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Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa joins AS Roma then Lyon


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I've said twice now that I'm not blaming Mapou. :lol:

 

Watch the goal, watch Mapou's positioning. It's not his fault who he been told to mark, obviously, but at the same time if Sissoko's a better bet (and he might be) than him and Colo to mark the opposition's main threat, we've got a problem, and it'll cost us.

 

There's only one way to put that right and it's to buy a big centre back like Hangelaand. But then he might not be as good on the deck against more mobile strikers so you win some, you lose some.

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Or a striker who'll do everything that Cisse does plus offer what Shearer would do defensively.

 

I'm not to bothered if we leak a few goals to big lads as long as we score a few as well. It's the price we will pay for having ball playing defenders really and Benteke is quite a handful.

 

We don't have a Shearer or Carroll to defend corners / free kicks or good defenders in air so will need to find other ways to sniff out their danger.

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Or a striker who'll do everything that Cisse does plus offer what Shearer would do defensively.

 

I'm not to bothered if we leak a few goals to big lads as long as we score a few as well. It's the price we will pay for having ball playing defenders really and Benteke is quite a handful.

 

We don't have a Shearer or Carroll to defend corners / free kicks or good defenders in air so will need to find other ways to sniff out their danger.

 

It's not necessary to win every header at a set piece, but it is important to challenge for them to prevent a clear head at goal. That's where we fell down with Sissoko and it can be addressed in training.

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Or a striker who'll do everything that Cisse does plus offer what Shearer would do defensively.

 

I'm not to bothered if we leak a few goals to big lads as long as we score a few as well. It's the price we will pay for having ball playing defenders really and Benteke is quite a handful.

 

We don't have a Shearer or Carroll to defend corners / free kicks or good defenders in air so will need to find other ways to sniff out their danger.

 

It's not necessary to win every header at a set piece, but it is important to challenge for them to prevent a clear head at goal. That's where we fell down with Sissoko and it can be addressed in training.

 

Spot the fuck on dude :thup:

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At the end of the day Colo is not going to be around for ever as much as i love the bloke. Considering the amount of quick and tall b******s we have been linked with i kinda think Pardew see's Mapou as Colo's long term replacement and the task will be looking for someone who compliments him as much as possible.

 

 

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At the end of the day Colo is not going to be around for ever as much as i love the bloke and considering the amount of quick and tall b******s we have been linked with i kinda think Pardew see's Mapou as Colo's long term replacement and the task will be looking for someone who compliments him as much as possible.

 

 

 

This.

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My favorite of the new signings. Cool as you like.

 

Also, it's rather futile to use Benteke as an example of our squad's lack of aerial prowess, considering he's one of the most physically dominant CFs in the league and not many CBs can match him through the air. I've yet to see Colo-MYM get truly bossed by anyone since they started playing together.

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My favorite of the new signings. Cool as you like on the ball, great positioning and awareness, and makes smart passes.

 

Also, it's rather futile to use Benteke as an example of our squad's lack of aerial prowess, considering he's one of the most physically dominant CFs in the league and not many CBs can match him through the air. I've yet to see Colo-MYM get truly bossed by anyone since they started playing together.

 

See, nobody was doing that, at all. :rolleyes: I was using a set piece situation which wasn't defended by those who should be our best bet for doing so, whether it was Benteke or Patrice Evra.

 

The 'aerial prowess' in the squad is nonexistent. Sissoko being the one marking Benteke is the key point, not the fact he scored.

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My favorite of the new signings. Cool as you like on the ball, great positioning and awareness, and makes smart passes.

 

Also, it's rather futile to use Benteke as an example of our squad's lack of aerial prowess, considering he's one of the most physically dominant CFs in the league and not many CBs can match him through the air. I've yet to see Colo-MYM get truly bossed by anyone since they started playing together.

 

See, nobody was doing that, at all. :rolleyes: I was using a set piece situation which wasn't defended by those who should be our best bet for doing so, whether it was Benteke or Patrice Evra.

 

The 'aerial prowess' in the squad is nonexistent. Sissoko being the one marking Benteke is the key point, not the fact he scored.

 

 

It's like you're attacking their grandmother. Your point is simple, clear and very accurate.

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Aye I understand the point, our general lack of confidence in Mapou's aerial ability led us to prefer Sissoko as Benteke's marker. It's a fair point, but it doesn't change the fact that Mapou has to play every week.

 

As Mole says, it's a problem we can address longer-term by replacing Colo with someone more dominant in the air.

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At the end of the day Colo is not going to be around for ever as much as i love the bloke. Considering the amount of quick and tall b******s we have been linked with i kinda think Pardew see's Mapou as Colo's long term replacement and the task will be looking for someone who compliments him as much as possible.

 

 

 

He's going to be around for at least another season and probably more than that. If there is a problem defending set pieces we'll need  to come up with solutions earlier than that.

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My favorite of the new signings. Cool as you like on the ball, great positioning and awareness, and makes smart passes.

 

Also, it's rather futile to use Benteke as an example of our squad's lack of aerial prowess, considering he's one of the most physically dominant CFs in the league and not many CBs can match him through the air. I've yet to see Colo-MYM get truly bossed by anyone since they started playing together.

 

See, nobody was doing that, at all. :rolleyes: I was using a set piece situation which wasn't defended by those who should be our best bet for doing so, whether it was Benteke or Patrice Evra.

 

The 'aerial prowess' in the squad is nonexistent. Sissoko being the one marking Benteke is the key point, not the fact he scored.

 

Unless Sissoko is really poor (which he may very well be, I can't say I've noticed either way) at set pieces, does it matter that our CBs aren't the ones marking the opposition's jumpers?

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Why? Surely all that matters is getting the job done, not who does it. If Sissoko was our best defender on set pieces, would it really matter that he's not a CB?

 

But you're arguing that a CM taking set pieces is indicative that our CBs aren't great defending through the air? While I agree that that is probably true to an extent, I don't think it's something that really handicaps our defense. MYM and Colo aren't Anita-sized and the majority of PL attacking players aren't Benteke-sized.

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Guest icemanblue

It tends to, yes.

 

How's that? Surely, if you have a player who is better in the air than your defenders, then it makes sense for him to mark the opposition's biggest aerial threat. We used to do it with Carroll.

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I think the problem is just that we don't have anyone to mark the Benteke types. It doesn't really matter who's doing it IMO. If we had Drogba up front, I don't see why anyone would complain if he marked the opposition striker, as long as he's good at it.

 

Obviously CBs are the most likely to be suitable for the role, it's just not one of Mapou's strengths.

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I'd be more concerned if Benteke beasted his marker in the air. Instead Sissoko got lost and Krul came out flapping like a complete fuckwit.

 

I'm not sure the Villa goal is the best example for the discussion really. Firstly, what you said. Secondly, Benteke is an absolute machine and they had also introduced another giant just before.

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It tends to, yes.

 

How's that? Surely, if you have a player who is better in the air than your defenders, then it makes sense for him to mark the opposition's biggest aerial threat. We used to do it with Carroll.

 

I never said it didn't make sense given our personnel. I said it hurts us that our defenders don't defend set pieces. They should be taking responsibility for them and they can't/don't which is going to cause us problems given that the rest of the team aren't anything approaching effective in the air.

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Our recruitment and transfer policies have been much maligned by the press and fans alike recently but we have brought in some fucking excellent players in the last few years and this guy is another illustration of that.

 

Yep, Mapou and Sissoko in particular will turn out to be outstanding buys. We just don't always go the extra mile financially when it would help the team. Apart from that we've done very well.

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