Time to put sentiment aside, back-line needs an overhaul.

[Lucky Toma]

most great sides have a solid settled defense, but at the moment we seem to be way off being solid and strong. I dont think we have bad defenders, but Kompany is the only "great"defender we have in my opinion. I think teams look at our defense and see it as our weakness.

Dare i say it, but how i would long for us to have the Adams/Bould/Keown/Dixon/Winterburn or the Maldini/Baresi/Costacurta type of defense.

Most teams were mentally beaten before even walking on the pitch against these guys. Imagine how a striker felt knowing he was being marked by the guys mentioned above? he already knew the chances are he wouldnt get a sniff all game.

Imagine a striker today playing in front of his own crowd.....................dodgy away team MCFC turn up............................ Kompany is out injured........................ his eyes light up........he knows hes up against an out of form and a lacking in confidence back 4.................................hes gonna have a extra spring in his step knowing that the chances are someone in our defence will drop a clanger.

It pains me to it, but our defenders have no fear factor whatsoever. Take Vinnie out and we are slightly above average at best.

Hopefully our defensive issues will be addressed next summer.

Good post.

As much as I loathe the clown Quinn said something pertinent on this very matter v Sunderland. Said that players have an instinct for vulnerability.

All week in the build-up they'll be thinking 'Shit, we've got City this weekend'. Then they take to the field, win a few second balls, spot the gaps, note the lack of tracking back, the 3/4 committed challenges, etc etc and suddenly think 'We can beat these lot!'

Within ten minutes away from home the oppo attacking options have a surge in confidence.

Whether we bring in players or rebuild solidity from within its going to take some time before we get an intimidating defensive aura which is a priceless commodity.

We were nearly there too which makes it all the more frustrating.

 

[Mr HJ]

most great sides have a solid settled defense, but at the moment we seem to be way off being solid and strong. I dont think we have bad defenders, but Kompany is the only "great"defender we have in my opinion. I think teams look at our defense and see it as our weakness.

Dare i say it, but how i would long for us to have the Adams/Bould/Keown/Dixon/Winterburn or the Maldini/Baresi/Costacurta type of defense.

Most teams were mentally beaten before even walking on the pitch against these guys. Imagine how a striker felt knowing he was being marked by the guys mentioned above? he already knew the chances are he wouldnt get a sniff all game.

Imagine a striker today playing in front of his own crowd.....................dodgy away team MCFC turn up............................ Kompany is out injured........................ his eyes light up........he knows hes up against an out of form and a lacking in confidence back 4.................................hes gonna have a extra spring in his step knowing that the chances are someone in our defence will drop a clanger.

It pains me to it, but our defenders have no fear factor whatsoever. Take Vinnie out and we are slightly above average at best.

Hopefully our defensive issues will be addressed next summer.

Good post.

As much as I loathe the clown Quinn said something pertinent on this very matter v Sunderland. Said that players have an instinct for vulnerability.

All week in the build-up they'll be thinking 'Shit, we've got City this weekend'. Then they take to the field, win a few second balls, spot the gaps, note the lack of tracking back, the 3/4 committed challenges, etc etc and suddenly think 'We can beat these lot!'

Within ten minutes away from home the oppo attacking options have a surge in confidence.

Whether we bring in players or rebuild solidity from within its going to take some time before we get an intimidating defensive aura which is a priceless commodity.

We were nearly there too which makes it all the more frustrating.

This is a great post. How many times as fans do we know within the first ten minutes if we are going to win? All the away games we have lost ( Chelsea apart) we have started so slowly the opposition have thought hey we might get something here? Possession sideways and backwards sometimes can set the tone and whereas I love our constructive play when Silva and Nasri are involved sometimes we have put the living fear into the other side. No pace and power with Yaya and Garcia in the same midfield only a lot of ball retention around the halfway line.

 

[hgblue]

most great sides have a solid settled defense, but at the moment we seem to be way off being solid and strong. I dont think we have bad defenders, but Kompany is the only "great"defender we have in my opinion. I think teams look at our defense and see it as our weakness.

Dare i say it, but how i would long for us to have the Adams/Bould/Keown/Dixon/Winterburn or the Maldini/Baresi/Costacurta type of defense.

