Mehdi Benatia

[Mancitybluemoon1]

Mangala has agreed terms with City?

I think Mangala terms must have been agreed a while ago but he was waiting to see if he got any other options...Benatia has agreed terms and wants to join City.....

Or he's just trying to concentrate on a world cup quarter final tonight.

Fact is, we don't know which it is, but I do know 'player still won't decide on future until world cup is over' won't sell a paper. 'City target keen on Chelsea move' sells the paper to two audiences. So which story do you think our beloved journalists prefer?

I agree....I don't think we really know which player is our 1st option.....I read a report today saying we have opened talks with Mangala because Roma wont drop the asking price of 40mil euros.....which makes me think Benatia is now the main target....

 

[Mancitybluemoon1]

City ‘reflect on Benatia’
By Football Italia staff

Manchester City are seen as ‘reflecting’ on Roma’s apparent demands in negotiations for Mehdi Benatia.

The Premier League have been reported in recent days as having entered into talks with the Giallorossi over a deal for the 27-year-old.

Reports are that Manuel Pellegrini’s side have come in with an offer worth €35m for the Morocco international, or an payment of €25m and the inclusion of Matija Nastasic, but that sporting director Walter Sabatini is holding out for €40m.

The latest indications from Italy are that City are taking a period of time to ‘reflect’ on the situation, and possibly probe the ground for apparent alternative option, Porto’s Eliaquim Mangala.

Meanwhile, La Repubblica lead claims today that Roma are decided on a replacement for Benatia, in the form of River Plate’s Colombia international, Eder Alvarez Balanta.

 

[eversince 76]

It appears that City have been monitoring Mangala for some considderable time. And as we all know, buying players without knowing a lot about them and their development often turns out in to a misfit (and we have had many since the Shinawatra-area). Ever since Txiki took over, it seems we get good players for good value. Somehow he and his staff feel Mangala to be the best option to play alongside Kompany, rotating with Nastasic and has a few more years to further develop himself.

Benatia has had two great seasons with Udinese and Roma, but it was his performances with Roma that got him in the picture. City may be convinced about him, Í get the feeling it's Mangala they prefer. And as he plays for Marocco, he will be off to the African Cup in Januari.

As for all this "he wants to go to Chelsea"-rubbish. I'm sure he was quoted prefering Chelsea because it was beased in London. i don't know the context in which it was mentioned, but obviously the media makes a big issue out of this to keep the pages filled. I've never read Chelsea were actually interested in him and so far they are making no noises as well.

There's not much between both players, so iether one coming in would sue me as we do need another leftfooted CB to rotate with Nastasic. May the best play the important games. Both will get to 25plus.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

For some reason, the bold didn't show up on my phone last night. My apologies.

As you have said, "complete bullshit". I am wrong. You may as well write "end of" at the end of the post. After all, what you say is an indubitable fact. Thus, you do not need to justify your point of view.

You offered no counter argument at all. What are his strengths? His tacklimg outside the box? His pace? Anticipation? At least provide a counter argument and debate like an adult.

I am not saying he is poor, I am just making the case, NB like an adult, that he is not good enough. I am not comparing him to Nick Fenton or Spencer Prior. I am simply making a claim that he is not, at the moment, good enough to start for us. Many players are good but not good enough for us.

If you are suggesting Nastasic's "anticipation" as you call it isn't up to scratch, I can only assume you're either on heavy drugs, or have not watched him play. He's one of the best readers of the game in Europe, and outrageously gifted at it for his age.

He's not naturally an aggressive front foot defender so he didn't really suit our style of play last season, but he's a very talented player. I think he was our best player the season before last (possibly second after Zabba). If you don't rate him, watch the semi final against Chelsea, he was outstanding.

Nastasic has the potential to be out standing. He is special. Nastasic has on more than one occasion outstanding. Savic who is so far behind Nasti it's unreal yet hs still a top series A defender. Nastasic should not be allowed to leave City, let alone at 21..

