Dier could play DCM in this exact 11. Admittedly the full backs are weak then for a flat 4 but so be it.
Tbh - it’s a weakish team full stop. We don’t even look like scoring, let alone defending.
Dier doesn't want to play at DM, and I can see why. He's too immobile for it now - game has to happen in front of him for him to look marginally good.
I mean, he's human too. He has to have seen the uptick in opinions of him after he stepped into defense - he's the same fridge as before, only he's now less exposed. But people aren't piling on him like they did before, so why would he want to step back into midfield?
We have no DM. And the problem is, Levy's comments at THST don't leave me with a lot of hope that we will get the players we need in the summer.
It's not him anymore, it's his transfer committee. It's Steve Hitchen, it's John McDermott, it's Rebecca Caplehorn or whoever else sits on it - that transfer setup is rotten, thoroughly so.
That needs a thorough gutting - have one point of accountability with s single DOF, fire Steve Hitchen (heads would roll at this point in any semi-serious organization for our recruitment recently), revamp the analytics and sports science/fitness departments, and have a look at the medics to see if they're fit for purpose.
For some reason, it seems to me like the biggest problem is that our backroom staff has stagnated - we used to have extraordinarily good staff (Liverpool's success is based on staff they poached from us, from academy heads to scouts and data scientists), but recently I've begun questioning whether we have any good recruitment/analytics staff left. Bringing in a DOF will allow us to revamp everything on that side of affairs, and we will be better for it.