Demichelis, Lescott or Nasty?

[skybluepete]

Nastasic easily.

Lescott is probably the best pure defender of the lot but our centre backs are more involved in trying to start attacks nowadays than they are having to stop the opposition ones so his lack of ability on the ball counts against him hugely.

Demichellis is in my opinion an excellent footballer, he reads the game very well and is comfortable in possession. The only negative is his love for a tackle, he can often be rash and leave us exposed.

Nastasic is the best all-rounder for me. Good in the air, comfortable in possession, decent passer and reads the game very well. His only weakness seems to be occasionally mis-timing his tackles, he seems to give away free kicks more often than the others (I don't know if the stats back this up or if it's just my perception).

I dont quite understand, are we saying jolean isn't capable of playing a forward pass ?? OR are you talking about bringing /dribbling the ball out from our own half and into the oppositions half ??

Our midfielders or one of them always drop off to recieve a pass anyway, hence that is the start of an attacking move - vinnie has the odd dribble and takes somebody on but only occasionally and its not essential he does it .

If we're going to extremes , then none of the other 3 are good enough to partner vinnie, maybe nasty in the future but he is no where near the finished article yet.

As for DM, some of you think the sun shines out of his a--e , i just dont see it tbh- he's average and was never gunna solve our problem, he could only ever have been bought as cover and not for long term.

Why did Malaga agree to sell?? Maybe out of contract ?? BUT WHY did the Spanish team he signed for let him go so easyilly and so quickly after buying him.??
Did they not rate him that highly ??
Did we pay ridiculous money for him ??
Did he just want to play for MP ??- im sure a player just cant decide this option though tbh .

Anyway, i hope all 3 get games and play their part in a highly successful season- were sill fighting on 4 fronts !!

The centre midfielder will drop deep to pick the ball up if he can but against high pressing teams such as Liverpool and Southampton, especially if we're outnumbered in the midfield, we need the centre backs to either be able to find Yaya/Dinho without them dropping deep or alternatively to step into midfield with the ball and find one of the attacking quartet. Lescott doesn't have this ability. There's also the fact that opposition teams have started to target him in possession; Liverpool let him receive the ball then sent two men after him, he panicked and ended up just chipping the ball upfield aimlessly on more than one occasion.

I agree Demichellis was brought in as cover for Kompany, but I still think he's a very good player. As I said his only downside seems to be diving in on occasion, I'd imagine 4/5 years ago when he had half a yard more pace he'd have been making those challenges, now his brain's working a bit faster than his legs so he misses a few, because of this I wouldn't have him ahead of Nastasic but you can tell by watching his movement he's a decent player. He's also experienced and doesn't panic, if you're trying to see a game out with a one goal lead and under pressure, a cool head can be invaluable.

Nastasic is a fantastic talent in my opinion and should be given as much game time as possible, he's still a bit raw but if he plays next to Kompany for the next 2/3 years I think he'll be immense.

I take all on board all you're saying but iv watched the match against Liverpool a couple of times now and lescott rarely misplaced a pass- watch it and you will see!!
There was also a lovely little early ball he knocked into silva - check it

As for playing against teams that press high, in theory if we're playing 4-4-2 there should always be one of the central m/f dropping for the ball- his m/f partners movement should be to take his own marker further away from our own goal creating space for either his m/f partner to drop deep or the second striker(number 10) to drop around the half way line and receive the ball- i admit a c/h who can dribble is an advantage but ultimately he's there to defend!!
Midfielders movement needs to be brave and intelligent - that is the key to combatting a team that presses high in my opinion . ??