Who is for the chop

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Oh my god were have drawn a game, everybody PANIC and do the KNEE-JERK.....

Andie is clear to see one or two of our squad are not up to it,it's not knee jerk,it's not panic,it's a fact.

If there was a chance we could get Alonso i would do it Garcia wouldn't get near the team,If there was a chance of us signing a new left back Kolarov wouldnt get near the team,if there was a chance we could sign a new right back for cover Boyata wouldn't get near the team,if we could go out and sign a new striker Dzeko wouldnt get near the team.
If you have the chance to sign BETTER players you must do it and i'm sorry that not knee jerk.

That would depend on the quality of the new acquisitions.

Also, bullshit.

I think MP likes Kolarov a lot. Alonso for Garcia maybe but MP also seems to like Garcia as well.As for Edin we have debated that before.Where would you find someone to come in as 3rd striker, maybe 4th if Jovetic gets fit, who is better than Edin.Nowhere is the answer.And Boyata only gets a game because Micah is injured and MP thinks he can get away with it.I am sure MP doesn't really rate Boyata.

[Ted Hughes]

It's pretty obvious that unless there is a major change of heart, Lescott is the first one for the chop.

If & when that happens, we need a replacement.

We should actually have one now, seeing as he must know he's a gonner & has no reason to actually put his head on everything & bail people out like he did today, other than wages & professional pride. Yet he puts in twice the commitment as the bloke next to him who is supposed to be 'the future'.

Once he goes, unless we have players coming in, we could end up with a Nastasic/Rekik axis in a game like today.

"Oh great" some of you will say; that's because you are fucking idiots who would have sold Lescott before Christmas two yeas ago & handed the fucking title to Utd. You learned nothing from Savic or Boateng & are jumping at the chance to do it again.

We NEED a replacement. Not Nastasic, not Rekik; someone at least close to being a defender.

As for Alonso for Garcia; another sloth in midfield. FFS sign someone who can move as well as pass etc, not another plodder. There is one out there somewhere, who can both play & run. Sign him before someone else does.

[City64]

Classic fickle as fuck thread after an away draw whilst we are on an unbelievable fantastic run breaking all sorts of records . Pathetic.

[Slim]

Those writing off clichy are a tad harsh in my opinion.

Garcia has been done to death, a few of us held out hope for boyata, but he's really making it difficult for himself.

I think Clichy and Kolarov are both average leftbacks and if there was the opportunity to buy an outstanding left back and replace one of them, it'd be Clichy in my opinion. While they both have some obvious weaknesses in their game, Kolarov excels as an overlapping fullback and I really can't think of anything Clichy does outstandingly well.

Oh, and Boyata and Pants really did themselves no favours last night, can't see either of them challenging for a spot now this season.

[Slim]

It's pretty obvious that unless there is a major change of heart, Lescott is the first one for the chop.

If & when that happens, we need a replacement.

We should actually have one now, seeing as he must know he's a gonner & has no reason to actually put his head on everything & bail people out like he did today, other than wages & professional pride. Yet he puts in twice the commitment as the bloke next to him who is supposed to be 'the future'.

Once he goes, unless we have players coming in, we could end up with a Nastasic/Rekik axis in a game like today.

"Oh great" some of you will say; that's because you are fucking idiots who would have sold Lescott before Christmas two yeas ago & handed the fucking title to Utd. You learned nothing from Savic or Boateng & are jumping at the chance to do it again.

We NEED a replacement. Not Nastasic, not Rekik; someone at least close to being a defender.

As for Alonso for Garcia; another sloth in midfield. FFS sign someone who can move as well as pass etc, not another plodder. There is one out there somewhere, who can both play & run. Sign him before someone else does.

And his name is Vidal. However Juve have him and I am guessing he won't come cheap.

[I Just Blue Myself]

And his name is Vidal. However Juve have him and I am guessing he won't come cheap.

