See I'd say it was completely the opposite Northampton. For nearly two seasons Martin got enormous flak for being a CB, all the time on here people were complaining he was a RB, that he must be Hughton or Adams' lovechild, that neither of them were standing up to him and making him play RB where he should, that he was weak and constantly made mistakes. It's only recently that there has been a change in general opinion I think. The fact remains, to my mind, that the problem is he had such a successful history at RB with us under Lambert. If we had bought him this summer, I do not doubt for a minute that we would all be dancing at the fact we had signed one of the Championship team of the season CBs (which, let's face it, for all its problems is way more objective than here), who was a mobile quick, ball-playing CB comfortable on the ball and with the ability to score a goal. The very definition of what everyone seems to say we need. He's now repeatedly getting our team's best ranked scorings on all the objective measures (even before he scored the goals). So yes, he makes mistakes (way fewer than Bassong, incidentally, but no-one likes to mention that) and yes, he has the glaring shortcoming of not having a lot of height and therefore being in danger of getting bullied by big forwards. But then Coloccini and Puyol (to name but a couple) had that, and yet I imagine in their heyday we'd want either of those players in an instant. But remember, this is the PL. He's better designed for the sorts of strikers we faced. Do you remember the days when we had a big lumbering CB in Elliott Ward? Won every header, but got turned inside out more regularly than my socks.
Bassong causes me to get more nervous than Rusty does, but as Bassong has always been a CB, was signed for a lot of money and has played for a couple of big clubs he seems apparently immune from any criticism from some of our fans, who just accept that because of those reasons I listed above that he is in a different class to Rusty. It's always Rusty who supposedly makes all the "silly mistakes", but I never hear anyone on here suggesting that Bassong makes just as many, if not more, which he does in my opinion. Totally agree with what Rob says, and see the whole Rusty issue as another example of where some fans have just made up their mind and won't shift on it, despite the fact that the stats suggest that they are wrong. I just wish more fans could be more open minded and judge players on what they actually see rather than be so blinkered and stubborn in their views, ah well.
Some excellent points Munky and I think Martin reads the game well and so is often in a position to block an attempt on goal. I agree that most fans (myself included) like to think of him at RB and can't/won't change their view!!!! They both (and the rest of the team) need to stay alert at set pieces, as I think most of the goals we've conceded this season have come from corners or free kicks
Staying alert at set pieces is our biggest problem at the moment. And it has been Tettey (who I assume cannot head the ball at all) and other midfielders and our fullbacks who are letting us down there too
For all his faults seb is a dominant header of a ball and people see that as a key component of being a top centre half. For all his qualities rusty is weak in the air and this stands out. I personally think he makes fewer howlers than seb and he is way way better on the ball. Every time seb gets under pressure from a forward it is a disaster waiting to happen. As a pairing they do compliment each other somewhat and bluntly the quality of defender who has sebs physicality and Rusty's positioning and skill tends to play in the champions league rather than at carrow road.
And as if he's dancing to our tune: http://www.pinkun.com/opinion/time_...on_russell_martin_as_a_centre_back_1_4247995? And Bassong on his teammate (not so serious!): http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/...rwich_city_sidekick_russell_martin_1_4248443?
Yes I remember Elliot Ward he was good when strength was required but when we needed speed it was worrying. I found people criticise the manager for playing Rusty as centre back rather than him as player. I'm a believer that players can work and improve on parts of their game but at the same time think that everyone in the squad should be challenged and have to compete for their place in the team. Bassong can be dangerous especially when he runs up the pitch with the ball but when his given the right direction he can be a solid defender, Rusty worries me on set pieces he loses his marker or ends up facing the wrong way if he works on that side of the game his sorted. The main concern I have about both centre backs is when they play the ball out the back, all players misplace passes from time to time it's part of the game, but when you're a centre back you need to be extra careful as one dodgy pass can be fatal, we could argue the toss and say they're isolated and the midfield or fullbacks are not giving them options, but I'd rather see them put the ball out on those situations. I do believe though they have improved vastly under Alex Neil but they need competition.
