We all know we need a commanding center half, alot of names being banded around in the media Cahill,Dann and others. But the one i'd like to see is Per Mertesacker. He's 6ft 6inches tall so dominates in the air, he's a fantastic reader of the game and a good strong tackler. Has picked up very few suspensions due to his ability to tackle. Scores his fair share of goals for a center half roughly a goal every 10 games. He's also an established international player with over 70 caps for Germany. He's 26 and in the last of his contract at Werder Breman. I think he'd be a fantastic buy and solve a massive problem for us, also he'd be a lot cheaper than Cahill and Dann.
Commanding is the key word here. Something that Cahill and Dann lack and something we need when Carra isn't playing.
never crossed my mind but now you pointed it out he seems perfect! how about his defensive partner naldo, he is a monster!
Naldo could be a shout, brazilian for Lucas and maybe a way to get into the National team ( one reason Enrique wanted to sign). I would take either.
We just need a centre back for cover. I just hope we're not left with a situation when we've only got two fit centre backs and one of them is Soto.
Sebastian Coates is one I would take a punt on, Already has international experience, is a monster and is only 20, so he would be OK with being that 3rd/4th defender. I would say Diego Lugano as well but he is getting passed it, he is boss though.
first off i think cover is not something i agree with. 1. carragher like it or not (and he won't admit it) is on his last legs, he is not a dominant centre half at all, rather his dominated by some opponents and just fouls all the time to cope. 2. agger is a complete injury wreak and must prove his fitness again.. i hope he does but again he is not that dominating either... not agains tthe sort of lower sides we need to do better against who are aerial merchants. 3. soto is way way too slow and fouls too much 4. skertl is skertl, he's very weak in possession of the ball and can lack confidence. all in all we can cope this year as we have had ma lot of rebuilding to go do but we have NEVER replaced sammi, who is right to replace him is a debateable point. We need someone though... this is an area to improve. Is mertesacker the right guy? not so sure. german and cl expereince doesn't equate to the prem necessarally. didn't the brum sign zigic expecting him to score loads but they got relegated... dzeko has taken time to adjust... not equivilant sure but is he better than cahill or merely cheaper? Hopefully agger stays fit and kelly takes over carra's position... wisdom and wilson step up and we don't worry about it.
Wilson and Wisdom aren't ready. Some of you seem to lose reality. How can you expect a player to play from no games in one season to first teamer or first-choice cover in the next season? I have a feeling we have an agreement with Sakho. He said he knows where his future lies but he won't move this summer. Left-footed centre-back, maybe Liverpool said let us get in the Champions League and you can join us then? Meanwhile he gets to keep a first-team place at PSG..
We have a big gap in our CB's in terms of age and the two that we have that can link it, one is injury prone and the other error prone. I would feel much better if we got 1 more CB in to help add steal or even step in as a starter.
People are forgetting Kelly. With Johnson returning back to the RB position Kelly can now cover the CB positions aswell as the RB position. This is slightly risky though but if we get another centre-back we'll be fine with Skrtel, Kelly and the new CB covering
I think we should always be looking at quality to come straight into the 1st team. Saying we should buy a back up seems like saying we should look at someone who is 2nd best, it only really works for goalkeepers.
This rings of H&G and Rafa having to go after his second and third targets and not his main ones ( Simao or Malouda= Riera, Pennant, Alonso leaving=aqua due to roma oweing us and not Jovetic who he wanted)
This season I can't see Carra and Agger playing alongside each other too often due to injuries etc. Skrtel played every minute last season, do you think that will change this season? (bar his current injury) Whoever we bring in (if anyone) would likely be cover for Carra/Agger or ahead of Skrtel, who I think is good enough anyway.
I think we really need a new starting CB, and I think that was a neccesity after a winger and LB this summer. Not 23 centre midfielders!
Yeah Mertesacker is a good shout imo. The only bad thing I can think about him is his lack of pace but for the price's that are being branded about for him he it would be a decent bit of buisness.
Ok guys I'm hearing some negativity about now, do you not think we've made enough summer signings? I think we have. The common thing I'm hearing is that Skrtel isn't good enough, I personally think Skrtel should be used for most of the season. Carra, Agger and Skrtel should be rotated every few games, this will stop injuries to Agger and will allow time for Carra to rest. Carra needs to be slightly waned off playing and Agger needs to be not played too much at any one time because we know he'll eventually pick up an injury. I think we have enough quality in our defence at the moment to see us to next summer and hopefully by that time Wilson (who'll be 20) and Wisdom (who'll be 19) will be ready to start making appearances.