Savic could have easily come good at City, he showed some promise yet people got on his back from practically his first appearance. He had a great game against Bayern at home in the CL. Nastasic is good aswell, but he's not so good we shouldn't swap him for Mehdi.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

Ughhh its ridiculous how we're apparently 'holding out' for Mangala, let him fuck off to Chelsea because he's absolutely fucking wank ! Sign Benatia who is 10 times better and you know, actually wants to play for City.

I take it you've come to that conclusion through intensive viewing of his performances and by listening to the press?

Must be absolutely fucking wank if the top 2 clubs in the country are after him

Have you watched him play ? He's Micah Richards at CB with a £40 million price tag.

 

[jimbopm]

If you are suggesting Nastasic's "anticipation" as you call it isn't up to scratch, I can only assume you're either on heavy drugs, or have not watched him play. He's one of the best readers of the game in Europe, and outrageously gifted at it for his age.

He's not naturally an aggressive front foot defender so he didn't really suit our style of play last season, but he's a very talented player. I think he was our best player the season before last (possibly second after Zabba). If you don't rate him, watch the semi final against Chelsea, he was outstanding.

Nastasic has the potential to be out standing. He is special. Nastasic has on more than one occasion outstanding. Savic who is so far behind Nasti it's unreal yet hs still a top series A defender. Nastasic should not be allowed to leave City, let alone at 21..

Savic could have easily come good at City, he showed some promise yet people got on his back from practically his first appearance. He had a great game against Bayern at home in the CL. Nastasic is good aswell, but he's not so good we shouldn't swap him for Mehdi.

Nasti was one of the bright spots in our 2012/13 campaign. It would be unfair to write him off after an injury plagued second season. He's still young, learning and could be a real gem. Keep him I say.

 

[Thaksinssoldier]

People keep going on about Nasty. He's not made for Pellers system, thats the harsh truth of it. Looks great with a Barry or Nige in front of him, but Pellers wants our centre half pairing joining up with the attacking midfielders more and more. This is why MDM got the nod ahead of Nasty, and its why we're in the market for a ball playing defender.

 

[Shaelumstash]

I think Mangala terms must have been agreed a while ago but he was waiting to see if he got any other options...Benatia has agreed terms and wants to join City.....

Or he's just trying to concentrate on a world cup quarter final tonight.

Fact is, we don't know which it is, but I do know 'player still won't decide on future until world cup is over' won't sell a paper. 'City target keen on Chelsea move' sells the paper to two audiences. So which story do you think our beloved journalists prefer?

I agree....I don't think we really know which player is our 1st option.....I read a report today saying we have opened talks with Mangala because Roma wont drop the asking price of 40mil euros.....which makes me think Benatia is now the main target....

I think this is spot on. In any negotiation, the person you are buying from should know that you have alternatives, as it strengthens your hand. If we have agreed personal terms with Benatia, it seems obvious that he is a serious target. If Roma are asking for silly money (40m) and we leak to the press that we've agreed 30m for Mangala, it pushes Roma in to thinking they might have to drop the price or we'll take our money elsewhere.

At least I hope that's true. From the little I've seen of the two I think Benatia is by far the better player. Mangala looks like an accident waiting to happen to me. Looks clumsy and awkward on the ball. I'm always reluctant when the biggest attributes people talk of are physical ones. Yes he's strong and big and quick, but so was Ismael Miller. Doesn't make him a good footballer. I think Mangala looks like a Chris Samba, whereas Benatia looks like another Vincent Kompany. I know which one I'd prefer!

 

[Manc in London]

If you are suggesting Nastasic's "anticipation" as you call it isn't up to scratch, I can only assume you're either on heavy drugs, or have not watched him play. He's one of the best readers of the game in Europe, and outrageously gifted at it for his age.

He's not naturally an aggressive front foot defender so he didn't really suit our style of play last season, but he's a very talented player. I think he was our best player the season before last (possibly second after Zabba). If you don't rate him, watch the semi final against Chelsea, he was outstanding.

