kinkylola wrote:Im_Spartacus wrote:kinkylola wrote:if kompany ever leaves, it will be well past his sell-by date. Whether that's good or bad, it's up to Vinnie.
He's had a dip in form this season, we don't know the circumstances of stuff behind the scenes, but I'm more troubled by his attitude and demeanor at times. I think he can turn it around, and if/when he and mangala click as a unit, we'll have a very strong defence.
I'm glad that Mangala has been used sparingly, especially with the form we have been in ... had the potential to absolutely destroy his confidence in a new league. As it is, I think he has everything to prove, and a desire to do so. He certainly did not look shy in his appearance vs. United, even if he did make some mistakes, I don't think he was bad ... he certainly couldn't help Mata being offsides yet not being called for it.
You're watchin with blue tinted specs on r kid.
You say he has had a dip in form this season, you're right, he has. Unfortunately, that dip in form this year comes from a player who was playing shit anyway, and even in the title season was the 2nd best centre half
So we have a player playing poorly for 2/3 years who has recently started playing even shitter than that.
I reckon most who defend kompany would have been the same ones who wanted to keep Balotelli cos he scored in the cup final 3 yrs ago
"We should keep him cos he's a blue"
"He is the best captain iny lifetime"
"Best defender I've ever seen"
Put those comments against the cold light of day, and ion struggling to think of a single reason why he should stay
I don't think I said anything outrageous, Vinnie has done well for us. He's been an important part of winning teams, and made good partnerships with people. He has all the talent, not just the physical attributes, to be among the best defenders in the world ... This season his attitude has been shit and he has added poor decision making to his game, which is regrettable.
He simply has not been playing "poorly for 2/3 years," and as you accuse me of having blue tinted specs on, I'd say your comments are coming mostly from frustration ... which is understandable. You can argue about who the defensive "stars" were in those 2/3 years ... many would say Lescott, who has hardly set the world alight since leaving. You can run through the list of players who were in that defensive unit, up through to midfield ... none are now really covering themselves in glory. Vinnie was part of a successful, balanced defensive unit ... he played his role, he did it well and the world took notice.
I want the vinnie that fit in with a balanced defense, played his role, however important, and fought with passion. That is why my main point is about his attitude. He seems like he's playing within himself, believing his own hype and just generally over-confident ... in short, he is not a team player at the moment, and unbalances the team ... along with several other players we are carrying.
My viewpoint about the last 2/3 years is consistent, and has been throughout that period. In his time he has made some exceptional contributions to the club, he has been the greatest captain certainly in my lifetime of watching City, but that doesn't mean he can be forgiven his performances.
He has always been given free passes for potentially game changing mistakes because he's a wonderful captain etc, no crticism has been entertained, with any dissenter quickly slapped down by those amogst us who seem to want us to sit in a circle joining hands and sing kumbaya rather than take an objective view of a difficult situation. All I want to see on the discussion of our players is an objective view, and too often Kompany's considerable shortcomings are hidden by bluster and hyperbole of fans who can't see beyond the good things he does (I'm not specifically including you in this).
A couple of examples:
Against Barcelona at home last season, Demichelis was sent off for bringing Messi down. Demichelis got dogs abuse on here and in the media for being past it, too slow, etc. In reality, wind the video back just 3 seconds and you will see an absolutely ridiculous attempt at a challenge from Kompany which left Messi clear through on goal and Demichelis standing no chance at all. There was little objective debate about this at the time, as the witch hunt was out for Demichelis and nowhere in the media or on here did I see anyone prepared to nail Kompany for his role in the mess.
Against QPR in 2012 Lescott was blamed for not spotting the threat when the ball was crossed for QPR's 2nd goal. However, again wind the video back a few seconds on the second goal to see how it actually went down, and surprise surprise there is Kompany charging into a challenge he had no right to on the half way line, and susbequently leaving the whole defence completely out of shape and a winger charging unopposed down our right for a free cross. Again, afterwards in the Lescott witch hunt, there was no objective criticism of the role Kompany (or for that matter Zabaleta) had in fundamentally creating the problem that led to the goal.
Of course these are two examples, just obviously the ones off the top of my head as they were high profile errors being made in the past, and these errors of judgement have this season reached the level that I can't argue even for a place in the starting 11 at the moment. Demichelis was criticised for his lack of pace - as a physical attribute, he can't improve that, but after 4 years of making huge errors of judgement, its clear that these errors are becoming more frequent by Kompany. The question perhaps is whether he has lost a bit of pace and is trying to overcompensate, or whether as a footballer he is unable to learn. I personally think the issue is down to him not having a solid partner like Lescott, but on that note, we can't have him and Mangala in the same defence and having invested in a young kid with a bright future who maybe will learn, perhaps the decision for the club is which one they stick with, because for me it's one or the other.
We are seeing exactly the same lack of objectivity at the moment on the Silva thread, the midfield issue has centred on Toure vs a complete reluctance to consider that at 29, we should be considering how Silva fits in at the club in the future.
I'm not saying these players should be sold without a second thought, I am simply saying that as a club and as supporters this is another new thing for us which comes with being a top club (but more importantly staying as a top club). We must take a very objective view of how a player continues to fit into the squad of today and the merits of the player we have today, rather than basing that assessment on how he did a few years ago.
I'd say that if you have the opportunity to sell any player aged 29+ for good money and particularly when there is a suggestion the player is on the decline, it's bad business to not pursue that option, and remember, even though people dont like to think of it that way, City is a business at the end of the day. We need to start acting like one.
Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2015 3:53 pm