We need defenders who can defend

[leighton]

Its the worst defence we have had in years. We got a rock solid keeper but whats in front of it for the majority of the season has been poor. We cant do the art of defending our players we have there are prone to fucking up and its not as if we spent 30 million plus on some of these defenders. Oh wait we have.

Im all for having a defender who can play the ball out of defence as long as they can defend too. Otamendi for me can play the ball well but his defending can go from brilliant to shambolic at times and its the same with Mangala. As for our fullbacks Kolarov . Clichy and Sagna just cant be relied on to defend and put a shift in. There all good going forward. Our only real defender is Zaba yest he is returning from injury just think a Zabba would help this team out big time. Add in Kompany too and its a solid defence that can do both defend and support the attack.

This season is going to be won on how well we do defensively in the remaining games stay strong we will score goals and keep some clean sheets we will be winning this title. If we continue to defend as we are we will struggle in games and might it tighter to win the title.

 

[PistonBlue]

The defensive side of our midfield is appalling at times too.

 

[littlemarkyc]

i sorry your analysis of Sagna is wrong, he can defend and has been excellent this season.

 

[RandomJ]

Disagree about Sagna. His defending is solid.

 

[bugsyblue]

It's not the worst defence we've had in years. I know Kompany is a shadow of his former self and we've still the same full backs from 2011 or whenever but Otamendi and Mangala are, I believe, upgrades on Lescott and Savic. I mean we had Barry and De Jong protecting the defence most of the time in Mancini's days. Now we have Dinho, terrific player but not a natural defensive midfielder, or Fernando, who isn't as good as either Barry or De Jong, protecting the back four. At times our midfield criminally lets the defence down. I know Otamendi was doing his hair for West Ham's second goal but look at the first one. Yaya stands still, letting the West Ham player ghost past him and then Delph decides to try and make amends by joining the defensive line, that was perfectly positioned and didn't need an extra body there, instead of using a bit of football naus and protecting the area in front of the defence.

 

[meeesh]

All titles are won on who defends the best,we are dodgy at times I admit,but I look at it this way today,we beat Leicester a week on Saturday and that will be that,we will be top and it's in our own hands,which I feel we won't let slip,so at 13/10 to win it,get your coin on now lads to pay for your Summer holidays.............

 

[Mike N]

It's certainly the worst defence we have had in a long while. I really feel sorry for Joe Hart as he gets no protection. Players do not charge the ball down and the full backs never stop the cross getting over. It's also clear that a number of our midfield and forward players do not see closing down as a job for them.

Oh for the days of Carlos Tevez when defenders didnt get a moment on the ball!

 

[BigOscar]

It's the worst midfield we've had in years, not the worst defence imo. Our defence has never been so exposed, every single game as it is this year and that will always lead to more errors and personal battles lost. Throw in that our midfield is not able to dominate games and it just means that our defenders are having to do far more defending than they should be. Stick a proper midfield in front of the defence so that they aren't constantly under pressure and having to put out fires and I'm sure our defenders would all of a sudden look a hell of a lot better.

 

[Sergio Picasso Aguero]

It's a mixture of Kompany's injuries, ageing fullbacks, Hart's occasional mistakes breeding nervousness and lack of protection from the midfield.

Personally I think we need a whole new back 5 but that's not realistic.

 

[@BluePhil8]

If our entire team set out to defend like how a Mourinho or LVG team does our defence would be one of the best in world football.

Individually Kompany, Mangala and Otamendi are great players. But they can't do everything. Kolarov and Sagna are told to bomb forward and Yaya and Fernandinho both lurk deep in the opposition half.

What can 2 or 3 players do to halt a counter attack when the midfield isn't there to protect them? Nothing.

Even Barcelona and other attacking sides defend from the front, which is something we have never had apart from one player in Tevez.

The balance is currently out of sync and I think Pep will fix it. The personnel is correct, and I expect we will be unstoppable once Aguero and Sterling are rushing opposition defenders and we have a midfield capable of attacking and defending.