The now very likely acquisition of Wes Morgan (sounds very similar to Des Walker - if only!) also gives us a bit of a quandry. Ceratinly in terms of perceived transfer values, our central defenders (in alphbetical order) Bamba, Mills, Morgan, St ledger and Tunchev will be the most costly in the league and, arguably, give us the most strength in depth. it also creates a bit of a dilemma. What is the first choice pairing and how do we keep them all motivated? Could it mean perhaps that Bamba (also possibly Tunchev) might be used in a holding midfielder role? Can think of worse 'problems' for NP - but it will still be interesting to see what he opts for when all are fit and available. Also worth contrasting these players with the central defenders we had when we last reached the play-offs - Brown, Hobbs and Morrison.
I think either Bamba will be pushed into the midfield or Tunchev will leave We dont need 5 centre halfs
I see it as a nice problem, good to have a choice at least! But I do see Bamba being pushed up because otherwise we'd be looking at a holding midfielder I'd have thought.
keep em all id imagine. Bamba is away with a good team so need that, tunch cant play often and hasnt looked great, so currently very little depth.
Or he may push up Morgan or SSL, what I do think is that NP has an ace up his sleeve and I'm quite looking forward to him revelling his hand
I think Bamba will go into the midfield and the back 2 will be Mills and one of Morgan or St. Ledger. Apart from Bamba being able to go into the midfield none of our centre halfs are versatile. None can play wing back or anything. Also it allows Nigel to play more formations
Tunchev will go and we'll have 4 very good central defenders all looking to make the squad. If you're off form then you get dropped and you work harder in training. Don't like it? Then leave. It's in no way a problem, it's a good thing to have.
These are 4 big championship defenders who won't be happy sitting on the bench week in and week out, i can only forsee some kind of break up.
I'm not really sure where Morgan fits into the equation? First of all, if anyone hasn't read Sean St Ledger's interview in the Mercury today, then I think it's definitely worth a read (http://www.thisisleicestershire.co....d-team-place/story-15077658-detail/story.html). So, does that mean that if/when he doesn't make the team, he's gonna kick up a fuss again and leave on loan because that isn't the type of player I want at the club. As for Morgan, he won't dispossess Mills or SSL of the shirt right now, and I don't think he's better than Bamba either so for me, he's 4th choice. Though I'd guess he might be ahead of Bamba in the pecking order. So why would we pay £1 million for a back-up centre-half? I doubt he's come from being a regular starter to possibly not even making the bench. I would guess that Tunchev's future is all but over now and EITHER Bamba is set to leave (someone on Twitter saying he'll be a PL player by tommorow) or Pearson isn't convinced that SSL is here for the long haul but is willing to give it a shot with him anyway - if anything to send the right message out to the rest of the squad. But certainly this signing poses more questions than answers.
It's been a while since I saw them play (especially Bamba), but could he be looking at Mills or SSL, alongside Morgan or Bamba as his starting pairs? I don't know what he's been like with you, NP with us always seemed to go for a lump doing the physical work alongside a more cultured ball player. Last year it was Gerrard as the lump alongside Ayala, and then Chester. It got complicated when he brought Hobbs in, but then for this season he clearly set out for Hobbs to be the muscle/main defence in the air, with Chester as the one to play the ball out from the back. Thinking about your CBs, if I'm thinking of the right player Morgan is massive, and Bamba was solid when he was with Dunfermline, although he also liked giving the crowd heart attacks trying to dribble past the entire opposition midfield in his own area. SSL and Mills would then be the options to take the ball out from the back.
Well, Morgan and Mills are the more 'no nonsense' while SSL and Bamba are more 'get the ball down and play'. A combination of either has worked really well for us but when SSL and Bamba have played together it's been disastrous (apart from the Hull game where they had Fryatt, McLean and Koren quiet for that 60 or so minutes with 10 men) I think it's fair to say that we have 4 defenders who could easily pack up and get a starting spot in most sides in this league and I think if Nigel can keep them happy and working for the good of the team then we'll be laughing when it comes for defensive options.
Last time, this wasn't the case when we had Hobbs and Brown at the back but this time, I do agree that that is now NP's philosophy but I think you've got our players in the wrong roles. Bamba and SSL would be the ones who can pass the ball out from the back. Bamba is one of the most technically gifted CB's I've seen (there's much talk to play him in central midfield) and his distribution is good. We even say that he should hoof it more than he does. SSL is also good technically although he can be more no-nonsense if he needs to be. Morgan I think is a hoofer. I remember when we played Forest in the league and McLaren tried to get them to pass it out and Morgan got caught trying to do this and we scored from it and he looked uncomfortable doing it all game. Mills' distribution also isn't great (but to be fair it is a lot better than it was before) and he is the no-nonsense, physical one currently in our back four (much like Hobbs for you). Having said that though, Matt does seem to make a more conscious effort to pass it out more or to play diagonal's to our wingers rather than hoofing it now and we as a team seem to pass the ball out from the back a lot more than we did before - probably due to the better technical level of the squad NP inherited from Sven rather than the one he had last time.
I just based it on what I've seen of them, Mills and SSL have never looked capable of making a tackle when I've seen them so I assumed they were the passers. I guess Mills with me is like Ibrahimovic on ITV, he's apparently good but you never see him play well. Bamba always thought he could pass, when he was at Dunfermline though he seemed to take a touch and then somehow manage to give the ball away four times and still have it bounce back to him.
Mills is one of the better 'bullish' centre backs in the league while Bamba is easily the best 'technically gifted. SSL brings out the best in Mills while Bamba (while being unbelievably good himself) brings out the worst in both of them. So it's a bit of a dilemma for us, do we sell our best player for a very good partnership in defence or do we hope Mills and Bamba gel together a bit more?
Look, I'll say now that I'm a fan of Bamba and I'd be disappointed if he left. Unless he wants to, I think we should keep him were there to be interest. I think he has every technical attribute you would require in a defender but he just needs to get the mental side of his game right with things like decision making and positioning. I actually feel that under NP's management, Bamba could really flourish because he will help to iron out those flaws. I also don't understand the ones who say 'he isn't NP's type of player'. First of all, Nigel's the one who told him not to change his style and to carry on playing like he does and also, Nigel's played Bamba for every game in which he can do (I think he was suspended for his first game).
Don't forget BAmba didn't give two hoots when he went off to play in some tin pot tornament if I was Pearson I would get what I could for him, which will probably be the case
You mean playing for his country in a major International tournament (which by the way is the same reason SSL is also kicking up a fuss)? And he did have reservations about playing and considered not going.
Its like refusing to play for England in the European cup Just because its a different continent doesn't make it any less important.
