Player topic: Eliaquim Mangala (2014/15)

[inbetween]

Re: Mangala

He is starting to settle now, another great performance the other day. Does anyone not realize that we have conceded just 1 more than the so called impregnable, defensive fortress that is Chelsea?

 

[FromPollockToSilva]

Re: Mangala

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2299364-32-million-fee-for-eliaquim-mangala-will-prove-to-be-good-value-for-man-city

The £32 million Manchester City spent on 23-year-old Eliaquim Mangala this summer saw many eyebrows raised. It’s a huge sum of money to spend on a defender, particularly one whose experience has largely been gained in Portugal’s Primeira Liga; hardly one of Europe’s most difficult leagues.

After much deliberation and a failed January bid, Mangala was viewed by the City manager, Manuel Pellegrini, and the club’s Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, as a player worthy of the huge investment, yet others remained unconvinced.

His inactivity in France’s World Cup squad, where he was behind the likes of Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho, Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny and Real Madrid youngster Raphael Varane, led to questions about his credentials. For £32 million surely you’d expect a defender capable of keeping Sakho out of the international picture?

After all, the Premier League is an unforgiving league, where time on the ball is of the essence and mistakes are punished with ruthless efficiency. Defenders have to be accomplished or else risk being undone. Could Mangala, a player with little experience when compared to others who could have been brought in for less money, prove to be a misguided acquisition?

His lack of match fitness after his protracted transfer, which was complicated due to ownership issues, meant his first-team debut was delayed significantly. When it did come, though, it could hardly have been more impressive.

The speed he demonstrated was remarkable, as was his strength and ability to dominate strikers aerially, rendering Chelsea's Diego Costa, who had been in fine form in the run up to the match, null and void.

It was one of the most comprehensive and impressive debuts a City player has managed in many years.

It left everyone connected to the club excited at the prospect of watching him develop. For three seasons, Vincent Kompany, the club’s best centre-back and on-field leader, had been partnered with different players, and it had proven somewhat unsettling, particularly given the Belgian’s own injury record. Martin Demichelis has proven to be a wonderful player—a bargain at £3.5 million—but at 33, it was clear in the summer a long-term option was needed.

His dominant performance against Chelsea was seen by many as the start of something special, and a comfortable follow-up match against Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup followed, before some shaky displays began to see the tide of opinion alter.

An own goal and a conceded penalty following an unnecessary challenge on Abel Hernandez away at Hull saw him ridiculed, and nervousness began to creep into his game. His rap sheet has continued to grow, with a shaky display at Upton Park in the defeat to West Ham, a red card away at Southampton for a somewhat needless challenge and a reckless kick into the back of Samuel Eto’o in the recent match with Everton lucky not to be punished with a red card.

However, in among the poor decision-making, which has been jumped on by pundits and oppositions fans alike, there have been signs of a genuinely talented player.

Away at Aston Villa, he was a key part of City’s clean sheet, remaining composed throughout. At QPR, where City were in the midst of a poor run and only just emerged with a point, he defended brilliantly and played a superb 60-yard pass onto the foot of Sergio Aguero for the Argentine’s first of the match, which went largely unnoticed.

In Rome on Wednesday, with City playing a high-stakes match in front of a difficult crowd, Mangala gave a stirring display, full of character and defensive quality. It felt like a seismic moment for the Frenchman, as well as the other players and fans, all of whom have waited a long time for such a comprehensive Champions League performance. He’d contributed significantly to one of the proudest nights in the club’s recent history and he can take great heart from that.

And he followed that up with yet another accomplished performance away at Leicester on Saturday, where, with City far from their best, they hung on to a slender lead and made sure they extended their winning run to seven games. Mangala was excellent, although, it’s unlikely too many outside of City circles will be admitting it.

City’s big-money defender has contributed hugely to the recent winning run which has turned City’s season around.

