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Surprising (at least for me) defensive team stat:

R Team Shots pg Tackles pg Interceptions pg Fouls pg Offsides pg Rating
1 Sunderland 16.5 20 15.2 11.6 1.8 6.75
2 Queens Park Rangers 16.4 20.6 14.8 11.8 2.1 6.77
3 Burnley 15.6 16.1 14.9 10.7 1.7 6.79
4 West Ham 15.5 17 13.3 11.1 2.4 6.85
5 Leicester 14.7 20.8 19.6 12 1.6 6.84
6 Swansea 14.6 16.7 18.2 10.5 2.1 6.86
7 West Bromwich Albion 14.4 18.3 15.5 11.1 1.7 6.77
8 Crystal Palace 13.8 20.8 15.8 13.9 2 6.83
9 Everton 13.2 17.4 11.7 10.3 2.2 6.82
10 Hull 13.2 20.1 15.9 11.9 1.9 6.75
11 Tottenham 12.9 21.4 17.8 11.6 2 6.89
12 Aston Villa 12.6 16.4 12.7 10.6 1.9 6.69
13 Stoke 12 19.3 13.2 12.8 2 6.87
14 Newcastle United 11.7 21.7 16.9 11.4 1 6.74
15 Chelsea 10.9 20 9.7 10.1 2 7.06
16 Liverpool 10.9 21 11.6 10.1 2 6.90
17 Arsenal 10.7 19.4 20.2 9.9 1.7 7.15
18 Manchester City 10.2 19.8 15 11.7 2.1 7.07
19 Southampton 10.1 21.4 16.5 12.3 2.4 6.91
20 Manchester United 10.1 19.4 17.9 11.9 2.3 6.99

http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/Seasons/4311/Stages/9155/TeamStatistics/England-Premier-League-2014-2015

The left column shows conceded shots per game. So, despite our defensive flaws, we are conceding the second least amount of shots per game in the league. Now, this stat doesn't say anything about how dangerous the conceded shots are or from where on the field they are coming (important variables IMO), but we aren't as bad as we look to be. I would have thought we'd at least be at the upper half of this table, not second best. It does seem our defensive woes are a bit exaggerated, no?

*shots

The stats are from last season.

The stats are from last season.

Haha, that's also a reason I don't deserve legend status!

Anyway, here are this season's stats and they're even better! We're conceding 2,5 shots less than Arsenal per game. That's bound to have an impact over the entire season.

R Team Shots pg Tackles pg Interceptions pg Fouls pg Offsides pg Rating
1 Newcastle United 16.7 20.7 16.5 10.4 1.7 6.68
2 Sunderland 15.8 20.9 15.3 11.1 2 6.69
3 West Ham 15.7 20.1 17.1 10 1.8 6.92
4 Stoke 15.3 19.2 15.3 10.5 2.9 6.80
5 Crystal Palace 15.3 18.1 16.3 12.7 2.3 6.85
6 West Bromwich Albion 14.1 16.4 18.1 10.1 1.6 6.74
7 Everton 13.8 19.1 12.9 8.7 1.6 6.93
8 Leicester 13.2 22.7 22.2 10.9 1.2 7.01
9 Norwich 13.1 16.4 11.9 11 2.2 6.67
10 Aston Villa 12.9 18.3 19.4 12.2 1.3 6.72
11 Swansea 12.6 15.4 16.2 9.9 2.7 6.69
12 Watford 12.4 20.4 19.8 11.7 1.2 6.85
13 Southampton 12 18.7 17.6 10.4 2.7 6.83
14 Chelsea 11.8 21.1 14.3 11.3 1.9 6.81
15 Arsenal 11.4 19.5 19 8.7 2.2 7.08
16 Tottenham 11.3 21.2 18.4 12.9 2.2 7.00
17 Bournemouth 10.9 18.7 16.1 9.7 2 6.73
18 Liverpool 9.9 22.7 14 11.6 2.7 6.83
19 Manchester United 9 19.4 15.3 12.4 1.8 6.82
20 Manchester City 9 18.6 15.1 10.4 1.5 6.99

Cocacolajojo wrote:

The stats are from last season.

Haha, that's also a reason I don't deserve legend status!

Anyway, here are this season's stats and they're even better! We're conceding 2,5 shots less than Arsenal per game. That's bound to have an impact over the entire season.

It hasn't so far. Arsenal have conceded 3 goals less than us, the Rags 4 and Tottenham 5.
I guess that could mean that we have the worst keeper of the bunch, or the other circumstances you mention come into play...

I do agree with you, though, that our defense is not quite as bad as we often make it out to be. But as title candidates you do want to be one of the top 3 most solid teams and we're rather top 5 (both this season and last). We do score more than any other team, but both last season and this, we concede too many goals, which leads to too many dropped points.

mr_nool wrote:

Cocacolajojo wrote:

The stats are from last season.

Haha, that's also a reason I don't deserve legend status!

Anyway, here are this season's stats and they're even better! We're conceding 2,5 shots less than Arsenal per game. That's bound to have an impact over the entire season.

It hasn't so far. Arsenal have conceded 3 goals less than us, the Rags 4 and Tottenham 5.
I guess that could mean that we have the worst keeper of the bunch, or the other circumstances you mention come into play...

I do agree with you, though, that our defense is not quite as bad as we often make it out to be. But as title candidates you do want to be one of the top 3 most solid teams and we're rather top 5 (both this season and last). We do score more than any other team, but both last season and this, we concede too many goals, which leads to too many dropped points.

We conceded 37 when we won the league under Pellers, 38 last season and 21 in 20 this season so far.

