Indeed.
Who are the top 5 centre-backs in the world?
- Thread starter Fortitude
- Start date
Is that the question ? Top 5 cb, based on form, Pepe top 5 over the names I'm seeing banded about.
unless you watch every league it’s impossible to say. People that are saying people like De Ligt, Koulibaly & Chiellini probably barely ever watch them play & are rating them on reputation.
I rate them at around the same level. I actually think they would make a good partnership.
Portuguese bias for Pepe is the same as english/utd bias for Maguire. Fair enough. Though neither are top 5 in my own opinion.
Pepe in his prime at Madrid was very good.
No one here is a scout or has a full time job analysing players. We are fans and we make our own minds up from whatever matches we see these players play in. Of course there will be bias and judging on reputation goes with the territory.
my question is whether he has that form over a season, can he do it week in week out at club level? I don’t watch Porto, so don’t know.
I wouldn’t make any definitive judgements on 4 Euros matches.
Lot of mental gymnastics to avoid naming Maguire. He’s brilliant.
I kind of get why. Centre backs like him, Terry, Adams, seem to need a solid Decade of success and titles to be deemed worthy. More elegant centre halves can have 3 good seasons and are thrown into the top bracket.
I kind of get why. Centre backs like him, Terry, Adams, seem to need a solid Decade of success and titles to be deemed worthy. More elegant centre halves can have 3 good seasons and are thrown into the top bracket.
A more than fair point.
It's trendy to slander Maguire on the internet,
plus kids these days trying to be edgy.
If he wasnt english he'd be much higher rated
I’m really only certain about Marquinhos. Even VVD, let’s see how he comes back after a lengthy injury.
That’s cos you’re special.
I would say city s two defenders stones and Diaz,marquinhos,varane,rudiger all semi finalists in champions league with better defensive record this season in that competition.
Not sure if Maguire or Dias are both top5 to be honest. People including De Ligt haven't seen him play for the last two years.
But it's genuinely hilarious how much underrated Maguire is. Also shows the complete lack of footballing knowledge.
But it's genuinely hilarious how much underrated Maguire is. Also shows the complete lack of footballing knowledge.
No one is under rating Maguire. He's done good. That's all.
Maguire isn't in the same league as tony adams or martin keown. They weren't cornerstones of defenses conceeding over 40 goals. He's made mistake, been caught out etc.
However he only fair way to judge him will be when he has a proper partner. The very best CBs compliment each other. Terry and Carvalho, ferdinand and vidic, ramos and varane, pique a d puyol etc. So if we get a complimentary partner for maguire we will be in a better place to judge him fairly.
Bring in a WC CB to Utd and fans will realise just how far short we have fallen in our standards of CBs.
Say this in the Ramos thread
I was thinking that about your golden age of CBs comments as well. In the premier league alone over a couple of years from the Invincibles to our 06/07 league win you had the 4 you have mentioned (Terry, Carvahlo, Rio and Vidic) but also Ledley King, Carragher, Hyypia, K Toure, Campbell (at his end) and Gallas (pre going a bit mad). All would be stand out players now.
I'm seeing some defenders getting overrated because of the Euros namely Chiellini and Bonucci, both have declined a lot.
Van Dijk, Maguire, Dias, Silva , Hernandez.
I think the first three are crystal clear. Silva has the been the cornerstone in Chelsea's back three (since Tuche's been in, very hard to beat) and he's been organizing it. Hernandez looked very, very good against Paris. I know most of the time it's been Alaba and Boateng, but for me he's already there, just has to play there consistently which will be the case in the upcoming season, IMO.
I think the first three are crystal clear. Silva has the been the cornerstone in Chelsea's back three (since Tuche's been in, very hard to beat) and he's been organizing it. Hernandez looked very, very good against Paris. I know most of the time it's been Alaba and Boateng, but for me he's already there, just has to play there consistently which will be the case in the upcoming season, IMO.
- Van Dijk
- Marquinhos
- Varane
- Gimenez
- Dias
VVD, Dias, Marquinhos are currently a class above.
After that you could probably make a case for 10-12 other guys, all of whom have strengths and weaknesses and tend to shine in the right system and with the right partners but can look crap otherwise.
After that you could probably make a case for 10-12 other guys, all of whom have strengths and weaknesses and tend to shine in the right system and with the right partners but can look crap otherwise.
De light has been brilliant. Outside of a really bad patch on his first games at Juve when he seemed to make a stupid mistake that ended in a goal every game, he has been really good.
Fcuking hell. Maguire is light years better than Keown. Jesus Christ people are mad.
Keown was a decent jobbing centre half. Not in the top 50 centre halves to play in the Premier League. Perhaps not in the top 100. A Poundland Steve Bruce.
Adams was probably marginally better than Maguire at everything. Comparing him to Keown is also insulting.
Bizarre logic given Harry Kane is widely regarded as one of the best strikers on the planet and has been for ages now.
He’s talking about Maguire mate.
Someone who is output linked like Kane has fewer discussions around them. Numbers speak for forwards.
Bravo to those that are able to put 5 players from different leagues in their top 5. You guys must watch football 24/7.
I know he is. My point is that 'being English' has never held Kane back in terms of getting his due from fans nor did it ever hold guys like Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard or even Beckham back.
Maguire isn't widely regarded as a top 5 defender because he isn't one.
Yet you've got Pepe and Rudiger
Van Dijk
Marquinhos
Dias
Chiellini
Thiago Silva
Maguire needs a good trophy to be in any kind of conversation. Feels extremely harsh leaving Ramos and Varane out given what they've achieved but struggle to put them ahead of any of these 5.
Marquinhos
Dias
Chiellini
Thiago Silva
Maguire needs a good trophy to be in any kind of conversation. Feels extremely harsh leaving Ramos and Varane out given what they've achieved but struggle to put them ahead of any of these 5.
lolz
It held Terry, Neville and Cole back.
Easily as good as their European peers. It took 7-10 years to be out in the top bracket. We don’t trumpet defenders here. It’s different.
Maguire is definitely top 5.
He gets underrated on here because Football Managers experts were personally offended by his transfer fee.
He's basically the English Hummels but less prone to injuries. Both are/were top 5 in their prime.
He gets underrated on here because Football Managers experts were personally offended by his transfer fee.
He's basically the English Hummels but less prone to injuries. Both are/were top 5 in their prime.
Adams was an outstanding player. Much of his time was before the inception of the PL, so perhaps a bit like McGrath he gets forgotten about. Both were brilliant players - no doubt a product of their time, in terms of getting wankered and fitness…
However. Maguire is easily a better player than Keown. Average player. Did well at Arsenal because he was surrounded by one of the best defences we have seen. Average.
Definately top 5 no but he is a good player
And I’d rather have Daniel James over Salah you mad bastard. There’s club bias and then there’s this.
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire
Harry maguire
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire
Harry maguire
This is the most sensible take, we’ve only had a couple that have been top the entirety of the last five seasons.
We’re in a period with a lot of “good” centre halves taking turns having world class 12 month periods.
You could pick out the top five now, but the top five over the last five years will be very different depending on who people have seen the most of.
Ashley Cole? He was widely regarded as the best LB in the world for years!
Don't get how people are putting Van Dijk 1st when he's been out for so long and you've no idea how he'll recover
+ He was in a blip prior to his injury too
+ He was in a blip prior to his injury too