Most teams were mentally beaten before even walking on the pitch against these guys. Imagine how a striker felt knowing he was being marked by the guys mentioned above? he already knew the chances are he wouldnt get a sniff all game.

Imagine a striker today playing in front of his own crowd.....................dodgy away team MCFC turn up............................ Kompany is out injured........................ his eyes light up........he knows hes up against an out of form and a lacking in confidence back 4.................................hes gonna have a extra spring in his step knowing that the chances are someone in our defence will drop a clanger.

It pains me to it, but our defenders have no fear factor whatsoever. Take Vinnie out and we are slightly above average at best.

Hopefully our defensive issues will be addressed next summer.

Good post.

As much as I loathe the clown Quinn said something pertinent on this very matter v Sunderland. Said that players have an instinct for vulnerability.

All week in the build-up they'll be thinking 'Shit, we've got City this weekend'. Then they take to the field, win a few second balls, spot the gaps, note the lack of tracking back, the 3/4 committed challenges, etc etc and suddenly think 'We can beat these lot!'

Within ten minutes away from home the oppo attacking options have a surge in confidence.

Whether we bring in players or rebuild solidity from within its going to take some time before we get an intimidating defensive aura which is a priceless commodity.

We were nearly there too which makes it all the more frustrating.

I'd go a step further and say that sides fancy their chances against us (at home) before they even take to the pitch. They (correctly) sense a defensive vulnerability and that gives them hope. Time for Pellegrini to sacrifice a striker and makes us tougher to beat away from home until January. Then we need to sign the centre back, left back and holding midfielder that we should have signed in the summer.

 

[Matty]

I think we definitely need to be looking at an upgrade at left back, however our other 3 starters (when everyone is fit) are more than good enough, Kompany, Nastasic and Zabaleta are definitely of the required standard, it's Clichy and Kolarov where we need to improve. We also need to look at the backup options, Demichelis will do as number 2 right sided centre half for the next 18 months or so, he'll only be needed to cover Kompany so, assuming he can get over his fitness issues, we'll be fine there. Lescott is out of contract in the summer and certain to leave so we'll need to look for a left sided centre half to replace him, preferably one to keep Nastasic on his toes. He's only 20 and, as such, will need to be taken out of the lineup from time to time to avoid burnout, and cope with the inevitable losses of form young players suffer from. Richards and Zabaleta are more than good enough options at right back.

 

[supercity88]

We are just so weak with direct play, a long ball forward and we cannot deal with it. That is basic defending. It seems odd that the only away game we have won is at Upton Park against a Sam Allerdyce side!

 

[flb]

Only two seasons ago we won the league with a back-line of Clichy, Lescott, Kompany and Richards.

Now Lescott and Richards do not justify their wages and Clichy is in worrying form. I personally believe we definitely need to part with our two English players but Clichy is nearing the chopping block. I know Lescott and Richards are big charcacters in the dressing room but both are weaknesses that teams exploit now, be it poor passing under pressure or being half way up the pitch watching your team-mates struggle to defend the space that's exposed. I couldn't care a toss what the papers write about us selling English players, if they are good enough then this wouldn't be an issue but right now. It is a testament to Mancini that he managed to make us solid but now with a more attacking philosophy we are being exposed time and again by players that should not be scoring against us. We have made Frazier Campbell look like Falcao and we have made Bardsley look like Jordi Alba when in reality both are bang average players.

Looking back you can see why Mancini wanted Thiago Silva, we should have paid whatever it took back then. A Kompany and Silva pairing is pretty much the very best combination in world football.

New GK, two CB's and LB needed imo. I think Jan and the summer should be used to sort these areas. Garcia has to go too but we knew that already. Our squad is a good one but the summer of 2012 is haunting us 12 months on and we do need a shake-up, and that starts at the back.

I've asked this question a few times without a decent answer, perhaps you could oblige


If we peddle Lescott, Richards, Milner & Rodwell as looks more and more likely with each passing week who makes up our homegrown quota?

 

[Claytop]

most great sides have a solid settled defense, but at the moment we seem to be way off being solid and strong. I dont think we have bad defenders, but Kompany is the only "great"defender we have in my opinion. I think teams look at our defense and see it as our weakness.