Foreverinbluedreams wrote:

mr_nool wrote:

Cocacolajojo wrote:

The stats are from last season.

Haha, that's also a reason I don't deserve legend status!

Anyway, here are this season's stats and they're even better! We're conceding 2,5 shots less than Arsenal per game. That's bound to have an impact over the entire season.

It hasn't so far. Arsenal have conceded 3 goals less than us, the Rags 4 and Tottenham 5.
I guess that could mean that we have the worst keeper of the bunch, or the other circumstances you mention come into play...

I do agree with you, though, that our defense is not quite as bad as we often make it out to be. But as title candidates you do want to be one of the top 3 most solid teams and we're rather top 5 (both this season and last). We do score more than any other team, but both last season and this, we concede too many goals, which leads to too many dropped points.

We conceded 37 when we won the league under Pellers, 38 last season and 21 in 20 this season so far.

I know. But we were "saved" that season by scoring an incredible amount of goals: 2.75 per game compared to 1.95 so far this season.

The other teams have better shots against us than our rivals.

The bastards.

Hutch's Shoulder wrote:The other teams have better shots against us than our rivals.

The bastards.

I think there's an element of truth in this.

I've noticed countless times, and not just this season that a lot of teams make it their absolute priority to turn up against us and then go on to lose or drop points in their next 2 or 3 games.

Quite strange

When looking at goals conceded I like to look at patterns that could explain the outcomes. However, in this case I don't have to look far.

When Demi has started, forced or not, we have conceded 2.75 goals per game whereas when he hasn't we have conceded on avearge 0.69 goalks per game.

10 of our 21 goals conceded have come in 3 of those games, which we lost; Spurs, Liverpool and Stoke. That's 3 games out of our 5 lost, the other 2 being Arsenal away and Hammers at home.

I'm not saying we wouldn't have lost those games with different personnel, or that I blame Demichelis, but those stats are quite damning.

MUS wrote:

Hutch's Shoulder wrote:The other teams have better shots against us than our rivals.

The bastards.

I think there's an element of truth in this.

I've noticed countless times, and not just this season that a lot of teams make it their absolute priority to turn up against us and then go on to lose or drop points in their next 2 or 3 games.

Quite strange

Aren't we the leagues highest scorers?

Beefymcfc wrote:When looking at goals conceded I like to look at patterns that could explain the outcomes. However, in this case I don't have to look far.

When Demi has played, forced or not, we have conceded 2.75 goals per game whereas when he hasn't we have conceded on avearge 0.69 goalks per game.

10 of our 21 goals conceded have come in 3 of those games, which we lost; Spurs, Liverpool and Stoke. That's 3 games out of our 5 lost, the other 2 being Arsenal away and Hammers at home.

I'm not saying we wouldn't have lost those games with different personnel, or that I blame Demichelis, but those stats are quite damning.

Wow, Those stats do not make a pretty reading do they.

I see the whole thing as us being too easy to play against. We need to make that extra step and we are not too far off. By that extra step, I mean we need to be feared. Imagine any team coming to the etihad and playing a second 11 because they know it's better for them, as they give their first 11 a rest for the real fight against their rivals!!! Just like mick mccarthy did at the swamp a few years back. We are not too far off that being a reality. However, if we continue to ship goals and look calamitous, then we give every team hope.

Wonderwall wrote:I see the whole thing as us being too easy to play against. We need to make that extra step and we are not too far off. By that extra step, I mean we need to be feared. Imagine any team coming to the etihad and playing a second 11 because they know it's better for them, as they give their first 11 a rest for the real fight against their rivals!!! Just like mick mccarthy did at the swamp a few years back. We are not too far off that being a reality. However, if we continue to ship goals and look calamitous, then we give every team hope.

I think this season and last, the low number of shots against us allied to the fact that we only had the 5th best defence last season and so far this, suggests to an extent that the shots teams are getting in against us, are over a season, more clear cut/from better positions than is the case against other teams, or we have a poorer goalkeeper.

I know there was a lot of talk about this last season, with the numbers suggesting that De Gea really was adding value to United, whilst Hart was costing us (or at least that was the perception). In reality, whilst De Gea was almost certainly keeping United afloat, Kompany last year, and to an extent Demichelis this year seem to be the common denominator in a defensive shambles gifting really clear opportunities to opposition that Hart really can't do a huge amount to stop.

It does suggest that we have a bit of a soft centre that certain teams exploit more than others - but it also shows just how many opportunities we waste at the other end through overplaying. For a good few years now we've had the highest shots tally by a fair distance, and by default if you have more chances you're likely to score more than most - however many of the shots we have are in a congested area, trying to slam a shot through a sea of legs or from an impossible angle, a real waste.

We seem not to be clinical enough up front, and also not clinical enough at the back. Overall it would seem that the sum of the parts is less than the individual parts, a belief I've had about City for a long time now which I blame squarely on the managers - and that includes both Pellers and Mancini who try to shoehorn stars into unsuitable positions

Yea teams don't really fancy out playing us so they wait and wait and wait for the right counter attack opportunity right through our middle, or left side.

Fewer shots against us because we are rarely under prolonged periods of pressure.

Still an interesting read though.

We tend to play possession based football which is probably why we don't give as many chances away as some teams, it's the type of chances that teams get against us that's a big part of the problem, they are usually fast counter attacking chances - it's a byproduct of Pellegrini's system and he's well aware of it. (He uses the 'attack is the best form of defence' approach). When we're scoring 3+ goals a game it's not such a problem, if we drop below that level we start to risk having some unlucky results (or just downright bad games).