Our defence

[Crossie]

Needs sorting ASAP, what has suddenly changed? We were looking mint, and Hart has 14 clean sheets, best in the league, but now it really is panic time.

Stupid set piece mistakes and general dopey weakness is costing is 1st, 2nd, 3rd and now if we not careful it will cost us 4th.

Spurs fucking won with no fit defenders tonight!!!

What is the solution?

[Richard]

Zonal marking at corners doesnt help.

[Kladze]

It's not ONLY the defence. The whole team has gone from running like a dream machine to a total car crash of headless chickens in a matter of a month.

Mancini has to think closely about the large number of players he rests for cup ties, as the lack of continuity is hurting us I feel.

[french_tony]

Hes dicking around with it too much. The back four should never change unless there is an injury or someone seriously is having a nightmare.
Zab, Vince, Kolo, Kolarov. It did well over Xmas when we were on fire so whys he suddenly started playing Boateng? I know Richards is doing ok but thats Zabs position and he has done nothing to lose it.

[Original Dub]

You can do very little about a penalty kick (although I always felt like Shay would save).

The problem is that we don't have a style of play that we impose on teams, instead we play differently to suit the opposition. Something you never see United, Chelsea or Arsenal do... or Spurs for that matter.

Our tactics are cowards tactics By coward, I mean if we connect first sometimes we can keep kicking while the opponent is down, but if the opponent either strikes first or at least gets back on their feet we hide.

Fucking cowards.

[ruralblue]

Something has happened with Zab, has to have. Don't know what but these kind of games is when we need him charging forward then screaming back and putting his head on the line, yet Boateng who hasn't proved his worth yet gets his name on the team sheet. Odd....

[Sister of fu]

Needs sorting ASAP, what has suddenly changed? We were looking mint, and Hart has 14 clean sheets, best in the league, but now it really is panic time.

Stupid set piece mistakes and general dopey weakness is costing is 1st, 2nd, 3rd and now if we not careful it will cost us 4th.

Spurs fucking won with no fit defenders tonight!!!

What is the solution?

Do we think this slide co-insides with Joe's loss of form?? I cant recall but were we zonal marking earlier in the season as i cant see them changing something thats not broke. If were defending well and keeping clean sheets galore why would they tinker with it?

[paulmclaren]

Patrick Vieira should be removed from city instantly.
He's fucking awful.

[Slim]

Our defence

Okay, so now you've said the joke, what's the punchline?

[Douglas Higginbottom]

We had a leaky defence when Mancini took over and he set about sorting that out. Zonal marking was introdued but also we started to play more defensive football, seeking to attack on the break. The results in terms of not leaking goals was good but it wasn't just about the defence on it's own it was the way we played as a team.

Not that many players were given freedom to attack and that in turn means that we have more players in midfield and defensive positions to stop the opposition getting at us easily. More recently I think the shackles have been taken off a little but , not only are we struggling to create much consistently but we are definitely looking more open again.

It still baffles me that we seem to let crosses in whilst at the same time we don't seem to be able to create crossing opportunities ourselves( not that we can cross anyway)

It will be interesting now to watch what Mancini does to make us look more solid. I agree with those who say we shouldnt be tinkering with the back 4 unless we have to so let's see who he goes for.

As for Vieira it doesnt matter how well the defence plays with him in front of them as he is a liability. A foul always waiting to happen and sadly he was even brainless enough to commit one in the box when there was no danger.

[bluej]

Our defence

Okay, so now you've said the joke, what's the punchline?

Vieira.

[Slim]

Our defence

Okay, so now you've said the joke, what's the punchline?

Vieira.

Ouch, too soon man, too soon.

[Mike J]

why on earth did we not fucking go for luiz?!

jerome is shocking, ive seen enough of him. personally i think he is absolute shite.

[dromoreblue]

We had a leaky defence when Mancini took over and he set about sorting that out. Zonal marking was introdued but also we started to play more defensive football, seeking to attack on the break. The results in terms of not leaking goals was good but it wasn't just about the defence on it's own it was the way we played as a team.

