New Defensive Coach

[Douglas Higginbottom]

If Gregucci is a defensive coach it certainly hasn't been apparent on the training pitch at ANY time that I have been there.
Is it coincidence that we are defending worse now that Gregucci is here? I obviously can't be certain but I would say yes it is as out there on the training pitch I haven't seen him do any coaching at all.

out of curiosity then....wtf are we paying him to do???

That's a very good question.I am sure I heard Mancini was asked at one press conference something like " Gregucci was brought in as a defensive coach so what's gone wrong" I think his answer was no no he hasnt been involved in the defensive coaching , well maybe only once on the training ground.

I see him out there every time I go along but have never yet seen him actually coaching although he is there on the side lines. That means ,from what I see he does the same amount of coaching as Platt and Kidd as they virtually do no coaching at all from what I see.Once Mancini was not there at all and Platt took the whole session ( a good one too) but when the boss is around he does everything.

What goes on inside and in preparation for games I couldn't say.

[King Kev]

Last season we employed zonal marking and had the best defence in the country.

This season we have the second best defence in the league and suddenly zonal marking is shit.

Very confusing.

[Tokyo Blue]

It is not the system or the new defensive coach that makes Yaya Toure decide not to track his man or make a challenge.

[Hazy2]

De Jong would have been all over him IMHO and we miss that.

Like de Jong was against Cavani?

yaya was asleep for the goal, lets be honest here, we are all over the shop in the middle of the pitch blaming De Jong is 100% wrong, I accept he has gone, but it is clear we lack no how and the ability to spot danger. Barry god love him is very good but not ever IMHO gonna be the cover Vinny wants screening the middle of the pitch has gone hence howe have Ajax looking like the Home team first 20 last night.

Have a look at Nige 'screening' v Malaga & his efforts to stop Isco last night & you may re evaluate.

Not seen it Ted, however he has joined a very poor team, His replacements are hardly ripping it are they Ted, my eyes see holes and a platfrom to play from, last year. drop him say for the 6-1 and does not whinge, steps back in and seemless, now we look rudderless.

[I Just Blue Myself]

No excuses for conceeding goals like this.We need to get a grip at the back and soon.

I need to quote this now, because I'm a bit confused tbh.

If we're deploying this zonal malarkey, shouldn't the blame be put on Barry rather than Yaya, as it currently is in every second post? Isn't Barry, as the first man, supposed to attack the ball? Can anyone explain this in simple terms please?

[Hazy2]

No excuses for conceeding goals like this.We need to get a grip at the back and soon.

I need to quote this now, because I'm a bit confused tbh.

If we're deploying this zonal malarkey, shouldn't the blame be put on Barry rather than Yaya, as it currently is in every second post? Isn't Barry, as the first man, supposed to attack the ball? Can anyone explain this in simple terms please?

The more you look a this the more looks like a poor sunday team, who is picking up the man on the edge of the box if we had cleared it. just a point our coaches must be spotting and asking wtf.

[Cocacolajojo1]

No excuses for conceeding goals like this.We need to get a grip at the back and soon.

I need to quote this now, because I'm a bit confused tbh.

If we're deploying this zonal malarkey, shouldn't the blame be put on Barry rather than Yaya, as it currently is in every second post? Isn't Barry, as the first man, supposed to attack the ball? Can anyone explain this in simple terms please?

I would also like it explained to me because I agree with you. It really seems like Barry is the one to blame.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

No excuses for conceeding goals like this.We need to get a grip at the back and soon.

I need to quote this now, because I'm a bit confused tbh.

If we're deploying this zonal malarkey, shouldn't the blame be put on Barry rather than Yaya, as it currently is in every second post? Isn't Barry, as the first man, supposed to attack the ball? Can anyone explain this in simple terms please?

I would also like it explained to me because I agree with you. It really seems like Barry is the one to blame.

