Kalidou Koulibaly

[dickie davies]

You value a player on a crappy performance not a great one
IMHO, he's no step up from what we already have

 

[CenturyClub]

I think that's unfair. Napoli gave it a good go and played some decent stuff. Koulibaly just stuck out as their worst player by far. It's not like he played his part in a collectively shit performance, he was just flat out awful in an otherwise even game.

If you came from Mars and watched the game, you'd say they look half-decent but have a really dodgy centre half, unfortunately for us.

Are defenders allowed to have bad games?

I seem to recall Van Dijk having a poor game at the Camp Nou last season.

 

[Gabriel]

I think that's unfair. Napoli gave it a good go and played some decent stuff. Koulibaly just stuck out as their worst player by far. It's not like he played his part in a collectively shit performance, he was just flat out awful in an otherwise even game.

If you came from Mars and watched the game, you'd say they look half-decent but have a really dodgy centre half, unfortunately for us.

Napoli have been a deteriorating side all season and that performance was likely the last hurrah before a rebuild. Koulibaly, like many other Napoli players, had a poor individual game. Worst? No. Demme didn't impress at all(hooked at the break) and Zielinski kept making the wrong decisions. Indeed, Napoli's midfield were absent for large chunks of the game, forcing Mertens and Insigne to drop ever deeper for the ball and giving the defence no out ball. If he was so calamitous, it's a surprise that Gattuso never hooked him, too.

Everyone here was focussing on Koulibaly, so any mistake he made has simply been magnified.

 

[TCIB]

The bloke may be better than tonights showing but talk of 80mil etc, no chance, not a chance we should be even entertaining that or anything close. De Laurentis can take a long walk of a short pier if he is thinking of getting anything like that amount for him. You pay that much for a 22yo world class talent who is proven, not a 29yo who is arguably on a decline of some sort. or at least not playing that great currently for whatever reason.

The major sticking point i think is De Laurentis, he is tight as a gnats arse and will be demanding stupid money. Italian clubs are notorious for not wanting to pay but have every other bugger pay through the nose, De Laurentis being one of the worst for it.

I have not seen anything of him really but can only go of what i do see, not "he was good then in such and such a system". If we still want him, fair enough but if we pay silly money we will be absolute mugs.

Players can drop off a cliff, Sanchez last season at Arsenal should have been a big warning to Utd but they were stupid as stupid gets, the blokes explosive speed went and thus his main attribute that allowed him to be good in the prem. Rooney was totally done at 27. We should be very aware this fella could be on more than a bad run of form. We want someone with buckets of energy, not a player on the slide who has to "manage" his performances.

 

[come-on-barney]

Ok devils advocate etc. A few howlers and slack passes but for a centre half, his technical ability on the ball was clear. His height and physical strength looks impressive (except his fall following collision with team mate).
My concerns would be;
Price, for this price we'd want Rolls Royce quality.
His shear build reminds me of Yaya's, possible free-fall drop off with age. He wont be no Ryan Gigs.
Although he has obvious technical skills, he looks ungainly, with Mendy like attributes, which concerns me against the very best as does Mendy.
My knowledge of European football is limited but surely there is someone younger with potential leadership qualities out there for the sort of money we are talking about. I would take Leicesters centre half and I don't mean Jonny Evans, over Koulibaly, but wtf do I know.

Söyüncü - Barca interested now.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Mate, if he playing at a relaxed pace in the champs league against Barcelona, how the feck will he motivate himself for Leeds on a Wednesday night?

Besides is that the right sort attitude for a team like City?


I'm seriously starting to worry about this guys potential.

He's playing in a team he should already have left. They were a mess.

We have actually seen it many times in the past, when we were a mess, with players who have left City.

I don't believe we will sign him tbh but I hope we do.

 

[Gabriel]

The only problem I see with Koulibaly, is the lack of a pre season. He needs properly indoctrinating into City's methods. He is playing at a relaxed pace at the moment.

But we won't be paying their top price for him irrespective.

I'd agree with that. Looks to me as if he could do with a 4-5 weeks to get up to speed both with the system and the different pace of the game. I imagine the plan must have been to have Garcia and Laporte see us through until he was ready, so presumably, now, Fernandinho/Ake/Laporte will have to rotate until October.

 

[Tevez City]

 

[Gabriel]

Did he not play in the second half?

 

[JoshH7611]

Alot of you have a go at Harry Maguire on here by the sounds of it, but he was Pep's choice last season and he's one of the most solid defenders around regardless of the criticism on here. Yet, because he plays for United there's so many on here slating him.

He's definitely improved United defensively and is a leader from the back. Pep knows exactly what he is doing, make no mistakes about it.