Lescott And Toure

[citoeast]

Our defence was poor yesterday, 4 goals conceded, but that is down to Hughes, he failed to take the corrective action early enough. Richards was exposed as a lazy not good enough player annd needs replaced. Zabaleta should have come on yesterday for him.

Hughes has not shown he is tactically good enough, yet. Not a Hughes out post I like the man.

Toure and Lescott need time not instant judgement, but I say it again, Lescott is a different style and marginally better than Dunne, not significantly better.

 

[Craig]

Not slagging Lescott and I know it is early days but so far I have not been that impressed with what Ive seen from him.For me we have one the best young centre halfs around sat on the bench.Im not saying Lescott should be dropped and obviously that won't happen anyway.However when he does get his chance I hope he gets a fair one.Also late on in that game when it was backs to the wall I think Ned would have stopped Giggs looking like he was 21 again,and would have had the brains to mark owen.He was awesome at right back against Barca.

 

[Anonymous]

Defensively , as a collective unit , you could point the finger at several players for yesterdays goals conceded ....... we never looked like clearing any of them , and when an opposition midfielder scores two almost copycat headers from the six yard box area you need to ask serious questions about them.

You could accuse Toure for his part , you could also accuse Lescott for his , Richards was all over the place ..... and you might even say that Shay Given really should have commanded his six yard box a bit better , and have come out for the crosses ...... there were also times when it seemed that Gareth Barry was trying to cover for the inept defending on his own.

You might even say that had Richard Dunne been there we might not have conceded at least one of their four goals , but it really is all hypothetical really ....... the simple truth is we HAVE conceded SIX now in the last two games , and it's got to stop ....... Toure or no Toure!

 

[Danish Blue]

So far this season Toure has been excellent and Lescott has been poor. I think that thay are better players than those we had previously and will make a fine partnership in time. That said Kompany may come back and partner Toure. To replace Bridge however would be extremely harsh based on the evidence of the season so far as he has been one of the more consistent players. Richards' defending has been shocking at times, I am truly at a loss as to why he is starting over Zabeleta at present.

At present if all were fit and available then I think the back four should be Zabeleta toure kompany Bridge

no doubt this will change as players come in and out of form.

 

[chedinho]

all it takes is for 1 player to be out of position and other players have to compensate,when the ball is coming back quickly and the opposition are dragging you out of position and you havent played too many games,chaos will follow.they will get better and better as partnerships evolve,a better understanding of eachothers strengths and weaknesses will come.

 

[hertsblue]

The main problems came from set pieces and crosses, not through the middle from open play.

The full backs, both of them, did not stop any crosses all day long, which is thiuer main priority. Very very poor.
It seemed to me also, and i think it was mentioned by a commentator, that we had reverted to zonal marking not man to man. For me thats asking for trouble,as its very hard to pick up players attacking the ball from deep, as was the case for both Fletchers headers.

So far, Given has made 31 saves this seaon in the league, thats not including blocked shots and shots wide, and that is far far higher than any top 4 team. You can point to the defence but i think its a team responsability also.

We need to get tighter, and although it pains me to say it, meet the benchmark Utd layed down for us yesterday where apart from our 3 goals, we didnt really make thier keeper work

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

these guys will prove to be a very good pairing imo...........

Absolutely. Beginning of the '50s it took Dave Ewing a few matches to get Franco Baresi upto speed. After that . . . . . . . . . . well! Springboard for the late 60s. Don't think we'll have to wait that long though with KoloMint and Joleoninho.

 

[boston blue]

Both of Fletchers goals where down to zone marking leaveing the defender flat footed where the attacker has the momentam and the leap. I prefer man to man.

Lescott and Toure will get better as a pairing the more they play.

Im not against richards and dont think we should sell him but his positional play is poor and now ned is back fit that would be my choice at right back.

 

[bookiesgirl]

both defences were bad yesterday so i dont know why citys defence is getting so much stick, if you look at the league table united have conceded the same amount as us six goals.

 

[yerwot?]

fletchers goals were straight from the training ground. decoys to the near post ,drag the markers with them,fletcher arrives in the gap.Will take a few more games before the defence can act as a unit to stop it happening again. MH/Bowen can only do so much from the touchline,when players panic and lose possession ,chase shadows etc is all part of being a team still in the process of settling into a style and a rhythm ,Lescott and Toure will help it happen quicker.