***Official Manchester City v Leeds United Match Thread***

[Wonderwall]

WE will stuff them 4-0 !!!

Judy
xx

What are this weeks lottery numbers judy?

[aaron bond]

I have no problem with Nasty in the side Ted, he is the future and the managers buy, in fact he is well ahead of the game for me and a better player than Lescott. I think Joeleon deserves better treatment if I am reading this right he is not wanted or rated by the manager. Maybe I am wrong but Kolo is not goona be used against anyone dangerous, two lefties should not be a problem to this players, I wonder if Barry will be joining the binned players too.

Lescott is streets ahead of Nastasic as a defender currently & if we had two players like Nastasic next to each other, we would not finish in the top half. He relys on the players around him to do the main defending; Lescott does the defending.

Nastasic is almost like a sweeper at the moment; he wins the occasional header so long as the challenge isn't too tough or the run too clever, if either of those things happen, he is fucked. He covers next to whichever defender is doing the tackling etc & picks up the loose balls or nips in & intercepts & he does that quite well. The word 'quite' being the realistic assessment rather than the utter bollocks sometimes spouted on here as if he is the fucking reincarnation of Bobby Moore. Micah Richards was a miles better cb at the same age FACT. He is currently playing right back & still hasn't made it at cb yet. There is no guarantee Nastasic will fare better. He has a chance but a fair way to go; that's where we are realistically up to at the moment in his career.

He will never ever be the prospect Lake for instance was though as a defender or a footballer & THAT is the level we should be looking for imo if we want a 'footballing' defender to replace Lescott. Genuine pace & skill.

Nastasic is more creative with the ball than Lescott & has a better first touch but also more careless, however that should sort itself out in the future. He is not very quick though & nowhere even in the same league as Lescott in the air. For all the improvements to his game he could make & possibly will make, it is unlikely he will ever make that one.

(Garcia jumps a full foot higher than him & is a miles better passer btw)

Aerial strength should concern people in the Premier League where the team currently at the top scores a huge number of headed goals & so do half of the league.

Lescott & VK were the best cb pairing in the league last season & their distribution is decent for cbs. They were a great partnership which we have split up & interfered with & neither player looks as good because of it.

Lescott is unlikely to remain a top cb for many more seasons, so I have no problem replacing him with a top quality player.

If we sell him & replace him only with Nastasic however, Utd will win the league again next season, we will bomb out of Europe & the same people kissing Nasti's bottom now will be slaughtering him.

Lescott is currently not at his best but still a miles better defender than Nastasic.

Great post Ted. It astounds me the amount of praise Nastasic gets. I regularly see quotes on here that he's 'the future' or 'going to be world class' and I can only assume that people aren't really focusing on him properly when he plays (and I'm not talking looking up a stat or 2 after the game, or noticing him every now and then, I mean concentrating on him fully to see what he does).

Nastasic passes the ball well and looks more comfortable on the ball than Lescott. But his defensive qualities are quite worrying. He is poor in the air. When we played Arsenal at the Emirates, he was even beaten to a header by Walcott several times. Furthermore, in one on one situations he regularly gets beaten.

They are 2 key requirements for a defender, and at the moment Nastasic doesn't appear to have either of them. I honestly don't understand how people can overlook that and still think he's going to be world class.

He's played many of his games this season surrounded by Clichy, Kompany and Zabaleta - 3 excellent players - and this means his mistakes aren't noticed as much.

I really hope I'm proved wrong, but I don't see how he's going to become good in the air over the next couple of years, or improve his ability to deal with one on one situations. They are skills a defender should already be reasonably good at by the age of 19. I think we've overpaid significantly for him at £12m and he probably would have cost United or Arsenal no more than £5m. He's a good defender and can probably be a good squad player for us over the next few years, but he's not going to be a leading centre back like Kompany for example.

