If not Ramos or Otamendi.....Then Which CB?

Sam

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Jones headed the ball onto Giroud's shin. It was brilliant defending. If it had been pretty much any other defender in world football, Arsenal would have scored. But yeah... let's laugh instead.
....They wouldn't have been on the floor in the first place?...
 

Dante

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....They wouldn't have been on the floor in the first place?...
Jones wasn't the only player who slipped during that game. It happens all the time. It's rare to see a recovery that effective, though.
 

starman

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The point of the thread was to try and suggest some other good candidates that we could go for, if you genuinely feel Vlaar is a good choice then fair enough, I just think he'd be a complete waste of time as he's injured, injury prone and not all that good, to me there is a big gap between Ramos and Vlaar, I am certain there are options in between like Stones, Laporte, Garay, Dragovic and Schar.
You just named a bunch of players who are unobtainable
Stones - Highly doubt he will leave this year
Laporte - signed a new contract only a month ago.
Schar - just signed for Hoffenheim, do not even rate him above Vlaar
Dragovic - Decent but have only seen him play two games.
Garay - Coming up 29, valued at 20m by Zenit.
 

Devil may care

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You just named a bunch of players who are unobtainable
Stones - Highly doubt he will leave this year
Laporte - signed a new contract only a month ago.
Schar - just signed for Hoffenheim, do not even rate him above Vlaar
Dragovic - Decent but have only seen him play two games.
Garay - Coming up 29, valued at 20m by Zenit.
I didn't realize Schar had moved but all of the rest are completely obtainable and all better than Vlaar.
 

RooneyLegend

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You just named a bunch of players who are unobtainable
Stones - Highly doubt he will leave this year
Laporte - signed a new contract only a month ago.
Schar - just signed for Hoffenheim, do not even rate him above Vlaar
Dragovic - Decent but have only seen him play two games.
Garay - Coming up 29, valued at 20m by Zenit.
None of those players are unobtainable. We're man united after all. Throw enough money at Everton they'll wilt. Laporte has a release clause, trigger it he's ours.
 

starman

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I didn't realize Schar had moved but all of the rest are completely obtainable and all better than Vlaar.
You just skipped over the fact Laporte signed a new contract in June.

Stones & Garay yes.

Cant say i watch much Ukrainian football, so cant really comment, but from i have seen of Dragovic is not much better than Vlaar. And rumors linked with him came from here..
 

starman

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None of those players are unobtainable. We're man united after all. Throw enough money at Everton they'll wilt. Laporte has a release clause, trigger it he's ours.
Of course they are, lets be realistic, one just signed for a new club and one has signed a new contract. I really dont think Stones will leave this year.
The only one i would like now is Garay, but at a decent price, dont want us chucking 20m at a soon to be 29 you old who has not been playing in any of the best leagues for the last 2 years
 

Dante

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Roll the vid back a bit & it'll show that it was his massive f*ck up that put him that position in the 1st place. Jones is always good for atleast one major f*ck up per match - sometimes more..
Giroud's leg was what brought down Jones. He was in the correct position and would have had the situation covered. Hardly a feck up. You can hear the Italian commentators' appreciation of what happened.
 

bucky

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You just named a bunch of players who are unobtainable
Stones - Highly doubt he will leave this year
Laporte - signed a new contract only a month ago.
Schar - just signed for Hoffenheim, do not even rate him above Vlaar
Dragovic - Decent but have only seen him play two games.
Garay - Coming up 29, valued at 20m by Zenit.
Stones will leave if Chelsea cough up the right amount of money. Laporte signing a new contract means little for his desire to stay there, it increased his buyout clause which we still could pay. Mustafi, N'Koulou, Jantschke, Hummels, Umtiti, de Vrij, Musacchio and Bell are all better players than Vlaar. There's also quite a lot of talented players, who could be better than him; Knoche, Süle, Velazquez, Romagnoli, Manolas and Maksimovic. Quite a few are gettable of that lot.
 
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DomesticTadpole

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You just skipped over the fact Laporte signed a new contract in June.

Stones & Garay yes.

Cant say i watch much Ukrainian football, so cant really comment, but from i have seen of Dragovic is not much better than Vlaar. And rumors linked with him came from here..
A lot think Laporte signed the contract to get his value back up to pre-euro slump value, not that he is desperate to stay at Bilbao.
 

starman

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Stones will leave if Chelsea cough up the right amount of money. Laporte signing a new contract means little for his desire to stay there, it increased his buyout clause which we still could pay for. Mustafi, N'Koulou, Jantschke, Hummels, Umtiti, de Vrij, Musacchio and Bell are all better players than Vlaar. There's also quite a lot of talented players, who could be better than him; Knoche, Süle, Velazquez, Romagnoli, Manolas and Maksimovic. Quite a few are gettable of that lot.
If Laporte wanted to leave, why bother signing it. Hes going to be there another year, so even entertaining the idea of getting him this year is a non starter. I see Stones staying at Everton for 1 more year regardless, he really should.
Of all those players you have listed, they are probably all better players that Vlaar. They all have attributes that Vlaar does not have, but in terms of being a defender first and foremost he is very solid and has PL experience to slot straight in. Before Mangala came to England 99% would have prefer him to Vlaar, but now i think that would have decrease quite a bit.

