Centre back pairing

[Damanino]

We wanted Pepe in the summer and Mangala a few days ago. Why is that, what do you think?

To think that ohh well Demichelis will be good as well and to think ohh well we will be back for Mangala in the summer, we will pay bigger prices for these things than not paying some extra for them when we should have spent.

Btw way until the defending of the whole team improves a lot defenders will be under lot of risk because of Pellegrini tactics. You can improve that with getting in Thiago Silva of course but still it will be far from optimal. And Kompany is injury prone on his own.

 

[Pigeonho]

We wanted Pepe in the summer and Mangala a few days ago. Why is that, what do you think?

To think that ohh well Demichelis will be good as well and to think ohh well we will be back for Mangala in the summer, we will pay bigger prices for these things than not paying some extra for them when we should have spent.

Btw way until the defending of the whole team improves a lot defenders will be under lot of risk because of Pellegrini tactics. You can improve that with getting in Thiago Silva of course but still it will be far from optimal. And Kompany is injury prone on his own.

Yet we're still second, only 7 more conceded than the best defensive record, only 1 defeat at home all season and we're still favourites for the league. Add to that there's nothing we can do about it right now.....

 

[Deleted member 58678]

We need to give Nastasic a good run of ten games playing there. He may never have played this way defensively in his whole life. He clearly has not got used to this style of play but he won't be getting used to it just playing once, then not playing for three games, then coming on as a sub, then starting, then being dropped again.

He is potentially an elite level defender but we need to get him playing to make sure he ends up becoming one!

 

[Burtonblue]

Come the summer we will have. Nastasic isn't a Pellegrini signing. Demechelis is clearly a stop gap until he finds the one he wants to permanently play alongside Kompany. I like Nastasic, but if we are to compete for trophies year after year, we need a world class pairing. Is it Mangala? Hopefully, from what everyone says on his ability. We have enough to get by this season though.

Don't forget as well, Mertesacker was dog shit when he first came, and only from mid way of last season did he start to become anything like good.

In the summer we will spend big on this area imo.

You've hit the nail on the head there.
Mertesaker was shit when he arrived but with regular game time he now looks a top defender.
My point is if we stuck with Nasty or Lescott there is a chance they would grow in confidence and cement their place.
Nasty has the qualities to be a v good player but looks to have v little confidence in himself atm. He will only get this if picked on a regular basis. Lescott has already proved in 2012 he can do this too.

 

[Eccles Blue]

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sergio-aguero-fernandinho-joleon-lescott-6670170#comments" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... 0#comments</a>


Stats focus: Aguero and Fernandinho trail Lescott as City's key men
4 Feb 2014 11:47

The Blues clearly missed the influence of Fernandinho and Aguero during the defeat to Chelsea, though they are seemingly less important than Lescott.

Manuel Pellegrini was at pains to insist things could have been much different against Chelsea on Monday night had Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho not missed out.

There's no doubt that Aguero's incisiveness and Fernandinho's legs in the middle were sorely missed - but Pellegrini cannot have known how accurate his assessment was.

According to research undertaken by Trinity Mirror's Data Team, the pair really do have an incredible effect on the Blues' ability to win football matches.

The win percentage with Aguero in the team sits at a remarkable 71%, but that drops to just 55% in his absence - a difference of 16.25 without rounding.

Fernandinho isn't far behind in those terms, with the 15% swing his presence brings to City's results (80% win to just 65%) proving his importance to Pellegrini's setup.

Yet these two are only the second and third most important players respectively according to the stats, with the identity of City's key man something of a surprise.

It is none other than Joleon Lescott.

The Englishman has helped his team-mates post a 74% win ratio over the last two-and-a-half seasons, while they have claimed victory in only 57% of the games he has missed.

That 16.7% swing marks him out as a crucial member of Pellegrini's squad, even if he is regularly overlooked by the Chilean.

As might be expected, David Silva (+11.06%) and Vincent Kompany (+10.12%) also have a positive influence - though it is not the same for every player.

Joe Hart (-7.26%) actually makes City's chances worse, while Pablo Zabaleta (-14.68%) surprisingly also has a negative affect on results.

But nobody rivals Edin Dzeko when it comes to swinging the momentum either way.

Unfortunately for the Bosnian, though, his presence sees City's win ratio drop from 85% to 64% - a 21.25% slide.

 

[its a Barm]

when we do get a solid partner for Vinny and stay injury free then we will have the best defence in the league.

 

[ianw16]

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sergio-aguero-fernandinho-joleon-lescott-6670170#comments


Stats focus: Aguero and Fernandinho trail Lescott as City's key men
4 Feb 2014 11:47

The Blues clearly missed the influence of Fernandinho and Aguero during the defeat to Chelsea, though they are seemingly less important than Lescott.

Manuel Pellegrini was at pains to insist things could have been much different against Chelsea on Monday night had Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho not missed out.

There's no doubt that Aguero's incisiveness and Fernandinho's legs in the middle were sorely missed - but Pellegrini cannot have known how accurate his assessment was.

According to research undertaken by Trinity Mirror's Data Team, the pair really do have an incredible effect on the Blues' ability to win football matches.

The win percentage with Aguero in the team sits at a remarkable 71%, but that drops to just 55% in his absence - a difference of 16.25 without rounding.

Fernandinho isn't far behind in those terms, with the 15% swing his presence brings to City's results (80% win to just 65%) proving his importance to Pellegrini's setup.

Yet these two are only the second and third most important players respectively according to the stats, with the identity of City's key man something of a surprise.

It is none other than Joleon Lescott.

The Englishman has helped his team-mates post a 74% win ratio over the last two-and-a-half seasons, while they have claimed victory in only 57% of the games he has missed.

That 16.7% swing marks him out as a crucial member of Pellegrini's squad, even if he is regularly overlooked by the Chilean.

As might be expected, David Silva (+11.06%) and Vincent Kompany (+10.12%) also have a positive influence - though it is not the same for every player.

Joe Hart (-7.26%) actually makes City's chances worse, while Pablo Zabaleta (-14.68%) surprisingly also has a negative affect on results.

But nobody rivals Edin Dzeko when it comes to swinging the momentum either way.

Unfortunately for the Bosnian, though, his presence sees City's win ratio drop from 85% to 64% - a 21.25% slide.

Self evident, that bit, as the chances are that Edin is playing because Aguero isn't! Statistics................. etc.

 

[The Pink Panther]

The Englishman has helped his team-mates post a 74% win ratio over the last two-and-a-half seasons, while they have claimed victory in only 57% of the games he has missed.

Probably because other players have been first choice when it's come to the crunch/big games

As for VK giving Nastasic a right old bollocking, it was the right thing to do

 

[mammutly]

Kompany and Lescott. It's the obvious choice.

 

[kismet]

VK and Lescott.

Lescottt may not be Beckenbaur when bringing the ball out of defence, however he stops the ball going in our net and that's what he is paid to do.