[Alex Sapphire]

Garcia jumps a full foot higher than him & is a miles better passer btw

oh FFS, now you've gone too far, ted.

some stats that are reasonably interesting (for those that like stats):

"Nastasic has won 48 out of the 72 (66%) aerial duels he has been involved in this season — the most among City players. Lescott (55%) and Kompany (59%) are both taller than Nastasic, but that clearly doesn’t matter. Nastasic’s strength and good leap compensates for the few centimeters he lacks in comparison to his two more experienced defensive team-mates."

January Article

[MilnersJaw]

Lescott is streets ahead of Nastasic as a defender currently & if we had two players like Nastasic next to each other, we would not finish in the top half. He relys on the players around him to do the main defending; Lescott does the defending.

Nastasic is almost like a sweeper at the moment; he wins the occasional header so long as the challenge isn't too tough or the run too clever, if either of those things happen, he is fucked. He covers next to whichever defender is doing the tackling etc & picks up the loose balls or nips in & intercepts & he does that quite well. The word 'quite' being the realistic assessment rather than the utter bollocks sometimes spouted on here as if he is the fucking reincarnation of Bobby Moore. Micah Richards was a miles better cb at the same age FACT. He is currently playing right back & still hasn't made it at cb yet. There is no guarantee Nastasic will fare better. He has a chance but a fair way to go; that's where we are realistically up to at the moment in his career.

He will never ever be the prospect Lake for instance was though as a defender or a footballer & THAT is the level we should be looking for imo if we want a 'footballing' defender to replace Lescott. Genuine pace & skill.

Nastasic is more creative with the ball than Lescott & has a better first touch but also more careless, however that should sort itself out in the future. He is not very quick though & nowhere even in the same league as Lescott in the air. For all the improvements to his game he could make & possibly will make, it is unlikely he will ever make that one.

(Garcia jumps a full foot higher than him & is a miles better passer btw)

Aerial strength should concern people in the Premier League where the team currently at the top scores a huge number of headed goals & so do half of the league.

Lescott & VK were the best cb pairing in the league last season & their distribution is decent for cbs. They were a great partnership which we have split up & interfered with & neither player looks as good because of it.

Lescott is unlikely to remain a top cb for many more seasons, so I have no problem replacing him with a top quality player.

If we sell him & replace him only with Nastasic however, Utd will win the league again next season, we will bomb out of Europe & the same people kissing Nasti's bottom now will be slaughtering him.

Lescott is currently not at his best but still a miles better defender than Nastasic.

Well said ted. I don't understand the praise nasti gets either. It seems if you don't lick his arse on here people get the hump. I can't name or remember a single piece of defending he did worthwhile other than pass the ball forward to someone.

Having said that lescott gets unfair criticism as well. When he was excellent last season.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Garcia jumps a full foot higher than him & is a miles better passer btw

oh FFS, now you've gone too far, ted.

some stats that are reasonably interesting (for those that like stats):

"Nastasic has won 48 out of the 72 (66%) aerial duels he has been involved in this season — the most among City players. Lescott (55%) and Kompany (59%) are both taller than Nastasic, but that clearly doesn’t matter. Nastasic’s strength and good leap compensates for the few centimeters he lacks in comparison to his two more experienced defensive team-mates."

January Article

Cannot be right , Ted has already said so.

[Ted Hughes]

Garcia jumps a full foot higher than him & is a miles better passer btw

oh FFS, now you've gone too far, ted.

some stats that are reasonably interesting (for those that like stats):

"Nastasic has won 48 out of the 72 (66%) aerial duels he has been involved in this season — the most among City players. Lescott (55%) and Kompany (59%) are both taller than Nastasic, but that clearly doesn’t matter. Nastasic’s strength and good leap compensates for the few centimeters he lacks in comparison to his two more experienced defensive team-mates."

January Article

Because they do the hard stuff & does the bit that goes next to it. And he hasn't got a particularly good leap on him, or anything like the same strength.

If you honestly believe Nastasic is better 1v1 headed duel than either of those two...

Well forget Lesott then: go on record now as saying you think Nastasic is better in the air, jumps higher or is stronger, than Vinny Kompany.

