We need defenders who can defend

[fatbloke]

This still is the moment just before Kouyate takes the ball by Yaya. As he kicks the ball Otamendi steps out leaving a gaping hole behind him.

Look at Kouyate, what options has he got?
1. Kick it and run - Yaya should win that ball back or at worst clear the ball.
2. The player just to his right - not really an option is it?
3. The player on the left wing - closely marked by Sagna, we win possession back.
4. The ball into Valencia's feet - Delph can cover the run but only Otamendi can win possession back by intercepting the pass.

In everyone of those situations we win the ball back or at worst clear it for a throw in or corner, if Yaya does his job. That's the strategy Pellegrini wants us to play, anyone who watches us knows we defend on the front foot and knows our defenders try to win the ball aggressively (over aggressively) at times. Under Mancini, Otamendi would have been told to hold his position and cover Yaya but that's the risk we take.

 

[Rolee]

Look at Kouyate, what options has he got?
1. Kick it and run - Yaya should win that ball back or at worst clear the ball.
2. The player just to his right - not really an option is it?
3. The player on the left wing - closely marked by Sagna, we win possession back.
4. The ball into Valencia's feet - Delph can cover the run but only Otamendi can win possession back by intercepting the pass.

In everyone of those situations we win the ball back or at worst clear it for a throw in or corner, if Yaya does his job. That's the strategy Pellegrini wants us to play, anyone who watches us knows we defend on the front foot and knows our defenders try to win the ball aggressively (over aggressively) at times. Under Mancini, Otamendi would have been told to hold his position and cover Yaya but that's the risk we take.

Your hatred of Yaya is blinding you from thinking rationally.

 

[fatbloke]

I'm not letting Yaya off, he certainly has part responsibility but Delph was quite right to try and fill the gap at the near post where Otamendi should have been. Otamendi gambled, I'm not convinced that was worth a gamble in the first minute, also surely by now Otamendi has had time to assess Yaya's defensive frailties.

You're absolutely right, with Yaya in the team we should defend on the back foot, sitting deep and covering the space in behind him and the back four.

Pellegrini doesn't work that way, he likes his teams to defend on the front foot and like I've said it's a high risk strategy usually. With Yaya in the team it's fucking suicidal defending.

Personally I prefer front foot defending and being aggressive to try and win the ball back quickly but you simply cannot fit Yaya into that system, whether you play 2 or 3 is irrelevant because you have to be able to trust every player to do his job.

 

[fatbloke]

Your hatred of Yaya is blinding you from thinking rationally.

Same old bollocks response, just like Malg yesterday in the post match thread.

If I'm wrong, explain how. Just like I try to explain my reasoning. My hatred of Yaya is completely irrelevant, the reasoning is there in black and white for you pal.

 

[Rolee]

Same old bollocks response, just like Malg yesterday in the post match thread.

If I'm wrong, explain how. Just like I try to explain my reasoning. My hatred of Yaya is completely irrelevant, the reasoning is there in black and white for you pal.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for Otamendi to step out, none, nada, fucking zilch.

Yes Pellegrini likes his players to defend on the front foot but what Otamendi does in this instance is just fucking stupid.

If he holds his position in line with Demi then he's in position to block the cross.

 

[ninjamonkey]

Said it since his first game, Otamendi is a great tackler, but a bang average defender. Chases the ball around more than Gelson Fernandes and dives in more than any other defender i've seen. His highlights reel can look great and i suspect that's why most on here seem to love him but If he'd signed for the rags, we'd be laughing at them for wasting £30 million

 

[Deleted member 58678]

With proper defensive systems in place I think Otamendi and Mangala would make a great partnership with Kompany chipping in a dozen games a season when he's not injured.

With no proper defensive systems top centre halves (look at Kompany last season he was fucking bobbins!) can be made to look like chumps.

It all stems from the manager this. I honestly can't wait 'til he leaves.

Even look back to when we were great under him when the team still had Mancini's defensive systems still in their psychie: look at the way the team was set up at home to Bayern, they embarrassed us and made us look like amateurs; look at that Barça penalty at our place that Demichelis gave away - eight players were doing something wrong defensively in the build up to that incident...and that's when we were good under him, but that doesn't happen by accident because of individual errors, it stems from the manager.

Now we're not good and it's having an effect on everything else in our play, offensively as well.

You have to be sound defensively first, before anything else. Then the rest will flow much better all round.

Picking out individual errors here and there - "Yaya's not done this" "Otamendi's done that" - is all well and good. The thing is individuals make mistakes all the time. But the manager is making the same ones over and over. It's alright to make mistakes but when you make the same ones time and again you're either naïve, or you don't care or you're an idiot.

If this team knew that each one of them had a job to do in different situations defensively and they all knew what the player just to the right, just to the left, just in front or just behind them were all supposed to be doing as well; stupid individual mistakes would happen less frequently. We don't have this in our team. The manager doesn't drill this team on what they should be doing defensively individually, never mind the others around them.

 

[01cravend]

Worst defensive tactics we've had in a long time. Individually, with the exception of Demichelis, we are fine.

Too often they are over exposed from lack of cover in midfield, tracking back from wide players, and being out of position because the fullbacks are stood on the edge of the opponents box. And in spite of all that, our defence is currently the 4th best for goals against and joint second for clean sheets.

Hope this changes with Pep, who's teams have conceded the least goals every season he has managed.

 

[fatbloke]

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for Otamendi to step out, none, nada, fucking zilch.

Yes Pellegrini likes his players to defend on the front foot but what Otamendi does in this instance is just fucking stupid.

If he holds his position in line with Demi then he's in position to block the cross.

I absolutely agree, 100% if your sole intention is to defend and under Mancini it is exactly what Otamendi would have been told to do.

In the system we play under Pellegrini our defenders are clearly instructed to 'win possession' back, not to defend. Just look how many times Kompany steps out these days, compared to him under Mancini's management. It's not the players, it's the system we play.

 

[kippax91]

Like see us go for stones in summer