Potential CB Options

red thru&thru

Full Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2004
Messages
7,657
Simply put, Maguire is our best cb. More than just ability, here's available every game. Can we say that about any other of our cb's?

CB is about pairs. Just like in midfield & attack. He needs a reliable cb next to him.
 

VivaRonaldo85

Full Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2018
Messages
1,984
I can’t help but watch that defensive shambles last night (in particular in the 95th minute) and I see that type of incident being snuffed out before it ever escalated by Eric Bailly. You just feel if he is partnering Maguire last night, he clears his lines with a good header or at worse is there to block the shot. The issue comes in that he isn’t available to be there.... again. Sadly we cannot forge a partnership with him in the plan as he is too fragile and has an injury record of the very worst. That CB position to partner Maguire with someone who has the same attributes of Bailly but crucially has a sound fitness record, is an essential signing for our team if we want to move forward again.
 

Acole9

Outstanding
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
12,503
Simply put, Maguire is our best cb. More than just ability, here's available every game. Can we say that about any other of our cb's?

CB is about pairs. Just like in midfield & attack. He needs a reliable cb next to him.
Exactly, this couldn't have been put any better. All these comments about Maguire being the problem and we need to get rid of him are laughable.

He plays nearly every match, I think if he got an injury or suspension (Hopefully he doesn't) people would soon miss him.
 

DickDastardly

New Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2015
Messages
7,298
Location
Mean machine 00
We are doing the same excuses over and over again with all our underperforming players.

Maguire needs a ............. (Insert by choice) CB by his side.

Pogba needs ............ midfielder to play good.

Martial needs to be given ......... (Time, confidence, you name it).

The fact is, we have a lot of underperforming, sub par players in a lot of vital positions.

Our GK makes too many mistakes.
Our CB pairing is not comanding, two of them are injury prone, while the only one who isn't, our captain, probably isn't good enough.
Our attackers are misfiring.
We can go on and on and on.

Potential CB options are limited, you either have to groom one in the academy (something we haven't done in a lot of time), or we have to find gems in the market.

Or the last ditch, pour millions on a proven CB.
That hasn't worked for us either.

I have no idea how to solve our defensive problem.
 

VivaRonaldo85

Full Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2018
Messages
1,984
We are doing the same excuses over and over again with all our underperforming players.

Maguire needs a ............. (Insert by choice) CB by his side.

Pogba needs ............ midfielder to play good.

Martial needs to be given ......... (Time, confidence, you name it).

The fact is, we have a lot of underperforming, sub par players in a lot of vital positions.

Our GK makes too many mistakes.
Our CB pairing is not comanding, two of them are injury prone, while the only one who isn't, our captain, probably isn't good enough.
Our attackers are misfiring.
We can go on and on and on.

Potential CB options are limited, you either have to groom one in the academy (something we haven't done in a lot of time), or we have to find gems in the market.

Or the last ditch, pour millions on a proven CB.
That hasn't worked for us either.

I have no idea how to solve our defensive problem.
Man City had a similar issue, they splurged £60million on Dias and that will be the catalyst to winning them the league this season. Liverpool did the same with VVD and that was the catalyst for their league title. We did it with Maguire but.... well.... erm
 

hubbuh

New Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
6,110
Location
UK, hun?
Simply put, Maguire is our best cb. More than just ability, here's available every game. Can we say that about any other of our cb's?

CB is about pairs. Just like in midfield & attack. He needs a reliable cb next to him.
Being reliable and available isn't enough. He genuinely doesn't seem like he enjoys defending at United, he constantly has a nervous energy. It's like he wants to get through the game as fast as possible and get it out of the way. Lack of organisation, lack of fight (DCL spinning him and leaving Maguire thrashing his arms looking for a non-existent foul was damning), lack of communication. It's endless, really. When you compare it to the likes of Vidic, Ferdinand, and even Bailly who all reveled in defending for Man Utd, it seems increasingly obvious that Maguire's mentality is probably not up to it.
 

