Nicolas Otamendi 2015/16 performances

Another example of stats not being everything they appear to be. Technically when he smashes the ball into a player it's a completed pass regardless of whether or not that player manages to actually control it or keep the ball or whether it bounces aight back to the opposition. His passing most of the time is as clueless as his defensive positioning.

Take one of the last passes i remember him making tonight for example. He had time on the ball about 20 yards from our goal around the edge of the D. He could of played it inside but opted to push it out wide and let the opposition close him down, he then after some hesitance dinks a 15-20 yard ball right to the edge of the touchline for a backtracking Sagna to stretch for who also had an opposition player right up his arse, Sagna touched the ball but it went out for a Madrid throw.

Now technically that's a completed pass for Otamendi but in reality he's needlessly given the ball away fairly high up in our own half after taking far too long on the ball. And that's without factoring in the time of the game where we're losing 1-0 in injury time and this is happening. There was an initial option to play it to an open Sagna which he declined, then an option to play it inside which he choose not to do too and then as he was closed down he had the option of just pumping it upfield where Players were making runs but instead he plays a shit ball to Sagna who even if he had managed to control it and keep it in would of left him with no option whatsoever and would of left him almost guaranteed to lose possession.

Just to reiterate, i'm not laying any blame on him tonight nor any of the defence, they all performed well overall over the two legs to limit Madrid to not much in my eyes. But i can't believe people still think this guy is good on the ball and describe it as one of his positive attributes.
This is thst bluemoon reasoning at play.
So based on psg n real performance , people who know pep..do u believe otamendi is "his" kind of defender ..this laporta guy from Bilbao is an upgrade over otamendi in pep's style of play ??

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Pep has worked with different types of defenders, including Mangala types. Otamendi's errors wouldn't put him in good stead I don't think. His work rate (both in and out of possession), effort, and Injury free status on the other hand, gives him a good chance. Not to mention he has been our besst CB this season.
 
He's performed well in the Champions League, barely put a foot wrong in 4 big games against PSG & Real Madrid.

Any criticism involving the offside trap should be aimed at Pellegrini, not Otamendi, as the defenders are clearly playing under instructions to play the offside trap.
Keeping Bale and Modric on side shouldn't qualify as barely putting a foot wrong. That said, I think he is currently our best CB.
 
It's seemed to me that in big games against top teams they have both done pretty well but against weaker 'english style' teams they've made glaring errors. These mistakes appear to me to have decreased too however and is probably a sign that they're developing their understanding with each other about how to play against a different style of football then they are used to. Anyone good, young, decent defender coming in now is going to take a while to settle so we may as well stick with these rather than burning and starting all over.
 
certain players will be a clear reflection on how effective Guardiola's influence/training is

Otamendi will definitely be one to watch in this respect
 
hes hopeless
You have obviously never played in defence. As a GK I would love a player like Otamendi in front of me, 100% committed, puts himself on the line, reads the game well (IMO) and carries the ball out of defence rather than just hoofing it into row Z (although there are times when that is the best option). I have seen far worse defenders who have spent years in the premier league (stand up Phil Jagielka). I think he deserves a full season in the premier league before being judged.

It's funny isn't it? Any new striker who scores a few goals in his first season ( e.g. the little urine (sorry pea)) quite often does not do as well in his second, it takes class like Sergio to do it again and again, but they are hailed as the next messiah (cue quote from monty python) A defender however has every mistake pointed out despite the fact that it is his first season in the league and he has to adapt to players and referees. |I think he has done well.
 
You have obviously never played in defence. As a GK I would love a player like Otamendi in front of me, 100% committed, puts himself on the line, reads the game well (IMO) and carries the ball out of defence rather than just hoofing it into row Z (although there are times when that is the best option). I have seen far worse defenders who have spent years in the premier league (stand up Phil Jagielka). I think he deserves a full season in the premier league before being judged.

