I just don’t understand how you can watch him and think he’s good. What does he do that makes you think that can you explain like I’m stupid because I must just not see it? He can’t win a header, cant mark his man on set pieces, can’t deal with a ball in behind, positionally he’s all over the place, he’s tiny and not exactly fast.. This whole being able to pass argument is nonsense, it’s like signing a striker based on how well he defends set pieces and totally ignoring the fact he can’t score goals. Any manager coming up against us with half a braincell is telling his players to put absolutely everything on O’nien.
TM was only a CH all his career so what could he possibly know about assessing one of his back four players
Yet we are prity shocking at corners or free kicks? You’d think such a great defender would be able to sort that right?
We're not though. We haven't conceded that kind of goal in the last three games. Ekwah was complicit in the last two goals we've conceded, not the defenders
He made him captain so of course he’s going to play him. I’m not being a smart arse I’m asking a genuine question what are people seeing to think he’s a decent defender? Straight away you’d say Ballard looks good on the ball, he’s big and strong, good in the air, knows his role and commands his side of the pitch, doesn’t push so far up the field he’s practically in the opponents final third when we lose the ball. Whereas with O’nien I get being great on the ball at this level for a CB which he undoubtedly is, as any midfielder would be, but I struggle after that. It’s not as if our other CB’s are absolutely hopeless on the ball either.
Come on man every time we concede a free kick or corner I’m expectation to concede! If you can see us as a strong point in defending corners or free kicks then your a very very positive fan
Ballard is just as bad for using his hands on players, but has been lucky to get away with it so far this season
Very few teams, who come to the SOL, need two massive central defenders to combat ... ... they sit back and start wasting time in the warm up ffs. We've left dinosaur football behind. It may take a while before we're used to it but times have changed. Huggings, Hume, Cirkin, O'Nien, etc all get forward in our system and I love it.
Ballards 6’2 and can win a header though, he’s scored twice from corners this season I think hasn’t he? When your CB, who’s supposed to be your biggest aerial threat/defence, is so small and doesn’t even bother jumping because he has no chance of winning the duel it’s a worry. The amount of grabbing he’s got away with is shocking, if we were on the receiving end of it every week we’d be fuming. I do agree we have other big lads on the pitch but a CB’s bread and butter is being good in the air not Ekwah who’s a CM and just happens to be tall. He’s not working on attacking crosses and defending them in training.
It’s not dinosaur football though. We go into the PL with a 5’10 centre back and we’ll concede from more set pieces than any other team I guarantee that. Arsenal have 2 6’4 CB’s then 6’2 rice and 6’2 white Liverpool a 6’4 and 6’5 then 6’3 and 6’1 in midfield. City 6’3, 6’3 and 6’2 plus a 6’3 DM and Haaland at 6’5 Spurs 6’5 and 6’2 CB’s Villa 6’5 and 6’3 It’s an absolute myth that big players can’t play football. You need to have physicality aswell as technical ability.
Ipswich have conceded 21 Southampton have conceded 26 Preston have conceded 24 Boro have conceded 23 Sunderland have conceded 17 in 16 games And you're saying our defending is shyte, give over man.
I never said it’s ****e, I said one man in the defence is poor. Imagine how many fewer goals we would’ve conceded with a 2nd decent CB.. We’ve also only conceded 1 or 2 less than the likes of Watford, Millwall and Stoke..
It generally is mate tbf I’m never ever confident when teams are attacking, we attack attack attack. And fail to score when other teams seem to attack once and we are one down! I’m not being negative it’s just how we are.
