Think Wright's been doing well and looks at home at this level, he's done well at bringing the ball out from defence which I can't say I expected, but pace is always going to be a problem if the opposition have it. On topic Hume keeps his place, he's been playing great it's his natural position and he's got a lot of potential.
I do like Wright, he seems a great lad and is a good defender. I just think the more we progress the more we will be asking them to do, Ballard is a Rolls Royce, pace, height, can bring it out from the back, can pass it short and long etc. Wright is pretty solid but I think he will be the next one to be phased out.
Agreed, theres certain games that totally suit wright but the minute he's up against teams that move it quickly he struggles. Great squad player and 1 of the best pros weve ever had in my time supporting the lads. I just think its a big compliment to the other cbs that are ahead of him imo that i think he should be dropped
Aye he's at the bottom of our food chain but at least he's reliable at this level. He's a solid defender and can play it out pretty well. Ballard's looking great as you say, early doors it was clear he liked a scrap which is good but the more I see of him the more I like him. His heat map must be unique for a CB he gets everywhere and with good results. Love his attitude it's proper blood and thunder stuff.
Ballard is a 'proper' safc player imo. If he stays here long enough he will be an absolute legend. Got all the attributes to be skipper next season imo.
Absolutely mate he's a class player and is exactly the type of player we love. Totally captain material just needs a little bit of time to mature, he's getting there quickly.
Hume Ballard Baath O9 I feel comfortable watching these and no stress or strain when the ball is in our pen area
Despite the injuries, we’ve got great options at the back. Some good players wouldn’t even make the bench if we had everyone fit and available…
Nice to know they'll both be fit. Gooch has done well again this season and plays well with Roberts. But Hume has really put his hand up and looks a serious prospect now. Think it would be Hume to start for me, but a nice problem to have.
He's got one advantage over Gooch, he's a decent height and is good in the air. If Gooch was 6 foot he'd be a beast in the air but height isn't exactly one of his strengths. Too early to say but from what I've seen I've got a hunch that Hume will be one of the best at heading we've got. Seems to have the timing and power. He's already made a couple of good contributions off his bonce, didn't he score a header in his first game or so? Might have made that up.
Yeah, would agree. In all that talk of us being a small side and vulnerable at set pieces etc it's not something to be ignored. Once everyone is fit my 1st choice back four would be@ Hume-Ballard-Batth-Cirkin Very harsh on O'Nien (as always) but that back 4 offers a lot of heigh and physical presence
Not if playing a back 4, he isnt as effective as a LB as either of those 2. At the minute I would be having Onien with Ballard at CB - harsh on Baath but those 2 deserve it
Nah Baath has been POTS so far. An absolute rock at the back. Harsh but 09 could set dropped. Depends on formation like. He is slightly better at rightfullback than left but still a tough decision.
I agree that he has been player of the season but I think Onien has been class recently and has taken his game to another level. Ballard is our best CB imo and is starting to show way. Great decision to have having 3 top CBs and then a 4th in Alese with great potential. Exciting times for sure Also depends who we are playing against, if in a team has more mobile forwards then this suits Onien but for teams that go route one I'd love to see Baath and Ballard - they would dominate
Certainly is a tough call, on who to leave out the last few games from both Alese and Cirkin swing it in favour of O/9 for me. The case for Hume is watertight Gooch has his fans but he cant defend without giving away free kicks and him and Roberts defending are the stuff of nightmares.
Almost feel like Gooch should be our RB at home when we go after teams and Hume away from home when we might have more defending to do. Hume is our future RB so I hope he gets plenty of game time this season as he could become a top championship RB by next season with the experience he will get this season