Not that many players were given freedom to attack and that in turn means that we have more players in midfield and defensive positions to stop the opposition getting at us easily. More recently I think the shackles have been taken off a little but , not only are we struggling to create much consistently but we are definitely looking more open again.

It still baffles me that we seem to let crosses in whilst at the same time we don't seem to be able to create crossing opportunities ourselves( not that we can cross anyway)

It will be interesting now to watch what Mancini does to make us look more solid. I agree with those who say we shouldnt be tinkering with the back 4 unless we have to so let's see who he goes for.

As for Vieira it doesnt matter how well the defence plays with him in front of them as he is a liability. A foul always waiting to happen and sadly he was even brainless enough to commit one in the box when there was no danger.

Agree we need to keep a settled back four. Jo and Vieira shouldn't be in the 25 man squad. Sweep has played poorly this season but he has a lot more to offer than those 2 muppets. We cant even rely on playing on the break anymore as we have so little pace in the team. As for Dzeko, if we arent playing with wingers on their proper wings then he is completely wasted and i feel sorry for the guy. Playing like this will destroy his confidence. I'm starting to lose confidence in Mancini. Think also that Yaya was a big miss tonight.

[Ted Hughes]

We had a leaky defence when Mancini took over and he set about sorting that out. Zonal marking was introdued but also we started to play more defensive football, seeking to attack on the break. The results in terms of not leaking goals was good but it wasn't just about the defence on it's own it was the way we played as a team.

Not that many players were given freedom to attack and that in turn means that we have more players in midfield and defensive positions to stop the opposition getting at us easily. More recently I think the shackles have been taken off a little but , not only are we struggling to create much consistently but we are definitely looking more open again.

It still baffles me that we seem to let crosses in whilst at the same time we don't seem to be able to create crossing opportunities ourselves( not that we can cross anyway)

It will be interesting now to watch what Mancini does to make us look more solid. I agree with those who say we shouldnt be tinkering with the back 4 unless we have to so let's see who he goes for.

As for Vieira it doesnt matter how well the defence plays with him in front of them as he is a liability. A foul always waiting to happen and sadly he was even brainless enough to commit one in the box when there was no danger.

Agree we need to keep a settled back four. Jo and Vieira shouldn't be in the 25 man squad. Sweep has played poorly this season but he has a lot more to offer than those 2 muppets. We cant even rely on playing on the break anymore as we have so little pace in the team. As for Dzeko, if we arent playing with wingers on their proper wings then he is completely wasted and i feel sorry for the guy. Playing like this will destroy his confidence. I'm starting to lose confidence in Mancini. Think also that Yaya was a big miss tonight.

I agree about the defence, we are good at playing defensivly as a team but not good at defending in smaller numbers in a game when we are attacking. Bob's test will be to prove he can get a back 4 that can operate without having to be protected by the rest of the team. Baconface can do it, over to you Bob.

Re Dzeko & crosses, if you sat down with him now & watched a video of the game over a few beers & asked him whether he'd rather have Milner or Bentley playing wide, I can guarantee he wouldn't say Milner. Bentley put some rotten crosses in, he put some average crosses in & he put some corkers in; he put fucking crosses in. What did Milner do cross wise? Or Boateng or Kolarov for that matter? One Spurs reject produced more useful balls in than our whole team. As did Jarvis for Wolves & Blackpool's wide players & no doubt some fucker for WBA will do on Sat whether we win 6-0 or not, they'll do that part of it better than us

Our delivery; it's rubbish is what it is. Rubbish I tells yer.

[Kladze]

We had a leaky defence when Mancini took over and he set about sorting that out. Zonal marking was introdued but also we started to play more defensive football, seeking to attack on the break. The results in terms of not leaking goals was good but it wasn't just about the defence on it's own it was the way we played as a team.

Not that many players were given freedom to attack and that in turn means that we have more players in midfield and defensive positions to stop the opposition getting at us easily. More recently I think the shackles have been taken off a little but , not only are we struggling to create much consistently but we are definitely looking more open again.

