Is Pep ever going to address the defensive side of our game?

[badaz52]

Don't even know where to begin with the rubbish i've just read. How can you say our defenders are as good as Chelsea's when they are clearly not?

Pep tried to sign Laporte and/or Bonucci, so he clearly knew there was a problem in the summer, I'm 100% sure he will address it this summer.

We need 2 full backs, a centre half and a defensive minded midfielder who can play (like a Dahoud or a Weigl).

It really is as simple as our defenders not being good enough, only Kompany, Stones and Otamendi should be here in the summer but we need another centre half as good as Kompany, all 4 full backs need to go.

Agreed Clichy, Kolarov, Sagna and Zabba just don't have the legs for Pep's system. Be a shame to see Zabba go though that guys a City legend and has given everything for the badge as has Kompany.

 

[domalino]

Probably not, well not to the level that we would all like. Heres the thing, Pep likes his teams to dominate possesion for 90 minutes and work hard to get the ball back at all times. If you can do that and score goals then you don't really need a good defence as such because your entire team is both your defence and attack. If you look at how high our defensive line is when we have the ball its clear to see that as far as Pep is concerned you have a team of 11 players who have 100% responsibility to cover all aspects of the game not just their specific role. It is an interesting concept and one that is new to many but in theory it should work. When we were losing Pep never put the blame on his defensive line and instead pointed the finger at the attackers inability to put the ball in the net and make that possession count. In Spain and Germany there were lots of easy games where you could get away with defensive mistakes, in the PL you get punished and I think Pep has learned that now. Interesting though isn't it that since Bravo has been dropped we are winning again lol

Pep will buy some defenders in the summer but he certainly won't be looking at them just for their defensive ability so I wouldn't be surprised to see some interesting buys.

We'll have the best defensive record in the League at some point under Pep, his teams always have the best defensive records, even when he was up against Mourinho and Simeone in Spain.

Some people will say the defenders aren't exceptional, world class defenders but they'll miss the point - defending is about not conceding, and whether your defence stops goals going in through last ditch tackles or through keeping the ball away from the opposition it's still defending.

 

[Jazzman]

I thought the defence were pretty good against Swansea and it was a good strike from a top player that beat us. Can't complain about that. If we'd scored more in the half that we absolutely dominated, it wouldn't have been an issue.

Agreed. It wasn't Swansea's first chance either.

 

[domalino]

I read the title but don't have the afternoon spare to read the text.

I'm gonna go with "buy better defenders" as the answer.

If you're having second thoughts about reading it, don't waste your time, I wish I hadn't.

 

[Esteban de la Sexface]

we need a goalie than get save shots.

apart from that we need to be able to score our chances. When you play with Kevin Keegan style abandon going forward you need to put it in the net.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Pep has had the best defensive record everywhere he has been in his seven or eight seasons as a manager.

It would be surprising to say the least if he suddenly decided that this doesn't matter and there's no need for improvements to our defence, wouldn't it.

 

[uwe rosler 28]

I thought the defence were pretty good against Swansea and it was a good strike from a top player that beat us. Can't complain about that. If we'd scored more in the half that we absolutely dominated, it wouldn't have been an issue.

think we have been defending ok for MOST parts of games but just lack full concentration for all of the game thats what needs working on and a coupe of better players!

 

[Deepest Blue]

We do need some new defenders but not all at once. Maybe 2 FB's and 1 CB in each of the next 2 summers (bought or promoted).

Those defenders should not be the Shawcross/Coleman type of physical stoppers but smart, athletic types who read and react to dangerous situations, defuse or divert the threat and when in possession recycle the ball to a creative player in space.

Where can we find these players? Over to Txiki and our small army of scouts!

 

[willipp]

Full backs and keeper the priority for me. I think Stones will improve and with decent pacey full backs and a keeper that instills confidence and looks difficult to beat we would be completely different. Pep just doesn't have the players at the moment to do it.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

Don't even know where to begin with the rubbish i've just read. How can you say our defenders are as good as Chelsea's when they clearly are not?

Pep tried to sign Laporte and/or Bonucci, so he clearly knew there was a problem in the summer, I'm 100% sure he will address it this summer.

We need 2 full backs, a centre half and a defensive minded midfielder who can play (like a Dahoud or a Weigl).

It really is as simple as our defenders not being good enough, only Kompany, Stones and Otamendi should be here in the summer but we need another centre half as good as Kompany, all 4 full backs need to go.

But if we'd bought Luiz, Azpilicueta and Cahill in the summer and decided to buy and play Moses as a wing back, this forum would have melted quicker than a toblerone in a volcano. What's missing is a proper defensive midfielder. With Kante in this team, assuming we took a few of the chances created, and we would be much closer to the top. Busquets, Alonso, De Rossi, Lahm, Vidal, Matic, Kroos and Koke. These are exactly the type of player we don't have.