What do we do now? When all fit we have 4 centre halfs, King, Lawrence, Richards and Frampton. So who do we go with. Pesonally I think that although still a capable defender for league 2, Lawrence has lost a yard or two from last season. So far this season Frampton hasn't looked overly convincing, so do we go back to our King and Richards promotion winning pairing or use the others?
I'd like to see either Frampton and King, or Lawrence and King. I think for now at least King needs someone experienced alongside him, to make sure his transition back into the Gills 1st team can happen smoothly (if he's still good enough, that is). I think Richards should really be a squad player... he can do a job sometimes, but hardly a reliable defender.
King is still a top defender but being out for so long will affect will him physically. He would need a season of runs in the team to get back to the King before his injury. Frampton is a good leader but he and Lawrence lack pace and the goals against Northmapton (particularly the first) as well as most of the goals we have conceeded have shown this. I would play King and Frampton although I don't know if Framps is a right sided CB.
I'll start by saying that Richards has been our most consistant CB this season "IMHO" Frampton is left footed and I think the CB position is the worst to play wrong footed. Lawrence has not been up to scratch this season and he would be backup for me. I would have to go with King/Richards or Frampton/Richards.
I agree regarding Richards being our most consistant so far. I think this showed last week when as soon as he went off, we looked fragile at the back. For a CB Richards is still fairly young at 25, so I think he'll still improve. I'd like to see King/Richards, but if not Frampton/Richards
It seems to me there are two scenarios to consider. Scenario A would be the best pairing to achieve promotion. If and when that aim becomes unrealistic then Scenario B would be to build a new pairing for the longer term. The two scenarios are very different and would involve different players. Under Scenario A we have the players mentioned above, all of whom have obvious shortcomings although we should remember that for the first few games the pairing of Lawrence and Frampton looked unassailable. The problem is that Frampton has looked awful and slow in his last two league appearances at Wimbledon and against Northampton, as you get older form does not return so easily but he may still come good. Lawrence must be the club's star performer over the last 12 months and in his case he recovered from his shocker at Wimbledon but there is no escaping the fact that he is 38 at the end of the season so he is only a short term consideration and he might have to fill in at right back, which, in case people forget is where he has spent most of his career. Richards has his advocates and he deserves credit for managing to eliminate the crass errors that have been his hallmark for the last 3 years. But the problem with Richards which will never go away is the lack of skill with first touch and distribution. The team in August indicated Hessy's view that Richards is just not good enough and he is probably right. Turning to King it would be delightful to dream about a return to 2008/9 form and fitness but the evidence is the opposite and players just do not come back after 2 years out. Sadly, at the end of last season Macclesfield revealed just how much speed he had lost and his loan to bottom team Plymouth achieved 6 starts but only 3 appearances of 90 mins. Injuries might give the guy a chance to prove the realists wrong but the most likely outcome must be a testimonial before the end of the season and it is false hope to plan for the future with him in the team. So what about scenario B if it becomes clear that promotion is off the agenda? In that case the previously mentioned quartet would probably move to the sidelines. Lewis Montrose and Charlie Lee would become top candidates and it would be sensible to test the highly rated Callum Davies and if his confidence is not completely shattered, Matt Fish who is reported to be a capable central defender. Good teams are built around the central defence pairing and Montrose is the strongest long term candidate....but can he improve that first touch and make the role his own?
bristol407, I don't know if your name suggests you live in Bristol, and if you do whether you get to see many games, Lawrence and Frampton have both been poor this season, indeed the constant shirt pulling to compensate for lack of speed has cost several freekick/goals. Distribution from Lawrence has been more hoofball than Richards, in fact when Richards suffered the injury last week it was when he was attacking in the opponents half and beating 3 defenders.
The conundrum is not only the defence but the rest of the team when everyone's fit,and assuming we've still got Kuffour. Where will Birchall fit in when he's back? What about all the mid fielders we've got? And that's without the youngsters coming through. Hess should have an abundant of riches in a couple of months,so there should be no excuse for under performing.
Grumpy a Bristol407 is a rare high performance car made about 50 years ago. I will resist comparisons of the car to me, Lawrence or Richards (although it is the sort of car a King drives) but in answer to your question I rarely miss a match, home or away. The best spell of distribution this season by any defender was Lawrence's half hour at right back on Saturday but I think it can be difficult for anyone at the back to avoid some long ball with a midfield which does not make itself available.