It still baffles me that we seem to let crosses in whilst at the same time we don't seem to be able to create crossing opportunities ourselves( not that we can cross anyway)

It will be interesting now to watch what Mancini does to make us look more solid. I agree with those who say we shouldnt be tinkering with the back 4 unless we have to so let's see who he goes for.

As for Vieira it doesnt matter how well the defence plays with him in front of them as he is a liability. A foul always waiting to happen and sadly he was even brainless enough to commit one in the box when there was no danger.

Agree we need to keep a settled back four. Jo and Vieira shouldn't be in the 25 man squad. Sweep has played poorly this season but he has a lot more to offer than those 2 muppets. We cant even rely on playing on the break anymore as we have so little pace in the team. As for Dzeko, if we arent playing with wingers on their proper wings then he is completely wasted and i feel sorry for the guy. Playing like this will destroy his confidence. I'm starting to lose confidence in Mancini. Think also that Yaya was a big miss tonight.

I agree about the defence, we are good at playing defensivly as a team but not good at defending in smaller numbers in a game when we are attacking. Bob's test will be to prove he can get a back 4 that can operate without having to be protected by the rest of the team. Baconface can do it, over to you Bob.

Re Dzeko & crosses, if you sat down with him now & watched a video of the game over a few beers & asked him whether he'd rather have Milner or Bentley playing wide, I can guarantee he wouldn't say Milner. Bentley put some rotten crosses in, he put some average crosses in & he put some corkers in; he put fucking crosses in. What did Milner do cross wise? Or Boateng or Kolarov for that matter? One Spurs reject produced more useful balls in than our whole team. As did Jarvis for Wolves & Blackpool's wide players & no doubt some fucker for WBA will do on Sat whether we win 6-0 or not, they'll do that part of it better than us

Our delivery; it's rubbish is what it is. Rubbish I tells yer.

Couldn't agree more Ted.

Aside from sheer effort (which you can't knock him for) I'm beginning to wonder what Milner actually brings to the team in a creative sense. All work rate and no finesse I'm afraid.

[Ted Hughes]

We had a leaky defence when Mancini took over and he set about sorting that out. Zonal marking was introdued but also we started to play more defensive football, seeking to attack on the break. The results in terms of not leaking goals was good but it wasn't just about the defence on it's own it was the way we played as a team.

Not that many players were given freedom to attack and that in turn means that we have more players in midfield and defensive positions to stop the opposition getting at us easily. More recently I think the shackles have been taken off a little but , not only are we struggling to create much consistently but we are definitely looking more open again.

It still baffles me that we seem to let crosses in whilst at the same time we don't seem to be able to create crossing opportunities ourselves( not that we can cross anyway)

It will be interesting now to watch what Mancini does to make us look more solid. I agree with those who say we shouldnt be tinkering with the back 4 unless we have to so let's see who he goes for.

As for Vieira it doesnt matter how well the defence plays with him in front of them as he is a liability. A foul always waiting to happen and sadly he was even brainless enough to commit one in the box when there was no danger.

Agree we need to keep a settled back four. Jo and Vieira shouldn't be in the 25 man squad. Sweep has played poorly this season but he has a lot more to offer than those 2 muppets. We cant even rely on playing on the break anymore as we have so little pace in the team. As for Dzeko, if we arent playing with wingers on their proper wings then he is completely wasted and i feel sorry for the guy. Playing like this will destroy his confidence. I'm starting to lose confidence in Mancini. Think also that Yaya was a big miss tonight.

I agree about the defence, we are good at playing defensivly as a team but not good at defending in smaller numbers in a game when we are attacking. Bob's test will be to prove he can get a back 4 that can operate without having to be protected by the rest of the team. Baconface can do it, over to you Bob.

Re Dzeko & crosses, if you sat down with him now & watched a video of the game over a few beers & asked him whether he'd rather have Milner or Bentley playing wide, I can guarantee he wouldn't say Milner. Bentley put some rotten crosses in, he put some average crosses in & he put some corkers in; he put fucking crosses in. What did Milner do cross wise? Or Boateng or Kolarov for that matter? One Spurs reject produced more useful balls in than our whole team. As did Jarvis for Wolves & Blackpool's wide players & no doubt some fucker for WBA will do on Sat whether we win 6-0 or not, they'll do that part of it better than us

Our delivery; it's rubbish is what it is. Rubbish I tells yer.

