Our other 3 central midfielders

[urban genie]

It is never settled, we change it every game, yes Yaya hasn't got the legs he had and ferdy even though being our best player this year cannot do it alone, fernando can do one job hold the line but he and delpth are in and out of the first team on rotation. From now till the seasons end pick a midfield pair and stick to it unless there are injuries, every run of consitant wins we have had have been when we stop pissing about with the team our defence, midfield and attack behind serge have been changed too many times

PS we also miss Javie Garcia ;-) or at least once he settled down and had a good season we replaced him with someone who hasn't been consistently in the team play either ferdy with either nando or delpth and keep it like that, I think Yaya would be better as an impact sub also now

 

[dancity19]

Although he wasn't great yesterday, dinho has been arguably our most consistent performer this season, so can't criticise him.

It was obvious we needed midfield reinforcement in the summer, and we got Delph. Good value for money, and better than I expected him to be, but hardly a player to buy when you need to be challenging on all fronts. Huge error not buying a top quality midfielder in the summer.

 

[Tricky_Trev]

It's true to be fair. Even when Yaya gets hauled off, we're still gash in all aspects of midfield play.

 

[Mr HJ]

Fernando was dubbed 'The Octopus' before signing for us due to his passing ability. What happened there?

I think it was for supposedly getting in the way with an apparent exaggerated number of limbs, most certainly not for passing.

 

[Mr HJ]

Delph can do no wrong in City's fans eyes. The man could take a shit on the pitch and recieve a round of applause.

I think he's trying too hard to impress. He needs to be told to stick to his limited skill set which is tackling, then release the ball quickly to a teammate. Once again a coaching fail.

 

[01cravend]

Kante - 75 tackles, 46 clearances,103 interceptions, 8 blocks
Drinkwater - 44 tackles, 49 clearances, 33 interceptions, 12 blocks

Total - 48 appearances combined, 119 tackles, 95 clearances, 136 interceptions, 20 blocks

Fernandinho - 53 tackles, 37 clearances, 38 interceptions, 2 blocks
Yaya Toure - 19 tackles, 30 clearances, 22 interceptions, 2 blocks
Fernando - 22 tackles, 22 clearances, 21 interceptions, 4 blocks
Delph - 10 tackles, 6 clearances, 15 interceptions, 1 block

Total - 71 appearances combined, 104 tackles, 95 clearances, 96 interceptions, 9 blocks

Their midfield 2 have contributed more defensively than our 4.

 

[kunaguero10]

Our midfield is so poor because the players have no defined roles and there is no plan of what they should do to be a threat to the opposition.

Even Fernando might have his benefits if he played a strict defensive/holding role, like Garcia did, but I think apart from Delph being told to stay on the wing they aren't given any instructions before a game.

 

[PragueBlue]

Kante - 75 tackles, 46 clearances,103 interceptions, 8 blocks
Drinkwater - 44 tackles, 49 clearances, 33 interceptions, 12 blocks

Total - 48 appearances combined, 119 tackles, 95 clearances, 136 interceptions, 20 blocks

Fernandinho - 53 tackles, 37 clearances, 38 interceptions, 2 blocks
Yaya Toure - 19 tackles, 30 clearances, 22 interceptions, 2 blocks
Fernando - 22 tackles, 22 clearances, 21 interceptions, 4 blocks
Delph - 10 tackles, 6 clearances, 15 interceptions, 1 block

Total - 71 appearances combined, 104 tackles, 95 clearances, 96 interceptions, 9 blocks

Their midfield 2 have contributed more defensively than our 4.

It's not really a true picture though as Leicester sit back and hit teams on the break. They generally don't have that much possession and therefore are going to be defending and tackling more than a team with higher possession stats.

 

[01cravend]

It's not really a true picture though as Leicester sit back and hit teams on the break. They generally don't have that much possession and therefore are going to be defending and tackling more than a team with higher possession stats.

But it reads the same across all teams, possession style or not...Here you go, 2 teams with similar possession stats to ours...We Average 55%


LIverpool average possession - 54%
Lucas Leiva - 72 tackles, 23 clearances, 34 interceptions, 5 blocks
Emre Can - 53 tackles, 45 clearances, 41 interceptions, 6 blocks
Milner - 42 tackles, 20 clearances, 17 interceptions, 2 blocks
Henderson - 14 tackles, 14 clearances, 16 interceptions, 1 block

Tottenham average possession - 54%
Dembele - 58 tackles, 19 clearances, 40 interceptions, 2 blocks
Dier - 37 tackles, 49 clearances, 55 interceptions, 12 blocks
D.Alli - 37 tackles, 25 clearances,% 48 interceptions, 4 blocks
Eriksen - 25 tackles, 17 clearances, 18 interceptions, 0 blocks

Only Swansea and Man United midfielders contribute less defensively than ours in the entire league.

 

[Blue Llama]

They don't lack the skill our midfield was just bone idle yesterday. At one point after a set piece attacking us we had a counter attack opportunity and as our front 3 reached Leicester's penalty box non of our midfield was even across the half way line and Toure had not even broken into a jog.

 

[MeatHunterrr]

midfield needs total overhaul I think. Fernandinho I would keep for extra year. Fernando and Yaya can go.

 

[mikeyboy]

i'd break the bank for Willian - great engine, pace, skill, works his balls off. make chelsea an offer in the summer and the chance of champions league football for the lad.

 

[The Richard Wright Fan Club]

Delph has been hailed as some sort of messiah on here but I am yet to see a player that will turn into a Gerrard or Lampard and that is the level of quality that is a minimum to be successful in Europe. Fernando is limited and Fernandinho whilst being the best this season is also aging.

He doesn't need to score 20 goals a season like Lampard, he just needs to be good enough to be a bit part player and do a job.

 

[blinkblue]

Fernandinho is the only one up to it. I'd try to convert Delph into a left back.