Kalidou Koulibaly

twosips said:
He's not nearly 30. He turned 29 at the end of June. He won't be 30 until we're playing the 21/22 season.

Look at this way.
20/21 - 29 all season
21/22 - 30 all season
22/23 - 31 all season
23/24 - 32 all season
24/25 - 33 all season
25/26 - 34 all season

Terry was 35 and starting regularly for Chelsea. Vinnie left at 33 (and we all know that was because of injuries really and Anderlecht's draw, not cos he wasn't good enough still). Ramos is 34 and still key for Real Madrid. Ferdinand left United at 34 etc etc.

It's genuinely reasonable to presume that as long KK has no severe injuries, he's got 4/5 seasons at a very high level left. Defenders are very fit these days and can play into their early mid 30s no problem.
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Maybe he'll turn out to be a good buy (if we complete the move for him). I didn't watch the ECL match where he wasn't the best, but the Prem is not the same as Serie A which has a slower pace and is arguably easier for defenders to be able to read the game.
The bottom line is that it is Pep and Cheeky's decision so I'm sure they have done their homework on the lad. I, on the other hand am just a football kfa who hopes that whatever decision comes to fruition, it is the right one.
 
kaz7 said:
We let in two more than their brilliant defence
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eastmanc said:
You tell them Kaz, I have been going on about to anyone that will listen.
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I like to take the piss out of the dippers as much as anyone, and I have definitely wound them up about our defences being so close at the end, but the fact is that when it mattered, they had a much, much better defence.

They let in 15 goals in the first 26 games of the season (we'd let in 29) and built up a 22 point lead.

Yes, they let in 18 in the next 12 (compared to our 6) but it didn't matter, the league was over, they had won the only thing they set out to win.

This is a lot like the goals debate. Yes we scored more goals overall, but at the vital moments, 0-0 and 1-0, were we as clinical in front of goal as them? No.
 
adeinchessy said:
if he's as good as Upamecano was last night he'll be worth it. He looks tailor-made for Pep
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People need to calm down a bit about this hype – so reactionary over one good game. I can probably count the number of times Upamecano played against top teams/forwards on one hand. Koulibaly, along with Chiellini and Bonucci, have been the best centrebacks in Italy over the past five years and played at the highest level in UCL for many years.

Upamecano looks exciting but Koulibaly is complete and I can’t see him declining already. He has at least 3-4 years on top top level, perhaps even more. Upamecano could turn out a Maldini or a John Stones, either way it’s taking a chance and we need experience.
 
It doesn't actually matter how many goals we let in over a season, so long as we're not stupid about it.

What does matter, is when we let them in, within context of the game we are playing.

If a 29 year old, fast, cb can make the difference of us not conceding 1 goal, at the crucially wrong time, particularly when we are bossing games, we will win most of the games we lose ir draw.

That's all Vinny did. He didn't play ten times better than Stones or Otamendi, he was just a bit better, often.
 
Neville Kneville said:
It doesn't actually matter how many goals we let in over a season, so long as we're not stupid about it.

What does matter, is when we let them in, within context of the game we are playing.

If a 29 year old, fast, cb can make the difference of us not conceding 1 goal, at the crucially wrong time, particularly when we are bossing games, we will win most of the games we lose ir draw.

That's all Vinny did. He didn't play ten times better than Stones or Otamendi, he was just a bit better, often.
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Fast is good, but concentration, awareness, and stepping up in high pressure moments are what Vinny had that Stones doesn't.
 
blueparrot said:
Fast is good, but concentration, awareness, and stepping up in high pressure moments are what Vinny had that Stones doesn't.
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Fast is most important if you have equality in the other attributes of cb play, compared to the alternatives.

I don't see any consistent perfection in any of the other likely signing candidates, nor in Van Dijk for that matter. There is no certainty that the new toy, Upmecano, would be more reliable in that aspect, over a full season.