[Ted Hughes]

Garcia jumps a full foot higher than him & is a miles better passer btw

oh FFS, now you've gone too far, ted.

some stats that are reasonably interesting (for those that like stats):

"Nastasic has won 48 out of the 72 (66%) aerial duels he has been involved in this season — the most among City players. Lescott (55%) and Kompany (59%) are both taller than Nastasic, but that clearly doesn’t matter. Nastasic’s strength and good leap compensates for the few centimeters he lacks in comparison to his two more experienced defensive team-mates."

January Article

Cannot be right , Ted has already said so.

Samefor you.

On the record, tell me that Nastasic is stronger, leaps higher & is better in the air than Kompany.

Over to you.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Garcia jumps a full foot higher than him & is a miles better passer btw

oh FFS, now you've gone too far, ted.

some stats that are reasonably interesting (for those that like stats):

"Nastasic has won 48 out of the 72 (66%) aerial duels he has been involved in this season — the most among City players. Lescott (55%) and Kompany (59%) are both taller than Nastasic, but that clearly doesn’t matter. Nastasic’s strength and good leap compensates for the few centimeters he lacks in comparison to his two more experienced defensive team-mates."

January Article

Because they do the hard stuff & does the bit that goes next to it. And he hasn't got a particularly good leap on him, or anything like the same strength.

If you honestly believe Nastasic is better 1v1 headed duel than either of those two...

Well forget Lesott then: go on record now as saying you think Nastasic is better in the air, jumps higher or is stronger, than Vinny Kompany.

The comparision is really a Nasty v Lescott debate Ted , Mancini clearly thinks Nasty should be on the pitch before Lescott so I will just have to go with the manager on this.

[Ted Hughes]

Garcia jumps a full foot higher than him & is a miles better passer btw

oh FFS, now you've gone too far, ted.

some stats that are reasonably interesting (for those that like stats):

"Nastasic has won 48 out of the 72 (66%) aerial duels he has been involved in this season — the most among City players. Lescott (55%) and Kompany (59%) are both taller than Nastasic, but that clearly doesn’t matter. Nastasic’s strength and good leap compensates for the few centimeters he lacks in comparison to his two more experienced defensive team-mates."

January Article

Because they do the hard stuff & does the bit that goes next to it. And he hasn't got a particularly good leap on him, or anything like the same strength.

If you honestly believe Nastasic is better 1v1 headed duel than either of those two...

Well forget Lesott then: go on record now as saying you think Nastasic is better in the air, jumps higher or is stronger, than Vinny Kompany.

The comparision is really a Nasty v Lescott debate Ted , Mancini clearly thinks Nasty should be on the pitch before Lescott so I will just have to go with the manager on this.

That stat mentions Kompany. If it counts for Lescott, it counts for Vinny too. I say it's horseshit.

Why are you quoting Mancini btw ? You spend half your time caling him a fuckwitt.

[kinkylola]

without criticizing lescott or praising nasti ... i think the change is more representative of the way we want our team to play, rather than individual strengths.

I think it's based off of barca's style, even if we can't do 3 at the back or whatever barca do nowadays, they have a much more team oriented defensive style, which doesn't call on players to be outright excellent defenders, but does absolutely call on them to be comfortable playing the ball (though they are still excellent players who can pass a ball and defend strongly). That is seen Nasti's big upside over Lescott.

Lescott is definitely the more typical english defender, and is a good player, there is no question ... but he is seen (rightly or wrongly) as more limited technically. My feeling is that in Mancini's mind, Nasti and Kompany are the ideal pairing going forward, they are both young and can develop together. Kompany is streets ahead defending wise, but I would say Nasti is probably just as comfortable on the ball. I guess Mancini believes he sees enough from Nasti to think he can develop to kompo's standard of defending.

So, that's where we're at I suppose. Harsh on Lescott if that's how it's going down.

[Ted Hughes]

without criticizing lescott or praising nasti ... i think the change is more representative of the way we want our team to play, rather than individual strengths.