Roboc7

Full Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
6,561
Man City had a similar issue, they splurged £60million on Dias and that will be the catalyst to winning them the league this season. Liverpool did the same with VVD and that was the catalyst for their league title. We did it with Maguire but.... well.... erm
What a bargain Dias looks in comparison to Maguire. We’ve shot ourselves in the foot with Maguire, massively overspent on someone who is ok, not bad enough to get rid of but not good enough to compete.

Finding right partner may be tough, unless you are going to defend deep he is hard to play with.
 

red_de_pologne

Full Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
3,608
Location
Warsaw, Poland
We are doing the same excuses over and over again with all our underperforming players.

Maguire needs a ............. (Insert by choice) CB by his side.

Pogba needs ............ midfielder to play good.

Martial needs to be given ......... (Time, confidence, you name it).

The fact is, we have a lot of underperforming, sub par players in a lot of vital positions.

Our GK makes too many mistakes.
Our CB pairing is not comanding, two of them are injury prone, while the only one who isn't, our captain, probably isn't good enough.
Our attackers are misfiring.
We can go on and on and on.

Potential CB options are limited, you either have to groom one in the academy (something we haven't done in a lot of time), or we have to find gems in the market.

Or the last ditch, pour millions on a proven CB.
That hasn't worked for us either.

I have no idea how to solve our defensive problem.
I wouldn't say our attack is misfiring, we just scored three good goals, we should've won the game comfortably if it wasn't for our defence
 

Matt851

Full Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
2,109
What a bargain Dias looks in comparison to Maguire. We’ve shot ourselves in the foot with Maguire, massively overspent on someone who is ok, not bad enough to get rid of but not good enough to compete.

Finding right partner may be tough, unless you are going to defend deep he is hard to play with.
Not sure it will be so difficult to find the right partner. We just need a quality defender with pace e.g. a better, fitter bailly
 

Roboc7

Full Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
6,561
Not sure it will be so difficult to find the right partner. We just need a quality defender with pace e.g. a better, fitter bailly
That’s the point though, they aren’t easy to find and because Maguire is so slow that narrows your options.

Guys like Upamecano and Konate are good way from being the finished article and people would quickly be calling them unreliable and making excuses for Maguire.

If Maguire was a good leader and organiser it would be less of a problem but he isn’t up to the job.
 

red thru&thru

Full Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2004
Messages
7,657
Being reliable and available isn't enough. He genuinely doesn't seem like he enjoys defending at United, he constantly has a nervous energy. It's like he wants to get through the game as fast as possible and get it out of the way. Lack of organisation, lack of fight (DCL spinning him and leaving Maguire thrashing his arms looking for a non-existent foul was damning), lack of communication. It's endless, really. When you compare it to the likes of Vidic, Ferdinand, and even Bailly who all reveled in defending for Man Utd, it seems increasingly obvious that Maguire's mentality is probably not up to it.
Guess it's all about opinions as I've never felt this about Maguire.

No it's enough to be reliable & available. However, this is the best we have at the moment. So before we even consider Maguires position, the other cb's issue needs to be resolved first and foremost.

As mentioned above, if Maguires is missing for a period of games, then we'd really know his real loss. Same thing when Shaw was missing last year, he was getting loads of abuse. When he was out, we missed him.
 

golden_blunder

Site admin. Manchester United fan
Staff
Joined
Jun 1, 2000
Messages
119,439
Location
Dublin, Ireland
I wouldn't say our attack is misfiring, we just scored three good goals, we should've won the game comfortably if it wasn't for our defence
Agreed. The midfielders are adding goals this season so if we could get one of the front 3 to consistently contribute 20+ goals we’d be contenders
 

MadDogg

Full Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
15,810
Location
Manchester Utd never lose, just run out of time
Simply put, Maguire is our best cb. More than just ability, here's available every game. Can we say that about any other of our cb's?

