nasti

[Douglas Higginbottom]

I was actually really impressed. Im surprised by a few comments in this thread. I agree it was a mistake to play him but i thought he actually coped well. Made a few errors but who doesnt. Not going to judge him on one extremely hard game but hopefully this kid has a huge future.

Agree with this but the comment in the middle made me laugh.

"Made a few errors but who doesnt" Absolutely spot on but it does depend on who you are on fan's forums. If you are Lescott or Dzeko or Kolarov you should be sacked and dismembered if you make a mistake but they all do and always will.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

I was actually really impressed. Im surprised by a few comments in this thread. I agree it was a mistake to play him but i thought he actually coped well. Made a few errors but who doesnt. Not going to judge him on one extremely hard game but hopefully this kid has a huge future.

I agree.
I was relatively impressed with him. Sure Benzema schooled him with that move but much more experienced players than Nasti (19!) will fall for that.

In fact, I'm pretty sure he will be a star if he can keep concentrating on his progress. How many 19 year olds would've done as well as he did?

Why he was in the line up in first place is whole another question though.

[Goaters 103]

I was actually really impressed. Im surprised by a few comments in this thread. I agree it was a mistake to play him but i thought he actually coped well. Made a few errors but who doesnt. Not going to judge him on one extremely hard game but hopefully this kid has a huge future.

Why he was in the line up in first place is whole another question though.

This. The kid did OK, but quite why he was selected and pitched staight into that game, effectively meaning a new centre back pairing, is baffling.

[Chinners]

As others have said, a couple of errors aside he looked ok. Once in the second half he was cool as a cucumber in clearing up a potential threat that would have had fans purring had it been Kompany

[The Foggy Blue]

He played well in parts for a rookie and has got potential.

But he shouldn't have played tonight i'm also not suprised Vinny had a rough game he is trying to hold together a creaky defence that is chopping and changing like fuck when his confidence is a bit fucked.

Agree with this.

I don't get Mancini's obsession with defensive changes (personnel and formation) at the minute. Surely he should be working on building up a consistent SOLID defensive unit. We're letting in goals far far to easily - everyone, esp Vinny, needs to up their game.

And there were too many new/newish players in there last night in my view. Nastastic played well considering, but a 19 year old centre half playing his club debut at the Bernabeu?? And Maicon v Ronaldo? What the flip was that about?

[ronk]

He played well in parts for a rookie and has got potential.

But he shouldn't have played tonight i'm also not suprised Vinny had a rough game he is trying to hold together a creaky defence that is chopping and changing like fuck when his confidence is a bit fucked.

Agree with this.

I don't get Mancini's obsession with defensive changes (personnel and formation) at the minute. Surely he should be working on building up a consistent SOLID defensive unit. We're letting in goals far far to easily - everyone, esp Vinny, needs to up their game.

And there were too many new/newish players in there last night in my view. Nastastic played well considering, but a 19 year old centre half playing his club debut at the Bernabeu?? And Maicon v Ronaldo? What the flip was that about?

You have to make changes sometime. They were tactics that could have won us the game and certainly caused them problems. Yes, we might have been better organised and Mancini could do that if he was willing to be more static tactically. There are costs and benefits to that approach.

[The Foggy Blue]

He played well in parts for a rookie and has got potential.

But he shouldn't have played tonight i'm also not suprised Vinny had a rough game he is trying to hold together a creaky defence that is chopping and changing like fuck when his confidence is a bit fucked.

Agree with this.

I don't get Mancini's obsession with defensive changes (personnel and formation) at the minute. Surely he should be working on building up a consistent SOLID defensive unit. We're letting in goals far far to easily - everyone, esp Vinny, needs to up their game.

And there were too many new/newish players in there last night in my view. Nastastic played well considering, but a 19 year old centre half playing his club debut at the Bernabeu?? And Maicon v Ronaldo? What the flip was that about?

You have to make changes sometime. They were tactics that could have won us the game and certainly caused them problems. Yes, we might have been better organised and Mancini could do that if he was willing to be more static tactically. There are costs and benefits to that approach.

Were you watching in Dublin by the way? On TV3? If you were relying on Trevor Welch and Lou Macari's commentary alone you would be forgiven for thinking that Nastasic was solely responsible for City's entire performance. Fools of the highest order.

I know he wasn't that bad (in fact he was quite good), but still, it's daunting enough for any team to play at the Bernabeu but if the defenders don't know eachother's game it seems an unnecessary risk to take.

[Cocacolajojo1]

I was actually really impressed. Im surprised by a few comments in this thread. I agree it was a mistake to play him but i thought he actually coped well. Made a few errors but who doesnt. Not going to judge him on one extremely hard game but hopefully this kid has a huge future.

Agree with this but the comment in the middle made me laugh.

"Made a few errors but who doesnt" Absolutely spot on but it does depend on who you are on fan's forums. If you are Lescott or Dzeko or Kolarov you should be sacked and dismembered if you make a mistake but they all do and always will.

You're probably right Doug, but can you honestly say that you don't have any player that you are less forgiving against than the other players? I'm not having a go, it's a curious question.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

I was actually really impressed. Im surprised by a few comments in this thread. I agree it was a mistake to play him but i thought he actually coped well. Made a few errors but who doesnt. Not going to judge him on one extremely hard game but hopefully this kid has a huge future.

Agree with this but the comment in the middle made me laugh.

"Made a few errors but who doesnt" Absolutely spot on but it does depend on who you are on fan's forums. If you are Lescott or Dzeko or Kolarov you should be sacked and dismembered if you make a mistake but they all do and always will.