I think it's based off of barca's style, even if we can't do 3 at the back or whatever barca do nowadays, they have a much more team oriented defensive style, which doesn't call on players to be outright excellent defenders, but does absolutely call on them to be comfortable playing the ball (though they are still excellent players who can pass a ball and defend strongly). That is seen Nasti's big upside over Lescott.

Lescott is definitely the more typical english defender, and is a good player, there is no question ... but he is seen (rightly or wrongly) as more limited technically. My feeling is that in Mancini's mind, Nasti and Kompany are the ideal pairing going forward, they are both young and can develop together. Kompany is streets ahead defending wise, but I would say Nasti is probably just as comfortable on the ball. I guess Mancini believes he sees enough from Nasti to think he can develop to kompo's standard of defending.

So, that's where we're at I suppose. Harsh on Lescott if that's how it's going down.

Lescott probably hasn't got that long left at the top imo, as he has some kind of shit going on where he has to have his own special warm up routine (something to do with his back I think) & I imagine it will catch up with him sooner or later.

So whatever Bob plans on doing tactics wise, he will need to replace Lescott sooner or later.
Personally, if he wants a defender, I don't think Nasti is good enough & if he wants a footballer I don't think Nasti is good enough.

He may become good enough but he may go the other way too.

Dump Lescott for him & I recon we may see a new manager at the end of next season (or at Christmas).

[carl_feedthegoat]

PMSL, I actually think Kompany is better than both of them and I have never said anything otherwise.
I will say it again Ted , its a Lescott V Nasty debate and Nasty is the better of the 2 ,better header of a ball and better footballer,those 2 stats are indisputable so I dont know why your arguing against.

[carl_feedthegoat]

without criticizing lescott or praising nasti ... i think the change is more representative of the way we want our team to play, rather than individual strengths.

I think it's based off of barca's style, even if we can't do 3 at the back or whatever barca do nowadays, they have a much more team oriented defensive style, which doesn't call on players to be outright excellent defenders, but does absolutely call on them to be comfortable playing the ball (though they are still excellent players who can pass a ball and defend strongly). That is seen Nasti's big upside over Lescott.

Lescott is definitely the more typical english defender, and is a good player, there is no question ... but he is seen (rightly or wrongly) as more limited technically. My feeling is that in Mancini's mind, Nasti and Kompany are the ideal pairing going forward, they are both young and can develop together. Kompany is streets ahead defending wise, but I would say Nasti is probably just as comfortable on the ball. I guess Mancini believes he sees enough from Nasti to think he can develop to kompo's standard of defending.

So, that's where we're at I suppose. Harsh on Lescott if that's how it's going down.

Lescott probably hasn't got that long left at the top imo, as he has some kind of shit going on where he has to have his own special warm up routine (something to do with his back I think) & I imagine it will catch up with him sooner or later.

So whatever Bob plans on doing tactics wise, he will need to replace Lescott sooner or later.
Personally, if he wants a defender, I don't think Nasti is good enough & if he wants a footballer I don't think Nasti is good enough.

He may become good enough but he may go the other way too.

Dump Lescott for him & I recon we may see a new manager at the end of next season (or at Christmas).

How the fuck is dumping Lescott (who was dumped in January when we conceded zero goals against) going to affect Mancinis job ????

Incredible asumption.

[Ted Hughes]

PMSL, I actually think Kompany is better than both of them and I have never said anything otherwise.
I will say it again Ted , its a Lescott V Nasty debate and Nasty is the better of the 2 ,better header of a ball and better footballer,those 2 stats are indisputable so I dont know why your arguing against.

If those stats are indesputable then he is also a better header of the ball than Vinny.

You can't have it both ways.

I say he's nowhere even close to either of them & that those stats are down to the fact that he isn't asked to do the hard stuff, in fact Mancini drops him when we play the aerial teams & picks Lescott.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

City were good today. The front 3 played with a lot more awareness of each other than we have seen in many games & Yaya put a lot more in.