CB is about pairs. Just like in midfield & attack. He needs a reliable cb next to him.
Lindelof's available pretty much every match as well. They were both in the top six in terms of minutes played throughout all of Europe last season (Maguire was #1 but that was more because we refused to rest him rather than Lindelof missing games through injury). Lindelof has actually had a back problem for over a year now but has still been playing through the pain, with a few games recently the first time it's gotten bad enough that he's had to miss games. Once he actually gets a proper break for a while to give that time to heal properly (hopefully at the end of this season) he should be right.
 

Lee565

Full Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2019
Messages
4,978
If we were to get a top class keeper, defensive minded midfielder and 2 new centre backs we would surely be title contenders next season because scoring goals isn't the issue and that's without Greenwood and martial playing anywhere as good as they were last season.
 

sun_tzu

The Art of Bore
Joined
Aug 23, 2010
Messages
19,536
Location
Still waiting for the Youthquake
If we were to get a top class keeper, defensive minded midfielder and 2 new centre backs we would surely be title contenders next season because scoring goals isn't the issue and that's without Greenwood and martial playing anywhere as good as they were last season.
Yeah I mean putting 2 new centrebacks together with a new keeper behind them and a new midfielder just in front.... what could possibly go wrong... no risk at all there...
I'm guessing you probably expect us to get players from around Europe who don't even speak the same language let alone have any playing experience together and have them move their families and get used to a new country as well as the Premier league

Sounds crazy to me
 
Last edited:

Matt851

Full Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
2,109
Yeah I mean putting 2 new centrebacks together with a new keeper behind them and a new midfielder.... what could possibly go wrong... no risk at all there...
I'm guessing you probably expect us to get players from around Europe who don't even speak the same language let alone have any playing experience together and have them move their families and get used to a new country as well as the Premier league

Sounds crazy to me
Given that we couldnt even sign a right forward this summer it also seems implausible we would be capable of signing quality players in so many positions. Add to that the fact we already have players on big contracts at cb and gk then there is basically no chance of it happening. I just hope we get a new cb and dm
 

sun_tzu

The Art of Bore
Joined
Aug 23, 2010
Messages
19,536
Location
Still waiting for the Youthquake
Given that we couldnt even sign a right forward this summer it also seems implausible we would be capable of signing quality players in so many positions. Add to that the fact we already have players on big contracts at cb and gk then there is basically no chance of it happening. I just hope we get a new cb and dm
Yeah a cb who can challenge lindelof and a matic replacement ... not sure I expect much more than that ... though with woody who knows... but expectations as not high
 

MasterCode

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jan 13, 2021
Messages
130
A CB is one of the few positions you have to take whatever chance you get getting a "run of games" when you`re always making mistakes Smalling/Jones would get bashed for doesnt help the cause and post the PSG game he`s not had ONE good game
Maguire though was poor for that last goal more than the first which was 100% on De Gea but Axel`s in game management(plus AWB) just like other games was shocking you also cant deny that
Axel and Bailly are our better defenders who are so out of rhythm due to minutes they need time and patience. Believe it or not we have allowed Maguire to play himself into average form "many" times at United. There was a time everybody wanted him dropped he was making 2 mistakes a game and club and country. It wasn't "take your chance" for Harry Maguire we just had to wait till he became an "okay" CB, he's just not good enough.

Axel needs games as does Bailly it's not hard logic to understand. An inform and confident (and fit) Axel is better than Lindeloff, most people would agree that. A fit and inform Bailly is better than Maguire (most would admit that). All my argument is stating lets see how well they do as a partnership as they defend one on one situatuions better.

Not going to lambast deflections and fouls on De Gea and hold that against Axel, that sounds like an agenda.

Also not saying you're doing this but honestly what Axel is going through at our club sickens me. The scapegoating of black players in our fanbase HAS to be addressed, COWARDS behind keyboards. See it with Pogba, Martial, etc. If I could start a thread (still a newbie). We sweep it under the rug as fans and pretend we don't see the implicit biases when they happen.

