I suggest the die hard "apologists for Kompanys fuck ups" read this and understand why we MUST sell him come the end of the season.
http://www.typicalcity.org/2015/02/08/i ... t-kompany/?
Is This The Beginning Of The End For Vincent Kompany?
Any temptation to criticise Vincent Kompany is quickly offset by a sudden overwhelming sense of obligation. An obligation to grovel and to thank him – or, Him, if you’re feeling cheeky – for providing many timeless memories in a sky blue shirt. They don’t need to be listed here yet again – they’re surely nailed into our subconscious after so long. Spending £6m on defender who would go on to captain two Premier League-winning sides is an undeniable bargain that may never be repeated in the modern game, given that transfer records are now being broken each summer and the average transfer fee continues to inflate. But before I allow nostalgia to change my mind, I should cut to the chase.
Vincent Kompany isn’t the player he once was. An obvious argument, yes, but bear with me here. Arguably the best centre-back in the world on a good day, following Vincent Kompany into battle often feels like the safest option. As a City fan writing this, it’s always worth repeating that he’s won the Premier League two times in three years as captain – just to let the achievement fill me up again – but the tone of recent discussions surrounding Kompany’s dwindling form has shown signs that the beginning of the end is nigh, if it isn’t already under way.
Of course, there is the issue that Kompany is injury prone: time after time we’ve seen him signal to the bench and park his backside on the pitch with sensible resignation. The physio then dashes over to assess the situation as Kompany’s defiance peels away. This is followed by a heartfelt trudge from the field, accompanied by disappointed applause and whispered groans which imply this won’t be the last time we’ll see this happen. But never before has he allowed his injuries to hamper his form as significantly at has done recently; Kompany looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable during Arsenal’s successful visit to the Etihad, giving away a penalty after losing possession in midfield. It’s important to mention that he initially gave the ball away further up the pitch in the lead up to giving the penalty away, but we’ll get to that.
Without trying to sound like your average moustachioed detective, my suspicions were first aroused back in September, during the 1-1 Champions’ League draw with Roma at the Etihad. Francesco Totti found a pocket of space behind Kompany after he stepped out of defence, ran through on goal unchallenged, and chipped over the onrushing Joe Hart to equalise. An attacking player with the years of experience and intelligence that Totti possesses could find pockets of space in a crammed shoebox, but it was almost too simple for him, especially when you consider that the usually formidable Kompany was the man assigned to keep watch. Given that I judged it to be an isolated incident at the time, chalking it up to a single mistake seemed sensible.
But November saw Swansea City visit the Etihad Stadium, and a goal by Wilfried Bony gave his former side the lead. Instead of reading another one of my descriptions of how City conceded the goal, or how soft it was, look at this picture instead:
1Another huge pocket of potentially exploitable space behind Vincent Kompany that an intelligent striker spotted after the City captain stepped out of defence. Same scenario, same result: Hart makes himself as big as possible, but a tidy finish sees the net ripple and the Etihad is stunned into silence.
I don’t wish to sound like I obsessively watched frame-by-frame clips of Vincent Kompany’s biggest mistakes after this game, but I couldn’t help being drawn into a rabbit hole of sorts. This habit of being caught out after being drawn away from the penalty area is something that has littered Kompany’s time at the club. Throughout his fantastic and unforgettable Manchester City career, Vincent has still shown himself to be perfectly capable of a high-profile blunder or two while attempting to commanding his area – the miscue to assist Philippe Coutinho in the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield last season, the own goal away to Fulham – but an unusually high amount of Kompany’s most infamous cock-ups seem to happen further up the pitch. Once again, instead of poorly describing the incidents, I’ll let fancy pictures do the talking for me again.
The red card vs. Hull, March 2014:
2James Milner’s red card vs. West Bromwich Albion, October 2012:
3Jamie Mackie’s goal for QPR on THAT day, May 2012:
4Kompany’s red card vs. Manchester United, January 2012:
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5Now, you could argue that his red card vs. Manchester United was unfair, and City did contest the decision, but lunging into a tackle with both feet off the floor showed Kompany wasn’t thinking properly. His natural home in the penalty area was at least twenty yards behind him, and if you look at every pictured example – even just for a second – you’ll see a huge pocket of space with an attacker ready to sprint into it. Just for fun, compare the image above of Kompany tackling Nani, to a split second of the build up to Totti’s goal for Roma – the first example I provided.
6It’s almost like looking at a carbon copy.
In the past, this weakness in Kompany’s game wasn’t a huge issue. Although there may be more cases to analyse that I’ve missed, plucking six similar incidents out of four wonderful seasons may seem unfair. With a better memory and access to more video clips, I could probably piece together an article about David Silva’s misgivings during the 90 minutes – but Pellegrini’s insistence on playing a high line has exposed and exacerbated Kompany’s most fundamental weakness to the extent that it has become a worryingly regular occurrence. This happened three times against Middlesbrough alone – two of which eventually lead to goals for the opposition – and once against Chelsea.
Bamford’s goal for Middlesbrough, January 2015 (Kompany is the blur about to misjudge a header):
7Tomlin’s big chance for Middlesbrough, January 2015:
8Kike’s goal for Middlesbrough, January 2015:
9Losing out to Remy vs. Chelsea, January 2015:
10In each of the above instances, Kompany steps up, dives in to a tackle and misses it – or loses possession – which results in the pocket of space behind him being opened up as he uncomfortably tries to cover himself. The attacking team spot the weakness and City are cost dearly through red cards or conceding goals.
Again, being this critical about Kompany may seem uncessary, especially considering that he is one of the greatest defenders in City’s long and often difficult history, and he was coming back from an injury during those difficult 90 minutes against Middlesbrough. But adding four more examples from very recently hammers home the point that Kompany’s head isn’t exactly somewhere else this season, as myself and others have suggested, but that our insistence on playing a high line – which has been looking increasingly disjointed – is exposing Kompany’s shortcomings and putting us in danger.
On balance, Martin Demichelis has arguably been our best centre-half since the beginning of last season, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he suits City’s high defensive line given his vast experience of different European leagues. Under the management of Mancini, City were a team that defended deeper and dug in harder to grind out results like 0-0 draws away to Arsenal – perhaps because they had to. Kompany was in his element and arguably in his finest form for long, uninterrupted, imperious stretches of both the 2010-11 season and the following title-winning season, but with age and a new high defensive line, it could be suggested that Kompany has been forced to find his feet again at the wrong end of his career.
While we persist with our current defensive system, Pellegrini is putting Kompany at risk of uncertainty, which is clearly resulting in his very obvious indecisiveness of late. Draw him out of position and it’s open season on our penalty area. It seems to be nothing more than his natural ability that gets him through so many games and allows him to escape serious criticism across the board.
That creeping sense of overwhelming obligation to thank Vincent for his years of wonderful service is forcing me to bookend this piece with a reminder that Kompany is coming back to full fitness, and that I’d have him over any other centre-back in the world. I have no doubt that his recent struggles are down to the team’s playing style rather than a personal problem, but considering Kompany is the wrong side of 28 now, it’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll never see him in his prime in a City shirt ever again – and that’s upsetting to say the least, especially after being the best captain this club has ever known.
by carolina-blue » Thu Feb 05, 2015 3:30 pm 