Hope it was injury which kept Sinclair out of the squad as otherwise it's quite a mean snub imo.

I see you made zero reference to Nastys game !! and dont come out with that old chestnut "leeds were shite" as you can only play whats in front of you,just about every time Nasty plays we keep a clean sheet...coincidence???

BTW Nasty aslo plays great FOOTBALL instead of the fuckign sideways ,backwards,just hoof it upfield to noone Lescott.

What the fuck did he do ?!!

He was neat & tidy & not quite as good as Kolo Toure if you want a comment.

From the OS: City v Southampton, 1-3. Lescott completed passes: 21 from 25. City v Leeds 4-0 Nastasic completed passes: 25 from 32.

UInder no pressure, in perfect conditions, against a lower league side, his distribution was much worse than Lescott's v a side who was chasing everything, on a wet pitch, away from home. That's stats from our own website.

the treatment of Lescott is uncalled for IMHO. Nasty had a good game against piss poor opos TBF, In fact Leeds are the worst team I have seen for a very long time, Clueless and Brown for all his panto villain part, was the only one to get a sweat on. Leeds would have lost to anyone left in the comp on that showing.

And in January when we conceded fuckall with Nasty in the starting lineup.....was that down to shite opposition as well ??? Where was Lescott when we went on that run? how many games did he feature in?

I think this one sums it up for me re Carl and makes me think he doesn't actually watch matches but just dives in to have a go at Lescott come what may. In January we didn't concede a goal BUT who was our central defensive partnership?Not quite as Carl would suggest as Lescott played in the 3 of the 5 games but Nasti only 2.Then when we played Liverpool at the start of Feb. Nasti was taken off early in the 2nd half.

For the record I believe our best pairing at the back is Vinnie an Nasti.They seem to fit and I do believe Nasti is a great prospect.If you as me who is the better pure defender between Nasti and Lescott I would say Lescott due to his experience,strength and heading ability.

[carl_feedthegoat]

PMSL, I actually think Kompany is better than both of them and I have never said anything otherwise.
I will say it again Ted , its a Lescott V Nasty debate and Nasty is the better of the 2 ,better header of a ball and better footballer,those 2 stats are indisputable so I dont know why your arguing against.

If those stats are indesputable then he is also a better header of the ball than Vinny.

You can't have it both ways.

I say he's nowhere even close to either of them & that those stats are down to the fact that he isn't asked to do the hard stuff, in fact Mancini drops him when we play the aerial teams & picks Lescott.

Bollocks - he played Nasty against Stoke TWICE in january and they are the high ball specialists in the prem...so thats a crock of shite....try again !!

edited - I will admit to being wrong on these games.

[carl_feedthegoat]

I probably watch more live games than you do doug (even when cricket or rugby is on !!!).....every minute of every game...Live, albeit on my billy bollocks NASA sky dish set up!!

I will have to check on stats again for January but I recall Nasty palyed more minutes than Lescott did..maybe there was an overflow from December to end of January.

[Ted Hughes]

PMSL, I actually think Kompany is better than both of them and I have never said anything otherwise.
I will say it again Ted , its a Lescott V Nasty debate and Nasty is the better of the 2 ,better header of a ball and better footballer,those 2 stats are indisputable so I dont know why your arguing against.

If those stats are indesputable then he is also a better header of the ball than Vinny.

You can't have it both ways.

I say he's nowhere even close to either of them & that those stats are down to the fact that he isn't asked to do the hard stuff, in fact Mancini drops him when we play the aerial teams & picks Lescott.

Bollocks - he played Nasty against Stoke TWICE in january and they are the high ball specialists in the prem...so thats a crock of shite....try again !!

