Steve Nicol has said that he is not surprised to see a natural centre-back in Josko Gvardiol not looking at his best as a left-back.
On ESPN FC, the pundit had his say on why Manchester City are leaking an excessive number of goals this season.
Josko Gvardiol was singled out as one of the players who have let themselves down on an individual basis.
Steve Nicol says he is not surprised to see Josko Gvardiol “making mistakes” at Manchester City
Tony Cascarino also claimed that Pep Guardiola’s decision to deploy the £77.6 million (Guardian) man as a left-back has misfired.
However, the Catalan tactician recently praised the 21-year-old for playing at a “top standard” in his debut campaign at the Etihad Stadium.
But Steve Nicol believes it should not come as a shock that Josko Gvardiol is yet to shine at left-back.
“The first thing is you’ve got players who individually are not at their best and in particular, I’m thinking of Gvardiol who’s playing left-back. I’ve never met a centre-back once who wants to play wide, who wants to play football or wants to play full-back because they don’t like being out there in the wide positions”, Nicol said on ESPN FC.
“And so, is it a shock that Gvardiol is making mistakes? I guess you can say no.”
It’s not a Josko Gvardiol problem, it’s a Manchester City problem
While Steve Nicol has zeroed into the performances of Josko Gvardiol, the truth is that defensive problems are always a collective issue.
Currently, a host of issues are at play that have led to Manchester City not looking typically secure at the back.
For instance, the lack of control in midfield is one reason, which is partly due to John Stones’ absence, as he provides plenty of security against defensive transitions in the middle of the park.
The same can be said for his role in possession and with a striker in Julian Alvarez playing in an advanced midfield role, this is leading to the Sky Blues conceding way too many turnovers.
As a whole, Manchester City are simply not retaining the ball well enough in certain games.
Fingers can be pointed at individual defenders for erring at the back but ultimately, one player cannot be consistently at fault when a team is constantly letting in avoidable goals.
