Nicolas Otamendi - 2017/18 performances

[Neville Kneville]

Last two games. Conceded ????????

This is absolutely not the way to look at things. You could put Tom Cleverly in place of DeBruyne & then say 'tell me how many goals we didn't create directly because of him'. It's about being good enough & reliable enough, to play for Manchester City.

Last season, we had the same kind of smug self satisfaction with our defence, even though as soon as we were attacked, it was like watching Charlie Chaplin pissed up, walking on a tightrope but not quite falling off & people were warning about it, oh no it's ok, the opposition didn't score.

We then went to Celtic & got ripped apart. "It's a one off" they said. We went to Spurs "The referee". A few weeks later "It's down to us playing 3 at the back"

End of season, won, fuck all. "It's the forwards missing too many chances". Well guess what I, & others, predicted would happen, round about the time of the Celtic game, unless we improved the defence.

Same still stands. On another day, Virgil Van Dijk cuts out DeBruyne's pass to Aguero & Salah finishes at the other end, then Ederson gets sent off for bringing down Mane & we lose 0-5 at home.

Being smug about keeping clean sheets, in order to cover up a dreadful performance by a player (& he started equally as badly v Bourenemouth) is not the way to go. That is the mentality of losing. We had a big problem v Liverpool & we need to fix it, fast. A decent part of that problem, was Otamendi. He needs to shape up.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Don't get often very often anymore, my last game was Monaco and I have to say I was horrified by what I saw from Otamendi that night, sitting right in line with him in the second half, his reading of the game and his anticipation of runners was nowhere to be seen, it was if his head was in the clouds half the time.

Most of it doesn't even register, as the ball (luckily) doesn't even arrive, someone stops the pass. But I've sat there watching him run forward, back, sideways, back again & then slip slightly, hopelessly out of position, whilst the other 3 just move half a yard ready for the ball if it comes, & ten people around me just piss their sides laughing at him going "what the fuck is he doing ?". The pass comes through, we are fucking dead, but it didn't, so it 'doesn't matter'.

He needs to get his shit together, we need him to get his shit together, or the whole thing could come crashing down in the space of a couple of games.

We are so close to being absolutely fucking mint, but we have this ridiculous sideshow going on, threatening to derail it.

We need him to sort it, we don't have many options.

 

[Easy]

Last two games. Conceded ????????

Ok mate. We didn't concede any goals due to his error directly but it's still only September. Im more worried about him fucking up in an important match. He did it last season and he'll do it. I don't know why it's so hard to see.

Are you a fan of his or what?

He is a liability and always looks good against the weaker sides where he doesn't have to do much. Otamendi is so easy to get by, luckily we have Ederson so I'm a little more confident.

Once Otamendi costs us points and he definitely will, it's a matter of time, I'll be back here. Ederson can't save him every time.

If you can't see Otamendi is liability and is getting targeted then I don't know what more to say to you tbh.

 

[Easy]

This is absolutely not the way to look at things. You could put Tom Cleverly in place of DeBruyne & then say 'tell me how many goals we didn't create directly because of him'. It's about being good enough & reliable enough, to play for Manchester City.

Last season, we had the same kind of smug self satisfaction with our defence, even though as soon as we were attacked, it was like watching Charlie Chaplin pissed up, walking on a tightrope but not quite falling off & people were warning about it, oh no it's ok, the opposition didn't score.

We then went to Celtic & got ripped apart. "It's a one off" they said. We went to Spurs "The referee". A few weeks later "It's down to us playing 3 at the back"

End of season, won, fuck all. "It's the forwards missing too many chances". Well guess what I, & others, predicted would happen, round about the time of the Celtic game, unless we improved the defence.

Same still stands. On another day, Virgil Van Dijk cuts out DeBruyne's pass to Aguero & Salah finishes at the other end, then Ederson gets sent off for bringing down Mane & we lose 0-5 at home.

Being smug about keeping clean sheets, in order to cover up a dreadful performance by a player (& he started equally as badly v Bourenemouth) is not the way to go. That is the mentality of losing. We had a big problem v Liverpool & we need to fix it, fast. A decent part of that problem, was Otamendi. He needs to shape up.

This.

We won 5-0 so nobody looks at what we did wrong. But on another day we are down 2-0 in the first half because Salah went by Otamendi as if he was a statue.

And when that happens and it will these posters will either be quiet or say he had a bad performance, "an off day"

Otamendi is just not good enough. Cold hard facts.

Better believe Pep's number 1 targets will be in CB and DM next summer.

 

[Manchester_lalala]

This is absolutely not the way to look at things. You could put Tom Cleverly in place of DeBruyne & then say 'tell me how many goals we didn't create directly because of him'. It's about being good enough & reliable enough, to play for Manchester City.

Last season, we had the same kind of smug self satisfaction with our defence, even though as soon as we were attacked, it was like watching Charlie Chaplin pissed up, walking on a tightrope but not quite falling off & people were warning about it, oh no it's ok, the opposition didn't score.

We then went to Celtic & got ripped apart. "It's a one off" they said. We went to Spurs "The referee". A few weeks later "It's down to us playing 3 at the back"

End of season, won, fuck all. "It's the forwards missing too many chances". Well guess what I, & others, predicted would happen, round about the time of the Celtic game, unless we improved the defence.

Same still stands. On another day, Virgil Van Dijk cuts out DeBruyne's pass to Aguero & Salah finishes at the other end, then Ederson gets sent off for bringing down Mane & we lose 0-5 at home.

