What's Happened To Our Defence?

[bondsman]

Just because gvardiol Is young and still new to the club it doesnt take away the fact that hes struggling. It provides a reason why hes struggling , but hes struggling all the same. Not his fault i may add

Akanji also being asked to play a role he isnt good enough for as well.
Dias’ form has fallen off a cliff. Maybe he needs stones back.
Walker a bit all over the shop as well

Couldnt even tell you our best back 4 at the moment!

Oh and totally agree , if haaland bags just one of his 2 very easy chances the games won by half time and we dont talk about any defensive lapses or that refs fuck up

Guardiol currently not fit to lace Laporte’s boots at LB or CB. On form Laporte would be a better pick than Dias as well. Losing Eric is a real shame.

 

[Bluesince1979]

Guardiol currently not fit to lace Laporte’s boots at LB or CB. On form Laporte would be a better pick than Dias as well. Losing Eric is a real shame.

For a separate thread but replacing laporte, mahrez and gundo with kovacic, gvardiol and doku (though i think once dokus rough edges are polished up he will be just fine) was bad business

 

[Haaland94]

Let's stop playing Kyle Walker every week and bring back Johnny Stones. Walker is the one struggling, and the bias against Gvardiol is laughable. Gvardiol has been leagues above Walker this season. Akanji, Dias, and Ake all cost us games at some point this season as well. Gvardiol probably cost us the least of them all. The moment we bring back Stones and drop Walker to play with 4 CBs, we will get back to winning.

 

[Gigant]

Let's stop playing Kyle Walker every week and bring back Johnny Stones. Walker is the one struggling, and the bias against Gvardiol is laughable. Gvardiol has been leagues above Walker this season. Akanji, Dias, and Ake all cost us games at some point this season as well. Gvardiol probably cost us the least of them all. The moment we bring back Stones and drop Walker to play with 4 CBs, we will get back to winning.

also think the same, Walker is too comfy with playing time ,needs Akanji there , the CL final defence line up all the way. Aknji offer more in possesion game , and not so bad in defence.

 

[franksinatra]

Agree with nearly all of that but think it's just a little premature to say we've recruited poorly in midfield (Phillips apart). Nunes needs time and needs our support. It's been stop-start for him but we need to be patient. All four signings have good qualities but are finding their feet in a new club.

Yes I would agree with that. The part on poor recruitment is badly worded, as I was speaking in the here and now but agree, over the long term, the signings could prove good additions.

 

[Taylor]

It's all over the place. Too many shots conceded per game. Yesterday Walker had the chance to close the gap and prevent the cross that leads to the equaliser but was busy retreating.

Hopefully Pep will sort it asap

 

[John Wayne]

Yes I would agree with that. The part on poor recruitment is badly worded, as I was speaking in the here and now but agree, over the long term, the signings could prove good additions.

Yes, I think you're right. We usually hold our nerve in January and don't bring in any first-team signings but I feel that we may need to this time. The problem, of course, is availability. But if we're looking to offload Phillips then we have to bring in adequate cover for Rodri. In many ways, Gundogan was perfect because he had his own role but could still be a very able deputy for Rodri when required. Sadly there aren't many players out there who could be good enough to do that job.

 

[CC1]

Guardiol currently not fit to lace Laporte’s boots at LB or CB. On form Laporte would be a better pick than Dias as well. Losing Eric is a real shame.

Yeah. I was sad to see Laporte go. He was a great defender; could make a great pass to start an attack & he scored goals too. Not sure why we let him go.

 

[Cobwebcat]

EPL xG Table and Scorers for the 2024/2025 season | Understat.com

xG table of EPL standings and top scorers for the 2024/2025 season, also tables from past seasons and other European football leagues.

understat.com

Scroll down to the table and click on xPTS. That’s what the table would look like if most of the luck was stripped out. I’m not saying we are playing as well as last season but we are a bit unlucky. We are conceding shots which most of the time would miss.

 

[franksinatra]

Yes, I think you're right. We usually hold our nerve in January and don't bring in any first-team signings but I feel that we may need to this time. The problem, of course, is availability. But if we're looking to offload Phillips then we have to bring in adequate cover for Rodri. In many ways, Gundogan was perfect because he had his own role but could still be a very able deputy for Rodri when required. Sadly there aren't many players out there who could be good enough to do that job.

I agree with completely with that. If we bring a player in we need a player who is multi functional and can play a number of positions, as otherwise a player of real quality is unlikely to sit on the bench as Rodri’s understudy. Hopefully Nunes can potentially fill that role, but you can see why we were trying to bring Bellingham and Rice in, as there are few players who can dovetail, to a really high standard, between the position of Dm and a more creative position. Its why we were so blessed to have Gundogan all these years. Im not as knowledgeable with european football but a name does not really jump out at me.