Anyway listen I've said it before and I'll say it again we will win nothing elite and competitive with Maguire at the back for us. At best he may become one of those twilight CBs like Jonny Evans etc. But for now I can't see it. He's so poor at defending when isolated, this teams firepower needs competent CBs that don't need their hands held in one on one situatuions, and even set pieces etc something he is supposed to be good at he isn't as dominant as say a Kompany was for city. These are the levels I would expect from a CB captain at United.

You watch Liverpool last year Trent, Robbo, whoever could make mistakes didn't matter they had competent CBs to make up for them. Good centre halves are forgiving to their teams mistakes and attacking efforts even their full backs. Now the scousers don't have that Trent looks shakey.

Same thing with our centre halves, Maguire will never spark our team with that level of confidence. Our wingbacks midfielders etc aren't thinking "I'll tske this chance its okay Harry's at the back it goes wrong he'll tidy up", on the contrary I think its the opposite. He is not good enough lad, not where United are trying to get to.
 

gajender

Full Member
Joined
May 7, 2016
Messages
3,787
Axel and Bailly are our better defenders who are so out of rhythm due to minutes they need time and patience. Believe it or not we have allowed Maguire to play himself into average form "many" times at United. There was a time everybody wanted him dropped he was making 2 mistakes a game and club and country. It wasn't "take your chance" for Harry Maguire we just had to wait till he became an "okay" CB, he's just not good enough.

Axel needs games as does Bailly it's not hard logic to understand. An inform and confident (and fit) Axel is better than Lindeloff, most people would agree that. A fit and inform Bailly is better than Maguire (most would admit that). All my argument is stating lets see how well they do as a partnership as they defend one on one situatuions better.

Not going to lambast deflections and fouls on De Gea and hold that against Axel, that sounds like an agenda.

Also not saying you're doing this but honestly what Axel is going through at our club sickens me. The scapegoating of black players in our fanbase HAS to be addressed, COWARDS behind keyboards. See it with Pogba, Martial, etc. If I could start a thread (still a newbie). We sweep it under the rug as fans and pretend we don't see the implicit biases when they happen.

Anyway listen I've said it before and I'll say it again we will win nothing elite and competitive with Maguire at the back for us. At best he may become one of those twilight CBs like Jonny Evans etc. But for now I can't see it. He's so poor at defending when isolated, this teams firepower needs competent CBs that don't need their hands held in one on one situatuions, and even set pieces etc something he is supposed to be good at he isn't as dominant as say a Kompany was for city. These are the levels I would expect from a CB captain at United.

You watch Liverpool last year Trent, Robbo, whoever could make mistakes didn't matter they had competent CBs to make up for them. Good centre halves are forgiving to their teams mistakes and attacking efforts even their full backs. Now the scousers don't have that Trent looks shakey.

Same thing with our centre halves, Maguire will never spark our team with that level of confidence. Our wingbacks midfielders etc aren't thinking "I'll tske this chance its okay Harry's at the back it goes wrong he'll tidy up", on the contrary I think its the opposite. He is not good enough lad, not where United are trying to get to.
Sheer conjecture and absolute nonsense Tuanzebe is yet to show he belongs at premier league level let alone better than Lindelof who I admit should be Upgraded with a better player but Unfortunately Tuanzebe has shown nothing so far to suggest he should have future beyond summer here.
Bailly top level is certainly better than our other options but he simply can't be relied upon due to fitness and also he isn't the savior you are making him out to be and when has Tuanzebe shown he is better one on one defender then others. You are projecting how you want Tuanzebe and Bailly to be rather how they actually are.
 

golden_blunder

Site admin. Manchester United fan
Staff
Joined
Jun 1, 2000
Messages
119,439
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Axel and Bailly are our better defenders who are so out of rhythm due to minutes they need time and patience. Believe it or not we have allowed Maguire to play himself into average form "many" times at United. There was a time everybody wanted him dropped he was making 2 mistakes a game and club and country. It wasn't "take your chance" for Harry Maguire we just had to wait till he became an "okay" CB, he's just not good enough.