And the truth is that many of the teething problems we’ve seen have been down to way the team was playing during his introduction. City were in the midst of a disjointed period of form, where a lack of confidence and belief was running through the vast majority of their players, particularly Gael Clichy, the man who is tasked with building an understanding with Mangala to solidify the left side of the team.

Clichy was struggling badly, and that, clearly, affected Mangala. It’s no surprise that after a run of games with his fellow Frenchman, and with the side playing like they’re capable, both players have looked significantly improved in recent weeks.

It’s clear that, despite his concentration issues which have seen his City career plunge into disaster on a few occasions this far, Mangala is a naturally gifted defender who could easily go on to have a successful career at the club.

At 23, in a new country, acclimatising to new surroundings and trying his hand in a league far superior to anything he’s faced before, yes, he has struggled at times, but do we really live in a world where players aren’t given more than a few weeks to prove themselves before being written off as a liability and a waste of money?

Mangala can be happy with his progress, and the club are likely to be happy their investment was a sound one.

You can tell that wasn't from a British media outlet.

 

[Citizen in Pakistan]

Re: Mangala

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2299364-32-million-fee-for-eliaquim-mangala-will-prove-to-be-good-value-for-man-city

The £32 million Manchester City spent on 23-year-old Eliaquim Mangala this summer saw many eyebrows raised. It’s a huge sum of money to spend on a defender, particularly one whose experience has largely been gained in Portugal’s Primeira Liga; hardly one of Europe’s most difficult leagues.

After much deliberation and a failed January bid, Mangala was viewed by the City manager, Manuel Pellegrini, and the club’s Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, as a player worthy of the huge investment, yet others remained unconvinced.

His inactivity in France’s World Cup squad, where he was behind the likes of Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho, Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny and Real Madrid youngster Raphael Varane, led to questions about his credentials. For £32 million surely you’d expect a defender capable of keeping Sakho out of the international picture?

After all, the Premier League is an unforgiving league, where time on the ball is of the essence and mistakes are punished with ruthless efficiency. Defenders have to be accomplished or else risk being undone. Could Mangala, a player with little experience when compared to others who could have been brought in for less money, prove to be a misguided acquisition?

His lack of match fitness after his protracted transfer, which was complicated due to ownership issues, meant his first-team debut was delayed significantly. When it did come, though, it could hardly have been more impressive.

The speed he demonstrated was remarkable, as was his strength and ability to dominate strikers aerially, rendering Chelsea's Diego Costa, who had been in fine form in the run up to the match, null and void.

It was one of the most comprehensive and impressive debuts a City player has managed in many years.

It left everyone connected to the club excited at the prospect of watching him develop. For three seasons, Vincent Kompany, the club’s best centre-back and on-field leader, had been partnered with different players, and it had proven somewhat unsettling, particularly given the Belgian’s own injury record. Martin Demichelis has proven to be a wonderful player—a bargain at £3.5 million—but at 33, it was clear in the summer a long-term option was needed.

His dominant performance against Chelsea was seen by many as the start of something special, and a comfortable follow-up match against Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup followed, before some shaky displays began to see the tide of opinion alter.

An own goal and a conceded penalty following an unnecessary challenge on Abel Hernandez away at Hull saw him ridiculed, and nervousness began to creep into his game. His rap sheet has continued to grow, with a shaky display at Upton Park in the defeat to West Ham, a red card away at Southampton for a somewhat needless challenge and a reckless kick into the back of Samuel Eto’o in the recent match with Everton lucky not to be punished with a red card.

However, in among the poor decision-making, which has been jumped on by pundits and oppositions fans alike, there have been signs of a genuinely talented player.

Away at Aston Villa, he was a key part of City’s clean sheet, remaining composed throughout. At QPR, where City were in the midst of a poor run and only just emerged with a point, he defended brilliantly and played a superb 60-yard pass onto the foot of Sergio Aguero for the Argentine’s first of the match, which went largely unnoticed.

