Our glaring weakness at LB, will it be fixed?

I think a lot of the problems last year was lack of protection for our fullbacks especially on the left hand side, if we have the likes of silva,nasri and sterling playing wide in a four or hopefully a 3 this will always a weakness, it's why mourinho puts a big emphasis on work rate, the toure silva situation next year will be interesting
 
We're not having a LB next season. We need to fit on array of attacking talent so Pellegrini isn't bothering with one.

...................................HART

.....................KOMPANY..............MANGALA

ZABALETTA.....FERNANDINHO....TOURE..........DE-BRUYNE
......STERLING...............POGBA............SILVA

...............................AGUERO
 
Kolarov and Clichy are both alright, not world class. But there is only one really outstanding left back around at the moment and he may not even be a left back any more. Teams target us down the left because Silva doesn't defend and we not longer have Barry covering over there.
 
I think clichy is a bit of a wet sponge. Too soft.

I like kola. Proper footballer and gives us a lot more going forward. Despite opinions to the contrary I don't think he is half bad defensively either.

And remember Angelino. We don't always have to buy to replace. Denayer will come through this year and we will see more in the not too distant future.
 
Well,against my desires.....if we're not addressing the position,then we need to decide who is first choice and stick with them,rotation did neither player,or the team,any good last season,both picked up form when they were afforded the opportunity of a run of games.
Personally id choose Clichy,however,Kolarov did offer a good case in the last few games of the season.....tough call for Pellers.
 
I think Clichy - when on form - is one of the best left backs in the league, certainly isn't many that are ahead of him. When you look how much the rags paid for the fat lad last year and what level he is at it is a difficult position to sort out. I'd play Clich first choice and try and play Kolarov a bit in midfield and league cup games to keep him sharp.
 
Not signing a LB is nothing short of scandalous in my honest opinion. It's been a weakness for three seasons now. We have no natural LW and we have a midfield that is often overrun under Pellegrini because of the two man midfield. Our fullbacks push up and we are countered typically on that side. Silva normally drifts in and we see a threat of goal every time.

Its pretty ridiculous that it's been left for so long. We were in for Shaw last season until his price went silky so it's clearly an agenda we have jotted down. Angelino is a gem but he's two years away minimum. Imo we need a LB now and I'd phase Kolarov out as we don't really need his attacking rowess anymore, more so a defensive focused Clichy. If we replace Kolarov then Angelino could replace Clichy.

Again, I repeat a point that's falling on deaf ears but I really do believe Pogba to be way overpriced and nonessential. Give me a top LB and atop CDM any day. We could shore up the midfield and LB, we could centralize Merlin and Nasri and actually get the best out of them and better balanace the side. Sterling on the left, De Bruyne on the right. Pogba at 70m is ludicrously overpriced, absolute daylight robbery and Juventus must be wearing masks when they deal with us and have shotguns in their hands. It pains me to see us leveraging everything in midfield when LB is so blatantly weak. We have two good LBs, one defensively and one attacking, but neither are great LBs. Zabaleta is a great, he's a fucking savage and we need as similar as possible on the other side.
 
Regarding rotation, it's what we have to accept that Pellegrini does this.

We need a settled back line and that will breed understanding, familiarity and confidence. Newcastle under Pardew had their best run when they had a settled back four, as soon as they suffered a few injuries they went to shut. Not one defender of theirs was great but together they were.

If I was to choose a back five it'd be Hart, Clichy, Mangala, Kompany and Zabaleta.
 
greasedupdeafguy said:
The problem is rotation, whenever clichy and kolarov find their form after a run of games there rested, any player would struggle to play his best if hes in and out of the side every few games. Need to keep a conistant back four imo
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You can't keep a consistent back four with the number of games we now play imo.
 
The reason we were exposed in the full back area's last season was because we were playing a 4-2-4 formation with 2 attacking center mids full back's were throughly exposed! Look at zabba 1 of the finest full backs in world football really struggled last season! There aint any left back out there that would have done any better in that set up! Both full backs will thrive next season in a much more balanced team with protection in front of them! I expect kolarov to be 1 of the players of the season in our new set up!
 
NipHolmes said:
Not signing a LB is nothing short of scandalous in my honest opinion. It's been a weakness for three seasons now. We have no natural LW and we have a midfield that is often overrun under Pellegrini because of the two man midfield. Our fullbacks push up and we are countered typically on that side. Silva normally drifts in and we see a threat of goal every time.

Its pretty ridiculous that it's been left for so long. We were in for Shaw last season until his price went silky so it's clearly an agenda we have jotted down. Angelino is a gem but he's two years away minimum. Imo we need a LB now and I'd phase Kolarov out as we don't really need his attacking rowess anymore, more so a defensive focused Clichy. If we replace Kolarov then Angelino could replace Clichy.

Again, I repeat a point that's falling on deaf ears but I really do believe Pogba to be way overpriced and nonessential. Give me a top LB and atop CDM any day. We could shore up the midfield and LB, we could centralize Merlin and Nasri and actually get the best out of them and better balanace the side. Sterling on the left, De Bruyne on the right. Pogba at 70m is ludicrously overpriced, absolute daylight robbery and Juventus must be wearing masks when they deal with us and have shotguns in their hands. It pains me to see us leveraging everything in midfield when LB is so blatantly weak. We have two good LBs, one defensively and one attacking, but neither are great LBs. Zabaleta is a great, he's a fucking savage and we need as similar as possible on the other side.
Click to expand...

Fair enough it's your opinion.
The fact the people who matter at city have spent millions on other positions and not left back indicates they don't think it's 'scandalous' which i agree with.....who/whats in front of full backs reflects alot on how good they are percieved to be. There's an awful lot of 'grass is always greener' people on here who tend to follow each other from scapegoat to scapegoat.
JMO that Kolarov is far better than Clichy...and i think we COULD sell him quickly,as there would not be a shortage of takers... for a reason. (in my location obviously) my mates/work colleagues support a wide range of teams and they nearly all say they would take Kolarov.The only ones who 100% agree they wouldn't is the Chelsea fans...but i guess thats understandable.
 
@BluePhil8 said:
I mean our current left back options won't prove to be detrimental to a title challenge. They are both OK players.
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I disagree, Kolarov presents a major liability at the back a lot of the time (last season he was woeful), while Clichy is prone to having the odd nightmare game. If the plan at the end of the season was to bring a new left back in, its concerning as to why that objective has changed (if true).
 
Ray78 said:
The 'upgrades' are not available.
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Agree I can't name many good full backs I've seen that aren't already tied down to the big clubs. I could name young guys I've heard about but couldn't vouch for them.
 
Who really out there is an upgrade? Kolarov could easily score 5 or more a season and set up the same! Anyway it would be interesting to see who you think we should replace them with?
 
Looks like we will be adopting the we will score more than you again this season.

Neither Kolorov or Clichy are good enough for me but I did think kolorov did ok at the end of last season.

Right back was as big a problem last season. Hopefully Zab will return to form.
 
A few myths to dispel.

1 - our left backs aren't good enough. As much as I am loathe to resort to stats, but Clichy was whoscored's best rated left back for the league last season. Kolarov also is one of the leagues better attacking left backs. Between the two of them we're fine.

2 - Silva doesn't defend. He does. In spades. In fact he's one of the most niggliest dirty little players on our team. He's always ready to commit the fouls to stop play to allow our full backs to return from advanced positions. He is a gem in this regard, and this side of his game is often overlooked.
 
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