Clichy or Kolarov?

[BlueRoscoe]

I need to see more of Clichy (for us) before I make judgement. But Kolarov yesterday had his best game for us, he looked sharp, constantly overlapping and he was looking confident at taking his man on which is what he couldn't do at all last season.

 

[SkyBlueCanuck]

Kolarov was a good soldier for Bobby last season and played hurt when the team didn't have another viable option at LB.

If he looked slow or lacked acceleration it was because he wasn't fully fit and imo, he took a heap of unfair criticism.

I like Clichy, but he will have a very difficult time getting his name on the game sheet if Kolarov plays up to the standard which he did against Inter this season.

 

[banbury_blue]

I think we see the value of having a proper pre season with Kolarov.

Last season we saw him properly for 45 mins against Spurs before the injury. After that he was always playing catch up and as you see with a lot of players it has a lasting effect of how they play for the remainder of the season. After a few lacklustre performance where you can't do what you exactly want to do with your body then the confidence starts to slip away.. much like Robinho did after he had the stress fracture of the leg

Remember Alexs was being chased by a lot of other big clubs and we paid a big price tag for him.. He is hardly likely to be completely shit all the time..

 

[Nascent Blues]

Kolarov was a good soldier for Bobby last season and played hurt when the team didn't have another viable option at LB.

If he looked slow or lacked acceleration it was because he wasn't fully fit and imo, he took a heap of unfair criticism.

I like Clichy, but he will have a very difficult time getting his name on the game sheet if Kolarov plays up to the standard which he did against Inter this season.

This is pretty much what I'm thinking. I believe Kolarov will do the business for us this season.

 

[Georgian Maestro]

Clichy for me

One of the main attributes a full back needs is pace. Clichy has it and Kolarov doesn't

 

[blue_soundwave]

Echoing what others have said, hopefully now Kolarov's had a season to settle and a pre-season under his belt he can push on and show us the talent we saw in Serie A. Very promising yesterday so hopefully he can retain his place for the charity shield.

Clichy I'm not really convinced about. I know a lot on here seem to regard him as the savior to our left back woes but he's been pretty poor for a couple of seasons now. He's positionally abject, but if Mancini can do with him what he did with Richards hopefully we'll have two top-notch left backs fighting for a place. Playing within a team which knows how to defend as a unit will obviously help him, as opposed to his days at Arsenal where he would often be chasing shadows.

 

[Rammyblues]

In some games he will play both, the rest of the time rotation unless one of them is injured. Both have pluses and minuses.

 

[ZabbaFC]

I would have said Clichy hands down but after his fine performance against Inter i think Kolarov is in for a good shout.

Perhaps competition for his postition is what Kolarov needed?

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Against a good winger and a decent team, might plunk for Clichy. Against a team that is going to play one upfront, maybe even a 4-4-2 (with no recognizable right winger), I think Kolarov will get the green light to bomb down the wing and swing the same crosses in that he provided against Inter.

As I said before (and was told I was playing too much FIFA Manager or some shite!), it seems like traditional full backs are old news and today's full backs are more like the midfielder that sends in outswingers, while the player in front of them is a "wrong footer" for that side of the field and cuts inside more often.

When we go forward, the CBs split left and right and NDJ holds in the hole in the middle. You see it all day long in the way we are setting up these days.

In short, just glad to have two LBs who look like they can play!!

 

[schfc6]

Kolarov got better and better during the closing months of the season, and was outstanding yesterday. His defending is often questioned but against United in the semi he kept all their attackers quite down the right.
I see the signing of Clichy as competition not a replacement, if we were looking for a replacement I doubt Clichy would have been the man. Either way I think we have two good options at LB next season. I have nothing against Clichy but I really hopes it works out for Kolarov, he seems a genuine club man, popular amongst the players and took too much shit in my opinion. According to some he was shit at defending, I just find it hard to believe a side with the best defence in the league had a 'shit' left back.