Kalidou Koulibaly

Is he going to speed up our build-up play? No.
Is he going to give us natural width? No.
Is he going to stop us losing possession in midfield? No.
Is he going to prevent us getting outnumbered defensively? No.
Is he going to stop Mo Salah when 1v1? No.
Is he going to stop Sadio Mane when 1v1? No
.

He's a brilliant player but the problem isn't solely at CB, the problem is a lack of width, slow build-up play through midfield and getting caught in possession in dangerous areas leading to counter attacks when defenders are 1v1. Koulibaly might stop a few more of those than Garcia but the cause of the problem is still there and as good as he is, he can't stop everything. I feel people are placing way too much emphasise on a CB, rather than solving the underlying issues which are causing our CB's to be exposed.
I've literally seen him do both
 
Is he going to speed up our build-up play? No.
Is he going to give us natural width? No.
Is he going to stop us losing possession in midfield? No.
Is he going to prevent us getting outnumbered defensively? No.
Is he going to stop Mo Salah when 1v1? No.
Is he going to stop Sadio Mane when 1v1? No.

He's a brilliant player but the problem isn't solely at CB, the problem is a lack of width, slow build-up play through midfield and getting caught in possession in dangerous areas leading to counter attacks when defenders are 1v1. Koulibaly might stop a few more of those than Garcia but the cause of the problem is still there and as good as he is, he can't stop everything. I feel people are placing way too much emphasise on a CB, rather than solving the underlying issues which are causing our CB's to be exposed.

I still can't believe we are 4 years in to Peps tenure and people think a CB as brilliant on the ball isnt going to improve our build up play, stop us losing possession in midfield and give us width.


It's like you've not been watching at all.
 
I still can't believe we are 4 years in to Peps tenure and people think a CB as brilliant on the ball isnt going to improve our build up play, stop us losing possession in midfield and give us width.


It's like you've not been watching at all.
I think his point is that our problem is deeper than just a CB need.
 
I think his point is that our problem is deeper than just a CB need.

But it's a ridiculous post because none of the points he made are true.

For a start, simply having someone of the physicality of KK is going to make a huge difference.

It means we can push the line higher which means the midfielders can press much more effectively and if they do get bypassed, you dont have a CB taken out of the game immediately like Otamendi is - so you literally do have an extra man in defence in those counterattack situations.

In possession the higher line means the gap between midfield and defence is smaller so its easier to make passes and retain the ball.

Great distribution means the forwards getting the ball earl, in space- we've all seen the benefits of Laportes diagonal balls out to the wings.

Walker absolutely transformed our defence in 2017 because his pace at the back allowed everything else to slot into place. Koulibaly adds that again, as well as the distribution of Laporte and leadership/experience as well.

The solution to the exposed defence is not to compromise the midfield to protect it, it's just to make the defence stronger.
 
Is he going to speed up our build-up play? No.
Is he going to give us natural width? No.
Is he going to stop us losing possession in midfield? No.
Is he going to prevent us getting outnumbered defensively? No.
Is he going to stop Mo Salah when 1v1? No.
Is he going to stop Sadio Mane when 1v1? No.

He's a brilliant player but the problem isn't solely at CB, the problem is a lack of width, slow build-up play through midfield and getting caught in possession in dangerous areas leading to counter attacks when defenders are 1v1. Koulibaly might stop a few more of those than Garcia but the cause of the problem is still there and as good as he is, he can't stop everything. I feel people are placing way too much emphasise on a CB, rather than solving the underlying issues which are causing our CB's to be exposed.

Is he going to stop us making defensive errors in critical positions? Yes.
Is he going to be a leader to help organise all those around him? Yes.
Is he going to bring years of top level experience and keep a cool head in big games? Yes.
Will he make stupid decisions and jump in like Otamendi leaving a one on one for forwards? No.
Will be pushed off the ball or stumble in possession like Stones? No.
Is he better at CB than a 35 year old converted DM? Yes.
Does he have more recovery pace than any of our current CBs thus reducing the likelihood of a key chance? Yes.
Will he improve our team? Yes.
Is he going to stop Salah or Mane one on one? Why the fuck wouldn't he? I saw Garcia tackle Mane the other day, why won't a world class defender be able to do the same? To say 'No' categorically is nonsense. EDIT - as others have pointed out, he's already done this for Napoli!

