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First half he was defending in front of me. Never gets near the winger to stop the cross. He often gets caught upfield, but that'll happen to any player who's not extremely quick but is expected to attack and I have no issue with that, as long as he makes the effort. But when he is back, he stands on the edge of the 18yd box whilst the winger is on the line, meaning he's rarely able to stop the cross as he can't close him down in time. It seems such a basic issue and one we haven't fixed that I'm starting to wonder if he's doing what he's told, in which case, who the hell is telling them how to defend?

We need at least one left back in summer. I'm going to give Zaba a bad season, as he's still in credit, but we need more from him as well next season

Blue Since 76 wrote:First half he was defending in front of me. Never gets near the winger to stop the cross. He often gets caught upfield, but that'll happen to any player who's not extremely quick but is expected to attack and I have no issue with that, as long as he makes the effort. But when he is back, he stands on the edge of the 18yd box whilst the winger is on the line, meaning he's rarely able to stop the cross as he can't close him down in time. It seems such a basic issue and one we haven't fixed that I'm starting to wonder if he's doing what he's told, in which case, who the hell is telling them how to defend?

We need at least one left back in summer. I'm going to give Zaba a bad season, as he's still in credit, but we need more from him as well next season

unfortunately we have a post-season tour to attend, then our South American players have an international tournament in the summer, so poor old Zabs won't be getting much rest.

Put him on his right or ask him to beat a full back to get to the byline and he's effectively useless.

Give him time and space and he has some quality, although a lot of his crosses are just smash it as hard as he can across the face of goal and hope, he needs to be more measured in his deliveries.

Cracking goal against Villa mind.

Blue Since 76 wrote:First half he was defending in front of me. Never gets near the winger to stop the cross. He often gets caught upfield, but that'll happen to any player who's not extremely quick but is expected to attack and I have no issue with that, as long as he makes the effort. But when he is back, he stands on the edge of the 18yd box whilst the winger is on the line, meaning he's rarely able to stop the cross as he can't close him down in time. It seems such a basic issue and one we haven't fixed that I'm starting to wonder if he's doing what he's told, in which case, who the hell is telling them how to defend?

We need at least one left back in summer. I'm going to give Zaba a bad season, as he's still in credit, but we need more from him as well next season

The problem is, City defend as a unit and move across the pitch in unison, if the ball is on the opponents left wing our beck 4 shuffle over as a unit, even if they have a right winger hugging the touchline, he gets left, it has always been this way. If you try and mark the opponents RW with our LB, then you create a huge hole in the defence.

Foreverinbluedreams wrote:
although a lot of his crosses are just smash it as hard as he can across the face of goal and hope, he needs to be more measured in his deliveries.

This is the agenda that most people have against him. The fact that he is probably the best crosser of a ball in the league, let only at City, just shows that when people have a problem with someone they will see what they want to see or generally make something up that isn't true. His crosses are absolutely perfect for a 'proper' striker.

Mase wrote:

Foreverinbluedreams wrote:
although a lot of his crosses are just smash it as hard as he can across the face of goal and hope, he needs to be more measured in his deliveries.

This is the agenda that most people have against him. The fact that he is probably the best crosser of a ball in the league, let only at City, just shows that when people have a problem with someone they will see what they want to see or generally make something up that isn't true. His crosses are absolutely perfect for a 'proper' striker.

It's not an agenda at all Mase, I'm saying what I see. I accept that if our strikers took more gambles they'd likely get on the end of more of his crosses but quite often they'd need to be fucking bionic to get anywhere near them.

Btw, I reckon he's about as hard as a marshmallow.

Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Nick wrote:Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Surely the point of a cross is to put the ball in a dangerous area, and for the strikers to attack those areas knowing that's where the ball is going.

Our strikers stand like dummies expecting it put on a fucking plate.

I have sympathy with kolarov on this point, but he's still never a defender as long as I've got a hole in my arse

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nick wrote:Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Surely the point of a cross is to put the ball in a dangerous area, and for the strikers to attack those areas knowing that's where the ball is going.

Our strikers stand like dummies expecting it put on a fucking plate.

