ErnieBilko
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- Joined
- 13 Aug 2011
- Messages
- 292
He has been excellent recently. Well done Martin.
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Martin Demichelis (continued)
- Thread starter BringBackSwales
- Start date
foetus
Well-Known Member
Watching the extended highlights on the OS. His reaction (about 2.55 in) to the first goal is great. All the players reactions were great!
The kind of cool head we need going into the last 3 matches.
The kind of cool head we need going into the last 3 matches.
Blue Til Death
Well-Known Member
I have slagged him off this season, at the moment though he is making me choke on a massive slice of humble pie, keep up the good performances MD, happy to keep on choking until the end of the season.
shinpads
Well-Known Member
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...nchester-City-closer-to-the-league-title.html
From liability to reliability, Martín Demichelis could be man to edge Manchester City closer to the league title
Manuel Pellegrini kept his faith in Argentine and defender has responded with some recent impressive displays, most notably at Palace, hint at the right decision
There was a spell over February and March when it looked like Manuel Pellegrini’s trust (some would say blind trust) in Martín Demichelis might prove extremely costly for Manchester City.
The player Pellegrini knew so well from their early days together at River Plate, and latterly with Málaga, kept making mistakes at the heart of City’s defence.
There was the penalty he conceded against Barcelona in the Champions League when his last-ditch tackle on Lionel Messi led to his sending off.
Following that, a mix-up with Vincent Kompany allowed Sunderland’s Fabio Borini to sweep home the opener in the Capital One Cup final.
And then there was the poor display in the FA Cup quarter-final against Wigan Athletic which included another clumsy challenge to gift a penalty.
Demichelis, in short, did not look up to the job. It was difficult to understand why, with Joleon Lescott available, Pellegrini kept picking a 33-year-old defender clearly past his best.
But then something happened which seemed to coincide with Kompany’s dismissal at Hull City. With the captain suspended, Demichelis stepped forward to look a lot better in a goalscoring performance against Fulham. More importantly, a centre-half who did not look comfortable next to Kompany settled into a groove when the Belgian returned.
The Argentine, in truth, has not looked back since. Granted, he might not represent the perfect answer in that area of the pitch, what with his lack of pace and occasional positional lapses, but he has definitely improved over the last few weeks to the point that he is no longer seen as City’s Achilles’ heel.
As it is, a player signed from Atlético Madrid for £4.2 million last September could now prominently figure in a glorious climax. That became possible, of course, following Liverpool’s defeat to Chelsea which City exploited to the full with a comfortable win over Crystal Palace.
And during the course of the 2-0 victory at Selhurst Park, Demichelis played with the confidence of a man much happier with his game, as if he knew he had survived the storm and come out the other side in much better nick.
Finally, we are seeing the qualities of a player who won the Bundesliga title four times with Bayern Munich, the player deemed good enough to start the Champions League final for the German giants against Inter Milan in 2010.
His days representing Argentina might be a thing of the past but Demichelis, it seems, still has some fuel left in the tank.
You could see that in the way he shackled Cameron Jerome and Marouane Chamakh through a blend of anticipation and quick reactions.
For a defender who loves to get tight, he nipped in front of his man more than once to steal the ball. This habit has got him into trouble in the past, when an opponent has seen the challenge coming and rolled his marker to either skip away or draw the foul.
No such errors of judgment here, though, even if he did occasionally get caught in possession after wandering forward.
But for all his failings in the past, you never doubted the heart and fighting spirit of this pony-tailed warrior. Demichelis does not give up, he keeps going till the end, an attribute City know only too well.
Pellegrini, meanwhile, must feel relieved that Demichelis has settled down after so many mishaps. The Chilean, after all, can ill-afford any slip-ups in the final three games that could define his stint in Manchester.
Win the Premier League and Pellegrini’s appointment can be justified. Blow it from here and question marks will inevitably arise.
One of them, perhaps, could centre on Demichelis. Why did the manager sign a veteran to join a team of this class?
Alternatively, that decision may be viewed in hindsight as a shrewd move.
From liability to reliability, Martín Demichelis could be man to edge Manchester City closer to the league title
Manuel Pellegrini kept his faith in Argentine and defender has responded with some recent impressive displays, most notably at Palace, hint at the right decision
There was a spell over February and March when it looked like Manuel Pellegrini’s trust (some would say blind trust) in Martín Demichelis might prove extremely costly for Manchester City.