You're probably right Doug, but can you honestly say that you don't have any player that you are less forgiving against than the other players? I'm not having a go, it's a curious question.

Fair question and I thought I would answer before anyone else answers for me and says Mario :) Less forgiving let me think.The one thing I can't forgive is lack of effort so even for players I like ,who have real talent I will always have a go when they don't try.

I like Edin a lot but there have been occasions where he has really annoyed me for not being physical enough.The same does go for Mario at times and that's probably more often than it should be with the talent he has.But what I don't agree with is slaughtering someone for the occasional mistake or even because of a weakness they have which gets shown up at times.

Barry at times has been attacked for being too slow and it has taken quite a while before fans realised how good he was.He has never been and never will be quick but he is still a top player so why batter him on those odd occasions he gets caught out.

Lescott's passing is awful and his control at times isnt great but he is a defender and one of the best around at what he does but some just focus on the weakness and occasional mistake.

Dzeko's first touch isnt always great but he gets in great positions and can finish with his head and both feet as he proves time and again but still he gets attacked by some.

If a player is genuinely poor all around then maybe but I would attack the manager more in those circumstances. Some would say Savic fits that bill but even there I can see a good footballer who struggled with form and nerves.

Name a player that doesnt have a weakness.There are certainly some who don't get attacked like the others due to some weird personal bias.

So the answer (eventually) is I don't think I have any in the first team squad except when they get lazy

[Sideshow Bob]

things i liked: (1) kept his head up with the ball at his feet, even when madrid were pressing; (2) crisp and accurate passing; (3) looked to move the ball forward.

when on form, lescott is a very good defender, but he offers none of these things.

[london blue 2]

things i liked: (1) kept his head up with the ball at his feet, even when madrid were pressing; (2) crisp and accurate passing; (3) looked to move the ball forward.

when on form, lescott is a very good defender, but he offers none of these things.

Bit harsh imo.

Lescott gets so much stick for not looking like a footballing defender, the truth is his distribution is much better than people would have you believe.

[Cocacolajojo1]

Bit harsh imo.

Lescott gets so much stick for not looking like a footballing defender, the truth is his distribution is much better than people would have you believe.

I agree with this and. Lescott has improved his distribution over the last season, probably as a reaction to Mancini's preferences.

[Ted Hughes]

If the main thing we're looking for in a centre back is his ability to pass forward crisply, why don't we just stick Nasri there ?

[Blue Blood]

If the main thing we're looking for in a centre back is his ability to pass forward crisply, why don't we just stick Nasri there ?

Given the odd line up last night..

Don't joke about this..

[Sideshow Bob]

If the main thing we're looking for in a centre back is his ability to pass forward crisply, why don't we just stick Nasri there ?

we (attempt to) play a possession game. having defenders with skill on the ball will help us to do that. simple?

[Original Dub]

Were you watching in Dublin by the way? On TV3? If you were relying on Trevor Welch and Lou Macari's commentary alone you would be forgiven for thinking that Nastasic was solely responsible for City's entire performance. Fools of the highest order.

I know he wasn't that bad (in fact he was quite good), but still, it's daunting enough for any team to play at the Bernabeu but if the defenders don't know eachother's game it seems an unnecessary risk to take.

Why is lou macari constantly allowed commentate on city games.

He used to do it for almost every game on setanta.

The ugly rag cunt works for mutv for fuck sake. When I left setanta I told them it was for this sole reason. I'm sure they didn't really care but I felt fucking good.

[Cocacolajojo1]

I was actually really impressed. Im surprised by a few comments in this thread. I agree it was a mistake to play him but i thought he actually coped well. Made a few errors but who doesnt. Not going to judge him on one extremely hard game but hopefully this kid has a huge future.

Agree with this but the comment in the middle made me laugh.

"Made a few errors but who doesnt" Absolutely spot on but it does depend on who you are on fan's forums. If you are Lescott or Dzeko or Kolarov you should be sacked and dismembered if you make a mistake but they all do and always will.

You're probably right Doug, but can you honestly say that you don't have any player that you are less forgiving against than the other players? I'm not having a go, it's a curious question.

Fair question and I thought I would answer before anyone else answers for me and says Mario :) Less forgiving let me think.The one thing I can't forgive is lack of effort so even for players I like ,who have real talent I will always have a go when they don't try.

I like Edin a lot but there have been occasions where he has really annoyed me for not being physical enough.The same does go for Mario at times and that's probably more often than it should be with the talent he has.But what I don't agree with is slaughtering someone for the occasional mistake or even because of a weakness they have which gets shown up at times.

Barry at times has been attacked for being too slow and it has taken quite a while before fans realised how good he was.He has never been and never will be quick but he is still a top player so why batter him on those odd occasions he gets caught out.

Lescott's passing is awful and his control at times isnt great but he is a defender and one of the best around at what he does but some just focus on the weakness and occasional mistake.

Dzeko's first touch isnt always great but he gets in great positions and can finish with his head and both feet as he proves time and again but still he gets attacked by some.

If a player is genuinely poor all around then maybe but I would attack the manager more in those circumstances. Some would say Savic fits that bill but even there I can see a good footballer who struggled with form and nerves.

Name a player that doesnt have a weakness.There are certainly some who don't get attacked like the others due to some weird personal bias.

So the answer (eventually) is I don't think I have any in the first team squad except when they get lazy

Very sensibally put, I agree with all of it I think. Thanks for the thorough answer.