I have sympathy with kolarov on this point, but he's still never a defender as long as I've got a hole in my arse

Spot on this.

And due to the HG reasons etc others have pointed out, I also think it's sure that Kola leaves and Clichy stays.

I have to say tho that I'm afraid we will end up selling Kola for peanuts and then signing a £15-20mil left back who is not even much better

kolarov's fee was a joke for his quality IMO.

But yes, I agree. Pretty much the same as if Milner walks on a free and we spunk money on English players

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nick wrote:Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Surely the point of a cross is to put the ball in a dangerous area, and for the strikers to attack those areas knowing that's where the ball is going.

Our strikers stand like dummies expecting it put on a fucking plate.

I have sympathy with kolarov on this point, but he's still never a defender as long as I've got a hole in my arse

is fizzing the ball at 200mph into the so called danger area a good cross though?

One in 20 fans spends the game yelling at Kolarov. One of them's an old school friend, really embarrassing. K passed it into the crowd Saturday more times than I've ever seen him and gets MoM. Very funny. Always thought he was OK and had many a row about it. All this about better players is fine but do they exist. Look at the Real Madeid pair!

Nigels Tackle wrote:

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nick wrote:Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Surely the point of a cross is to put the ball in a dangerous area, and for the strikers to attack those areas knowing that's where the ball is going.

Our strikers stand like dummies expecting it put on a fucking plate.

I have sympathy with kolarov on this point, but he's still never a defender as long as I've got a hole in my arse

is fizzing the ball at 200mph into the so called danger area a good cross though?

Is running out of your box as a goalkeeper at 200mph when a cross is coming in and getting nowhere near the ball a good keeper though?

Nigels Tackle wrote:

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nick wrote:Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Surely the point of a cross is to put the ball in a dangerous area, and for the strikers to attack those areas knowing that's where the ball is going.

Our strikers stand like dummies expecting it put on a fucking plate.

I have sympathy with kolarov on this point, but he's still never a defender as long as I've got a hole in my arse

is fizzing the ball at 200mph into the so called danger area a good cross though?

If it's in the right area, yes of course it is.........if Kolarov gets the ball, he has to beat a man before he gets his cross in which takes a good couple of seconds, so even if he whacks it in at warp speed, why are our forwards not expecting the area the ball is going to be delivered to and making a run.

If it's hit across the face of goal, it only needs a touch from either a defender or an attacker, except despite having 2 or 3 seconds warning that kolarov is likely to cross, they all fucking stand there on the penalty spot with their hands on their bollocks

What the fuck is all that about?

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nigels Tackle wrote:

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nick wrote:Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Surely the point of a cross is to put the ball in a dangerous area, and for the strikers to attack those areas knowing that's where the ball is going.

Our strikers stand like dummies expecting it put on a fucking plate.

I have sympathy with kolarov on this point, but he's still never a defender as long as I've got a hole in my arse

is fizzing the ball at 200mph into the so called danger area a good cross though?

If it's in the right area, yes of course it is.........if Kolarov gets the ball, he has to beat a man before he gets his cross in which takes a good couple of seconds, so even if he whacks it in at warp speed, why are our forwards not expecting the area the ball is going to be delivered to and making a run.

If it's hit across the face of goal, it only needs a touch from either a defender or an attacker, except despite having 2 or 3 seconds warning that kolarov is likely to cross, they all fucking stand there on the penalty spot with their hands on their bollocks

What the fuck is all that about?

I think it's no surprise that Dzeko AND Kolarov both had a good season last year. Dzeko is perfect for him. Someone like Ruud vN would also adore Kolarov throwing balls in from the left.

Mase wrote:

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nigels Tackle wrote:

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nick wrote:Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Surely the point of a cross is to put the ball in a dangerous area, and for the strikers to attack those areas knowing that's where the ball is going.

Our strikers stand like dummies expecting it put on a fucking plate.

I have sympathy with kolarov on this point, but he's still never a defender as long as I've got a hole in my arse

is fizzing the ball at 200mph into the so called danger area a good cross though?

