andersj
Nick Powell Expert
I looked through the list of center backs brought in by Ferguson and I noticed most of them that we would consider a success where between the age of 24 and 27, and quite experienced, at the time they arrived.
Reflecting on it, it appears obvious that having a mature and calm character at the back is invaluable for a team looking to compete. You rarely get that from players at a very young age. Furthermore, playing as a central defender is a brains game. A player need minutes to get the type of experience where he almost instinctively can sense and smell dangers. And you probably need to fail a few times.
The problem at Man Utd is the scrutiny you get when you make a mistake. Players need to be very level-headed and mature to handle that well. I remember Ben Foster saying that the pressure of playing at Man Utd was even thougher than playing for England. It is not a club for failing.
Several young center backs at Man Utd have failed to live up to their talents. Quite a few of them ended up looking insecure and almost mentally fragile. Quite the opposite of what you look for in a defender. A center back probably have to be very, very good/talented and have a special type of ego and arrogance to handle the pressure at Man Utd at a very young age. That makes me worry about Tuanzebe. He seems like a great talent and character, but I worry that talent cant make up for lack of minutes and a good atmosphere to get experience.
Dunk and Maguire is probably the two best young english center backs today and both of them played in the Championship at 23!
Reflecting on it, it appears obvious that having a mature and calm character at the back is invaluable for a team looking to compete. You rarely get that from players at a very young age. Furthermore, playing as a central defender is a brains game. A player need minutes to get the type of experience where he almost instinctively can sense and smell dangers. And you probably need to fail a few times.
The problem at Man Utd is the scrutiny you get when you make a mistake. Players need to be very level-headed and mature to handle that well. I remember Ben Foster saying that the pressure of playing at Man Utd was even thougher than playing for England. It is not a club for failing.
Several young center backs at Man Utd have failed to live up to their talents. Quite a few of them ended up looking insecure and almost mentally fragile. Quite the opposite of what you look for in a defender. A center back probably have to be very, very good/talented and have a special type of ego and arrogance to handle the pressure at Man Utd at a very young age. That makes me worry about Tuanzebe. He seems like a great talent and character, but I worry that talent cant make up for lack of minutes and a good atmosphere to get experience.
Dunk and Maguire is probably the two best young english center backs today and both of them played in the Championship at 23!