Van Dijk tends to lurk around sweeping up, when the others fail & using his size & pace to stop danger. Vinny tended to do similar, by using his physique, brain & the dark arts. He would have stopped Traore the other night, long before he started his run & I believe a fully focussed Koulibaly would too.
 
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blueparrot said:
Fast is good, but concentration, awareness, and stepping up in high pressure moments are what Vinny had that Stones doesn't.
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Also nor especially does Laporte.

Van Dijk is no Kompany, when the shit hits the fan. But, like Laporte, he does possess the ability to minimise the amount of shit, thrown at the fan, in the first place.

A player who can use his pace & experience, to cover for Laporte (or Stones) would win us a lot of games, just by tidying up, which is what Van Dijk mostly does, next to an inferior partner.
 
Neville Kneville said:
It doesn't actually matter how many goals we let in over a season, so long as we're not stupid about it.

What does matter, is when we let them in, within context of the game we are playing.

If a 29 year old, fast, cb can make the difference of us not conceding 1 goal, at the crucially wrong time, particularly when we are bossing games, we will win most of the games we lose ir draw.

That's all Vinny did. He didn't play ten times better than Stones or Otamendi, he was just a bit better, often.
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And he had a calming presence. I know I keep banging on about this but when you look at the goals we concede it is absurd how often they follow the front 3 missing huge chances and everyone starting to panic that it might be one of those days. You can literally see it in the players.

In the back end of 18/19, Vinny just kept everyone calm. We won loads of games with just 1 goal, and if you look at the times of the goals, loads of them are 50-70 minutes. Without Kompany it feels like the players panic if we're not up within 35 minutes, especially in these 100 point title races.
 
eastmanc said:
You tell them Kaz, I have been going on about to anyone that will listen.
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Wow, as a ardent City fan even I’ve been conditioned to think our defense is trash but this statistic has shocked me. Is there some other statistic everyone goes by that shows we are way worse? Legit question there, I’m just truly surprised by that stat!
 
domalino said:
I like to take the piss out of the dippers as much as anyone, and I have definitely wound them up about our defences being so close at the end, but the fact is that when it mattered, they had a much, much better defence.

They let in 15 goals in the first 26 games of the season (we'd let in 29) and built up a 22 point lead.

Yes, they let in 18 in the next 12 (compared to our 6) but it didn't matter, the league was over, they had won the only thing they set out to win.

This is a lot like the goals debate. Yes we scored more goals overall, but at the vital moments, 0-0 and 1-0, were we as clinical in front of goal as them? No.
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I spoke too soon it appears. Thanks for clarifying.
 
domalino said:
And he had a calming presence. I know I keep banging on about this but when you look at the goals we concede it is absurd how often they follow the front 3 missing huge chances and everyone starting to panic that it might be one of those days. You can literally see it in the players.

In the back end of 18/19, Vinny just kept everyone calm. We won loads of games with just 1 goal, and if you look at the times of the goals, loads of them are 50-70 minutes. Without Kompany it feels like the players panic if we're not up within 35 minutes, especially in these 100 point title races.
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I mentioned the other day, that imo when we lose possession currently, it is often a defensive mistake, because we actually defend by having the ball. As soon as we lose it, anywhere on the pitch, we are in potential danger unless we quickly get ot back. A long hoof down the centre, is clear danger to us. A ball down the channel, we are all stood trying to play kamikaze offside rather than running with the danger as VK would do.

A unit with pace, like Koulibaly, could tidy up most of those situations.

I don't actually care if it's him or soneone else, but if we do sign him, I think we are signing the closest to a 'sure thing' from the available options.

That doesn't mean he will be, all are gambles, but I'd be seriously shocked if he didn't improve our defence.
 
Neville Kneville said:
We need to get our act together with that kind of stuff, in the future.

I'm pretty sure we allowed the manager to choose inferior defensive options when we had Denayer & Van Dijk, on a plate.
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The Denayer new contract and being told he would play, only to sign it and be loaned out with Demichelis having his squad place still stings to do this day. Denayer should have been a perfect Guardiola centre back in every way. We fucked his progression up big time
 
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