Being smug about keeping clean sheets, in order to cover up a dreadful performance by a player (& he started equally as badly v Bourenemouth) is not the way to go. That is the mentality of losing. We had a big problem v Liverpool & we need to fix it, fast. A decent part of that problem, was Otamendi. He needs to shape up.

^^

 

[eversince 76]

This.

We won 5-0 so nobody looks at what we did wrong. But on another day we are down 2-0 in the first half because Salah went by Otamendi as if he was a statue.

And when that happens and it will these posters will either be quiet or say he had a bad performance, "an off day"

Otamendi is just not good enough. Cold hard facts.

Better believe Pep's number 1 targets will be in CB and DM next summer.

It's an interesting one. The Otamendi vs Salah one I mean. It was not hard to see where the danger came from. In fact, and this is where I am going, when the teamsheet came out the first thing I said was that if Mendy would play a high line it could expose Otamendi due to Salah his pace and the fact that Otamendi needs to defend him from a leftside position as a non left footer. Look at the foul he made on Salah just outside the penalty area and you know exactly what I mean.
Now is this Otamendi's fault? Yes, we can all agree he has his limitations as a defender and he also has the talents in his play that made him the defender he is, including a starter in the Argentine national team. But the Liverpool game imho is another discussion and leads back to Pep making a tactical error or Mendy not doing what he was told. I know one thing and that is you don't need to be a football expert to know on forehand Otamendi would be in trouble facing Salah in a one on one with loads of pace behind his back. It happened and it should not have happened. Blaming Otamendi? I'd say if that would have been Stones, Mangala or Komapny in that exact same situation the outcome would have been the same.

 

[Rolee]

It's an interesting one. The Otamendi vs Salah one I mean. It was not hard to see where the danger came from. In fact, and this is where I am going, when the teamsheet came out the first thing I said was that if Mendy would play a high line it could expose Otamendi due to Salah his pace and the fact that Otamendi needs to defend him from a leftside position as a non left footer. Look at the foul he made on Salah just outside the penalty area and you know exactly what I mean.
Now is this Otamendi's fault? Yes, we can all agree he has his limitations as a defender and he also has the talents in his play that made him the defender he is, including a starter in the Argentine national team. But the Liverpool game imho is another discussion and leads back to Pep making a tactical error or Mendy not doing what he was told. I know one thing and that is you don't need to be a football expert to know on forehand Otamendi would be in trouble facing Salah in a one on one with loads of pace behind his back. It happened and it should not have happened. Blaming Otamendi? I'd say if that would have been Stones, Mangala or Komapny in that exact same situation the outcome would have been the same.

You may well be right but why wasn't it happening on the other flank, Mane is just as quick as Salah. Was Walker offering Danilo more protection? Or was Danilo marking space better than Otamendi? Or was it simply a case of Liverpool targeting one side more than the other?

 

[eversince 76]

You may well be right but why wasn't it happening on the other flank, Mane is just as quick as Salah. Was Walker offering Danilo more protection? Or was Danilo marking space better than Otamendi? Or was it simply a case of Liverpool targeting one side more than the other?

Mane and Salah both have pace. So have Sane and Sterling. Still different players wouldn't you say? Same goes for Walker and Mendy or Danilo and Otamendi. It's not about this, it's about a situation happening more often than once and my point is you can't solely blame Otamendi for that.
Other than that, Mane was also a handfull up until he got sent off, but in a different less obvious way.

 

[mosssideblue]

Ok mate. We didn't concede any goals due to his error directly but it's still only September. Im more worried about him fucking up in an important match. He did it last season and he'll do it. I don't know why it's so hard to see.

Are you a fan of his or what?

He is a liability and always looks good against the weaker sides where he doesn't have to do much. Otamendi is so easy to get by, luckily we have Ederson so I'm a little more confident.

Once Otamendi costs us points and he definitely will, it's a matter of time, I'll be back here. Ederson can't save him every time.

If you can't see Otamendi is liability and is getting targeted then I don't know what more to say to you tbh.

I am a big fan of his yes as he is a defender who will actually tackle. I have agreed he had a bad game, but he is not perceived disaster waiting to happen as some like to portray.

Will you be also back when Stones has another brain fart and passes the ball to the opponent too?

 

[mosssideblue]

This is absolutely not the way to look at things. You could put Tom Cleverly in place of DeBruyne & then say 'tell me how many goals we didn't create directly because of him'. It's about being good enough & reliable enough, to play for Manchester City.

Last season, we had the same kind of smug self satisfaction with our defence, even though as soon as we were attacked, it was like watching Charlie Chaplin pissed up, walking on a tightrope but not quite falling off & people were warning about it, oh no it's ok, the opposition didn't score.

We then went to Celtic & got ripped apart. "It's a one off" they said. We went to Spurs "The referee". A few weeks later "It's down to us playing 3 at the back"

End of season, won, fuck all. "It's the forwards missing too many chances". Well guess what I, & others, predicted would happen, round about the time of the Celtic game, unless we improved the defence.

Same still stands. On another day, Virgil Van Dijk cuts out DeBruyne's pass to Aguero & Salah finishes at the other end, then Ederson gets sent off for bringing down Mane & we lose 0-5 at home.

Being smug about keeping clean sheets, in order to cover up a dreadful performance by a player (& he started equally as badly v Bourenemouth) is not the way to go. That is the mentality of losing. We had a big problem v Liverpool & we need to fix it, fast. A decent part of that problem, was Otamendi. He needs to shape up.

If you feel he is as bad as that you portray, then you need to be venting yourself at the man who regularly picks him, and for his country. Personally I think Ota is good for us and adds that aggression in defending that we need to have. Yes, he is not the quickest, but he will give his all every game and that is all we can ask of him