Who are the first choice centre halfs?

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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby PeterParker » Thu Mar 08, 2018 2:43 pm

What I find funny is that Otamendi, based on what we saw this year, is our minister of defence.

Many, me included, wanted him out last summer. Fair play to the fella. A rock. (and also I dirty cunt, and we need dirty cunts in the back).

So, at the moment, Stones is our weakest link. Hope he get fit mentally, because he was very solid in the first part of the season.
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby Sideshow Bob » Thu Mar 08, 2018 2:49 pm

early days but laporte does not look good. and stones? less said the better...
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby sheblue » Thu Mar 08, 2018 3:04 pm

Vinny and otter.
Stones going great until that injury. Laporte has the attributes but needs a little more time.

Next season expect to see a lot more of the Stones Laporte partnership.
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby Sideshow Bob » Thu Mar 08, 2018 3:44 pm

what i don't understand about stones is how he manages to f*ck up even the simplest things when he's off form. shouldn't he as a professional footballer be capable of playing a 5-yd square pass to an open teammate?? absolutely baffling.
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby Swales4ever » Thu Mar 08, 2018 6:11 pm

Sideshow Bob wrote:what i don't understand about stones is how he manages to f*ck up even the simplest things when he's off form. shouldn't he as a professional footballer be capable of playing a 5-yd square pass to an open teammate?? absolutely baffling.

Only logical answer can be the massive overall dump he gets as soon as somehow, somewhat, his confidence drops.

Think the player he's proved to be before injury.. and since returning your assessment paint it pretty fairly.

Can't be other reason to drop from Beckhembauer in the making to scared, nearly clueless at times of now.

My 5 pc is steady on that he needs to play.

1. "unintelligible language"
2. "ACID QUEEN"
3. "never once fails to turn a football thread into a himseelf thread"
4. "thumbs stalker often resulting in repetitive thumb strain"
5. ignore the cunt. he's on permantent wum mission. only TIDs may know City

You'd need to make a very good psychiatrist in order to guess what next in a eight yrs long line of hatred...


In Roger Ailes/Donnie Drumpf's words: "don't know it for a fact, but many people say so..."
there must be some truth, then!
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby Bluedj » Thu Mar 08, 2018 8:29 pm

I'm thinking Stones has a twin brother like Dzeko had.....only turns up when its warm ......What annoys me the most about Stones is how he is consistently gets bullied off the ball and he dithers to f@@k in possession, which lead me to mental application an poor decision making process. I'm hoping he can get back to early season form before injury, because at the moment he's almost as much as a liability as Clownio Bravo in net
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby Mase » Thu Mar 08, 2018 9:22 pm

Bluedj wrote:I'm thinking Stones has a twin brother like Dzeko had.....only turns up when its warm ......What annoys me the most about Stones is how he is consistently gets bullied off the ball and he dithers to f@@k in possession, which lead me to mental application an poor decision making process. I'm hoping he can get back to early season form before injury, because at the moment he's almost as much as a liability as Clownio Bravo in net


Wigan he had Bravo behind him. Last night also. Could it be he’s on edge with that guy behind him knowing if he fucks up the opposition only need one shot for one goal?
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby Bluedj » Thu Mar 08, 2018 9:28 pm

Mase wrote:
Bluedj wrote:I'm thinking Stones has a twin brother like Dzeko had.....only turns up when its warm ......What annoys me the most about Stones is how he is consistently gets bullied off the ball and he dithers to f@@k in possession, which lead me to mental application an poor decision making process. I'm hoping he can get back to early season form before injury, because at the moment he's almost as much as a liability as Clownio Bravo in net


Wigan he had Bravo behind him. Last night also. Could it be he’s on edge with that guy behind him knowing if he fucks up the opposition only need one shot for one goal?


I'm hoping you're right, I also have thought about it too, even so, I think he needs to get back on the weights to strengthen up and not get out muscled off the ball
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby johnny crossan » Thu Mar 08, 2018 10:03 pm

A very strong quartet but all have had their moments to forget. Otter less than the others though so he gets my vote, I hope the plan to replace him and Vinny with the youngsters works next season.
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby CTID Hants » Thu Mar 08, 2018 10:47 pm

johnny crossan wrote:A very strong quartet but all have had their moments to forget. Otter less than the others though so he gets my vote, I hope the plan to replace him and Vinny with the youngsters works next season.


That pretty much sums it up for me, Otter has certainly stepped up this season, I think Kaptain K knows himself that even if he keeps fit he will be second choice (which begs the question of who becomes full time captain?). Stones certainly seems to have a confidence issue since his injury, which I hope he can get over very soon. Laporte just needs time to settle in.

Danilo, I'm putting in the Sun Jihai category of utility who will be fondly remembered for his effort/team spirit over his ability, that said I'm sure there would plenty of other Prem teams who would welcome as an upgrade on who they have currently.

How spoilt are we becoming :lol:
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby edge275 » Fri Mar 09, 2018 12:57 am

Laporte and Stones.
"Like all bullies, they've just found out that there is a much bigger guy in town, someone who is richer and more powerful than their worst nightmare. And this smiling Arabic assassin is intent on stealing all the treasures they've nicked off everyone else, and pulverising them into commercial and footballing oblivion as he does so."
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby Nigels Tackle » Fri Mar 09, 2018 10:10 am

edge275 wrote:Laporte and Stones.


