CB Worries

[AdamB]

I think is glc or Tanguy myself
Peh or winks
Sissoko or nice one of the others
And next year Skipp will take winks place
I don’t see dele ever working in a 3
I’m not saying get rid of sissoko, just planning for his age abs contract

Agree that I dont think Dele will ever work in a 3, however in a lot of games Ndombele plays 10 yards in front of the other two CMs, almost like a no 10 and the formation being a 4-2-1-3. If thats the long-term model, then there is a role for Dele battling with TN for the '1' role, but share you views about him a flat 3 man midfield

For me, Winks is like Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, Fabian Delph etc - squad players for Man U, Man C but were homegrown, didnt moan and occasionally had purple patches. Until he says he wants to leave, I'd keep him around

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Agree that I dont think Dele will ever work in a 3, however in a lot of games Ndombele plays 10 yards in front of the other two CMs, almost like a no 10 and the formation being a 4-2-1-3. If thats the long-term model, then there is a role for Dele battling with TN for the '1' role, but share you views about him a flat 3 man midfield

For me, Winks is like Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, Fabian Delph etc - squad players for Man U, Man C but were homegrown, didnt moan and occasionally had purple patches. Until he says he wants to leave, I'd keep him around

I don’t want rid of winks
I think he gets a massive amount of stick for doing things that others actually don’t do well enough... and of course the forward passing comments are constant and wrong
But I’ve been so impressed with PEH who I didn’t want I have to think that adding another of his calibre would take us up another level
We do need another CB too but that’s subject to outgoing whereas in midfield we have the space if we don’t want Gedson
I can see us going for milenkovic Savic from Lazio who is liked by Jose

 

[braineclipse]

Do we need to replace Sissoko? Without him next season we'd have:

- PEH, with Skipp being his deputy
- GLC, with Winks being his deputy
- Ndombele, with Dele being his deputy

I'm not sure we need a 7th player given we're play 4-3-3 at the moment, though I'd probably replace Dele with someone who plays more as a CM rather than a no 10. If you replace Dele in the above list with someone like another PEH then I think we're fine

Depends how Mourinho views Lo Celso and Ndombele now and for the future.

Are they not playing together because neither is fully fit? Or are we playing Sissoko because we need what he brings and will still need him/that fairly often when Lo Celso and Ndombele get fully fit and sharp?

If it's the latter we need another midfielder as no one else brings what Sissoko does.

 

[awesome dawson]

I see the benefit in Sissoko still, his ability to move us from defence to attack or vica versa, is better than anyone else in our team. His strength is also top level along with his pace.

 

[Bullet]

I see the benefit in Sissoko still, his ability to move us from defence to attack or vica versa, is better than anyone else in our team.

Strongly disagree. Unless you mean his ability to move us from attack to defence by stifling our flow?

 

[glorygloryeze]

I see the benefit in Sissoko still, his ability to move us from defence to attack or vica versa, is better than anyone else in our team. His strength is also top level along with his pace.

???

And yet you seem quite cutting about GLC?? Not sure if serious...

Sissoko does bring certain useful physical abilities, but moving us from defence to attack and vice-versa?

 

[billyiddo]

Strongly disagree. Unless you mean his ability to move us from attack to defence by stifling our flow?

He's good at transitioning our attacks to defensive third possession tbf

 

[awesome dawson]

Strongly disagree. Unless you mean his ability to move us from attack to defence by stifling our flow?

According the a professional coach I was listening to Sissoko is incredible at the transition phase, basically our best player at that part of the game which is crucial and Jose knows it, as did Poch.

 

[awesome dawson]

???

And yet you seem quite cutting about GLC?? Not sure if serious...

Sissoko does bring certain useful physical abilities, but moving us from defence to attack and vice-versa?

Absolutely serious. Lo Celso can pass reasonably well, does his fair share of defensive work, carries the ball fine, but for an attacking midfielder who came to us as Eriksen's replacement, his shooting is diabolical. Zero league goals in 33 appearances. If that was anyone else people on here would be singling them out but because the general view is Lo Celso is a 'baller' he gets away with it. It's fine for people to have different views on players. I'll stick to mine thanks.

