Is this man the future of City’s defense?

I’ve always had my doubts when it comes to Manchester City’s Joleon Lescott. But watching him play in the place of absentee Kolo Toure, I’ve slowly but surely come round to a peculiar notion: this guy is a top-class defender. Before I’m chastised for stating the obvious, let me acknowledge that I’m well aware that he was a pivotal player for both Wolves and Everton and that his 12 England caps suggest the lad has something a bit extra over and above the average defender.  I’m also aware that City were willing to spend big on the 28-year-old.

I was never quite sure, however, how Lescott would manage at a top club competing for trophies. Would he be ‘found out’? On the basis of the past few weeks – absolutely not.

Perhaps all he needed to convince me and the over doubters – I know they’re out there – was a consistent run of games in the side. His performances at the beginning of the season, filling in for injured left-back Kolarov were somewhat under par – but then he was playing out of position. Following this, Lescott failed to break into a team renowned for their strong defensive set-up. The odd cup game did little to establish any semblance of form or rhythm.

Lescott can, on occasion appear a bit slow and clumsy. He’s not a quick-footed defender by any means and I can’t imagine him ‘playing his way out’ of a dangerous situation. I’d also argue that he doesn’t distribute the ball well from the back and that this can have the knock-on effect of slowing down the City attack. These last few weeks, however, have shown that the positives to Joleon’s game by far outweigh the negatives.

Since Kolo Toure’s absence, he’s been rock solid in the heart of the Manchester City defence and seems to have established a natural ‘relationship’ with Vincent Kompany. Firstly – he’s really good in the air, better perhaps than Toure, who isn’t the tallest lad. This in combination with his excellent sense of positioning often means that long-ball merchants have no chance against City. He’s too quick to react and he’s a better header of the ball than most strikers.

This means that teams have to play the ball along the ground against City – something that Kompany and Lescott are more than able to deal with on most occasions. Though I’d argue he could work on his tackling, his reading of the game and his improved positioning often mean that it’s not necessary to make a tackle. If he keeps developing at this rate on a game-to-game basis, City will have a very impressive player on their hands.

Whether or not he’s worthy of a first-team position when everybody’s fit remains to be seen. For the moment however, City fans must look on at his development with a sense of glee.

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