The player Pellegrini knew so well from their early days together at River Plate, and latterly with Málaga, kept making mistakes at the heart of City’s defence.
There was the penalty he conceded against Barcelona in the Champions League when his last-ditch tackle on Lionel Messi led to his sending off.
Following that, a mix-up with Vincent Kompany allowed Sunderland’s Fabio Borini to sweep home the opener in the Capital One Cup final.
And then there was the poor display in the FA Cup quarter-final against Wigan Athletic which included another clumsy challenge to gift a penalty.
Demichelis, in short, did not look up to the job. It was difficult to understand why, with Joleon Lescott available, Pellegrini kept picking a 33-year-old defender clearly past his best.
But then something happened which seemed to coincide with Kompany’s dismissal at Hull City. With the captain suspended, Demichelis stepped forward to look a lot better in a goalscoring performance against Fulham. More importantly, a centre-half who did not look comfortable next to Kompany settled into a groove when the Belgian returned.
The Argentine, in truth, has not looked back since. Granted, he might not represent the perfect answer in that area of the pitch, what with his lack of pace and occasional positional lapses, but he has definitely improved over the last few weeks to the point that he is no longer seen as City’s Achilles’ heel.
As it is, a player signed from Atlético Madrid for £4.2 million last September could now prominently figure in a glorious climax. That became possible, of course, following Liverpool’s defeat to Chelsea which City exploited to the full with a comfortable win over Crystal Palace.
And during the course of the 2-0 victory at Selhurst Park, Demichelis played with the confidence of a man much happier with his game, as if he knew he had survived the storm and come out the other side in much better nick.
Finally, we are seeing the qualities of a player who won the Bundesliga title four times with Bayern Munich, the player deemed good enough to start the Champions League final for the German giants against Inter Milan in 2010.
His days representing Argentina might be a thing of the past but Demichelis, it seems, still has some fuel left in the tank.
You could see that in the way he shackled Cameron Jerome and Marouane Chamakh through a blend of anticipation and quick reactions.
For a defender who loves to get tight, he nipped in front of his man more than once to steal the ball. This habit has got him into trouble in the past, when an opponent has seen the challenge coming and rolled his marker to either skip away or draw the foul.
No such errors of judgment here, though, even if he did occasionally get caught in possession after wandering forward.
But for all his failings in the past, you never doubted the heart and fighting spirit of this pony-tailed warrior. Demichelis does not give up, he keeps going till the end, an attribute City know only too well.
Pellegrini, meanwhile, must feel relieved that Demichelis has settled down after so many mishaps. The Chilean, after all, can ill-afford any slip-ups in the final three games that could define his stint in Manchester.
Win the Premier League and Pellegrini’s appointment can be justified. Blow it from here and question marks will inevitably arise.
One of them, perhaps, could centre on Demichelis. Why did the manager sign a veteran to join a team of this class?
Alternatively, that decision may be viewed in hindsight as a shrewd move.
john@staustell
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 21 Dec 2009
- Messages
- 1,784
Excellent again, even better once he took the scrunchy off.
supercity88
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- Joined
- 9 Aug 2009
- Messages
- 14,066
He was fantastic again yesterday - made one or two mistakes but made up for them himself. He is actually our best defender in terms of high pressing - he knows better than Kompany when to attack the ball and when to stand the player up. Kompany at times seems so determined to win the ball he dives in and over commits - Jerome stood him off well at times yesterday - obviously no doubt how talented Kompany is - just needs to show a bit more of a cooler head at times and Demichelis is a good player to learn from because despite much of the criticisms - he has shown he is an accomplished defender. Need the two of them to maintain solidarity in our final three games.
A
A
Anonymous
Guest
Thought he was outstanding again yesterday. Hope he keeps it up!
SamCity123
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 17 Apr 2011
- Messages
- 428
Time for a song for our cult hero?
Ohhh Demichelis
He's an Argie
Plays centre back
He's got a pony tail
And he breaks up the attacks
He doesn't take no messing
And he gives strikers no slack
To the old Balotelli tune which we all love so much...not my best.
Ohhh Demichelis
He's an Argie
Plays centre back
He's got a pony tail
And he breaks up the attacks
He doesn't take no messing
And he gives strikers no slack
To the old Balotelli tune which we all love so much...not my best.
york away to this!
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 23 Jul 2009
- Messages
- 10,745
strongbowholic said:Thought he was outstanding again yesterday. Hope he keeps it up!
the hair?
Me too, I thought he looked just awful when he let it down... just SOOOOO greasy!