He might be great for Napoli but he might not be too clever here
That's simply not true, if Koulibaly fails, it doesn't mean every other CB will fail. That's such a fucking stupid thing to say, ignorant in the extreme.He's rapid, great on the ball, vastly experienced, a leader and above all, bloody good defensively.
If Koulibaly fails here, any other CB would also fail and it will be indicative of failings/issues outside of the player base.
He's essentially everything that we need right now in a CB packaged together.
That's simply not true, if Koulibaly fails, it doesn't mean every other CB will fail. That's such a fucking stupid thing to say, ignorant in the extreme.
City games points dropped without scoring, when conceding 1 goal or less= 3 points loss in 38 games.
0-1 at Southampton.
Other losses without scoring:
O-2 Wolves
0-2 Spurs
0-2 Utd
So we would have needed 3 goals in each game, to win, or 2 for a point.
City points from 1-0 wins=
Sheff U & Leicester= 6 points.
Liverpool points from 1-0 wins= 15.
City points dropped when scoring 1 goal= 9
Liverpool 1-3 = 4 goals needed for win.
Utd 1-2 = 3 goals needed for a win.
Chelsea 1-2= 3 goals needed for a win (end of season).
City, points dropped when scoring 2 or more goals= 12
Spurs 2-2 = 3 goals needed for a win
Newcastle 2-2 = 3 goals needed for a win
Norwich 2-3 = 4 goals needed for a win
Wolves 2-3 = 4 goals needed for a win
Palace 2-2= 3 goals needed for a win
Liverpool points dropped scoring 2 goals =0.
FA Cup semi final= 3 goals needed for a win
Champions League q final= 4 goals needed for a win.
Can we get rid of this idea, that our defending isn't the main problem ?
He's rapid, great on the ball, vastly experienced, a leader and above all, bloody good defensively.
If Koulibaly fails here, any other CB would also likely fail and it will be indicative of failings/issues outside of the player base.
He's essentially everything that we need right now in a CB packaged together. Yes he's expensive and a bit older than we ideally would like, but he's the best option for us right now.
Ok fair enough. What people do when watching players from other teams is they tend to forget all the small mistakes they make. Or not even noticing them unless they results in a goal. Koulibaly has done loads of tiny mistakes this season, some resulting in goals and some that doesn't. If he would've done those mistakes here peoples patience with him would run out fast.I've probably seen him play 15/20 games seen some rough 1s like against Barcelona the other week but I've seen some very good 1s especially against the likes of Salah & Mbappe. He's a good player and better than any of our others CBs bar Laporte but who knows he may even become better than him.
In your opinion, it doesn't make it true.I mean it from a systematic POV. Koulibaly is the most rounded CB we could possibly (and realistically) buy in the market right now.
If he can't cut it in our system, it's very likely that any other CB we could buy this summer wouldn't be able to do it either and it's a sign that other changes need making.
Would surprise me in the end since Napoli are not easy partners to negotiate with but he'd be an excellent signing
he’s lost form after his injury , been bang average last year. And he plays on the left of a 2 at Napoli ,we already have ake and laporte.
this is a signing we should of made 2 years ago not now when he’s career is going down hill ..
we should be going all out for
Upamecano
You seem hell bent on not accepting KK and using tiny mistakes as a barometer by which you measure. You have also nailed your colours to the mast by saying Stones is much better. Should we take from your assertions that Stones makes very few mistakes in comparison?Ok fair enough. What people do when watching players from other teams is they tend to forget all the small mistakes they make. Or not even noticing them unless they results in a goal. Koulibaly has done loads of tiny mistakes this season, some resulting in goals and some that doesn't. If he would've done those mistakes here peoples patience with him would run out fast.
Spot on mate, well putJesus I don’t know where to start...
1. Napoli fans never said he’s been bang average this season. He just haven’t played his best. If you want bang average, watch Stones or Otamendi play.
2. He is right footed. If he played most of his games well on left side on a right foot, I can only imagine he would improve moving to the ’correct side’ given his dominant foot.
3. Can you imagine the price we’d have to pay for a 26-27 year old Koulibaly in a normal market and with that Napoli president? I doubt 120 million euros would’ve been enough a few years ago. At the very least 100m.
4. How many games did you watch Upamecano? Isn’t this year his first year in the Champions League? You’re willing to splash the big cash on an unproven CB just because you want something younger? He could might as well be a young Otamendi for all we know. We can’t afford any more mistakes buying a CB. 55m on Stones was enough of an expensive mistake.
One good game against Atletico doesn’t make him a better pick than Kouli. That’s just reactionary, and based on feelings.
Equally spending more money on Koulibaly or whoever doesn't mean he's necessarily a better pick than anyone else. It's just about lowering the risk, Koulibaly is high risk because it's hit or miss, you ain't selling him on if it goes wrong. Upamecano is high risk too but at least there's a chance of recovering some money if it goes wrong due to his age and reinvesting it on another CB, much like we'll probably end up doing with Stones now.Jesus I don’t know where to start...
1. Napoli fans never said he’s been bang average this season. He just haven’t played his best. If you want bang average, watch Stones or Otamendi play.
2. He is right footed. If he played most of his games well on left side on a right foot, I can only imagine he would improve moving to the ’correct side’ given his dominant foot.
3. Can you imagine the price we’d have to pay for a 26-27 year old Koulibaly in a normal market and with that Napoli president? I doubt 120 million euros would’ve been enough a few years ago. At the very least 100m.
4. How many games did you watch Upamecano? Isn’t this year his first year in the Champions League? You’re willing to splash the big cash on an unproven CB just because you want something younger? He could might as well be a young Otamendi for all we know. We can’t afford any more mistakes buying a CB. 55m on Stones was enough of an expensive mistake.
One good game against Atletico doesn’t make him a better pick than Kouli. That’s just reactionary, and based on feelings.
Equally spending more money on Koulibaly or whoever doesn't mean he's necessarily a better pick than anyone else. It's just about lowering the risk, Koulibaly is high risk because it's hit or miss, you ain't selling him on if it goes wrong. Upamecano is high risk too but at least there's a chance of recovering some money if it goes wrong due to his age and reinvesting it on another CB, much like we'll probably end up doing with Stones now.
A younger player simply gives us more opportunities if it goes wrong, edging your bets as such.
Experience is important but it's not the be-all and end-all, it doesn't guarantee success. We could very easily have gone for more experienced players when we bought Kompany, Silva and Aguero 10 years ago, just saying.Upamecano might have a higher ceiling than Koulibaly but we want success right now and experience matters. Pep is likely to stay for 2-3 seasons and the club has to give him the chance to compete with the best by securing a top ready-made CB to partner Laporte and a top striker to replace Aguero. Maybe we will need also a midfielder to improve on Gundy's energy and physicality.
Last season we failed to replace Kompany which coupled with Laporte's injury undermined our quest for another great season. Back Pep as much as possible this transfer window and watch us compete much better next season.
I have no clue how you come to these conclusions mate. This is the second time I'm telling this directly to you, I don't think Koulibaly will be a huge upgrade on Stones. I think he'll be a small short term upgrade but I'm not convinced he'll be a long term solution. If we buy him for 70m this season and he isn't a disaster we won't buy another big name centre back for at least a couple of seasons, and I fear that might hurt us more.You seem hell bent on not accepting KK and using tiny mistakes as a barometer by which you measure. You have also nailed your colours to the mast by saying Stones is much better. Should we take from your assertions that Stones makes very few mistakes in comparison?