In Rome on Wednesday, with City playing a high-stakes match in front of a difficult crowd, Mangala gave a stirring display, full of character and defensive quality. It felt like a seismic moment for the Frenchman, as well as the other players and fans, all of whom have waited a long time for such a comprehensive Champions League performance. He’d contributed significantly to one of the proudest nights in the club’s recent history and he can take great heart from that.

And he followed that up with yet another accomplished performance away at Leicester on Saturday, where, with City far from their best, they hung on to a slender lead and made sure they extended their winning run to seven games. Mangala was excellent, although, it’s unlikely too many outside of City circles will be admitting it.

City’s big-money defender has contributed hugely to the recent winning run which has turned City’s season around.

And the truth is that many of the teething problems we’ve seen have been down to way the team was playing during his introduction. City were in the midst of a disjointed period of form, where a lack of confidence and belief was running through the vast majority of their players, particularly Gael Clichy, the man who is tasked with building an understanding with Mangala to solidify the left side of the team.

Clichy was struggling badly, and that, clearly, affected Mangala. It’s no surprise that after a run of games with his fellow Frenchman, and with the side playing like they’re capable, both players have looked significantly improved in recent weeks.

It’s clear that, despite his concentration issues which have seen his City career plunge into disaster on a few occasions this far, Mangala is a naturally gifted defender who could easily go on to have a successful career at the club.

At 23, in a new country, acclimatising to new surroundings and trying his hand in a league far superior to anything he’s faced before, yes, he has struggled at times, but do we really live in a world where players aren’t given more than a few weeks to prove themselves before being written off as a liability and a waste of money?

Mangala can be happy with his progress, and the club are likely to be happy their investment was a sound one.

You can tell that wasn't from a British media outlet.

Bleacher report is a very good sports news outlet,they go into details and often come up with a very good and informative articles,they also have a playstore app and I find it very useful

 

[FantasyIreland]

Re: Mangala

A very fair assessment above.

 

[bluechampion7891]

Re: Mangala

^^ Be wary of Phil Kheidel though. claims to be a city fan/reporter/correspondent but some of the suggestions/analysis he comes up with is ludicrous

 

[Dicko69]

Re: Mangala

Apparently he's said arsenal and utd are still in the title chase. I think he should concentrate on his football and not be trying to start a second career in comedy.

 

[yeah whatever !!]

Re: Mangala

Same old story with City.

Ian Bowyer was driven out of the club by the boo-boys and went on to win two European Cup Winner's medals with Forest.

I'm sure no one has forgotten the stick Richard Edghill used to get from his own.

And have been plenty of other examples down the years.

There's an element within our support that has always been pathetically horrible in this regard.

This is sadly all too true. We've all stood/sat next to them.

I think Mangala is going to be absolutely top drawer.

100% fella.

 

[cibaman]

Re: Mangala

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2881033/Eliaquim-Mangala-says-handle-Chelsea-Roma-s-Crystal-Palace-Hull-City-cause-problem.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... oblem.html</a>


Good interview, he comes across as a strong and determined man.

 

[Marvin]

Re: Mangala

Apparently he's said arsenal and utd are still in the title chase. I think he should concentrate on his football and not be trying to start a second career in comedy.

Utd are in it even though they are playing like a mid-table team

 

[SrilankanBlue]

Re: Mangala

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2881033/Eliaquim-Mangala-says-handle-Chelsea-Roma-s-Crystal-Palace-Hull-City-cause-problem.html


Good interview, he comes across as a strong and determined man.

"Mangala’s learning curve has been steep. It is just one of the reasons he took the unusual step of requesting this interview himself.
It was time, he felt, to introduce himself to English football followers and assure those of a sky blue persuasion that he is working hard to adapt. ‘I wanted to speak because I haven’t spoken to the public at all,’ he said. ‘I would like the fans to know a bit more about me as a person. They see me on the field but they don’t know me."

Very good read, sounds like a hungry, determined young man