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Geelongs latest milestone man Harry Taylor had an inauspicious start to life in the AFL.Taylor was taken with pick No.17 in the 2007 national draft, an occasion generally preceded by a sleepless night.The West Australian missed the fuss, waking-up to 84 missed calls including one from unimpressed Cats coach Mark Thompson.He said quite abruptly - why havent you been picking your phone up?, Taylor recalled ahead of his 200th match.I tried to sort of muddle my way through the story.Id put the draft on the backburner a little bit.I was 21 ... in my third year of studying physio at uni and we had about 16 exams.We had an end of year physio ball after exams, which was the day before the draft.Fellow veterans Andrew Mackie, Jimmy Bartel and Corey Enright have celebrated meaningful milestones this season.At the MCG on Sunday, when Geelong hope to defeat Richmond and clamber back into the top four, it will be Taylors time in the spotlight.It is a position the 30-year-old is not entirely comfortable with, despite being one of the best defenders in the league.Bartel described Taylor as quiet, intelligent and caring earlier this week.Taylor is undoubtedly a family man, which is why 2013 presented a challenge for the two-time premiership winner.Taylor opted to sign a five-year deal with the Cats but only after being actively pursued by Fremantle.My family was growing and getting to a stage where school and those sort of things had to be considered, he said.My wife and I are both from WA. All our family is there.We had to weigh up all those type of things. It was basically a pretty direct conversation with her and family, to work out where our life was going to go next.Taylor attributed his development to the likes of fellow defenders Enright, Matthew Scarlett, Tom Harley and Darren Milburn.I tried to hang around those guys as much as I possibly could, probably to the point of stalking, Taylor said.I know I learned best from watching.The key defender prides himself on educating the Cats young defenders in the same fashion.I feel like Im having more influence on the group this year, he said.Taylor is upbeat the Cats are within striking distance of another flag but added they must improve if its to happen in 2016.Our good is very good and our average is pretty average, so if we can close that gap, play a little bit more consistent and get some good form going into the finals, who knows? Taylor said.It is going to be one of the most open finals series weve had in a while. 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"His juice; his aggression all night long.Pep Guardiolas first job at the Etihad Stadium should be to sort out Manchester Citys leaky defence after their frailties were exposed again in Wednesdays 3-0 defeat by Liverpool. Thats the view of former City manager Stuart Pearce, who watched his old side come crashing back down to earth just three days after their Capital One Cup final success against the Reds at Wembley.Liverpool claimed their revenge in ruthless style at Anfield, with Adam Lallana, James Milner and Roberto Firmino capitalising on City sloppiness and repeatedly cutting through their backline. The defeat keeps Manuel Pellegrinis side 10 points adrift of leaders Leicester City, and they are now level with rivals Manchester United and only a point ahead of West Ham. Nicolas Otamendi has struggled at Man City since his £33m arrival from Valencia The problems are piling up after consecutive Premier League defeats to Leicester, Tottenham and Liverpool, and their defensive issues are a particular cause for concern. City have now conceded 31 goals this season - more than Watford and Southampton and their highest total after 27 games since 2010. Manchester City - goals conceded after 27 games Premier League season Goals conceded 2015/16 31 2014/15 27 2013/14 27 2012/13 24 2011/12 19 2010/11 24 I wasnt surprise by Wednesdays result because, coming out of the weekend, Liverpool had something to prove in front of their own fans and they had a bit of fire in their bellies, Pearce told Sky Sports. Quite often that is the case. One team will win one fixture and then the other one will spring up and win the other, so I wasnt surprised that Liverpool won.From Man Citys point of view, though, they have struggled defensively for a lot of the season, he continued. Vincent Kompany being missing for too many matches has been a real problem, and theyve struggled for consistency as a result. Stuart Pearce managed Manchester City for two years between 2005 and 2007 Club captain Kompany only returned from his long spell on the sidelines last month, and in his absence Pellegrini was unable to settle on a first-choice centre-back pairing, with Nicolas Otamendi, Eliaquim Mangala and Martin Demichelis all struggling for form.I feel as though its a quality issue as well, added Pearce. I look at Dimechelis in the heart of the defence. Hes played a fair few games this season but at the age of 35 hes probably had his better years behind him. Ive seen him being pulled around far too easily in matches. His lack of pace has been a problem.So with City and the new manager coming in next year, you need someone alongside Kompany and you need to make sure Kompany plays more games than he has done this year. If that isnt the case and yoou cant guarantee that, then all of a sudden you might have to look to go and strengthen.dddddddddddd. Vincent Kompany has spent much of the season sidelined by injury Otamendi is Manuel Pellegrinis first choice partner for the returning Kompany but has struggled to live up to his hefty price-tag in a difficult debut season in England. I think Otamendi has probably suffered because hes not had a partner alongside him who has not been a real consistent performer, Pearce said.Sometimes with central defender pairings youre taking strength off of each other. You dont have to be great players but you have a wonderful partnership between you. Roll the clock back a few years to Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister. Neither were regular England internationals - in fact one of them never played for England in Brucey - but as a partnership they were outstanding. Stuart Pearce thinks managing in the Premier League is as hard as any job Kompany was unable to provide a quick-fix at Anfield having only recently returned from his long spell on the sidelines, but Pearce did take encouragement from Citys 3-1 Champions League win over Dynamo Kiev and their Capital One Cup final success at Wembley.The two games prior to Wednesday were really solid defensive performances, he said. Going to Kiev I thought the team played really well, and the cup final as well. Defensively City looked pretty strong, I dont think Liverpool had too many clear-cut chances in that game. Pellegrini: Nothing has changed Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini insists nothing has changed in their quest for the title. This week they have taken their eye off the ball, though. It only takes five per cent down from one team and five per cent up on the other and you get a result like what we saw on Wednesday.City will need to improve quickly if they are to have any chance of mounting a serious title challenge in the final weeks of the season, but Pearce expects incoming manager Guardiola to focus his summer recruitment on bringing in defensive reinforcements. Pep Guardiola has signed a three-year contract at the Etihad Stadium Ive been a defender all my life so I would say this but I think you have to have a solid defence, he said. Theyve got one of the best goalkeepers in the world at Manchester City, but they need to make sure that the centre of your defence and defensive midfield are strong enough that youre not going to concede too many goals.If you dont do that, all of a sudden it erodes what youre doing at the other end of the pitch. Now a new manager has to come in and say: Right, how do we go from third or fourth in the league to competing for the Premier League and the Champions League?Its easy to talk about it but to actually deliver it they might need to add three or four new players into that squad that give them a touch of leadership in the team as well. Also See: Managers feel fatigue too Premier League talking points ' ' '