If it's in the right area, yes of course it is.........if Kolarov gets the ball, he has to beat a man before he gets his cross in which takes a good couple of seconds, so even if he whacks it in at warp speed, why are our forwards not expecting the area the ball is going to be delivered to and making a run.

If it's hit across the face of goal, it only needs a touch from either a defender or an attacker, except despite having 2 or 3 seconds warning that kolarov is likely to cross, they all fucking stand there on the penalty spot with their hands on their bollocks

What the fuck is all that about?

I think it's no surprise that Dzeko AND Kolarov both had a good season last year. Dzeko is perfect for him. Someone like Ruud vN would also adore Kolarov throwing balls in from the left.

Shame he's unlikely to get the chance with Bony, but I think Negredo was suited to this also.

But if golden balls plays every game regardless of effort, then we can't keep kolarov just for when he gets injured and another forward gets a chance

Nice arse shot here for you bro.

https://instagram.com/p/xSh_tzha69/

There were a number of occasions on Saturday where Villa left a lovely gap for a striker to run into. Anyone on the ball is going to put it in there, which both Kolarov & Navas did. Nobody anywhere near it.

Same ball played in by a Barca player and any one of about 5 or 6 will have got themselves in.

City are a bunch of lazy cunts when it comes to this kind of thing. We have now sunk back to how we were in the end under Mancini, when there is often nobody at all in the penalty area when the ball goes wide. When we were winning games around Christmas time, we had half the team in there. It's a fair indication of a team's mentality imo.

I can't knock Kolarov for his crossing attempts on Saturday.

Nigels Tackle wrote:

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nick wrote:Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Surely the point of a cross is to put the ball in a dangerous area, and for the strikers to attack those areas knowing that's where the ball is going.

Our strikers stand like dummies expecting it put on a fucking plate.

I have sympathy with kolarov on this point, but he's still never a defender as long as I've got a hole in my arse

is fizzing the ball at 200mph into the so called danger area a good cross though?

Call me old fashioned, but back in my footballing days, if you as a winger got a yard on your fullback to fizz in a low and hard ball across the six yard box, that was job done. The onus is on the centre forward or attacking midfielder to get his arse in there. If the ball is played hard enough, all it needs is a toe on it, to direct it goalwards.

iwasthere2012 wrote:

Nigels Tackle wrote:

Im_Spartacus wrote:

Nick wrote:Mase hearts Kolarov


Missed the game Saturday but I've said it many times before that a lot of his crosses are smash it as hard as he can into the box without looking up and waiting for one of our ambling strikers to get in the box. Whereas Navas gets shit for actually having this awareness.


Hes still a lazy, soft'un though..

Surely the point of a cross is to put the ball in a dangerous area, and for the strikers to attack those areas knowing that's where the ball is going.

Our strikers stand like dummies expecting it put on a fucking plate.

I have sympathy with kolarov on this point, but he's still never a defender as long as I've got a hole in my arse

is fizzing the ball at 200mph into the so called danger area a good cross though?

Call me old fashioned, but back in my footballing days, if you as a winger got a yard on your fullback to fizz in a low and hard ball across the six yard box, that was job done. The onus is on the centre forward or attacking midfielder to get his arse in there. If the ball is played hard enough, all it needs is a toe on it, to direct it goalwards.

If a ball goes in there & nobody is near it, then it is the fault of the other players 90% of the time imo. The kind of positions we sometimes see Dzeko & Aguero take up (right away at the far post or hanging back on the edge of the box), far post would often be taken up by the opposite winger years ago, just in case the ball missed all the strikers (Barker & Nemane do it now quite a bit). Or if you had a player who wins everything in the air, like Niall Quinn, you can just stand the ball up to the far post & he will win it. Dzeko wins about 1% of those & Aguero wins 0. Edge of the box would be Colin Bell, Robson, Gerrard etc.

Imo it's pure laziness on the part of strikers, to so often take those positions. If it misses everyone & reaches you, then you have a piss easy finish & add to your goal tally without having to do much. But 95% of the time, the oppo intercepts it easily. Most of City's attacks are intercepted easily, whoever is on the final ball.