What we need is balance, and physicality is an important ingredient in that, particularly in a league like the Premiership. The trouble is you can't mention words like tackle and header on here without some puritanical high sparrow of the beautiful game assuming that you are advocating a return to the John Beck days of clubbing some seals to death in the warm up before breaking all the opposition's legs and then strapping the ball to a Soyuz test rocket and firing it 90 miles into outer space.
We came up short against virtually any team that wanted a scrap last season, with our most tragic performances coming against those prepared to operate a high press. Liverpool twice, Southampton, Stoke, Spurs etc etc. We didn't just lose, we got battered and it got to the point that you could foretell the outcome of certain fixtures just by looking at the team sheet. We played the dippers at Wembley with Ya Ya giving it his last hurrah alongside Fernando, and Fernandinho inside right to stop that little fucker Coutinho ripping us to shreds and we totally had their number. We went to Klanfield 3 days later with Aguero, Silva, Sterling and Navas as a front four and served up one of the most spineless surrenders of my life time, all of them levered off the ball non-stop for 90 minutes.
When you play teams who contest games with such intensity you have to be able to compete physically. It's not rocket science. It's why Watford (Deeney, Igalo), Newcastle (Sissoko, Cisse, Wijnaldum), the rags (Rashford, Martial, Valencia, Carrick, Bog brush), Palace (Sakho, Zaha) and West Ham (half the fricking team) beat the dippers comfortably whereas our diddymen got torn apart. They deployed any number of strapping midfielders and forwards, didn't get muscled out of possession and stung Liverpool on the counter attack. Doesn't mean that those teams represent the way forward - they all have their own Achilles Heels - but against particular teams playing a particular way they were very very effective, just as we were for example against a fair few of those very teams mentioned courtesy of the way we played.
Pep might be a great manager, but there's too much opinion on here (not yours I should stress) rooted in arrogance. This is a fucking gruelling league we're in, way more competitive than any other in Europe, and we will have our work cut out if we think that all we have to do is turn up and play champagne football, simply because half the teams won't let us. Pointing that out is not evidence of a fanny that needs a wipe or bed sheets that need changing, just a fact.
The defence will be alright as long as Kompany stays fit. What it is about any 2 from Otamendi, Stones and Mangala as a pairing that fills you with confidence I'm not sure though. In the swaggering out of defence with the ball under control stakes, Otamendi and Stones will excel. When questions are asked of them defensively well that might be another matter. Mangala isn't good enough full stop, and I will be surprised (as I will with Sterling) if he proves able to do the things Pep asks of him on a consistent enough basis to hold down a place in the squad long term, never mind the team.
