robsblubot

Obviously Luiz left us very exposed a few times which led to our poor defending...

Agree. Gonna be difficult to find buyers for the latter two though, even if all you request is for someone to pay their salaries. Concerning Hulk, his price tag should've come down a lot after his dysmal performance during the olympics. He was one of the 3 senior players for Brazil and ended up sitting on the bench. THat's how bad he was. Cavani would be an excellent signing, but difficult to have him and Torres on the squad. They are similar in style IMO.

Completely agree. Mata was just as poor as Torres though, which is a bit of justification for Torres' poor performance.

Oscar's fitness levels are probably higher than all Chelsea and Wigan's players, because he's not coming from vacation--it's essentially midseason for him. I reckon Oscar should start more (not less) in the first EPL matches and then later allow him time to rest and adapt. You know, points now count just as much as in the end of the season.

Agreed (he did not play that well). Others are saying Terry was worse. When both of your (excellent) CBs have a bad day at the office, you should be looking elsewhere for defensive problems (midfield?). David and Terry were exposed to excellent forwarders, sometimes having to chase them down a corner (esp Luiz). I'm not too worried either, since these issues will be worked out soon. This is the time to improve on teamwork, especially with the arrival of new signings.

Don't know what Luiz has to do (aside from playing superbly in the CL last season) to win some pundits. Defenders cannot do much if their midfield cannot protect them or keep possession. When Ramires moved to RB position, City won the midfield and the game. BTW, Ivanovic does not excel in any position in my opinion (know he's got many fans here). He's a good player, but not really a top defender of right-back. BTW2, Torres had a great game!