Ever since the no-nonsense Belgian defender first made his debut in the Premier League back in the summer of 2008, Manchester City and their succession of well paid managers have most definitely benefitted from the centre-back’s inclusion.
Yet despite having to endure the frustrating injury-ridden absence of their club captain throughout the majority of the 2015/16 campaign, it seems as if Manuel Pellegrini’s side will once again be without the 29-year-old for at least the foreseeable future.
The former Anderlecht and Hamburg stalwart suffered yet another ill-timed calf injury after making his much-anticipated return to first team action in a recent Premier League fixture with relegation strugglers Sunderland.
So then, in light of the sheer lack of fortune to afflict the powerful centre-back at this particular stage in the proceedings, can Manchester City really push on without Kompany on board this term?
Well, if the relevant statistics for the 2015/16 campaign are going to prove anything to go by within this specific discussion, the immediate future seemingly doesn’t look all that promising for the Etihad Stadium faithful.
The Citizens have recorded very few clean sheets in their captain’s absence, Pellegrini’s win percentage has dropped significantly lower without his main defender among the first team squad and, whilst Manchester City have looked considerably solid with Kompany on board this term, the likes of Eliaquim Mangala, Nicolas Otamendi and Martin Demichelis just haven’t been able to produce the goods on their own.
Despite spending a small fortune on each of his designated central defenders for the 2015/16 campaign, Pellegrini’s side have lacked a great deal of defensive cohesion whenever Kompany has been missing this season. For one reason or another, the entire City starting XI looks somewhat short of leadership and general organisation without the 29-year-old in place to keep the wheels turning.
However, as the Belgium international hasn’t exactly been flawless in every one of his performances down at the Etihad in recent years, maybe the Citizens are using Kompany’s absence as a convenient excuse more than anything else. Throughout large portions of prior campaigns, the former Bundesliga favourite has often looked way too slow on the turn and questionably short of pace when running back into position. Manchester City weren’t quite formidable from a defensive point of view in 2014/15 after all…
In any case, Manuel Pellegrini’s star-studded outfit should arguably be winning the Premier League title with or without Kompany on board this term. After spending over £100 million on the combined exploits of both Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne this summer, there really can be no looking back in the race to claim domestic triumph in 2015/16 – regardless of how efficient City have nonetheless proven in the Champions League this season.
Although someone of Kompany’s overall quality would obviously be missed within any Premier League starting XI across the course of the current campaign, the Etihad faithful still clearly pay witness to enough attacking talent to see their team through this term. With the likes of Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and David Silva all also playing major roles for Pellegrini, Manchester City arguably possess the strongest squad throughout the entire English top-flight at the moment.
So, although Citizens supporters are understandably frustrated with Vincent Kompany’s potential long-term absence this season – that alone shouldn’t be enough to stop their side from winning the Premier League trophy in 2015/16.
As every other side in the league has had to deal with equally testing injury concerns after all, it’s therefore time Manuel Pellegrini finally started getting the best out of both Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi, instead of constantly depending on the ageing Vincent Kompany across the modern era…
[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]