So the Smalling thread has been an interesting read. The forum seems to be split quite equally between those who see the logic in him staying and being part of our rotation next season and those who see him as a liability whose time at the club is up. My question always pertained to the fact that the money it would cost to get a defender in with Smalling's physical attributes and also the technical ability we yearn for is going to end up costing us north of £50m for a bona fide top-notch CB as you're talking about either getting in the upper echelon of established CB's (Koulibaly), or taking a risk on touted young talent (Upamecano, Pau Torres or Badiashile etc.) who may ultimately not settle in English football or realise their potential. The former is supposedly the sure thing, and really expensive, and the latter is not guaranteed to come good by any stretch of the imagination.
£50m+ is a hell of a lot of money in a transfer window where you've already (let's assume) purchased a marquee talent, and one would think that will be allocated to one position or other and not both, unless we unearth a hidden gem or manage to get a player in on a free or a loan.
There doesn't seem to be much talk about our defensive midfield on the site - certainly not relative to the gaping void we have in the position when Matic doesn't play. Trying to shoehorn two pro-active central midfielders into the role is a very bad fit - neither Fred nor McTominay are at their best trying to sit back and read the play. Neither of them can even hold in the role for long before the urge to go walkabout (towards the ball and action outside of their quadrant) takes them. They are midfielders who have proven their worth to us in central midfield positions, but neither of them have a clue when it comes to anchoring a midfield - they are not stand-ins for Mactic or players we should expect to give anything more than 5/10 performances as cover there, ergo, we need another defensive midfielder in our squad, urgently. If we want Pogba and Bruno out there, they need an anchoring midfielder behind them as a proactive CM is simply going to abandon his position under little to no provocation as his natural instincts determine he should.
In terms of squad health and with full regard for Matic's age and the challenge for him to play multiple, high intensity games over a short period of time, there needs to be an understudy to him - or a player he is an understudy to - sharing the role. It's perhaps a little unfair on one from Fred and McTominay that they've become surplus now we've got Pogba back, but ultimately, one from the two should be Pogba's stand-in providing energy and thrust from the 2-way CM position. It's either that, or both playing when Bruno or Pogba need a rest with one of the aforementioned then ahead of them.
Is midfield, as summarised above, not more of a pressing issue for us than CB when Smalling is back there making up the numbers? Maguire, Smalling, Lindelof and Tuanzebe makes for 4 players into 2 spots, as opposed to Mactic and nobody. Shouldn't that determine the priority or, by your hand, would you look to address the centrebacks over the defensive midfield in this team going into next season?
£50m+ is a hell of a lot of money in a transfer window where you've already (let's assume) purchased a marquee talent, and one would think that will be allocated to one position or other and not both, unless we unearth a hidden gem or manage to get a player in on a free or a loan.
There doesn't seem to be much talk about our defensive midfield on the site - certainly not relative to the gaping void we have in the position when Matic doesn't play. Trying to shoehorn two pro-active central midfielders into the role is a very bad fit - neither Fred nor McTominay are at their best trying to sit back and read the play. Neither of them can even hold in the role for long before the urge to go walkabout (towards the ball and action outside of their quadrant) takes them. They are midfielders who have proven their worth to us in central midfield positions, but neither of them have a clue when it comes to anchoring a midfield - they are not stand-ins for Mactic or players we should expect to give anything more than 5/10 performances as cover there, ergo, we need another defensive midfielder in our squad, urgently. If we want Pogba and Bruno out there, they need an anchoring midfielder behind them as a proactive CM is simply going to abandon his position under little to no provocation as his natural instincts determine he should.
In terms of squad health and with full regard for Matic's age and the challenge for him to play multiple, high intensity games over a short period of time, there needs to be an understudy to him - or a player he is an understudy to - sharing the role. It's perhaps a little unfair on one from Fred and McTominay that they've become surplus now we've got Pogba back, but ultimately, one from the two should be Pogba's stand-in providing energy and thrust from the 2-way CM position. It's either that, or both playing when Bruno or Pogba need a rest with one of the aforementioned then ahead of them.
Is midfield, as summarised above, not more of a pressing issue for us than CB when Smalling is back there making up the numbers? Maguire, Smalling, Lindelof and Tuanzebe makes for 4 players into 2 spots, as opposed to Mactic and nobody. Shouldn't that determine the priority or, by your hand, would you look to address the centrebacks over the defensive midfield in this team going into next season?