
We have to admit that Kompany is simply not going to stay fit for long periods.

Stones, Otamendi and Kolarov as our three centre back options is not good enough to win the league. I don't think any of the three are top centre backs, although Stones should go on to become world class in years to come.

Van Dijk is a no brainer in January.
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Why does it have to be a world beater? How many times have we tried that? How are you going to develop Stones with Otamendi, Van Dijk, and Kompany miles ahead in the pecking order? Sell Kompany and bench Otamendi might be your answer but I think one or both of them are wrong. Why not get somebody in the vain of demicheles?
 
CaliforniaBlue said:
If you could see that before we bought him, why did no one at City notice the same thing before we spent 40 million (or whatever it actually was) on him?
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A lot of athletic types have gone on to be very good defenders. So perhaps those who liked him were hoping for that outcome. Big, strong quick, athletic and a hard man. All qualities good defenders should probably have.

I doubt even his staunchest supporters thought him a good footballer. Just didn't thin technique was a major requirement for his role.
 
ADegenerate said:
Why does it have to be a world beater? How many times have we tried that? How are you going to develop Stones with Otamendi, Van Dijk, and Kompany miles ahead in the pecking order? Sell Kompany and bench Otamendi might be your answer but I think one or both of them are wrong. Why not get somebody in the vain of demicheles?
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Stones and Van Dijk would be our centre back pairing going forward.

Otamendi and Kolarov as the third and fourth choice. We can mention Kompany all day, but he's never fit.
 
Badstuber would be an okay cover signing for the rest of the season if he can stay fit for at least part of it, after that we should look for a first choice centre back and a leader. My first choice would be Alderweireld, followed by José Giménez at Atleti. We could sign Badstuber permanently if Pep thinks he can still get something out of him, however we would still need another centre-back.

Toby Alderweireld, 27, Tottenham Hotspur - Rumors of £25m buy-out clause
Holger Badstuber, 27, Bayern Munich - Valued at £3m, possible loan signing in January
José Fonte, 33, Southampton - £5-15m
José Giménez, 21, Atletico Madrid - Buyout £60m
Lucas Hernández, 20, Atletico Madrid - Valued at £20m
Aymeric Laporte, 22, Athletic Bilbao - £40m+
Kostas Manolas, 25, AS Roma - Valued around £40m
Jeison Murillo, 24, Inter Milan - Valued at £22m
Gerard Piqué, 29, Barcelona - £40m+
Alessio Romagnoli, 21, AC Milan - £40m+
Antonio Rüdiger, 23, AS Roma - Valued at £35m
Virgil Van Dijk, 25, Southampton - Valued at £60m
Raphaël Varane, 23, Real Madrid - £40m+
 
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kun said:
Badstuber would be an okay cover signing for the rest of the season if he can stay fit for at least part of it, after that we should look for a first choice centre back and a leader. My first choice would be Alderweireld, followed by José Giménez at Atleti. We could sign Badstuber permanently if Pep thinks he can still get something out of him, however we would still need another centre-back.

Toby Alderweireld, 27, Tottenham Hotspur - Rumors of £25m buy-out clause
Holger Badstuber, 27, Bayern Munich - Valued at £3m, possible loan signing in January
José Fonte, 33, Southampton - £5-15m
José Giménez, 21, Atletico Madrid - Buyout £60m
Lucas Hernández, 20, Atletico Madrid - Valued at £20m
Aymeric Laporte, 22, Athletic Bilbao - £40m+
Kostas Manolas, 25, AS Roma - Valued around £40m
Jeison Murillo, 24, Inter Milan - Valued at £22m
Gerard Piqué, 29, Barcelona - £40m+
Alessio Romagnoli, 21, AC Milan - £40m+
Antonio Rüdiger, 23, AS Roma - Valued at £35m
Virgil Van Dijk, 25, Southampton - Valued at £60m
Raphaël Varane, 23, Real Madrid - £40m+
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Romagnoli, Van Dijk and Hernandez are the only ones I can see happening on that list. They're all the right style and profile for Pep.
 
City_Sean said:
I cant see us going back in for him.
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Others have said that...I don't get why people think that. The only thing that has changed since last summer is he has proven he has recovered from his injury (and he costs an extra 7 million or so). Unless we know he isn't interested and I have seen nothing to suggest he isn't, I would think he is top of Pep's list again.
 
BlueDeadHead said:
Others have said that...I don't get why people think that. The only thing that has changed since last summer is he has proven he has recovered from his injury (and he costs an extra 7 million or so). Unless we know he isn't interested and I have seen nothing to suggest he isn't, I would think he is top of Pep's list again.
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Didn't he turn us down in the summer?
 
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