Axel needs games as does Bailly it's not hard logic to understand. An inform and confident (and fit) Axel is better than Lindeloff, most people would agree that. A fit and inform Bailly is better than Maguire (most would admit that). All my argument is stating lets see how well they do as a partnership as they defend one on one situatuions better.

Not going to lambast deflections and fouls on De Gea and hold that against Axel, that sounds like an agenda.

Also not saying you're doing this but honestly what Axel is going through at our club sickens me. The scapegoating of black players in our fanbase HAS to be addressed, COWARDS behind keyboards. See it with Pogba, Martial, etc. If I could start a thread (still a newbie). We sweep it under the rug as fans and pretend we don't see the implicit biases when they happen.

Anyway listen I've said it before and I'll say it again we will win nothing elite and competitive with Maguire at the back for us. At best he may become one of those twilight CBs like Jonny Evans etc. But for now I can't see it. He's so poor at defending when isolated, this teams firepower needs competent CBs that don't need their hands held in one on one situatuions, and even set pieces etc something he is supposed to be good at he isn't as dominant as say a Kompany was for city. These are the levels I would expect from a CB captain at United.

You watch Liverpool last year Trent, Robbo, whoever could make mistakes didn't matter they had competent CBs to make up for them. Good centre halves are forgiving to their teams mistakes and attacking efforts even their full backs. Now the scousers don't have that Trent looks shakey.

Same thing with our centre halves, Maguire will never spark our team with that level of confidence. Our wingbacks midfielders etc aren't thinking "I'll tske this chance its okay Harry's at the back it goes wrong he'll tidy up", on the contrary I think its the opposite. He is not good enough lad, not where United are trying to get to.
The abuse that black players get in general on social media etc is a sickening human disease that needs to be severely dealt with.

but let’s not insinuate that his skin colour is hampering his development in playing time. He has yet to prove that he can stay fit for a start to warrant consistent game time. Secondly, it’s not usual for young centre backs to make it at their parent club. There is a high chance, especially at a big club like United that they just go and buy someone who is further along in development or who suits the system more.

scapegoating black players? I presume you weren’t around to see the stuff posted about O’Shea, nevilles, Fletcher, or even McTominay
 

DickDastardly

New Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2015
Messages
7,298
Location
Mean machine 00
I wouldn't say our attack is misfiring, we just scored three good goals, we should've won the game comfortably if it wasn't for our defence
But they are.
Inconsistentcy and bad decision making.

If we fail to score vs Premiership fodder then i would call that misfiring.

If Martial can only score when oppo has 9 players then that's not good.
If Rashford scores every third or fourth clear cut chance per game, then yes, they are misfiring.

It goes both ways, attack gives calmness to our defense as well as the other way around.

We have to score our chances and we have to pick up our defensive resiliance. We can't go on giving 3 goals per 3 chances, and, we can't have 8 clear cut chances and only score 3.
 

red_de_pologne

Full Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
3,608
Location
Warsaw, Poland
But they are.
Inconsistentcy and bad decision making.

If we fail to score vs Premiership fodder then i would call that misfiring.

If Martial can only score when oppo has 9 players then that's not good.
If Rashford scores every third or fourth clear cut chance per game, then yes, they are misfiring.

It goes both ways, attack gives calmness to our defense as well as the other way around.

