Centre back options

If Kimmich is too teeny for CB then I'd still spend gazillions on him for CM. The guy has the determination/decision-making X factor that so many players inexplicably don't have (which is weird when you consider they've been playing in a team since they were 5 or 6).

But if we aren't after him then okeedokee.
 
Last edited:
Would that include the Wembley Champions League final where he made United's attack look like a league 2 side that turned up for the play-offs early?

Also if you're just going to copy things off transfermarkt then you're going to make yourself look like a tit.

He played there for the majority of the season...closer to 30 games than 7. I know that because I watched that team, and didn't rely on someone filling in a website with his position.

Considering Abidal, Pique, Milito and Puyol started almost 120 games between them that season, there's no way Mascherano played 30 games at centre back.
 
Probably because they 1) aren't common, and 2) The league is full of dinosaurs obsessed with size and pace like Pulis, Moyes and Allaradyce.

The issue is in this country a lot of teams play hoofball rather than football. It is one of the reasons that England dont do well. We have managers in this league who do not focus on possession like they do in Spain and Italy but believe in a kick and rush style. Hence we have seen Crouch and Carroll get a load of England caps. Therefore having a smaller defence would cause City problems over the course of a season. It is why we have to look for a very specific type of player who can to combat that style of football whilst at the same time having the necessary ball skills to play the possession based football so loved by Pep
 
Considering Abidal, Pique, Milito and Puyol started almost 120 games between them that season, there's no way Mascherano played 30 games at centre back.

Abidal the left back playing 41 games impacts on Mascherano playing at CB does it?

Milito only played 16 games

Puyol missed the entire second half of the season through injury, where Mascherano-Pique was the starting CB partnership, which they'd also used when Puyol had smaller injuries in the early stage of the season.
 
The issue is in this country a lot of teams play hoofball rather than football. It is one of the reasons that England dont do well. We have managers in this league who do not focus on possession like they do in Spain and Italy but believe in a kick and rush style. Hence we have seen Crouch and Carroll get a load of England caps. Therefore having a smaller defence would cause City problems over the course of a season. It is why we have to look for a very specific type of player who can to combat that style of football whilst at the same time having the necessary ball skills to play the possession based football so loved by Pep

No team in England plays 2 giant CF together, so it's not an issue. You put the big man on the Carroll, Benteke, and let the smaller player pick up the ball after the challenge, or anyone running off the big man.
 
No, but Maxwell and Adriano playing 72 games (54 starts) between them affects Abidal playing at left back.

Not really as Pep played 343 often and used both of those two on the left midfield spot.


Here's an article about how the game vs. Arsenal in Feb 2011 changed his Barcelona career as before then he'd been struggling to adapt to CB.
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ano-barcelona-nicklas-bendtner-changed-career

He played there for the entire second half of the season, at least 20 games on top of the couple he played there early on in the season, and without his performances there, they wouldn't have won the league or the CL.
 
The set piece weakness would be ruled out by the fact everyone else in the backline would be over 6ft, and I disagree on your assessment of Kimmich's defending, or his role in the 4-2 which was Alaba's fault more than anything IMO.

Seems all irrelevant in the end though because @BillyShears said Perarnau told him no Barca or Bayern players this summer.

Sadly yes. The secrecy isn't abating either. It's proper annoying. Haha.
 
Sadly yes. The secrecy isn't abating either. It's proper annoying. Haha.


The secrecy seems so unusual, I'm struggling to think of a reason they'd be so tight lipped. The only thing I can think of is maybe we want Walker to be officially a City player before rocking the Alderweireld boat. Or maybe the player is captain of his club and doesn't want to be seen as pushing for a move unless it's definitely going to happen.

It must also be at an embryonic stage because as soon as the other club gets involved it's going to leak to the press.
 
No team in England plays 2 giant CF together, so it's not an issue. You put the big man on the Carroll, Benteke, and let the smaller player pick up the ball after the challenge, or anyone running off the big man.



You'll often see an intelligent forward isolating the smaller man, as per this example from Costa. I think it'd make sense to have two strong, tall centre-backs for the league.
 


You'll often see an intelligent forward isolating the smaller man, as per this example from Costa. I think it'd make sense to have two strong, tall centre-backs for the league.


Hahaha oh please, you must have a better example than that, there's nothing about Otamendi's size which caused that goal, just his awful reading of the ball, lack of pace, and pathetic attempt to tackle.
 
Hahaha oh please, you must have a better example than that, there's nothing about Otamendi's size which caused that goal, just his awful reading of the ball, lack of pace, and pathetic attempt to tackle.

My point is that an intelligent striker can move enough to pick which of the two defenders he wants to be 1-1 with a lot of the time. Not all the time, sure, but enough to be able to get into dangerous positions. That's a good example of a striker doing that: Costa chose to isolate Otamendi, probably for the reasons you point out as well as the size difference.

Sorry to say I've not got time to go trawling for lots of videos to demonstrate every point in minute detail.
 

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top