MARTIN KEOWN TACKLES THE DEFENCE
WE should not be surprised by Pep Guardiola’s approach against Chelsea. He will point to the chances Manchester City missed to close out the game rather than the errors at the back. Guardiola has been incredibly successful and will not change his philosophy but he needs to strike a better balance at the back.
HE NEEDS MORE PACE
CITY struggled with the pace and power of Diego Costa. When he chested that diagonal pass from Cesc Fabregas, Nicolas Otamendi was shrugged off. There aren’t many who can handle Costa in a one-v-one but Otamendi should have done better. You don’t want your centre backs being swatted away. When I saw Eden Hazard run through on Aleksandar Kolarov it was almost embarrassing. It looked like Kolarov was running through treacle! Kolarov will have been picked for his attacking qualities. Guardiola will have set out to win the game before Hazard got a sniff of goal. But when you play with such freedom, you leave holes for teams to run into. If the manager wants expansive play that leaves defenders isolated, he must look at his personnel. Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk is moving to the top of several sides’ shopping lists for January. He can cope with the pace and physicality of one-v-ones and is good in possession.
DON’T CHOP AND CHANGE
GUARDIOLA is yet to field the same back line in successive league games at City and I don’t think it helps. At Arsenal, our defence rarely changed. Tony Adams had his job, Lee Dixon had his — everyone has their own role. You spring the offside net together, you squeeze and drop as a group. A player you bring in might drop deeper than the others or come flying out and leave the others exposed. Everyone wants consistency so they know where they stand. They need to know who is the No 1 centre back partnership. When you play it should be like putting on an old pair of slippers — everyone is in the right position and it is more comfortable to play.
JEEPERS KEEPERS
I BELIEVE Guardiola’s preferred goalkeeper would be a midfielder who has gone in goal in training and impressed. His priority for a keeper is to start attacks, not stop shots. Having a
goalkeeper who is exceptional with his feet is the most important thing. By signing Claudio Bravo he made a statement that he would be passing out from the back. Bravo still has to make saves, though, and ideally you want a keeper with a bit of balance.
STONES’ SOUTHGATE HELP
JOHN STONES will get a lot of help from Gareth Southgate. The England manager wants to play out from the back but also wants that balance of knowing when not to do it. Stones tries to play his way out of trouble and is keen to show his range of passing. He needs to have a better sense of when to play those passes. If you are being closed down by a striker, you need to play the ball forward or they will pick your pocket. Guardiola will want his young defender to minimise mistakes.