Match Day Thread Time to look at our defence 2023/2024

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mighty_stevie_g said:
We have. Which is ok as well, this is the Premier League - chances will be conceded in every game, by every team.

Thought VVD was exceptional vs Bournemouth and just got one wrong v Newcastle, 50% of the time (rightly or wrongly), that challenge would've been yellow.
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I thought Virgil was gash last season, but he's improved greatly this term, that tackle apart. He's lost at least a yard of speed though, and more importantly he's reluctant to stretch since his injury. Big fellers like him and Rio do lose speed in their 30's though, so I don't know how much is down to Pickford. His 60 yard passes are still there, his leadership, his reading the game and so forth. But if we continue to try and play high line without Konate's pace he's only got another season, two at max left in him. We needed his replacement this summer, tbh, and if Mo goes in January I'd say we need two FAST Cb's with the money, not a replacement for Mo (unless it's Mbappe).

We missed a trick with Gvardiol IMO - if we had £111m to blow on Caicedo, we had £90m to outbid City for a player who made it achingly obvious he wanted to come to us.
 
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The IncREDibles said:
I think the Fabinho and Hendo transfers ****ed things up for us this Sumner in that we had to do a complete midfield rebuild, so there was some sense in not changing too much at the back as well, even though it does need a refresh.
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I agree and no longer agree. I think we've got shut of creaking old legs that seriously helps us.

szoboszlai purchase makes henderson a nobrainer. he seemed to be totally disinterested in doing the harder job of being a proper 6 rather than run about where ever he liked.

I am not sure about macallister being the 6 but with endo and bajcetic I hope we can get by very well especially xonsidering how creaky fabinho was.

gravenberch and endo imo are the reaction.
i think klopp had macallister at lcm but he's now bought gravenberch late on as the option there. they've even started comparing to windypops.

Best case

Szoboszlai macallister gravenberch

and it all works brilliantly.

but we've now got options to move macallister and play endo or bajectic also.

then we've Jones and Elliott to come in as hg options.

I do feel this will benefit massively in the mid to long term and it's down to how fast it all gels.

I feel its grossly unfair to the back 5 to be getting severe criticism for being around from 2019 as well.

alisson is the world's best keeper. the end
trent is 24.
Robertson is 29 so not exactly ancient
yes gomez has had a hard time but he's still actually youngis

its vvd, the best header of the ball in the prem getting it in the neck.

I really think the side has improved. if we can take 8 out of 12 in the next 4 games I think we will fly then til Christmas.
 
Most people think we are going to struggle after the departure of Henderson and Fabinho, we are somehow lucky that our new signing are doing above average.
 
I think it’s like a lot of things when we were brilliant the team worked great from front to back. So VVD and rest of defence was always great but he was never the best thing since sliced bread but he and they looked even better because had 3 players up top pressing brilliantly followed by 3 midfielders doing **** tonne of work in front of them.


You lose that press up top as well as that ability of the midfield to close down, meaning oppo midfielders have more time to play dangerous passes behind or into players in more space and it exposes the defence more.

Think it’s why our midfield was so massively underrated and it shows that when the drop off happens there has such a massive impact at both ends of the pitch.
 
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right now we have the new torres and Gerrard in the side (ahem) plus mo salah plus a players who's better than saurez with ball at feet (diaz)

we've prime alisson and prime trent as well.

tbh if we don't finish 4th against this chelsea, utd and Newcastle sides it'll be a travesty.
 
InBiscanWeTrust said:
I think it’s like a lot of things when we were brilliant the team worked great from front to back. So VVD and rest of defence was always great but he was never the best thing since sliced bread but he and they looked even better because had 3 players up top pressing brilliantly followed by 3 midfielders doing **** tonne of work in front of them.


You lose that press up top as well as that ability of the midfield to close down, meaning oppo midfielders have more time to play dangerous passes behind or into players in more space and it exposes the defence more.

Think it’s why our midfield was so massively underrated and it shows that when the drop off happens there has such a massive impact at both ends of the pitch.
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Agree largely but I would also say that VVD is the best thing since sliced bread. He is arguably the best CB I have ever seen, and we instantly saw an improvement since he arrived.
 
Evil Roy Slade said:
I thought Virgil was gash last season, but he's improved greatly this term, that tackle apart. He's lost at least a yard of speed though, and more importantly he's reluctant to stretch since his injury. Big fellers like him and Rio do lose speed in their 30's though, so I don't know how much is down to Pickford. His 60 yard passes are still there, his leadership, his reading the game and so forth. But if we continue to try and play high line without Konate's pace he's only got another season, two at max left in him. We needed his replacement this summer, tbh, and if Mo goes in January I'd say we need two FAST Cb's with the money, not a replacement for Mo (unless it's Mbappe).

We missed a trick with Gvardiol IMO - if we had £111m to blow on Caicedo, we had £90m to outbid City for a player who made it achingly obvious he wanted to come to us.
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Maybe we tried but he'd already set his mind on Man City...
 
Zanjinho said:
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shame they put most midfielders in the wrong places.

gravenberch played Central of the 3 at ajax and would be lcm for us.

we will have to wait and see for endo v macallister for 6 now.

also gomez should be at lcb reserve not matip but he covers all 4 back line positio s somewhat.
 
hmm, where's the "best keeper in the World" on this list?

THE BEST FIFA MEN'S KEEPER SHORTLIST

Yassine Bounou (Sevilla/Al Hilal & Morocco)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid & Belgium)
Ederson (Manchester City & Brazil)
ANDRE ONANA (INTER/UNITED & CAMEROON)
Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona & Germany)
 
Diego said:
hmm, where's the "best keeper in the World" on this list?

THE BEST FIFA MEN'S KEEPER SHORTLIST

Yassine Bounou (Sevilla/Al Hilal & Morocco)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid & Belgium)
Ederson (Manchester City & Brazil)
ANDRE ONANA (INTER/UNITED & CAMEROON)
Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona & Germany)
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He's not on it.
 
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what's deigo's problem now?

doesn't he know that's the fifa grossly overpaid and **** keeper list.

you only need look at it to realise that given courtois and ter stegen have been joined by the woefully inept onana.

the fact Emerson is on there with a Treble in his back pocket proves you just need to be massively over paid but also have to be **** to make that list.
 
I think the thing to remember about these awards it’s about where you finish and cups you win etc.

however, we were shocking for large parts of last season and Alison won us so many points when we deserved nothing.

I’m of the opinion that if Alison was in any of the sides that won things, and those that finished high up the table, he could do the same as those keepers and in some cases he would have been better than them.

Having said that, majority of the those keepers couldn’t have done what he did last season.
 
moreinjuredthanowen said:
what's deigo's problem now?

doesn't he know that's the fifa grossly overpaid and **** keeper list.

you only need look at it to realise that given courtois and ter stegen have been joined by the woefully inept onana.

the fact Emerson is on there with a Treble in his back pocket proves you just need to be massively over paid but also have to be **** to make that list.
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I don't think he made the list this year.
 
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