AuthorJeffEyesRimmer At the beginning of last season and during the January transfer window we highlighted that in defence and in particular the full backs, were key areas for Manchester City to upgrade on this summer. To be fair, anyone who watched Man City last season would have realised this as well. Man City and Pep not addressing this issue this summer would have been negligent. That being said - Manchester City have gone crazy! They have signed the most expensive goal keeper of all time in Ederson and with the capture of Benjamin Mendy this week they now have the two most expensive defenders of all time as well. In fact Man City has five out of the top ten most expensive defenders of all time. The list reads:
Goal Keepers: Ederson £35million, Claudio Bravo £15million Centre backs: John Stones £48million, Nicolas Otamendi £38million, Eliaquim Mangala £42million Full Backs: Benjamin Mendy £52million, Kyle Walker £50million, Danilo £27million That is a starting defence and substitutes bench that cost Man City a whopping £307million! It’s an understatement to say that’s a ludicrous amount of money. As I remember the days when Manchester City fans had to endure League 1 football I can understand the enthusiasm and joy at splashing the cash. Pep has now addressed the issues levelled at his side from last season, the goal keeper and full backs have been upgraded in his eyes. I don’t think I would be wrong in saying the majority of fans would take Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy over Gael Clichy and Pablo Zabaleta. That being said, not to rain on Manchester City fans parade here, but the key question for me is whether any of those new players can actually improve their defensive record? Have they paid over the odds for defenders that won’t actually make the side more solid at the back? When arguably the best defender in the world, Leonardo Bonucci, has just moved from Juventus to Milan for $35million you do question the prices Man City paid for these new defenders even with the English Premier League Transfer Inflation. Certainly Walker was a good attacking outlet for Spurs last season (5x assists), as too Mendy for Monaco (5x assists). Both have been bought for their attacking threat as well as defence, full backs in football have become a potent weapon after all. However, both have looked suspect a number of times in defence and in Walkers case he will have John Stones to clear up any mistakes instead of Toby Alderweireld. That is a big downgrade. Ederson has become the most expensive goal keeper of all time, eclipsing the great Buffon’s fee. He is uncapped for Brazil and one of the weaknesses levelled at him is that he can lack discipline. How that goes with Pep will be interesting. Although arguably a dust bin would be an upgrade on Bravo after his performances last season, 3x saves in the EPL is not going to win you the title. However, there will be plenty of people looking to London and performances of Joe Hart at West Ham. It is inevitable that they will compare them both and should Hart prove to be better than Ederson then Pep may have to swallow another humble pill like he did with Yaya Toure. Real Madrid fans would have driven Danilo to Manchester themselves, that’s how high they rated him; I will leave it at that. The central defence stills looks like it could have a wobble any minute. Otamendi has had a mixed start to life in the EPL, with 6.3 clearances and 2.3 tackles per game; they are solid stats if not spectacular. John Stones looks fine on the ball but playing it across the edge of your area incites panic when it is not needed. Every Sunday league defender would just be shouting ‘hoof it’! The issue is that while Stones does indeed seem confident with the ball at his feet his 4.2 clearances, 1 tackles and 1.4 interceptions shows he needs to up his actual defending. Mangala to replace either one of those two hardly inspires confidence either, the option to buy him after his loan at Valencia last season was not taken up, that tells you everything about how he performed there. However, 1.9 tackles, 5.2 clearances, 2.2 interceptions per game suggests he should be starting instead of Stones. When you read through Man City likely starting defence; Ederson, Mendy, Otamendi, Stones, Walker, I don’t feel that strikers will be quaking in their boots to face them. I am curious to know if Man City fans think that’s a defence that can win you a title. Strikers win you games; defences win you titles after all. The funny thing is that their best defender, Vincent Kompany, can’t get out of the treatment room. If he could stay fit and start in that defence the unit appears on paper to be infinitely more solid. I can see Pep spending big again before the window closes to bring in a centre back that he trusts. The average number of goals conceded by a title winning team over the past 10x years in the EPL has been 32. Chelsea conceded only 33 last season, Leicester 36 the previous season. Man City last season conceded 39 and 41 the previous season. They have upgraded their defence this close season, there’s no doubt there, but will the players that have come in reduce the amount of goals conceded to meet the average of a title winning side? With all this though, Pep is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. These are huge fees for players and consequently the expectation is that they should hit the ground running and not need coaching. If they are anything but World class it’s a reflection of Pep not being able to motivate or coach them. If these players and the likes of Bernard Silva fail then Pep’s star will fade very quickly. What do you think? Do you think Man City will be more solid in defence this coming season? Image credit: Givemesport |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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