We have to score our chances and we have to pick up our defensive resiliance. We can't go on giving 3 goals per 3 chances, and, we can't have 8 clear cut chances and only score 3.
Don’t we have the most goals scored in the league at the moment? No team is putting away 90% of chances
 

red thru&thru

Full Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2004
Messages
7,657
Lindelof's available pretty much every match as well. They were both in the top six in terms of minutes played throughout all of Europe last season (Maguire was #1 but that was more because we refused to rest him rather than Lindelof missing games through injury). Lindelof has actually had a back problem for over a year now but has still been playing through the pain, with a few games recently the first time it's gotten bad enough that he's had to miss games. Once he actually gets a proper break for a while to give that time to heal properly (hopefully at the end of this season) he should be right.
Ideally, a fully fit and consistent Bailly is the answer. Unfortunately it's his fitness is the biggest issue.

I've quoted in my WhatsApp group that one of Axel or Bailly will leave. No need to have both if we bring in a new CB...which we should.
 

DickDastardly

New Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2015
Messages
7,298
Location
Mean machine 00
Don’t we have the most goals scored in the league at the moment? No team is putting away 90% of chances
Yes we do.

18 of which came against Southampton and Leeds in 3 games.

Yet we failed to score vs Chelsea, Arsenal, Pool and City, and we had chances.

I'm not asking for 90%, i'm just pointing out we are misfiring in the crucial moments of games.
We often feck up easiest chances that would relieve pressure, and then go on and lose points because of that rued chances.
 

UNITED ACADEMY

New Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
13,127
Supports
Erik ten Hag
Top class attitude that can be a leader for this club. I don’t want another bottler and experiment CB in this team that is not proven enough. We have Cavani who can still play and Bruno in his best age, we need to challenge for major trophies next season while they are still in the team.
 

bosnian_red

Worst scout to ever exist
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
57,577
Location
Canada
I admire the optimism and scary thing is we still need a CDM & RW/ST too
Cavani with Martial/Greenwood rotating is fine at striker for now. RW maybe we have Diallo jump in, but realistically I think we get Sancho. It's nothing scary it's just standard improvement. We've improved a lot year on year but there are always steps and we need to take those steps to challenge more seriously.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,327
Cavani with Martial/Greenwood rotating is fine at striker for now. RW maybe we have Diallo jump in, but realistically I think we get Sancho. It's nothing scary it's just standard improvement. We've improved a lot year on year but there are always steps and we need to take those steps to challenge more seriously.
What is your personal take on the GK situation
 

bosnian_red

Worst scout to ever exist
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
57,577
Location
Canada
What is your personal take on the GK situation
Henderson fine for the year, might as well give him the chance. But needs to get the chance as full time keeper, not cup games. Keepers need consistency. Revisit in 2022 or 2023. Definitely replace De Gea.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,327
Yes he might be too old in the eyes of many and had too many red cards in his career but Ramos would give us some much needed leadership at the back
 

DeeDee7

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
106
This Pascal Struijk lad for Leeds has some very impressive qualities for a young lad in the premier league. Left footer too.
 

UNITED ACADEMY

New Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
13,127
Supports
Erik ten Hag
I admire the optimism and scary thing is we still need a CDM & RW/ST too
Trying to sign everybody and replace everybody isn’t good idea. Just look at Lampard.

CB & GK situation and also Pogba’s situation are the most important one for this summer. The others can wait another year.

Cooper isn’t really tier 1 but will just post it, looks like we are focussing on defensive area and may be even midfield.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,327
Trying to sign everybody and replace everybody isn’t good idea. Just look at Lampard.

CB & GK situation and also Pogba’s situation are the most important one for this summer. The others can wait another year.

Cooper isn’t really tier 1 but will just post it, looks like we are focussing on defensive area and may be even midfield.
We have conceded way too many goals already this season so this is good to hear imo
 

OleGunnar20

Full Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2018
Messages
2,158
I can’t help but watch that defensive shambles last night (in particular in the 95th minute) and I see that type of incident being snuffed out before it ever escalated by Eric Bailly. You just feel if he is partnering Maguire last night, he clears his lines with a good header or at worse is there to block the shot. The issue comes in that he isn’t available to be there.... again. Sadly we cannot forge a partnership with him in the plan as he is too fragile and has an injury record of the very worst. That CB position to partner Maguire with someone who has the same attributes of Bailly but crucially has a sound fitness record, is an essential signing for our team if we want to move forward again.
Agreed 100%. Bailly (like Jones before him) is such a frustrating player. Hes obviously got the talent to be top class but seemingly hasn't got the body to cope with the strain. Shame.