Both are to blame imo. Barry should be attacking that space however if you look at the set up before the ball comes in we have three players standing up three of theirs, when the ball is played the two players at the back post stay with the men they appear to be marking whereas Yaya just let's his man run off him. No matter what system we are using for corners Yaya allowing that to happen is inexcusable, it's a complete lack of concentration.

[Ted Hughes]

No excuses for conceeding goals like this.We need to get a grip at the back and soon.

I need to quote this now, because I'm a bit confused tbh.

If we're deploying this zonal malarkey, shouldn't the blame be put on Barry rather than Yaya, as it currently is in every second post? Isn't Barry, as the first man, supposed to attack the ball? Can anyone explain this in simple terms please?

I would also like it explained to me because I agree with you. It really seems like Barry is the one to blame.

Both are to blame imo. Barry should be attacking that space however if you look at the set up before the ball comes in we have three players standing up three of theirs, when the ball is played the two players at the back post stay with the men they appear to be marking whereas Yaya just let's his man run off him. No matter what system we are using for corners Yaya allowing that to happen is inexcusable, it's a complete lack of concentration.

Yaya ALWAYS allows that to happen, so why the fucking hell is he still being given that job ?

Barry is also at fault for both goals & he has previous in these situations. In the end though, the whole system & set up is an absolute fucking joke & that is the fault of Bob & whichever coaches influenced it.

This is not because of zonal marking, man for man marking, Europe, or any other excuse, it is piss poor execution of a piss poor plan. The players & the manager should be fucking ashamed; it doesn't get worse than that, at any level.

[dazby]

Yaya drops off because the ball goes into the Gazbaz zone. Gazbaz just watches. 100% gazbaz. Mase, this is your moment.

[carl_feedthegoat]

There was no need for a replay of that goal as it was fucking OBVIOUS whos fault is was ..FAT BARRY the lazy fat lump didnt bother to jump..hes a useless sack of shit when it comes to jumping higher than an inch..as he cant jump any higher.

Shocking shocking goals against and I expect the fuckign captain to be talking and ensuring everyone is doing their jobs....Vinnie has been a massive massive let down as captain and player this season and he should have the arm band taken off him imo.

Give it to the only guy who does scream and shout..Hart.

[Dameerto]

Yaya didn't help by letting him pass so easily though - he should have used his size to stand between the goal and him - and move with him a bit instead of letting him have an almost clear run straight towards the post (or Barry's zone or whatever the fucl we want to call it)

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Both are to blame imo. Barry should be attacking that space however if you look at the set up before the ball comes in we have three players standing up three of theirs, when the ball is played the two players at the back post stay with the men they appear to be marking whereas Yaya just let's his man run off him. No matter what system we are using for corners Yaya allowing that to happen is inexcusable, it's a complete lack of concentration.

Yaya ALWAYS allows that to happen, so why the fucking hell is he still being given that job ?

Barry is also at fault for both goals & he has previous in these situations. In the end though, the whole system & set up is an absolute fucking joke & that is the fault of Bob & whichever coaches influenced it.

This is not because of zonal marking, man for man marking, Europe, or any other excuse, it is piss poor execution of a piss poor plan. The players & the manager should be fucking ashamed; it doesn't get worse than that, at any level.

I agree about Yaya. In fact I agree with your assertion in general that the defensive side of Yaya's game is weak as he has that tendency to switch off.

Here's an extract from an article that I think is spot on.

"Set-pieces

Ajax went ahead with two simple goals from corners, an area Manchester City have struggled from this season. As is customary, zonal defending got the majority of the blame, but the situation was more complex, as City were playing a ‘mixed’ system – part-zonal, part-man marking. In fact, it’s extremely rare to see a side that defends entirely man-for-man – certain zones are generally occupied anyway, particularly at the near post (almost by necessity, as the defending side always have a surplus of players in the box).