You're asking the wrong questions. All those questions basically undermine someone like Kompany. Are you seriously telling me that VK's presence last year in the run in was basically null and void because we weren't having problems in other positions last year? Clearly bollocks. Koulibaly doesn't solve every problem throughout the team (OBVIOUSLY ffs) but he does solve the ones we're having that our specific to CBs. He is better than Stones, Otamendi, Fernandinho and Garcia currently. Probably possibly better than Laporte, if not level. He improves us, and that's all that will matter.
 
Do you honestly think that we don’t need a centre back?
It's not the biggest problem. Us giving possession away cheaply in midfield due to a lack of width is the biggest problem.
I've literally seen him do both
Me too, I've seen Mane and Salah both destroy him.
I still can't believe we are 4 years in to Peps tenure and people think a CB as brilliant on the ball isnt going to improve our build up play, stop us losing possession in midfield and give us width.
It's like you've not been watching at all.
CB isn't the issue, the stats prove it in my opinion. In the 9 games we've lost, we've conceded possession 10 times leading directly or indirectly to goals, 5 of those in central midfield due to a lack of options out wide and 4 more from fullbacks although two of those were in central midfield areas (Cancelo @ Wolves and Zin @ Saints). Only 1 from a CB, Otamendi at Norwich highlighting the issue of a right footed player at LCB, a problem Koulibaly couldn't help.

Norwich 3-2 - Two counter attacks (Rodri and Otamendi caught in possession). One header from set piece.
Wolves 2-0 - Two counter attacks (Cancelo and Rodri caught in possession)
Liverpool 3-1 - Angelino misplaced pass into midfield, Fabinho long range (counter with asterisk due to TAA handball in the build-up). Two good goals (one counter if memory serves me correctly with Sterling losing possession for Salah goal).
Scum 2-1 - Penalty and shit defending (Angelino)
Spurs 2-0 - One counter attack (Gundogan caught in possession) and one poor clearance.
Scum 2-0 - Two Ederson fuck ups.
Chelsea 2-1 - Two counter attacks (Mendy and Zin/KDB caught in possession)
Southampton 1-0 - One counter attack (Zin caught in possession).
 
It's not the biggest problem. Us giving possession away cheaply in midfield due to a lack of width is the biggest problem.

Me too, I've seen Mane and Salah both destroy him.

CB isn't the issue, the stats prove it in my opinion. In the 9 games we've lost, we've conceded possession 10 times leading directly or indirectly to goals, 5 of those in central midfield due to a lack of options out wide and 4 more from fullbacks although two of those were in central midfield areas (Cancelo @ Wolves and Zin @ Saints). Only 1 from a CB, Otamendi at Norwich highlighting the issue of a right footed player at LCB, a problem Koulibaly couldn't help.

Norwich 3-2 - Two counter attacks (Rodri and Otamendi caught in possession). One header from set piece.
Wolves 2-0 - Two counter attacks (Cancelo and Rodri caught in possession)
Liverpool 3-1 - Angelino misplaced pass into midfield, Fabinho long range (counter with asterisk due to TAA handball in the build-up). Two good goals (one counter if memory serves me correctly with Sterling losing possession for Salah goal).
Scum 2-1 - Penalty and shit defending (Angelino)
Spurs 2-0 - One counter attack (Gundogan caught in possession) and one poor clearance.
Scum 2-0 - Two Ederson fuck ups.
Chelsea 2-1 - Two counter attacks (Mendy and Zin/KDB caught in possession)
Southampton 1-0 - One counter attack (Zin caught in possession).
All counter attacks come from someone losing possesion, all midfield players lose psession at some points. We need centre backs that are aware and good enough to cover those counter attacks Koulibaly is, as is Laporte. Simple as that.
 
The underlying issue with our centrebacks is that they aren't good enough.

Nobody is saying we don't also have issues in other areas.
We can do better than Stones and Otamendi absolutely but the bigger problem is how many times they're left exposed and isolated 1v1. No CB in the world is infallible 1v1, a better one might help to some extent but they're all going to get destroyed because of the frequency we allow that situation to happen.
 

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