Not a heavy drug user but I am a season ticket holder. However, I do appreciate your kind comments. I will keep it more simple: if you disagree with me, I will just accept that you have a different opinion.

I will state again, I do not believe Nastasic is rubbish, terrible, chronic, useless etc.. My opinion is that he is not good enough for us. That may be partially be explained by the point raised by yourself and Thaksinsoldier, in that he doesn't quite suit the way we play. In my opinion, we get players who can do the best job within the system we play.

I wasn't making a comment about his ability to anticipate. I was simply trying to get the previous poster to discuss the issue sensibly by discussing Nastasic's skills and abilities. Maybe you should have read my post.

I'll be honest, I cannot even remember his performance in the semi against Chelsea as I only watched the game once, with the gods in Block 532, and I spent the last 30 or mins or so with my eyes closed thinking that we, including Milner, looked like we were shattered and were going to throw away the game. I had also had a 'few'.

His anticipation, in my eyes, appears to be good for a player his age. It was helped by our style iof play in 2012/13. We did not appear to attack in the same numbers as we had done for much of the previous season. It is easier to for defenders to anticipate correctly when the team are playing fairly cautiously. For me, anticipation is one element of decision-making. Nastasic's decision making is not one of his overall strengths. You only have to look at the needless fouls he committed in dangerous areas. On a number of occasions he has been lucky to not give a penalty away.

I would disagree that Nastasic is one of the best readers of the game in Europe. Lescott is a better reader of the game and Joleon is far from being one of the best readers of the game in Europe.

 

[BillyShears]

If you are suggesting Nastasic's "anticipation" as you call it isn't up to scratch, I can only assume you're either on heavy drugs, or have not watched him play. He's one of the best readers of the game in Europe, and outrageously gifted at it for his age.

He's not naturally an aggressive front foot defender so he didn't really suit our style of play last season, but he's a very talented player. I think he was our best player the season before last (possibly second after Zabba). If you don't rate him, watch the semi final against Chelsea, he was outstanding.

Not a heavy drug user but I am a season ticket holder. However, I do appreciate your kind comments. I will keep it more simple: if you disagree with me, I will just accept that you have a different opinion.

I will state again, I do not believe Nastasic is rubbish, terrible, chronic, useless etc.. My opinion is that he is not good enough for us. That may be partially be explained by the point raised by yourself and Thaksinsoldier, in that he doesn't quite suit the way we play. In my opinion, we get players who can do the best job within the system we play.

I wasn't making a comment about his ability to anticipate. I was simply trying to get the previous poster to discuss the issue sensibly by discussing Nastasic's skills and abilities. Maybe you should have read my post.

I'll be honest, I cannot even remember his performance in the semi against Chelsea as I only watched the game once, with the gods in Block 532, and I spent the last 30 or mins or so with my eyes closed thinking that we, including Milner, looked like we were shattered and were going to throw away the game. I had also had a 'few'.

His anticipation, in my eyes, appears to be good for a player his age. It was helped by our style iof play in 2012/13. We did not appear to attack in the same numbers as we had done for much of the previous season. It is easier to for defenders to anticipate correctly when the team are playing fairly cautiously. For me, anticipation is one element of decision-making. Nastasic's decision making is not one of his overall strengths. You only have to look at the needless fouls he committed in dangerous areas. On a number of occasions he has been lucky to not give a penalty away.

I would disagree that Nastasic is one of the best readers of the game in Europe. Lescott is a better reader of the game and Joleon is far from being one of the best readers of the game in Europe.

Agree entirely with that assessment. I like Nasty a lot and maybe over the coming years he'll develop into a top centre half, but for the moment he isn't suited to the way we want to play and more importantly, the mistakes he's likely to make/does make will too often lead to a goal against.

If the discussion is whether Bentia would/should play ahead of Nasty (sorry I'm dipping in and out of threads so haven't read the full context of the conversation) then it's a no brainer. He's a much better centre half, much closer to the finished product than Nasty, and most importantly someone who's suited to our style of play.