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby s1ty m » Fri Mar 09, 2018 11:10 am

Saul Goodman wrote:Hah. This thread sounds familiar.

Currently it has to be Vinny and Otamendi


Spot on.
After the ball was centred, after the whistle blew...
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby phips » Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:41 pm

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is rotating his central defenders. We take a look at the statistics behind his reasons why…

Fans are fond of speculating on their team's best starting line-up, but managers must be more flexible.

Pep Guardiola's comments about his team selection reveal that the Manchester City boss, whose side face Stoke on MNF, live on Sky Sports Premier League, intends to rotate his centre-backs on a game-by-game basis.

Guardiola explained why he had opted for Aymeric Laporte, his £57m signing from Athletic Bilbao, for the Premier League game against Chelsea after omitting him for the wins over Arsenal.

His words offered insight into the tactical details that determine his thought process.

"Chelsea sometimes plays 5-4-1 and sometimes plays 5-3-2," he said.

"If they play 5-3-2, maybe we make a build-up with three and defend with three at the back. If we defend with three at the back, on the left side, Laporte, because of his left foot, is maybe much better than Otamendi, for example, or John Stones. With Laporte, I can use both systems and set up better. In that game, that was the reason why.

"Maybe in another game there will be another one. For example, sometimes I play Nico and Vincent because they are both amazing at winning duels. Defensively, winning duels, both are perfect. In some games, I need that. In other games I need more of the build-up and, I don't know, I need more special details."

The statistics support the logic behind Guardiola's decisions. Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi win significantly more aerial duels than their younger rivals for the centre-back positions. Kompany and Otamendi win an average of 2.7 and 2.6 aerial duels per 90 minutes respectively, compared to Stones' 1.8 and Laporte with just one per game so far.

Kompany's return to fitness allowed him to partner Otamendi for both of the recent games against Arsenal. Guardiola's decision to name the same two centre-backs for those fixtures suggests that it was tactically motivated. In games where City look to build more from the back and beat the opposition press, he has been inclined to take a different route.

The passing accuracy of Manchester City's centre-backs provides a further clue as to why. While Otamendi and Kompany are reliable users of the ball, completing almost 92 per cent of their passes, Stones boasts the best passing accuracy in the entire Premier League - finding a team-mate with 96.3 per cent of his passes. Laporte is second on the list.

Perhaps this is an indication of the better build-up play to which he refers. For example, while Kompany and Otamendi's slightly lower passing accuracy is partly explained by the fact that they attempt more long passes, this does not mean they are better at it. Laporte has completed 80 per cent of his long-range passes compared to Otamendi's 65 per cent.

Indeed, Otamendi misplaces the most long passes per 90 minutes of the four City defenders with Laporte misplacing the fewest. As a result, when Guardiola believes that the key to his team's success will be retaining possession of the ball and progressing the play through the pitch, it appears that he correctly feels that the Frenchman is the man for this task.

Up against Stoke on Monday Night Football, it will be interesting to find out which specific qualities that the City manager believes are most important. Traditionally, the trip to the Potteries on a windy weeknight is the stuff of folklore and while Stoke are a different proposition these days, there remains the prospect of Peter Crouch making an appearance.

Only Burnley won more aerial duels against City last season. Guardiola may need Kompany and Otamendi to cope with this threat. Equally, while City won there last season, they did so with one of their lowest pass accuracies of the campaign. The Bet365 Stadium is not always conducive to flowing football despite the size of the pitch being increased in 2015.

Only Tottenham forced City into more misplaced passes last season and there are already three teams who have gone to Stoke and had a passing accuracy below 65 per cent this term. Again, only Spurs have seen more away sides fail to hit that mark.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11679/11286841/why-pep-guardiola-is-rotating-his-manchester-city-centre-backs
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby Moonchesteri » Mon Mar 12, 2018 5:07 pm

Can’t believe I’m saying this but Otter is one of the first choice centre backs for me.

With fully fit.vinnie of course
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Re: Who are the first choice centre halfs?

Postby PrezIke » Mon Mar 12, 2018 6:04 pm

Moonchesteri wrote:Can’t believe I’m saying this but Otter is one of the first choice centre backs for me.

With fully fit.vinnie of course


Arguably, Otamendi is the best centre half in the Premiership this season.

Earlier in the season I'd easily have said Stones first, who was playing as the perfect Pep centre back and one of the best in the world, and then Nico, who still was making his vintage, annoying mistakes.

Funny as I read an article questioning Stones place in the England squad given his current form, even though I believe he did well his last game along side Maguire.

Now, if Vinnie is fit, which rotation helps ensure, I think it has to be he and Nico.

That's fine now as they are more experienced anyway, even if Pep wants his left sided CB to be left footed for those long passes to swing the ball to the other side from deep.

Stones and Laporte are the future and not exactly poor defenders. They need growth and all together we have the best combination of central defenders in the PL, and arguably the world, quality wise, I gather. (Who else has better?)
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