Couldn't agree more Ted.

Aside from sheer effort (which you can't knock him for) I'm beginning to wonder what Milner actually brings to the team in a creative sense. All work rate and no finesse I'm afraid.

Any Villa fan will tell you he's a shite wide player. He's made his name as a centre mid. Last time he started there he was MOTM. I though today he would be playing there but we had another bizarre tactical shuffle.

[gillie]

We had a leaky defence when Mancini took over and he set about sorting that out. Zonal marking was introdued but also we started to play more defensive football, seeking to attack on the break. The results in terms of not leaking goals was good but it wasn't just about the defence on it's own it was the way we played as a team.

Not that many players were given freedom to attack and that in turn means that we have more players in midfield and defensive positions to stop the opposition getting at us easily. More recently I think the shackles have been taken off a little but , not only are we struggling to create much consistently but we are definitely looking more open again.

It still baffles me that we seem to let crosses in whilst at the same time we don't seem to be able to create crossing opportunities ourselves( not that we can cross anyway)

It will be interesting now to watch what Mancini does to make us look more solid. I agree with those who say we shouldnt be tinkering with the back 4 unless we have to so let's see who he goes for.

As for Vieira it doesnt matter how well the defence plays with him in front of them as he is a liability. A foul always waiting to happen and sadly he was even brainless enough to commit one in the box when there was no danger.

Agree we need to keep a settled back four. Jo and Vieira shouldn't be in the 25 man squad. Sweep has played poorly this season but he has a lot more to offer than those 2 muppets. We cant even rely on playing on the break anymore as we have so little pace in the team. As for Dzeko, if we arent playing with wingers on their proper wings then he is completely wasted and i feel sorry for the guy. Playing like this will destroy his confidence. I'm starting to lose confidence in Mancini. Think also that Yaya was a big miss tonight.

I agree about the defence, we are good at playing defensivly as a team but not good at defending in smaller numbers in a game when we are attacking. Bob's test will be to prove he can get a back 4 that can operate without having to be protected by the rest of the team. Baconface can do it, over to you Bob.

Re Dzeko & crosses, if you sat down with him now & watched a video of the game over a few beers & asked him whether he'd rather have Milner or Bentley playing wide, I can guarantee he wouldn't say Milner. Bentley put some rotten crosses in, he put some average crosses in & he put some corkers in; he put fucking crosses in. What did Milner do cross wise? Or Boateng or Kolarov for that matter? One Spurs reject produced more useful balls in than our whole team. As did Jarvis for Wolves & Blackpool's wide players & no doubt some fucker for WBA will do on Sat whether we win 6-0 or not, they'll do that part of it better than us

Our delivery; it's rubbish is what it is. Rubbish I tells yer.

And it was just as bad when we had our winger/s playing.We dont have one player that can put a decent cross in FACT.

[blues2win]

Actually Micah put in two wonderful crosses in the Cup match and Kolarov one. They could easily have led to three goals, not just one. That said we should have bought a pacy right footed player (preferably two footed really) who CAN cross the ball in the transfer window. Why didn't we? God Knows. I think we put all our chips on AJ with no back up and that was always a risky plan. Unless Mancini can get something miraculous out of SWP for the run in I don't see the situation changing.

[justlurkin]

It baffles me why Mancini bought Dzeko. Reason being that we don't have wingers who cross the ball well. We have AJ who 9 times out of ten will turn back onto his left when he beats the full back on the right. Then proceeds to put in a shit cross. Milner as has been said above is not a winger. Against Villa we put in one decent cross and Dzeko nearly scored. The bloke can score goals with his head and yet a) we don't have anybody to cross the ball and b) we very rarely cross the ball, so why buy him in the first place. I know he is good at holding the ball up but surely he was bought for his goals and yet we're not using him to his full potential.