Just give them half of our transfer kitty & let them pick any or all of our deadwood on top of it.
Do they need a title winning*, Real Madrid youth product** Spanish international*** defensive midfielder per chance? He's Premier League & Champions League proven****, great in the air***** & can play as a centre back****** as well!

* in Portugal
** reject
*** fringe player
**** to be hopeless
***** well, that part is even true! (sort of)
****** but you really wouldn't want to try him there.

[Green & Blue]

I'm not getting this fickle/knee jerk reaction to this thread.Considering the window is open is this not something both the club and fans are thinking about at present?

I'm very happy with the majority of the squad but i have reservations about a few players.

Boyata - i think it's obvious to all that he's not going to make it at the very top level.It would be best for his own career if he finds a move.If he plays regularly he may improve in time but i just don't feel he has the potential myself.

Garcia - at present he is the stand out weak link in the team.He does not look capable of ever adapting his game to the tempo of the premier league.It's not like he has not played regularly, he has had serious game time for a player who has failed to make any meaningful mark on the team.I have seen signs on a couple of occasions where he played well.He had a very good second half against Bayern and against Swansea he played well when he came on but these glimpses of what he can offer are sadly a rarity.

Dzeko - i think we should keep him as i'm not sure we could find a suitable replacement.He does not look to be in tune with the rest of the team but somehow he still keeps on scoring and that can't be argued with.

Clichy - not sure whats happened with Gael but he now looks a shadow of the player who played so consistently well throughout the championship winning season.I'm not entirely happy with Kolarov either but where they both look suspect defensively Kolarov does at least provide a threat going forward.

[aaron bond]

Garcia adds absolutely nothing to the squad. Occasionally you can say "he hasn't done much wrong" in a game, but that's just not good enough for a team at our level. He slows our play down terribly, makes almost no forward passes and isn't very good defensively. I honestly have no idea what Pellegrini sees in him. The sooner we can get rid the better.

Nastasic is a waste of spot too in my opinion. He has pretty much no defensive ability and does his best to avoid taking any responsibility at the back (often causing problems for his teammates). Even his 'world class' passing skills have been shown up lately. Considering the extortionate fee we paid for him, he can only be seen as a huge waste of money.

I don't think Boyata has a long-term future at the club so imagine he'll be moved on at some point, most likely in the summer. He actually is capable of some better defending than Nastasic at least. I'd be ok with Boyata as a 4th choice centre back as finding someone top class who's willing to be sub regularly would be difficult to find.

With Clichy's deteriorating form, we do need to be on the hunt for a new left back. Kolarov is excellent going forward, although he is still not strong enough defensively. Luke Shaw at Southampton does look an excellent prospect, and I imagine he'll move sooner rather than later. Perhaps a bid for him this January, and allowing him to stay at Southampton on loan until the end of the season, could be enough to tempt Southampton to sell?

[Goataldo]

I'm not getting this fickle/knee jerk reaction to this thread.Considering the window is open is this not something both the club and fans are thinking about at present?

I'm very happy with the majority of the squad but i have reservations about a few players.

Boyata - i think it's obvious to all that he's not going to make it at the very top level.It would be best for his own career if he finds a move.If he plays regularly he may improve in time but i just don't feel he has the potential myself.

Garcia - at present he is the stand out weak link in the team.He does not look capable of ever adapting his game to the tempo of the premier league.It's not like he has not played regularly, he has had serious game time for a player who has failed to make any meaningful mark on the team.I have seen signs on a couple of occasions where he played well.He had a very good second half against Bayern and against Swansea he played well when he came on but these glimpses of what he can offer are sadly a rarity.

Dzeko - i think we should keep him as i'm not sure we could find a suitable replacement.He does not look to be in tune with the rest of the team but somehow he still keeps on scoring and that can't be argued with.

Clichy - not sure whats happened with Gael but he now looks a shadow of the player who played so consistently well throughout the championship winning season.I'm not entirely happy with Kolarov either but where they both look suspect defensively Kolarov does at least provide a threat going forward.

Re your comments in bold, was just gonna say the same.