If we were not get World class defender who will go straight into the team and be the best CB and Vlaar was not injured for me it would be a no brainier on a free.
I would rather get solid defender with PL experience who would seemly integrate, than middle of the barrel player with potential who could take 6 months to settle.
And than go for a Stone or Laporte a year later with another full season under their belt(Stones does not even have that)
 

Devil may care

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You just skipped over the fact Laporte signed a new contract in June.

Stones & Garay yes.

Cant say i watch much Ukrainian football, so cant really comment, but from i have seen of Dragovic is not much better than Vlaar. And rumors linked with him came from here..
I didn't skip over it, his contract has a buyout clause that we can afford.

Actually the Dragovic rumours were also perpetuated by one of his team mates and he's much younger than Vlaar to give us a long term option in defense.
 

bucky

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If Laporte wanted to leave, why bother signing it. Hes going to be there another year, so even entertaining the idea of getting him this year is a non starter. I see Stones staying at Everton for 1 more year regardless, he really should.
Of all those players you have listed, they are probably all better players that Vlaar. They all have attributes that Vlaar does not have, but in terms of being a defender first and foremost he is very solid and has PL experience to slot straight in. Before Mangala came to England 99% would have prefer him to Vlaar, but now i think that would have decrease quite a bit.

If we were not get World class defender who will go straight into the team and be the best CB and Vlaar was not injured for me it would be a no brainier on a free.
I would rather get solid defender with PL experience who would seemly integrate, than middle of the barrel player with potential who could take 6 months to settle.
And than go for a Stone or Laporte a year later with another full season under their belt(Stones does not even have that)
PL experience is useless, if he isn't able to stay fit and is actually not that good. As a defender at United and in van Gaal's system or philosophy you need to be able to do more than defend. If van Gaal thought he'd be good enough for United, he'd already be at the club.

Regarding Laporte:

A lot think Laporte signed the contract to get his value back up to pre-euro slump value, not that he is desperate to stay at Bilbao.
 

ivaldo

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Id look at that Mike Smalling, he sounds good.
 

starman

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PL experience is useless, if he isn't able to stay fit and is actually not that good. As a defender at United and in van Gaal's system or philosophy you need to be able to do more than defend. If van Gaal thought he'd be good enough for United, he'd already be at the club.

Regarding Laporte:
Well by the same virtue Laporte would be at United already if all we needed to do was meet his release clause.

And regarding Van Gaal system, thats nonsense, people buy into this too much, it might have been more present when he managed European clubs but he is a lot more flexible. Fellaini for a start would not have got a look in. And players like Vidic in his prime might not even have played.
 

bucky

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Well by the same virtue Laporte would be at United already if all we needed to do was meet his release clause.

And regarding Van Gaal system, thats nonsense, people buy into this too much, it might have been more present when he managed European clubs but he is a lot more flexible. Fellaini for a start would not have got a look in. And players like Vidic in his prime might not even have played.
Not really, since Athletic are known for not making it easy. It's not as simple as to just pay them the release clause.

With system and philosophy I meant that a defender needs to be good at passing and he needs to contribute to the build-up, especially against teams defending deeper. It isn't about pure defending for him.
 

worldinmotion66

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Roll the vid back a bit & it'll show that it was his massive f*ck up that put him that position in the 1st place. Jones is always good for atleast one major f*ck up per match - sometimes more..
He was in the wrong position to start with to be fair, but one of his strongest qualities is his recovery pace - it would be nice if he needed to use it less but I think positioning can improve with experience. He just needs games and he'll become a great defender.

I think our defence is massively underrated on here, we aren't far behind the other big teams in the Premier League and with far less consistency in our back line. Chelsea conceded just 5 less than us last season, Arsenal just 1 less, and City 1 more. You can argue that De Gea rescued us a lot last season, but he only made 8 more saves than Courtois, and just 2 more than Hart.

We aren't that far behind and with a bit of consistency in our line up, we would improve. If the right quality of defender isn't available, we shouldn't even bother (But I do like Stones and would hate to see him go to a rival)
 

Dante

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He was in the wrong position to start with to be fair, but one of his strongest qualities is his recovery pace - it would be nice if he needed to use it less but I think positioning can improve with experience. He just needs games and he'll become a great defender.

I think our defence is massively underrated on here, we aren't far behind the other big teams in the Premier League and with far less consistency in our back line. Chelsea conceded just 5 less than us last season, Arsenal just 1 less, and City 1 more. You can argue that De Gea rescued us a lot last season, but he only made 8 more saves than Courtois, and just 2 more than Hart.

We aren't that far behind and with a bit of consistency in our line up, we would improve. If the right quality of defender isn't available, we shouldn't even bother (But I do like Stones and would hate to see him go to a rival)
No he wasn't. He was between Giroud and the ball, and running just ahead of his man. He couldn't have been positioned any better. If Giroud's leg hadn't knocked him down, he'd have ushered the ball out comfortably.
 

worldinmotion66

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No he wasn't. He was between Giroud and the ball, and running just ahead of his man. He couldn't have been positioned any better. If Giroud's leg hadn't knocked him down, he'd have ushered the ball out comfortably.
Exactly the wrong position to be when the ball is passed over your head (see below). He needs to be goal side of the attacker.



