Player topic: Eliaquim Mangala (2014/15)

[Mr Ed (The Stables)]

Re: Mangala

He was piss poor today. The number of times he went to a challenge and instead of just delaying or holding his ground, he rushed at the ball and found himself the wrong side of the player leaving them free to advance.
His decision making reeked of naivety and hopefully he learns from days like today.

This is what happens when you buy a "talent" and not the guaranteed article!!!

We've paid a lot for him I'm sure we'll stick with him, I'm sure he'll turn out really well for us in the end, and I'm also sure we are going to have to put up with a lot of performances like we've had today.

But he'll learn a lot today after being totally out played by Ings and Barnes who gave him a torrid time.

 

[OB1]

Re: Mangala

Thought he fought far better than Demi did in the aerial battles, he at least competed and stopped the guy from easily bringing it down in his chest. Clearly not used to having to play against that sort of thing though, as in Portugal they actually give fouls for backing in (seriously, not once was Barnes penalised despite backing in literally every time, I don't recall him ever even attempting to jump). He fought for every aerial ball and at least made it hard for Barnes, unlike Demi who pretty much just let him do whatever he wanted. Also not helped by Kolarov putting in one of the most absentee leftback performances you'll ever see, forcing Mangala to have to keep chasing people out to the vacant leftback position again. A cone might of been more useful than Kolarov today.

Not a great effort by the defence today, but I thought Mangala at least fought well and never gave up. Neither goal had owt to do with him either

Demichelis won more headers and a much higher percentage of his aerial duels though

Stats are shit on these things though, as Demi frequently failed to even turn long balls into "aerial duels", instead just let them bring it down. Defending isn't neccesarily about winning the header anyway, it's about making it hard for your opponent to head it where he wants to, which he did far better than Demi today. Demi won a few headers against their smaller people, but I don't recall him even making life difficult for Barnes.

Stats are fine, as a guide, they show MDM won 4 out of 10 aerial duels.

 

[Bilboblue]

Re: Mangala

I'm at a loss to work out how Mangala can look so good in one game, and really poor in the next.

Wasn't anywhere near good enough today, but Kolarov was SO bad, it put more pressure on him.

I thought today was made for Clichy down that side and was surprised to see Kolarov start, truth be told.

Oh well, great chance missed but we'll be ok this season.

 

[OB1]

Re: Mangala

I like him more and more every game.

He's a proper front foot defender who tries to get involved and play the game the right way. I also like that he has previously identified the "Burnley's of the world" as a problem opposition to him and its something he is actively working on. I also also like the fact that he never hides and even if he has just made a mistake then he doesn't clam up or shy away but it motivates him to get on the ball and effect the play more.

On today's performance I'd just like to say one thing - isn't it now a huge coincidence that anybody that we play next to our left backs suddenly becomes a terrible defender? Lescott, Demichelis, Nastasic, and now Mangala. Demichelis is an incredibly experienced defender who has played in World Cup Finals and Champions League Finals yet even he took some getting used to Clichy and Kolarov's foibles.

I have a theory that Kolarov is incapable of playing against high work rate teams that soak up the pressure then attack quickly just because the defender next to him always seem to have a poor game. He's not doing something right, put it that way.

LB is surely on our shopping list this summer as it has too long been a troublesome position for us

I really don't know if you are right or wrong about Kolarov and high work rate teams but he has too many games where he defends poorly and today was a definite example of that. Our weaknesses at LB do cause problems for the LCB and Manga did suffer when having to defend out wide. However, I think he is getting rather too much stick for today's performance.

 

[HolisticJim]

Re: Mangala

Bollocks, he started badly and needed to get used to the prem.
He improved beyond recognition and simoy had a poor game today.

In 18 months he will be an awesome player.

For 32million pounds we shouldn't be waiting 24 months for a player to become awesome

Sometimes it happens when you buy a player with potential from outside of our league.
Sometimes an investment is just that - is what it says on the tin.

