Time catching up with Zabaleta?

Zin 'messiah' Zimmer said:
Personally I think sagna deserves an extension...

The reality is yaya, zab, komp, silva, could all be gone within the next 2 years!!
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Jeez - that's depressing - it will be the end of an era of 4 of the finest players ever to adorn the sky blue jersey.

One of the downsides of being a very top level team - any slight drop off gets noticed quickly and means a relatively short time at the top table for more of our heroes
 
Millwallawayveteran1988 said:
Sagna is 34 in feb though. I can't see it. I think one will go this summer though and it could well be Zabba. Sagna is on £150k a week according to papers so I can't see him going anywhere until his contract is up as no one will pay that at that age. Maybe both will stay for the year.
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You could be right, didn't realise he was 33...

We can't go into the next campaign with them both here, RB as well as LB, needs surgery!!
 
Zaba is a City legend. For maybe 3 years he was the best right full back in the PL. We all worried that the lack of rotation, not provided initially by the always injured Richards and last season Sagna, who was poor at first, coupled with his international career would see him burn out early.Sadly this appears to have happened now. He is getting older and the injury appears to have taken its toll. It's very, very sad but at least it's now evident to all. I personally have wanted him back in the team as first choice ever since he returned from injury so at least now it's proved to me that his time has come. If Pep sells him in the Summer I'll bear Pep no grudges which I guess is a positive. Zaba should have seen red today. His frustration, with his own body, when substituted was a mark of the man. He knows it's over and it hurts.Whatever happens in the future he'll always he welcomed back at The Etihad in years to come.
 
Wasn't pretty watching him vs pedro today and although It looked worrying I'm still willing to put it down to rustiness at this stage
 
What you have to realise with Sagna is that he's 33.

He's playing well but Demichelis was playing well, very well in fact, this time last year also. When they're that age at this elite level the drop off can be quite sudden.

It'd be a huge mistake not to have a new right back next season. Could Denayer play there?
 
It's actually a little painful watching him right now.

Best rightback in the league for a couple of seasons and heroic for Argentina also.

Sadly, time has rushed up on him at a great rate of knots it would seem.

Will go down as a City great without question and one of the best fullback's the Premiership has seen.

r
 
I'm still clinging to the hope that a more intense training regime can bring him back up to proper match fitness next season.

I'd also keep one of the right backs this summer and with Sagna 33 now I'd like to think Zab will still be utilised. He is more tactically flexible/intelligent than Sagna and better going forward, maybe Pep will value those strengths.
 
Sadly Zabaleta seems to have regressed to the player who first arrived here. He was being beaten with ease today and was a second off the pace which meant he was lunging in giving away free kicks and risked being sent off in the process

After all he's done for us, I'd still buy his replacement but keep him as part of the squad to see if Pep can turn his form around or at the very least use his experience to bring along the next generation and to provide defensive back up if needed.
 
I think he's looking a bit bulkier, like he's been working out whilst injured, and he's lost a yard as a result. Maybe slim down a bit. 31 is normally not past it for pros these days.
 
I think he's been playing catch up all year after injury and no real rest for the past few summers. I would not like to right him off, I hope he gets a full pre season with us injury free, then you can judge him next season
 
since we are lack of winger, we depend a lot to attacking fullback to cover for width.
the problem are all our 4 fullbacks already in their 30s.
dani alves still thriving because he's playing in slower league.
premier league is a past pace game, for 90 minutes in every matches.
there is no way old fullback can play with physical consistency against young fresh legs.

no time for sentimental sentiments. either one of them from each side needs to go.
 
The last couple of games he's looked off. We need to judge him once he's got a good few games under his belt. However, I've said Pellegrini has left our defenders out to dry by not giving them any cover in front, if Zabaletta's form doesn't pick up, then it makes the CB's jobs even harder. It's a shame really, as the bloke loves us, and the fans love him, however a bit like one of our midfielders, we can't let sentimentality get in the way of the team.
 
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