 

[AdamB]

Absolutely serious. Lo Celso can pass reasonably well, does his fair share of defensive work, carries the ball fine, but for an attacking midfielder who came to us as Eriksen's replacement, his shooting is diabolical. Zero league goals in 33 appearances. If that was anyone else people on here would be singling them out but because the general view is Lo Celso is a 'baller' he gets away with it. It's fine for people to have different views on players. I'll stick to mine thanks.

Is he Eriksen's replacement? Eriksen always played in the 3 behind Kane. Personally I view GLC as a CM, so not positionally a replacement for Eriksen as I think he plays deeper. He should get more goals though, though equally we have attackers who aren't great at shooting - Lamela and Moura spring to mind

 

[billyiddo]

No, he didn't come here as Eriksens replacement - we moved away from having one central playmaker by spreading the duties around, Ndombele and Lo Celso are a part of that.

 

[Raziel]

Absolutely serious. Lo Celso can pass reasonably well, does his fair share of defensive work, carries the ball fine, but for an attacking midfielder who came to us as Eriksen's replacement, his shooting is diabolical. Zero league goals in 33 appearances. If that was anyone else people on here would be singling them out but because the general view is Lo Celso is a 'baller' he gets away with it. It's fine for people to have different views on players. I'll stick to mine thanks.

Mate, always entitled to your opinion but lets unwrap that

- Lo Celso adds more to our attacking play than Eriksen did in his last two years
- He is dealing with an injury/fitness that couldn't be addressed due to Covid
- He gets into positions to score (he probably could have had 5 in last couple of games)
- Historically he has shown he can score (16 in a season for Betis, which is better than Eriksen ever managed even for Ajax or us)

He simply has to put the last two together.

Back to general thread conversation

- Sissoko probably moves on in summer, not because he hasn't had a rolez, but combination of age and I expect more CM additions
- I also expect Sanchez moves on with new CB coming in, perhaps even 2 CBs depending on if Tanganga comes back from injury the same and how Toby lasts the season.

 

[Hotspur75]

I think the issues at CB are much more urgent than those at CM. PEH is playing well, Ndombele is playing pretty well (maybe not against West Brom, but in general), GLC will return after the internaitonal break, and I trust Winks and Sissoko as back ups. Lamela can also help out by playing a role in defending from the front when he plays in a three - I expect him to play in every match against stronger oppostion when he is not injured.

At CB, I think Dier is obviously first choice as several others here have said - he cemented his place on Sunday, but I don't think he even needed that. It is clear that Mourinho trusts him. But next to him we have a real problem in my view. Toby will do for now, but Sanchez continues to make mistakes - potentially important ones too - after three full seasons with us. I think he will be suffering from Mourinho's ruthless approach, to the extent that he may be put up for sale in the summer. But the suggestions that Rodon or Tanganga can simply step up and perform are unrealistic I would say, and Davies - whom I generally trust - did not give a good account of himself against Antwerp, and we may need him at LB anyway. I think we could do with someone who is uncharismatic and unspectacular, yet proven in the Premier League in January.

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

Is he Eriksen's replacement? Eriksen always played in the 3 behind Kane. Personally I view GLC as a CM, so not positionally a replacement for Eriksen as I think he plays deeper. He should get more goals though, though equally we have attackers who aren't great at shooting - Lamela and Moura spring to mind

I'd disagree about Moura. His shooting is accurate if he ever gets the chance.

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

I think the issues at CB are much more urgent than those at CM. PEH is playing well, Ndombele is playing pretty well (maybe not against West Brom, but in general), GLC will return after the internaitonal break, and I trust Winks and Sissoko as back ups. Lamela can also help out by playing a role in defending from the front when he plays in a three - I expect him to play in every match against stronger oppostion when he is not injured.

At CB, I think Dier is obviously first choice as several others here have said - he cemented his place on Sunday, but I don't think he even needed that. It is clear that Mourinho trusts him. But next to him we have a real problem in my view. Toby will do for now, but Sanchez continues to make mistakes - potentially important ones too - after three full seasons with us. I think he will be suffering from Mourinho's ruthless approach, to the extent that he may be put up for sale in the summer. But the suggestions that Rodon or Tanganga can simply step up and perform are unrealistic I would say, and Davies - whom I generally trust - did not give a good account of himself against Antwerp, and we may need him at LB anyway. I think we could do with someone who is uncharismatic and unspectacular, yet proven in the Premier League in January.

If you trust Sissoko and Winks as back ups then the CH issues are more pressing.

