C & C wrote:I won't disagree with that. But, all of our CB's are playing in the same system and Kompany has looked decisively worse than our other CB's over the last season.
As you say, "we should be working much harder to win the ball back, & passing it better, so Kompany etc don't have to do so much defending imo." -- then the system will be easier on whomever is at the back. That doesn't mean Kompany will fit better into it than others. And others may be more suited to play this system.
Kompany is at his best when the middle is clogged and attacks have to come from the wings. His positional sense is better and he can dominate aerially. He's probably at his worst defending the counterattack, admittedly a much harder thing to do.
Your last paragraph is very salient to this entire discussion, but I wouldn't want City to alter our style of play, just to cater for Kompany's perceived weaknesses and flaws.
I can accept us having a less than watertight defence/defensive record if we're scoring a load of goals at the other end - and I also like our defenders to weigh in with a few efforts of their own in this respect.
On that basis, it would be most unreasonable to expect our back line to somehow be stellar performers and keep clean sheets galore when there are different stresses, situations and demands being made of them and, given our more cavalier style of play, we're always going to concede in any game. However, All I'm asking for is a basic degree of competence to be exhibited in this area of the pitch by whomsoever is selected to play there.
Unfortunately, Kompany - for various reasons quoted already - seems now to have fallen short of the level of basic competence we all wish for and if, in the meantime, he is unable to address the faults in his game and adapt to Pelegrini's requirements, - and quickly - then he potentially has no future at City, however unpalatable this might seem to us all.
For my own pessimistic money, I don't think he can adapt and, accordingly, I fear his days with us are duly numbered.
