Centre-back

[blinkblue]

What about Papadopoulous at Schalke? He is pretty versatile and is young too.

Diego Godin is a good shout too, solid and reliable CB who would fit in well.

Godin is prone to very rash decisions and getting caught out of position, he improved last season but still makes mistakes. His Atletico defensive partner Miranda is a superior player.

Miranda would be perfect for us imo. He's 28 so wouldn't stunt Nastasic too much, he wouldn't command top wages, he was the best CB in La Liga last year and would be cheaper than Pepe.

I've read somewhere that Nicolas Otamendi has a £13m release clause? Why not go for him?

Saying Miranda is superior to Godin is like saying Phil Jones is Superior to Kompany.

You surely can't watch Atletico very often to hold such a view? He was head and shoulders above him last year, best in the league in fact. Got put in the team of the year with Inigo Martinez iirc.

Godin is a good player but is too rash sometimes when he runs out to challenge a player and ends up putting the defense on the back foot, he's error prone. Miranda is much more assured and a more intelligent defender. Ask any Atletico fan who is the superior player and I'm certain they'll all say Miranda.

 

[birchwoodgingerste]

lets go for matip from schalke they have signed santana and already have 4 decent centrebacks this guy reminds me of a young vincent kompany,

 

[sam-caddick]

surely there are some top class hidden gems in south america with european passports which enable them to play in england?

i really do worry if if kompany or nastasic gets injured for a lengthy period of time it could cost us the league, maybe even being knocked out of the champions league.

lescott is a good back up for the league but not the champions league, garcia is too slow to be a center half, boyata needs to string a few consecutive decent performances before he gets talked about, and micah for me is positionally poor to be a central defender.

 

[birchwoodgingerste]

surely there are some top class hidden gems in south america with european passports which enable them to play in england?

i really do worry if if kompany or nastasic gets injured for a lengthy period of time it could cost us the league, maybe even being knocked out of the champions league.

lescott is a good back up for the league but not the champions league, garcia is too slow to be a center half, boyata needs to string a few consecutive decent performances before he gets talked about, and micah for me is positionally poor to be a central defender.

i agree with this hopefully theres cover on the way.

 

[nobody can eat fifty eggs]

I wish someone like Cannavaro was available. He was some player!

 

[Silva Service]

Would love a young version of Van Buyten.

 

[nobody can eat fifty eggs]

Would love a young version of Van Buyten.

I agree he was great at City in his short time that he played for us. He's still going strong at 34 isnt he and looks like he will be featuring for Bayern a lot this season. I remember a few on Bluemoon a couple of years ago saying he wasn't good enough anymore!

 

[oneslice]

How about Luiz Gustavo? Though he play as a DM at Bayern but he originally start as a LB at his Brazilian club and then play as a CB for Hoffenheim. IMO, that's three positions that City need to be covered, a back up for Nastasic, a back up for Clichy, and main DM to replace Garcia.
He is quite pacey, strong, have a decent ball control and interception although probably not quite bulky enough as defender (he is 1.87m 80kg). I know we need an experienced defender and Gustavo might not fit into that category but I think it's worth a try.

 

[Maldeika]

Would love a young version of Van Buyten.

I agree he was great at City in his short time that he played for us. He's still going strong at 34 isnt he and looks like he will be featuring for Bayern a lot this season. I remember a few on Bluemoon a couple of years ago saying he wasn't good enough anymore!

Van Buyten with his age and experience works different than the young ones. But he anticipates situations very well. The only thing you should not let him deal alone with are this very mobile little players. But it is great to have somebody like him in the squad. He does not complain if he is on the bench, is good for the climate in the team, helps the other ones with his experience and if he plays he still is class. And he is a model professional in training.

Bayern with van Buyten, Pizarro and Tymoschchuk had three of this types in the team - you can add Tom Starke, the second goalie to that. No Alphamales like Ballack or the older players at Chelsea (they would not sit on the bench quietly).

 

[chinkas87]

I would like to see Boyata get a few games this season.