 

[mosssideblue]

Re: Mangala

I like him more and more every game.

He's a proper front foot defender who tries to get involved and play the game the right way. I also like that he has previously identified the "Burnley's of the world" as a problem opposition to him and its something he is actively working on. I also also like the fact that he never hides and even if he has just made a mistake then he doesn't clam up or shy away but it motivates him to get on the ball and effect the play more.

On today's performance I'd just like to say one thing - isn't it now a huge coincidence that anybody that we play next to our left backs suddenly becomes a terrible defender? Lescott, Demichelis, Nastasic, and now Mangala. Demichelis is an incredibly experienced defender who has played in World Cup Finals and Champions League Finals yet even he took some getting used to Clichy and Kolarov's foibles.

I have a theory that Kolarov is incapable of playing against high work rate teams that soak up the pressure then attack quickly just because the defender next to him always seem to have a poor game. He's not doing something right, put it that way.

LB is surely on our shopping list this summer as it has too long been a troublesome position for us

I really don't know if you are right or wrong about Kolarov and high work rate teams but he has too many games where he defends poorly and today was a definite example of that. Our weaknesses at LB do cause problems for the LCB and Manga did suffer when having to defend out wide. However, I think he is getting rather too much stick for today's performance.

I'm with you. I like Eli and think he is starting to show signs of settling in. It gets difficult for him when the LB is having a mare and he feels the need to go that extra mile to cover their arses. I wouldn't be surprised to see a LB on our shopping list.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

Re: Mangala

I like him more and more every game.

He's a proper front foot defender who tries to get involved and play the game the right way. I also like that he has previously identified the "Burnley's of the world" as a problem opposition to him and its something he is actively working on. I also also like the fact that he never hides and even if he has just made a mistake then he doesn't clam up or shy away but it motivates him to get on the ball and effect the play more.

On today's performance I'd just like to say one thing - isn't it now a huge coincidence that anybody that we play next to our left backs suddenly becomes a terrible defender? Lescott, Demichelis, Nastasic, and now Mangala. Demichelis is an incredibly experienced defender who has played in World Cup Finals and Champions League Finals yet even he took some getting used to Clichy and Kolarov's foibles.

I have a theory that Kolarov is incapable of playing against high work rate teams that soak up the pressure then attack quickly just because the defender next to him always seem to have a poor game. He's not doing something right, put it that way.

LB is surely on our shopping list this summer as it has too long been a troublesome position for us

I really don't know if you are right or wrong about Kolarov and high work rate teams but he has too many games where he defends poorly and today was a definite example of that. Our weaknesses at LB do cause problems for the LCB and Manga did suffer when having to defend out wide. However, I think he is getting rather too much stick for today's performance.

I'm with you. I like Eli and think he is starting to show signs of settling in. It gets difficult for him when the LB is having a mare and he feels the need to go that extra mile to cover their arses. I wouldn't be surprised to see a LB on our shopping list.

He was starting to show signs of improvement but wasn't great at West Brom and was terrible yesterday.

Hopefully Kompany is fit for the big games in January. We need his captaincy qualities.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

Re: Mangala

I like him more and more every game.

He's a proper front foot defender who tries to get involved and play the game the right way. I also like that he has previously identified the "Burnley's of the world" as a problem opposition to him and its something he is actively working on. I also also like the fact that he never hides and even if he has just made a mistake then he doesn't clam up or shy away but it motivates him to get on the ball and effect the play more.

On today's performance I'd just like to say one thing - isn't it now a huge coincidence that anybody that we play next to our left backs suddenly becomes a terrible defender? Lescott, Demichelis, Nastasic, and now Mangala. Demichelis is an incredibly experienced defender who has played in World Cup Finals and Champions League Finals yet even he took some getting used to Clichy and Kolarov's foibles.