Boyata - he never looked quite good enough - that was excused by youth and inexperience. Well he's older now with more matches under his belt, and seems not to have improved. Fair play to him for holding his hands up on twitter, but admitting you are 'stupid' is not exactly gonna do you many favours in terms of furthering your career at our club. I would sell him if at all possible - this as my view at the start of the season and before, not since Rovers.

Garcia - when played in the right role, he has looked increasingly capable recently - yes, he's not likely to turn on a sixpence, beat three men, and smash in a rasper from 30 yards - or even play it forwards - but he keeps the ball more often than not, and we have other players to compliment his attributes (YES, ATTRIBUTES, YOU WHINY BITCHES). Unless a marked improvement becomes available, selling him would be moronic, but unfortunately a lot people will never change their minds about him because a lot of people are simply too dense to do this about anything. I'd defo keep him for now - unless of course someone absolutely fantastic in the same position is available, but this goes for any player.

Dzeko - most, if not only very irritating thing about him is his perceived effort - he looks lazy and not arsed quite a lot. We've all seen plenty of players over the years for whom maximum effort has covered a multitude of bad touches, poor finishes, and shite decision making. When he means it he's quality. Even if he just learnt to lie better with his body language it would probably cut out 70% of the shit he gets from folk, me included. Keep him and his weird head.

Clichy - seems to be on a downward trajectory. Dunno who's out there who's better available, but I doubt we'll be able to replace/improve in Jan.

As for the people hating on Lescott - there's no nice way to say it, but these people are the epitome of what really pisses me off about us as fans/this thread/this forum - they are the tiresome fucking idiots who once they have a made a judgement, are too stupid, stubborn, ignorant, lacking in football knowledge, incapable of mental development, up their own arses, or able to factor things into their thought process that don't conform to the lines of 'MY TEAM NO WIN, ME CRY LOUD NOW' - it's pathetic. I spit in your general direction.

[MilnersJaw]

If it weren't for lescott we wouldn't have won the league. Ever since they fucked about changing lescott and Vinny at the back we've looked dodgy at the back for 18 months now. IMO lescott has lost it, maybe through a lack of game time and confidence due to being 4th choice but for his own sake he shoukd leave. 18 months as 4th choice has msde him less of a player and when he does get a game and does alright he still gets shit for it.

We need a world class cb, Nasti isn't up to it and lescott won't get that chance.

[Ted Hughes]

If it weren't for lescott we wouldn't have won the league. Ever since they fucked about changing lescott and Vinny at the back we've looked dodgy at the back for 18 months now. IMO lescott has lost it, maybe through a lack of game time and confidence due to being 4th choice but for his own sake he shoukd leave. 18 months as 4th choice has msde him less of a player and when he does get a game and does alright he still gets shit for it.

We need a world class cb, Nasti isn't up to it and lescott won't get that chance.

I wouldn't say he's lost it but he's not as good as he was. But imo, the same can be said of Kompany. They were great together but are not as good apart.

Lescott is unlikely to get anything other than gradually worse but is still miles better than Nastasic or Demichelis. But he's history come May & we need someone very very good to replace him. The only thing Nastasic has going for him is his age & poss improvement. If he was 25 playing the same, he would already be playing for Reading or PSV.

[blues2win]

I've said it so many times here. Vinny and Lescott had De Jong and Barry in front of them. Mancini played much more defensively so the Centre Backs had it not easy but a lot easier. I'm somewhere in the middle of the Lescott haters and lovers. Personally I'd give him a contract for another year because he is left footed and is still good enough to be a useful squad player with all our games but it isn't going to happen as far as I can see and there's no point in banging on about it. Nastasic has been poor this season. He is very young for a centre back but I don't see any sign of progress which worries me. I think we should go for a top class centre back in the close season; I doubt we'll get one in January. We need a left footer with pace and great technique. They aren't exactly growing on trees.