I like the look of Konate more than Upamecano and can see both moving this year with RB already lining up replacements. Injuries are a concern there.

Kounde's height worries me but I've only seen highlights so cant really judge him properly.

Milenkovic is meant to be a solid young player with an expiring contract but I reckon is an old Mourinho target which we wont go ahead with.

Badiashille looks too young and error prone to step in currently, needs more experience first I think.

Whoever we go for, it does without saying that he needs to have an iron clad injury record, the physicality to compensate for Maguire and the mentality to deal with the pressure.

Tough signing to call this.
 

Giggsy13

Full Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2016
Messages
4,243
Location
Toronto
Maguire being healthy and available as a measure of success just shows how far our standards have fallen. He’s a good CB who’s tagged with a terrible price tag and better options that were available at time re: Ruben Dias.

With Smalling and Rojo gone, the glazers better be ready to pay up for a CB upgrade. There are plenty of options out there that would provide an improvement over what we have.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,327
Agreed 100%. Bailly (like Jones before him) is such a frustrating player. Hes obviously got the talent to be top class but seemingly hasn't got the body to cope with the strain. Shame.

I like the look of Konate more than Upamecano and can see both moving this year with RB already lining up replacements. Injuries are a concern there.

Kounde's height worries me but I've only seen highlights so cant really judge him properly.

Milenkovic is meant to be a solid young player with an expiring contract but I reckon is an old Mourinho target which we wont go ahead with.

Badiashille looks too young and error prone to step in currently, needs more experience first I think.

Whoever we go for, it does without saying that he needs to have an iron clad injury record, the physicality to compensate for Maguire and the mentality to deal with the pressure.

Tough signing to call this.
Yeah there is no doubt that this is the one we simply have to get right as it would hopefully then allow us to be a bit more expansive in the big six games next season which is what we all desperately want to see again
 

Bebestation

Im a doctor btw, my IQ destroys yours
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
11,862
Maguire being healthy and available as a measure of success just shows how far our standards have fallen. He’s a good CB who’s tagged with a terrible price tag and better options that were available at time re: Ruben Dias.

With Smalling and Rojo gone, the glazers better be ready to pay up for a CB upgrade. There are plenty of options out there that would provide an improvement over what we have.
For me it was more that we needed a CB that wasnt like Lindelof and Bailly - we needed a ready made CB that wasnt taking time to adjust to the PL.

Maguire isnt perfect and was overpayed for - but people talk about him like he is the weakest thing out of our whole defence. For me if De Gea and Lindelof get sorted out we reduce the amount of goals we let in by a good quarter to a half at max.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,327
Feels to me like the targets with the strongest links so far are

Kounde

Konate

Torres
 

Sea-Cow

Full Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2015
Messages
1,571
Sheer conjecture and absolute nonsense Tuanzebe is yet to show he belongs at premier league level let alone better than Lindelof who I admit should be Upgraded with a better player but Unfortunately Tuanzebe has shown nothing so far to suggest he should have future beyond summer here.
Bailly top level is certainly better than our other options but he simply can't be relied upon due to fitness and also he isn't the savior you are making him out to be and when has Tuanzebe shown he is better one on one defender then others. You are projecting how you want Tuanzebe and Bailly to be rather how they actually are.
Yep, good post. It is funny how people get on Maguire for his random mistakes, but then suggest Bailly as his replacement! Bailly is prone to playing a perfect match 99.9% of the time, and then attempting a flying, jumping karate kick as a clearance that he shins out for a corner.