I have a theory that Kolarov is incapable of playing against high work rate teams that soak up the pressure then attack quickly just because the defender next to him always seem to have a poor game. He's not doing something right, put it that way.

LB is surely on our shopping list this summer as it has too long been a troublesome position for us

I really don't know if you are right or wrong about Kolarov and high work rate teams but he has too many games where he defends poorly and today was a definite example of that. Our weaknesses at LB do cause problems for the LCB and Manga did suffer when having to defend out wide. However, I think he is getting rather too much stick for today's performance.

I'm with you. I like Eli and think he is starting to show signs of settling in. It gets difficult for him when the LB is having a mare and he feels the need to go that extra mile to cover their arses. I wouldn't be surprised to see a LB on our shopping list.

The games were Mangala looks poor are the ones were the opposition are playing well down their right / our left. If you think back to Hull they had a spell were it was all coming down our left (I think it was Clichy at LB then) and Mangala starts to look rash and clumsy although anyone who has played CB knows if your full back is getting skinned you have to slide over and more often than not you end up in a poor position and leaving the near post exposed.

I think the issue Managala has is we don’t have a reliable LB or left sided midfielder who makes that side of our formation secure. We often put Nasri or Silva on the left and they like to move in toward the ball, on top of that our full backs are expected to push on and that leaves a big gap. It is less of a problem on the right as Zab is excellent and we tend to have Navas or Milner on the right who work well with Zab (expecting him to overlap and tracking back to help when he does). On the left it is a different story although recently when Clichy has played well Mangala has looked really solid. I think he was really affected by Kolarov’s performance yesterday.

I would bring Clichy back in and if anything use Kolarov as a left sided midfielder to sure up the formation when we need it.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Re: Mangala

He was shocking yesterday, although Kolarov's indifference to the actual proceedings certainly won't have helped.

I do think we do have to be careful here. There are plenty who seem convinced Eliaquim will go on to become one of Europe's best. His debut against Chelsea would certainly point towards that.

However, I am genuinely shocked at how lacking he is, allied to his actual cost, in terms of the basic fundamentals.

His strength and aerial prowess should be the bare minimum from someone required in his position, but even that what sadly shown up by a journeyman player yesterday.

Never goal side, and from the majority of set-pieces, he allows his man acres of space to get the jump on him.

What I mean in terms of blues being careful?

I convinced myself for years that big money buys such as Bradbury, Balotelli, Taylor, Macken, Adebayor, would all come good.

It simply prejudiced what I could actually see with my eyes, but I wouldn't have it. They were never really up to it in the first place.

I'm not seeing nearly enough from Mangala, at present, to suggest he is going to be the world beater I assumed he was going to be for the price.

No doubt, he will improve, he surely has to? (that's my caveat right there ;)

But I have to remain a sceptic that he will go on to absolutely destroy the burden of his price tag, based on some shortcomings I would expect any defender, young or old, to be able to perform as a matter of course.

I do think Damocles makes a great point about the left back issue, although Demichelis eventually had to swap with Mangala due to him being bullied by Barnes both in the air and on the ground.

I may also be mistaken, but from my vantage, Mangala was also the player who caught Zabba, simply by his rashness to clear, when Hart was fouled?

 

[jollylescott]

Re: Mangala

^ A belated Merry Xmas Tolm.

It is a huge concern that there are so many deficiencies in his game. He seems to be lacking the natural positional awareness of a top class defender. As you said he allowed far too much space to his opponent and he gave away some very naive free kicks in dangerous positions.

As one person said yesterday there was an element of Bambi on ice. Eli is very awkward and doesn't appear to have the co-ordination and defensive sixth sense which should be expected from a 32 million purchase.

Of course all these elements can be worked upon, and he is still very young for a central defender. However 32 mill is a helluva lot of money and for that investment we need the best of the best.

It would be interesting to know Khaldoon's thoughts after the game. I am sure there would have been some very interesting conversations taking place behind the scenes!