It depends what stats you want to go by. For a start they're centre backs. Whether one's more rugged and old fashioned or more technical and ball playing is irrelevant. Our one plays in the side that's conceded the fewest goals, he's scored the second most goals out of any centre back after Scott Dann and as far as I'm aware he's got more assists than any other centre back, this is all coupled with being a superb defender in the process - those stats are more than good enough for me to say he's better than his competition in his position. All Spurs fans will tell you that he's been our best player, despite Kane and Alli getting the headlines. I'm not sure the stats you go by, I presume it's more tackles/ clearances etc? But that would favour Huth seeing as you sit back more than Tottenham and thus invite more pressure.
Actually, for people who do data analytics in their day job, we'd be looking (for any activity X) : - the total number of X (per game etc) - the number of successful X (per game etc) For the stats given, Toby is irrefutably the most efficient and least liable defender of the two.
Why would I do that if I wanted to prove a point? We've conceded more goals against Villa than we have against you and West Ham combined in the league this season this season. Since we started playing a pair of competent full backs we have been the best defensive side in the league.
You also conceded five against Arsenal in that period, which is the most that either of us let in in a single game. Add or remove one more game and this isn't the case. It's the most obvious example of cherry picking possible.
Based on whoscored.coms stats I picked a couple of other centre backs at random and found that in terms of interceptions and tackles both Chris Smalling and Ramiro Funes Mori average more than both Huth and Alderweireld, they both make slightly fewer blocks and get dribbled past slightly more frequently, (though the dribbled past stat for Huth is clearly very low because he fouls them if they are likely to go past, this is backed up by these stats), Smalling and Funes Mori both have a higher overall rating than Huth (but lower than Toby).
Virgil van Dijk comes out ahead in various places: https://www.whoscored.com/Players/95408 So does Otamendi! https://www.whoscored.com/Players/75691
Since we started using capable fullbacks we've got the best defensive record in the league. That's from the beginning of October to the present day. Cherry picking would be something like saying. We've got the best defensive record against the top 6 when you ignore Arsenal. (I have no idea if that's correct, it's merely an example). Since we've moved from De Laet and Schlupp to Simpson and Fuchs we've even been away to Spurs, Arsenal and Man City and have conceded three goals in those games (two of those coming in a game where we one of our fullbacks was sent off).
I have seen Dack play quite a few times and he has had a very good season, but I have seen nothing to suggest that he's the next Dele Alli (who I also saw play in league 1). Dack has a good shot, can pick a pass and has excellent awareness and a good engine, but he can go missing, he is definitely ready to move up a decent championship side, I think that the Premier maybe a step too far just yet, having said that when I saw Dele play for MK (and be the best player on the pitch all 3 times I saw him) I would not have thought he would be where he is now. I hope Dack makes it to the premier league Justin Edinburgh reckons his attitude is good enough and that he has the talent, next season I think he will be at a championship team.
And we've been rotating our fullbacks all season, due to the extra games that we've had in Europe. Even despite the travelling and additional fixtures, we've still had a better defence than you have. You're attempting to limit this to an exact game or your point doesn't stand. Does that not tell you something? You don't think that it's cherry picking, despite this. No idea why, though.
What is your point? Are you going to deny the legitimacy of those stats? I'll say it again. Huth is the better defender. Alderweireld can pass it about and he doesn't look flustered on the ball which is great. But if I wanted a player to defend then there really is only one choice out of the two.
Because you've got better back up full backs. That's clearly undeniable. If I were to be cherry picking then i'd be picking games out at random. I've not. I've simply proving that since we've gone to a back four that all know how to defend, we've been the best defensive team. What are you finding difficult to understand?
I'm saying that stats don't tell the whole story and can be utterly misleading. Otamendi's been bloody awful for large chunks of this season, yet those stats don't reflect that. He's actually rated higher than either of the defenders that we're talking about. Huth is good at defending deep in a compact system that plays to his strengths. He couldn't play in our system, as his weaknesses would be exposed. That's why he was sold by his previous sides. Alderweireld could join Leicester and play well in Ranieri's defence. The standard of our back-up fullbacks is irrelevant. The fact that Alderweireld's had to play alongside them isn't. You're claiming that your first choice defence is better than ours and then making a comparison that includes games where we haven't used ours.
Alderweireld would leave us weaker in defence than with Huth. Stats back that up. But they just are. Our defence has been better since our fullbacks were swapped with capable ones. That's undeniable. Since that switch we've kept 14 clean sheets in 26 games whereas you've kept 12 all season.
We've conceded less goals with Alderweireld than you have with Huth. Stats don't back up your claims. As I've already pointed out repeatedly, you're cherry picking. An exact period of time to one individual game and not comparing like-for-like. You've literally left out your worst loss and most goals conceded in a game by one fixture. You only want what you believe to be your strongest defence used for comparison, but won't do the same for ours. Laughable stuff.
With a first choice defence, no. With complete muppets playing either side of him, yes. I've left them out because, guess what? That's the last fixture in which we played De Laet and Schlupp and brought Simpson and Fuchs into the side. It's laughable that you can't grasp that I'm assuming you consider your strongest defence to be Walker, Vertonghen Alderweireld and Rose? Care to tell me the stats that you've got from fixtures that defence has started together?
I'll say it again, Toby is a better defender than Huth. More efficient, less liable, and at the heart of the best defence in the PL this season. But hey, if you think I am biased : AKCJ provided the stats that prove all the above.
Of course I can grasp that, but you're literally leaving out games against 3 of the top six and you're one of the others. You've edited out your biggest loss, when you conceded more goals than in any other game. You've picked a very specific time period and moving it one game either way breaks your theory. On top of that, you're also comparing what you believe to be your strongest defence and only that selection against whatever we put out. It's completely disingenuous and cherry picked. I've no idea what the stats are for our strongest defence and I wouldn't know how to check them. I'm glad that you've accepted that you're attempting to make an inaccurate assessment, though.
This is really quite funny. What are you failing to understand here? We dropped those fulbacks because they were **** and replaced them with to that aren't. That's literally it. It's not a very specific time period. If I wanted to specify then i'd leave out Fuchs' and Simpson's first five games where we conceded a further five goals and kept just one clean sheet. That would be disingenuous and you'd have a good point. But as it happens, you don't
