Quote Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn View Post
Got so sick of seeing Sagna blow 95% of everything he did going forward, it was a serious problem for us. Always thought that spending a few quid on a decent fullback that could defend but was also an asset going forward would be huge for us. All that negative backpassing shit and break down of play due to abject crossing could be reversed. If this guy can do it then great. Didn't look like it the few time I have seen him for Newcastle and he was shite the other day for France, in fact reminded me a lot of Sagna with his wastefulness and lack of ability going forward. Maybe he was having a bad day.
Sagna was actually pretty good for us going forward last season. His crossing in particular somehow managed to improve a lot, it was Giroud's wastefulness and a general lack of bodies in the box that prevented him from notching up a few more assists.

I still think a defender's primary job is to defend and with that in mind we were never going to buy someone better than Sagna. No point slitting wrists over it but Sagna is going to be a big loss. We're going to have to rethink our whole strategy, right from Szczesny lumping the ball forward to the right for Sagna to win the first header. If we play more down the left, Gibbs is going to have to grow some balls and be more decisive in the final 1/3.