[Ted Hughes]

I've said it so many times here. Vinny and Lescott had De Jong and Barry in front of them. Mancini played much more defensively so the Centre Backs had it not easy but a lot easier. I'm somewhere in the middle of the Lescott haters and lovers. Personally I'd give him a contract for another year because he is left footed and is still good enough to be a useful squad player with all our games but it isn't going to happen as far as I can see and there's no point in banging on about it. Nastasic has been poor this season. He is very young for a centre back but I don't see any sign of progress which worries me. I think we should go for a top class centre back in the close season; I doubt we'll get one in January. We need a left footer with pace and great technique. They aren't exactly growing on trees.

Lescott & Kompany used to cover for each other. Now they have lost that understanding. None of our cbs cover anything now, apart from Lescott who at least tries to.

[blues2win]

I don't deny that Kompany and Lescott had a decent season but they had it much easier than our centre backs do now. When our pressing game doesn't work which it often doesn't and fast moving quick inter passing players burst through what do they see in front of them? Full backs who have pushed forward nowhere to be seen. Yaya looking 50 years old. Fernandinho can't do it on his own. So they're faced with a choice between advancing to nick the ball which is dangerous or holding off and risking being skinned by midfielders who are much quicker than them. It's a nightmare. Add in our dreadful luck on injuries with centre backs making continuity impossible and you can see part of the reason why our defence is so shitty. I know that there have been far too many dreadful mistakes by defenders this season but they are not solely responsible for the goals against column.

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

I can't see us letting go anyone till the summer. This January I'd like to see us buy a midfield player that is mobile but perhaps less attacking in instinct than Fernandinho and Yaya. I also reckon when Demechellis returns he'll be Kompany's partner until the summer, when I hope we buy a world-class centre-half, because we need one.

[Benjay]

Nobody will go unless a replacement can be found for Lescott whose time is up. Clichy and Dzeko may be going in the summer IMO.

[Ted Hughes]

I don't deny that Kompany and Lescott had a decent season but they had it much easier than our centre backs do now. When our pressing game doesn't work which it often doesn't and fast moving quick inter passing players burst through what do they see in front of them? Full backs who have pushed forward nowhere to be seen. Yaya looking 50 years old. Fernandinho can't do it on his own. So they're faced with a choice between advancing to nick the ball which is dangerous or holding off and risking being skinned by midfielders who are much quicker than them. It's a nightmare. Add in our dreadful luck on injuries with centre backs making continuity impossible and you can see part of the reason why our defence is so shitty. I know that there have been far too many dreadful mistakes by defenders this season but they are not solely responsible for the goals against column.

You don't have to tell me this.

And yet half the people on here, presented with this situation, believe that the first thing our centre backs need is a clever passing range.

Either way, the old partnership of JL/VK would have dealt with this situation better than any of the other combinations.

Also, if you look at most of the goals we actually concede, we have all the defence in place, & just make a shit of it. We used to do it better.

It went to shit last season but because we kept getting clean sheets v shit teams, people thought the defence was ok. It was shit, even during Mancini's time. He built it, but then fucked it up.

[zuricity]

I don't deny that Kompany and Lescott had a decent season but they had it much easier than our centre backs do now. When our pressing game doesn't work which it often doesn't and fast moving quick inter passing players burst through what do they see in front of them? Full backs who have pushed forward nowhere to be seen. Yaya looking 50 years old. Fernandinho can't do it on his own. So they're faced with a choice between advancing to nick the ball which is dangerous or holding off and risking being skinned by midfielders who are much quicker than them. It's a nightmare. Add in our dreadful luck on injuries with centre backs making continuity impossible and you can see part of the reason why our defence is so shitty. I know that there have been far too many dreadful mistakes by defenders this season but they are not solely responsible for the goals against column.

Yaya is 50 years old . He's been using hair dyes for years :-)

[Bleed_Blue]

Dzeko as pointed by many is needed.

I wonder if we can get Lescott to extend, Demi is old and do not expect him to stay longer than this season. Other than Kompany we might need another experienced center back, I would prefer Lescott stays with us.

Cant wait to see Gudetti in action, why the delay in sending him on loan.