Manchester City v Stoke (away)Sep 2012:- Hart, Maicon, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Nasri, Toure, Javi Garcia, Sinclair, Balotelli, Tevez

Man City v Stoke (away) Saturday 26 January 2013 14.40 GMT

Manchester City: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Garcia, Barry, Milner, Tevez, Silva, Dzeko

Manchester City v Stoke (home)1 January 2013

01 Hart
04 Kompany
05 Zabaleta
06 Lescott Booked
22 Clichy
07 Milner
18 Barry
21 Silva (Sinclair - 82' )
42 Y Toure
10 Dzeko Booked (Razak - 90' )
16 Aguero (Tevez - 77' )



Manchester City v Everton

01 Hart
03 Maicon
04 Kompany
06 Lescott Booked
13 Kolarov (Zabaleta - 7' Booked )
08 Nasri
18 Barry
21 Silva
42 Y Toure
10 Dzeko (Balotelli - 80' )
32 Tevez (Aguero - 68' )

You live in a Lescott hating dreamworld.

[carl_feedthegoat]

PMSL, I actually think Kompany is better than both of them and I have never said anything otherwise.
I will say it again Ted , its a Lescott V Nasty debate and Nasty is the better of the 2 ,better header of a ball and better footballer,those 2 stats are indisputable so I dont know why your arguing against.

If those stats are indesputable then he is also a better header of the ball than Vinny.

You can't have it both ways.

I say he's nowhere even close to either of them & that those stats are down to the fact that he isn't asked to do the hard stuff, in fact Mancini drops him when we play the aerial teams & picks Lescott.

Bollocks - he played Nasty against Stoke TWICE in january and they are the high ball specialists in the prem...so thats a crock of shite....try again !!

Manchester City v Stoke (away)Sep 2012:- Hart, Maicon, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Nasri, Toure, Javi Garcia, Sinclair, Balotelli, Tevez

Man City v Stoke (away) Saturday 26 January 2013 14.40 GMT

Manchester City: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Garcia, Barry, Milner, Tevez, Silva, Dzeko

Manchester City v Stoke (home)1 January 2013

01 Hart
04 Kompany
05 Zabaleta
06 Lescott Booked
22 Clichy
07 Milner
18 Barry
21 Silva (Sinclair - 82' )
42 Y Toure
10 Dzeko Booked (Razak - 90' )
16 Aguero (Tevez - 77' )



Manchester City v Everton

01 Hart
03 Maicon
04 Kompany
06 Lescott Booked
13 Kolarov (Zabaleta - 7' Booked )
08 Nasri
18 Barry
21 Silva
42 Y Toure
10 Dzeko (Balotelli - 80' )
32 Tevez (Aguero - 68' )

You live in a Lescott hating dreamworld.

Ive been corrected and you are quite right on those games for January.....my point still stands on who is the better player.

[Swales4ever]

without criticizing lescott or praising nasti ... i think the change is more representative of the way we want our team to play, rather than individual strengths.

I think it's based off of barca's style, even if we can't do 3 at the back or whatever barca do nowadays, they have a much more team oriented defensive style, which doesn't call on players to be outright excellent defenders, but does absolutely call on them to be comfortable playing the ball (though they are still excellent players who can pass a ball and defend strongly). That is seen Nasti's big upside over Lescott.

Lescott is definitely the more typical english defender, and is a good player, there is no question ... but he is seen (rightly or wrongly) as more limited technically. My feeling is that in Mancini's mind, Nasti and Kompany are the ideal pairing going forward, they are both young and can develop together. Kompany is streets ahead defending wise, but I would say Nasti is probably just as comfortable on the ball. I guess Mancini believes he sees enough from Nasti to think he can develop to kompo's standard of defending.

So, that's where we're at I suppose. Harsh on Lescott if that's how it's going down.

Hold on!
You always talk too much sense, Son!
and look after a positive approach to reality, way tooooo much!
I think this attitude won't ever lead to any good, whatever shaped plainly or sarcastically.

I really do not get why You are such a thick to not understand that there is only one path towards Legend-ness:

call Yourself Piccsnumberoneblue
support Your City as a rag would do
moan and whine constantly
look after negatives and negatives, only, ever
belittle everyone working hard to build on hard work
never stop claiming for instability
love anarchy as if it was Your own beloved blood

trust me, Bud, I have already a vision of You.... in light blue.