Anyway, the goals were actually conceded because of poor man-marking – Toure simply let de Jong go free for both goals. That said, the second concession was also a poor goal to concede from a zonal perspective – the position de Jong headed the ball from was the ‘first’ zone a side is supposed to concentrate on defending. Barry was there, but very deep and close to the post. Some sides (England under Fabio Capello, for example) defend with two men in that position, which brings more security.

Either way, City had eight versus four in the box for the corners – to concede two such cheap goals was criminal."
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/11/07/ ... #more-9228

[aaron bond]

Yaya didn't help by letting him pass so easily though - he should have used his size to stand between the goal and him - and move with him a bit instead of letting him have an almost clear run straight towards the post (or Barry's zone or whatever the fucl we want to call it)

As others have mentioned, Yaya does that all the time. He rarely makes any effort to defend from corners.

I always remember the goal Spurs scored in the 5-1 match last year - a corner came in towards Yaya and he actually turned his back on the ball to avoid attacking it and the Spurs player got in and scored. It annoyed me at the time even if it was an insignificant goal.

A player of his build and height should be one of our main resources when defending a corner but we'd be better off leaving him up on the halfway line with the strikers.

[Cocacolajojo1]

There was no need for a replay of that goal as it was fucking OBVIOUS whos fault is was ..FAT BARRY the lazy fat lump didnt bother to jump..hes a useless sack of shit when it comes to jumping higher than an inch..as he cant jump any higher.

Shocking shocking goals against and I expect the fuckign captain to be talking and ensuring everyone is doing their jobs....Vinnie has been a massive massive let down as captain and player this season and he should have the arm band taken off him imo.

Give it to the only guy who does scream and shout..Hart.

A very good shout actually. I don't know if I agree with you that it's that easy to swap the armband around, but if it has to be done, give it to Hart. Even if there weren't microphones around the pitch, his voice would still be heard on TV.

[feedthegreek]

thing was same guy scored both goals someone should have been stuck like glue to him.

[Ted Hughes]

IT'S NOT FUCKING ZONAL FFS!!!!! Use your eyes.

Barry etc are in zones, yes, but look at the others.

Go back to the video, ignore the ball, ignore, Yaya, ignore Barry, watch Clichy at the back, JUST CLICHY. What does he do, does he stay in a zone or does he run in with the player ?

Now, watch it again & watch Garcia in the middle. Whay does he do, does he stay in a zone or does he run in ?

Now watch Yaya Toure. A slight difference perhaps ? Anyone ?

Watch the 1st goal, same thing.


Yes Barry should have dealt with it & he should also have dropped back to the post & been covering the first one, he is at fault too, for both goals, but Yaya, why the fuck is he still there after shit like this:

[youtube]PdEiTfwrSd0[/youtube]

[Ted Hughes]

And, why is nobody outside the near post to stop the ball coming in, you know, like Joe Royle, or Pearce, or any old manager would do.

[Hazy2]

And, why is nobody outside the near post to stop the ball coming in, you know, like Joe Royle, or Pearce, or any old manager would do.

Lets move on Ted, The goal is so bad Fellaini cant wait to play us,

[Ted Hughes]

And, why is nobody outside the near post to stop the ball coming in, you know, like Joe Royle, or Pearce, or any old manager would do.

Lets move on Ted, The goal is so bad Fellaini cant wait to play us,

The thing is, we used to suffer from this kind of shit all the time, & generally get bitched by big strikers too, then we cured it (mainly by selling Dunnie) and mostly stopped teams who are specialists at this kind of thing.

Then we go into the Champions League & it's not the pass & move which kills us, it's big fuckers like Gomez & Cavani, plus free headers from corners. How can we stop Fat Sam & Andy Carroll on the Saturday, then let in two fucking goals from corners v Ajax ffs!?

Clearly, we were focussed v West Ham & Mancini has gone into Champions League tactical bullshit mode v Ajax, so we have taken our eye off the ball, just as we did last season.