What I would say, is you have too much trust

 

[Hotspur75]

If you trust Sissoko and Winks as back ups then the CH issues are more pressing.

What I would say, is you have too much trust

Do you mean too much trust in both? Sissoko generally performs well (I thought he was very good against Brighton, perhaps less so against WBA), and tends to play better against stronger opponents.

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

Do you mean too much trust in both? Sissoko generally performs well (I thought he was very good against Brighton, perhaps less so against WBA), and tends to play better against stronger opponents.

I don't mind Sissoko. I just think if PEH gets injured he leaves a massive hole. In many ways he is glueing us together at the moment.

CB there are options, granted largely unproven but that's better than CM options that have proven they're a bit meh.

 

[Raziel]

I think the issues at CB are much more urgent than those at CM. PEH is playing well, Ndombele is playing pretty well (maybe not against West Brom, but in general), GLC will return after the internaitonal break, and I trust Winks and Sissoko as back ups. Lamela can also help out by playing a role in defending from the front when he plays in a three - I expect him to play in every match against stronger oppostion when he is not injured.

At CB, I think Dier is obviously first choice as several others here have said - he cemented his place on Sunday, but I don't think he even needed that. It is clear that Mourinho trusts him. But next to him we have a real problem in my view. Toby will do for now, but Sanchez continues to make mistakes - potentially important ones too - after three full seasons with us. I think he will be suffering from Mourinho's ruthless approach, to the extent that he may be put up for sale in the summer. But the suggestions that Rodon or Tanganga can simply step up and perform are unrealistic I would say, and Davies - whom I generally trust - did not give a good account of himself against Antwerp, and we may need him at LB anyway. I think we could do with someone who is uncharismatic and unspectacular, yet proven in the Premier League in January.

I think your statement is true, i.e. CB problem bigger than CM when everyone is fit.

The issue is the gap between first 11 and backup in CB isn't that big (Sanchez isn't that much worse than Dier/Toby), but the gap between PEH and anyone trying to fill that role in squad is huge.

We need to address both in next windows

 

[awesome dawson]

No, he didn't come here as Eriksens replacement - we moved away from having one central playmaker by spreading the duties around, Ndombele and Lo Celso are a part of that.

Ndombele was recruited as a direct replacement for Dembele. Where do you get the idea we moved away from one central playmaker?

 

[Finney Is Back]

Mate, always entitled to your opinion but lets unwrap that

- Lo Celso adds more to our attacking play than Eriksen did in his last two years
- He is dealing with an injury/fitness that couldn't be addressed due to Covid
- He gets into positions to score (he probably could have had 5 in last couple of games)
- Historically he has shown he can score (16 in a season for Betis, which is better than Eriksen ever managed even for Ajax or us)

He simply has to put the last two together.

Back to general thread conversation

- Sissoko probably moves on in summer, not because he hasn't had a rolez, but combination of age and I expect more CM additions
- I also expect Sanchez moves on with new CB coming in, perhaps even 2 CBs depending on if Tanganga comes back from injury the same and how Toby lasts the season.

Must say that I am yet to see Lo Celso adding more to our attacking play that Eriksen did (even in Eriksen's last two years).
I agree regarding his fitness, although I am a bit concerned at the number of injuries he has had since joining. I hope he won't be another Lamela in that way.
I agree that he gets in positions to score goals and this is always a good thing. His finishing is poor though, I think partly because he is so horribly one-footed. That chance on Sunday looked to me like an easy right foot finish, but Lo Celso can't use his right, so had to take it on his left making it far harder. I was a bit appalled seeing the Dele v Lo Celso v Hart keepy uppies with tennis/golf/rugby balls, Dele and even Hart using both feet but Lo Celso using only his left.
Hopefully he can get somewhere close to that Betis type of goal scoring number with us. At present though I would say he is clearly an inferior player to Eriksen, who was better in every aspect of the game than Lo Celso, other than the fact that Lo Celso is prepared to go in for 50-50 tackles.

I agree that Sissoko may be moved on this summer. However that will rely on us bringing in a replacement from another club as we would be much weaker losing him and expecting a current player to replace him. I was a bit annoyed that we didn't go in for Sangare from Toulouse last summer (he went to PSV for about £8 million in the end). Having him around for a year this season making a few appearances and getting used to English football so that he could hit the ground running as Sissoko's replacement next season would've been sensible.