He was in no man’s land as Foden slotted in the second goal, literally just ball watched. That’s a mistake without the ball. Then with the ball the less said the better. He’s been given 4/10 ratings across multiple outlets for his performance too, so I’m pretty confident in saying that he was genuinely awful.
Think you need to read my post more closely, DH, as I certainly am not happy that these two represent the best available cover at CB (see above). But with 3 CB's out injured or suspended and fourth MIA, I'm not sure theres a PL club - City possibly included - that would fare any better. Although the suspensions this season are 99% self-inflicted wounds for which the likes of Bissouma and Romero should be held to account, the injury count is extraordinary. I cannot recall anything even remotely similar in terms of the number, or indeed gravity of the casualties. Levels of investment in the squad since 2018 can be debated ad infinitum, but the new coach is picking a team based on the resources available and the best fit to support continuity of playing style. He's done enough so far for me to believe he's on the right course and that the squad will be strengthened appropriately in the next 2/3 windows.
One thing that maybe could be suggested, at least for the Christmas glut, is we look at the CBs differently Case in point, if you watch our U21 games and squint you can almost see that Dorrington plays like Romero and Phillips like Mickey Van, so on paper there is an argument for considering using like-for-like players in our academy if the first-choice option is out for a stretch Of course this doesn't cover utterly ludicrous situations like Romero being suspended and Mickey Van being injured at the exact same time which was then further compounded by Phillips getting injured which is why Ben Davies was the best fit and (presumably) will remain so going forward, but this approach could also pay dividends in other parts of the team - case in point if Bissouma gets suspended again, while the main suggestion is Pape Sarr fills his spot there is an argument for Rio Kyerematen to at least be on the bench
In the last two games, I have been far more angry at the attack than the defence (especially in the Villa game, where the failings of the former did far more to highlight any failings of the latter)
i think if your saw the whole match you would have seen how hard working they were and they were pretty effective as a makeshift pair of CBs. Yes, they made a few mistakes but so did everyone else. I for one appreciate their efforts yesterday and last week. They worked bloody hard and I believe they prevented an onslaught. Of course I don’t want them as a permanent CB pair but you will not find many other FBs standing in as CB pair and doing a good job as these two have done. Emerson even out jumped Haaland to win a header! Bloody brilliant! They get a pat on the back from me but I’m still looking forward to having our proper CBs back!
The thing is Lefty is you initially responded to my original post saying I was being unduly critical of the pair but then you listed a number of reasons of exactly why I was critical. They were lucky Haaland had a severe off day in front of goal, especially Emerson. In both games they’ve started, they’ve let us down. There’s no denying our current predicament is crap with regards to available selection choices but it doesn’t take away the fact both players have put in sub-standard performances in both games. Emerson especially was so, so poor yesterday. As I mentioned to Power, just about every media outlet has given him no higher than a 4/10 rating for his performance yesterday and if truth be told that’s probably being generous.
No one’s questioning their commitment or work rate but that alone doesn’t mean they’ve done well. In the last two games they’ve played together: Davies lost Torres for Villa’s first. The pair let Watkins practically walk right through them for the winner. Emerson almost gifted City a goal but Haaland wasted it, he also lost possession multiple times. They were both in no man’s land for Foden’s goal yesterday and then proceeded to blame one another for it. We’ve let in 5 goals in 2 games with the pair at CB and realistically it could’ve been more.
Emerson and Davies obviously aren't our ideal centre-half pairing. They were let down badly yesterday by Bissouma though, in my opinion. He was dreadful again and directly responsible for one goal. Son's OG was also down to another non-defender making a mess at the back. I'd put that more on our defensive coaching though, as he shouldn't be there. Leave Son up top when defending set-pieces and let the opposition worry about breaks.
Agree on Bissouma, mentioned that earlier. His form has dropped off a cliff since the first couple months of the season where he was excellent. Probably find out he’s playing through injury or something soon knowing our luck. Son being back defending is possibly down to lack of height in our defence. Udogie was the only defender yesterday above 6ft. He never looks it to me but Son is actually 6ft.
Height ≠ aerial ability, though. Son and Eriksen could be 12' tall and I wouldn't fancy either of them to win a header. Les Ferdinand is shorter than Son and he'd beat him in the air every single time.
I agree their positioning was awful but bear in mind they aren’t CBs. They are used to playing FBs which requires a different set of defensive duties. Yes, they were at fault for some of the recent goals but I truly believe they also stopped a good number of opportunities. PNP hit the nail on the head regarding Bissouma. Bryan was also appalling and thankfully was subbed off.
Highlights: And then there was lots of crying. Just don't mention that Haaland and Gvardiol could easily have both been sent off...
Both you and Lefty seem to agree they’ve been positionally poor and cost us goals yet somehow are also disagreeing with me . I appreciate they’re out of position but I don’t think that makes them immune from criticism, especially as both are defensively minded FBs and Davies has some central experience albeit more in a back three, some of their marking (or lack of) seemed school boy over both games, even in secondary positions it shouldn’t be that bad, especially for experienced players. They’ve been two of our poorest performers over the last two matches. Thankfully Emerson at the least will be back on the bench on Thursday. Completely agree RE Bissouma. Not sure what’s wrong with him at the moment. Hindrance more so than an asset at present, at a time where we really need to count on him.
We had a very bad time with injuries during Gerry Francis tenure. I'm not sure it was as bad as our current problems but it did in the end cost him his job. Ange has already shown an amazing degree of skill in managing our team and getting fantastic performances out of them despite our horrendous injury list
To deflect from the CB discussion for a minute. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before but Simon Hooper was ref for both the Liverpool and Man City games. After watching him ruin a number of Cardiff games by appalling decision making and christening him The Little Fat Tw@t, I am now starting to warm to him.