Dare i say it, but how i would long for us to have the Adams/Bould/Keown/Dixon/Winterburn or the Maldini/Baresi/Costacurta type of defense.

Most teams were mentally beaten before even walking on the pitch against these guys. Imagine how a striker felt knowing he was being marked by the guys mentioned above? he already knew the chances are he wouldnt get a sniff all game.

Imagine a striker today playing in front of his own crowd.....................dodgy away team MCFC turn up............................ Kompany is out injured........................ his eyes light up........he knows hes up against an out of form and a lacking in confidence back 4.................................hes gonna have a extra spring in his step knowing that the chances are someone in our defence will drop a clanger.

It pains me to it, but our defenders have no fear factor whatsoever. Take Vinnie out and we are slightly above average at best.

Hopefully our defensive issues will be addressed next summer.

Good post.

As much as I loathe the clown Quinn said something pertinent on this very matter v Sunderland. Said that players have an instinct for vulnerability.

All week in the build-up they'll be thinking 'Shit, we've got City this weekend'. Then they take to the field, win a few second balls, spot the gaps, note the lack of tracking back, the 3/4 committed challenges, etc etc and suddenly think 'We can beat these lot!'

Within ten minutes away from home the oppo attacking options have a surge in confidence.

Whether we bring in players or rebuild solidity from within its going to take some time before we get an intimidating defensive aura which is a priceless commodity.

We were nearly there too which makes it all the more frustrating.

This is a great post. How many times as fans do we know within the first ten minutes if we are going to win? All the away games we have lost ( Chelsea apart) we have started so slowly the opposition have thought hey we might get something here? Possession sideways and backwards sometimes can set the tone and whereas I love our constructive play when Silva and Nasri are involved sometimes we have put the living fear into the other side. No pace and power with Yaya and Garcia in the same midfield only a lot of ball retention around the halfway line.

Spot on, It was quite depressing watching the first 5-10 minutes and realizing how the game was going to pan out. Yet you carry on watching hoping something is going to click.

 

[supercity88]

The first five to ten mins is crucial and often we start slow and fail to get a rhythm going. The key away from home is to keep the ball and to defend well and make sure the home fans have nothing to cheer. Do that and as time pushes on start to use the ball better and push forward. We have conceded far too many away from home, have allowed the opposition to score from almost every opportunity and have failed to use the ball well and stay patient. West Ham was evidence of how to keep the ball and how to use it effectively. At Chelsea we didn't create all that much but we were patient but slipped up defensively. Villa similarly we took our foot off the gas. The whole mentality is wrong and despite the managerial change there has been no improvement on this front. Pellegrini is trying to get the players to play a certain style and philosophy and trying to get them to do it home and away but the players simply do not perform away from home. They need shaking up and something needs to happen. We need to improve our defence and we also need some sort of sports psychologist to get these players to perform at the same level whether home or away.

 

[flb]

The first five to ten mins is crucial and often we start slow and fail to get a rhythm going. The key away from home is to keep the ball and to defend well and make sure the home fans have nothing to cheer. Do that and as time pushes on start to use the ball better and push forward. We have conceded far too many away from home, have allowed the opposition to score from almost every opportunity and have failed to use the ball well and stay patient. West Ham was evidence of how to keep the ball and how to use it effectively. At Chelsea we didn't create all that much but we were patient but slipped up defensively. Villa similarly we took our foot off the gas. The whole mentality is wrong and despite the managerial change there has been no improvement on this front. Pellegrini is trying to get the players to play a certain style and philosophy and trying to get them to do it home and away but the players simply do not perform away from home. They need shaking up and something needs to happen. We need to improve our defence and we also need some sort of sports psychologist to get these players to perform at the same level whether home or away.

Perhaps its me but just what exactly is this style of play Pellagrini is playing-it doesn't look anything different from what we did last season, apart from a few different players in and we now man mark instead of zonal.

 

[cavendishblue]

Slightly off topic but with AJ , Sinclair & Barry gone, Lescott and Richards not up to the standard, Hart not ist choice and a question mark over Rodwell that leaves Milner in terms of British players - where do we stand with the minimum number of home-grown players now? I fear we may soon be having to keep sub-standard players just to keep the numbers up.