His recovery pace allows him to get back into position, then he stumbles or is tripped, then he scrambles and improvises brilliantly.
 

Dante

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Exactly the wrong position to be when the ball is passed over your head (see below). He needs to be goal side of the attacker.



His recovery pace allows him to get back into position, then he stumbles or is tripped, then he scrambles and improvises brilliantly.
Still shots don't prove anything. Watch the clip. Giroud wasn't getting that ball until he tripped Jones up. And being goal side isn't necessary in that situation. Jones has the run of the ball. Being goal side would have put him out of position.
 

starman

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Not really, since Athletic are known for not making it easy. It's not as simple as to just pay them the release clause.

With system and philosophy I meant that a defender needs to be good at passing and he needs to contribute to the build-up, especially against teams defending deeper. It isn't about pure defending for him.
But if that was truly the case Van Gaal would not have taken Vlaar to the world cup and played him in all the games.

If Laporte release is met, there is no problem buying him. This is of course he actually wanted to leave for us.
 
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worldinmotion66

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Still shots don't prove anything. Watch the clip. Giroud wasn't getting that ball until he tripped Jones up. And being goal side isn't necessary in that situation. Jones has the run of the ball. Being goal side would have put him out of position.
Are you serious? Jones is out of position to start with but corrects that because he is faster than Giroud, and Giroud tries to control the ball rather than running onto it. I'm not saying Giroud was going to get the ball, but Walcott for example may have.

The bold part is just nonsensical.
 

Dante

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Are you serious? Jones is out of position to start with but corrects that because he is faster than Giroud, and Giroud tries to control the ball rather than running onto it. I'm not saying Giroud was going to get the ball, but Walcott for example may have.

The bold part is just nonsensical.
Your entire post is nonsensical. It sounds like you're using buzz phrases just for the sake of it.

Watch the clip. Jones follows the flight of the ball the whole way. If he'd been goal side, Giroud would have headed the ball back to a teammate. I can't believe you're arguing to the contrary.
 

Red Hand Devil

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Your entire post is nonsensical. It sounds like you're using buzz phrases just for the sake of it.

Watch the clip. Jones follows the flight of the ball the whole way. If he'd been goal side, Giroud would have headed the ball back to a teammate. I can't believe you're arguing to the contrary.
No offence mate, but i'd hazard a guess that you're in a massive minority on here regarding Jones' positioning there. It looked like Jones was tryin to play off-side & was caught out, but saved his arse by his bravery..
 

Dante

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No offence mate, but i'd hazard a guess that you're in a massive minority on here regarding Jones' positioning there. It looked like Jones was tryin to play off-side & was caught out, but saved his arse by his bravery..
None taken.

Jones has the flight of the ball the entire way. At every point, he's on the area of the pitch that Giroud would like to be in. Even at the end of the pass, Giroud has to kick through Jones to win the ball. The only 'mistake' the latter makes is when he slips.

I don't think it's fair to blame Smalling for messing up the offside trap, fwiw. That's where you want your covering defender to be.
 

worldinmotion66

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Your entire post is nonsensical. It sounds like you're using buzz phrases just for the sake of it.

Watch the clip. Jones follows the flight of the ball the whole way. If he'd been goal side, Giroud would have headed the ball back to a teammate. I can't believe you're arguing to the contrary.
So you think you should defend the space rather than the attacker?

In my opinion, Giroud can head it back all he wants, that is far less dangerous than being caught out by a ball over head and the attacker being through on goal. Jones should back himself to win the ball in the air anyway.

For what it's worth, I play centre back, and I've always been taught to keep the ball in front of my eye line and stay goal side of attackers. That way, you can step up at the right moment to play offside if need be, or follow the attacker and deal with the danger. Jones has no idea where Giroud is while he's looking up and running back, he's put himself in a difficult position needlessly and almost paid for it.
 

Red Hand Devil

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None taken.

Jones has the flight of the ball the entire way. At every point, he's on the area of the pitch that Giroud would like to be in. Even at the end of the pass, Giroud has to kick through Jones to win the ball. The only 'mistake' the latter makes is when he slips.

I don't think it's fair to blame Smalling for messing up the offside trap, fwiw. That's where you want your covering defender to be.
It's all about opinions man & how we see things individually. It would be boring if we all agreed with each other all the time.:)

I think maybe you should walk away from this topic though. You'll just go round in circles with folk & not to mention - it could begin to do your head in also mate. Been there many times.. :angel:
 
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I'd be a lot more comfortable with our current centre-back options if it is true that De Gea is staying for another year. The experience of Schweinsteiger in front of them is a positive too. Maybe Jones will finally have a breakthrough season. If Smalling can form a consistent partnership with somebody then we will be much better thank last season.
Smalling-Rojo looked promising before injury seperated them