It's funny isn't it? Any new striker who scores a few goals in his first season ( e.g. the little urine (sorry pea)) quite often does not do as well in his second, it takes class like Sergio to do it again and again, but they are hailed as the next messiah (cue quote from monty python) A defender however has every mistake pointed out despite the fact that it is his first season in the league and he has to adapt to players and referees. |I think he has done well.

Agreed, Otamendi has been our best defender this season and is worthy of being in our plans going forward. My only criticism is that he spends a lot of time on his ass, but I like his commitment
 
For his 1 st season in English football and due to injuries (Kompany) and age (MDM) he has played a lot more than was probably planned.

He has done well and as someone has already said, he is the sort of guy you want fighting by your side.
 
You have obviously never played in defence. As a GK I would love a player like Otamendi in front of me, 100% committed, puts himself on the line, reads the game well (IMO) and carries the ball out of defence rather than just hoofing it into row Z (although there are times when that is the best option). I have seen far worse defenders who have spent years in the premier league (stand up Phil Jagielka). I think he deserves a full season in the premier league before being judged.

It's funny isn't it? Any new striker who scores a few goals in his first season ( e.g. the little urine (sorry pea)) quite often does not do as well in his second, it takes class like Sergio to do it again and again, but they are hailed as the next messiah (cue quote from monty python) A defender however has every mistake pointed out despite the fact that it is his first season in the league and he has to adapt to players and referees. |I think he has done well.
You've clearly never played at CB. The last thing you want is your CB partner being constantly caught out of position or on his arse. He just doesn't have what it takes to be a top class CB. He's only ever looked good a long side vinny and that's because he talks him through the game. He has no leadership qualities what so ever.
 
You've clearly never played at CB. The last thing you want is your CB partner being constantly caught out of position or on his arse. He just doesn't have what it takes to be a top class CB. He's only ever looked good a long side vinny and that's because he talks him through the game. He has no leadership qualities what so ever.

I agree, he's a goalkeepers nightmare as most attackers go through 1 on 1 or fill the gap he consistently leaves.

As for his passing out of defence and carrying it out, he's made loads of errors thinking he's Xavi on the ball, notably nearly costing us a goal against PSG.
 
I agree, he's a goalkeepers nightmare as most attackers go through 1 on 1 or fill the gap he consistently leaves.

As for his passing out of defence and carrying it out, he's made loads of errors thinking he's Xavi on the ball, notably nearly costing us a goal against PSG.

I agree with this. People talk about him being a great slide tackler, but the problem is, you can usually guess when the next last ditch slide tackle is coming as it's about 10 seconds after he's carried the ball upfield. You can see the gap he's leaving as it's happening.

I think he possesses some great attributes and maybe we'll get better results under a new coach. He seems reckless to me at times but I suppose it's possible he's just been following instructions and other members of the team were supposed to be filling those gaps. We'll see. I don't think he's going anywhere anyway.
 
I reckon out of every 10 times he charges out from the defensive line to win the ball, he wins it 9 times and I love him, and the other time he misses, leaves a massive hole, exposes the whole defence and I want to kill him. To be fair it's a very good ratio (which does hold up if you count them in matches), and if he can keep improving his decision making so that he's only missing the ball 1 in 20 times then that's heroic as far as I'm concerned and is a great basis for starting the next attack on the break.
If pep doesn't want him to come out at all then we may as well sell him because that's what he does so well, but if he is happy for him to do it, and try and improve his decision making, then we just need the rest of the defence to be aware and to adapt their shape when he does come out. It can be a real asset if we manage it well, but if we're 2-1 up in the last minute and he decides to come and misses it then he could really mess things up for us. As long as he considers the circumstances like that then he'll continue to be my favourite blue (but you already guessed that right?!)
 
he will be the key for us to deal with messi , ronaldo or the other skilful striker . his problem is he is not as tall as the other defender .
 
He's been good this season and will still be here next season unlike mangala

At times he's been an utter liability. He's incapable of staying on his feet and the sight of him floundering on his arse whilst a player skips past him has been an all too frequent one.
 

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