Why do we need another CB?

[André Dominguez]

Definitely. we dont score enough goals

Only Lukaku got into double figures in the league last season with 16 goals

Even though we got 2nd place, we scored 68 goals! That's less than goals per match. It's highly disapointing for a a club with our history.

Now, if we can't hire end products, let's go for raw talent and take some risks. You take more risks but you'll a lot less money in fees.

 

[Revan]

Mostly cause Jones and Rojo are shit. You can make a game of words as much as you want to describe them in a better way, but they're still shit and would have trouble being main CBs in midtable clubs.

Lindeloff has had a mediocre season but still young and can go either way. Smalling and Bailly are okay and relatively reliable but not great and need a better player next to them to mask for their defencies. Essentially we have 5 players who are either bad or just ok, of course that it is imperative to get better players. Either that, or be defensive like last season and then claim that we have a great defense.

Personally, I think that we need two CBs in addition to Bailly and Lindeloff and to get rid of others. Enough is enough, I would say, we should take the City's approach and not accept mediocrity permanently.

 

[jmaggio]

I agree with some of the sentiment of OP. While I feel we potentially have two united level players in Lindelof and Bailly, and a solid defender in Smalling, I wouldn’t mind seeing the back of Jones or Rojo.

Jose has spent on two CBS who, for whatever reason, haven’t bedded in properly as of yet. Bailly has, in particular, struggled with injuries , but I think the guy has great potential for us.


See, in particular, this game against Liverpool. Bailly was excellent at pressing their front 3 when they made ground into our box and he demonstrated that he can time his tackles excellently. Look particularly to 5:00 when he made a last ditch challenge against Mané, where a less composed defender could easily have given the penalty away.

While I was relatively unimpressed by Lindelof for us last season, he proved he has what it takes at the WC against some tough opposition.


See particularly at around the 2 minute mark where Lindelöf showed some oh so needed for us defensive nous in his positioning for he cross, and was able to clear before the ball came in. He also, throughout the game, regularly pressed forward and played attack - initiating passes which really helped Sweden maintain the pressure.

If I had to loose one of Jones or Rojo, I would have to say our Phil. While I think the guy had been really unfortunate with injuries, I do feel he is a bit of a liability with the amount of mistakes he makes. I feel he now needs a club where he will be a regular member of the starting 11, why I was also happy for Blind to leave.

While I am a big fan of Maguire, I think it is obvious Jose has him lower down his pecking order (I believe José had Bonucci and Aldewei d) as his main targets. Both of these, especially Bonucci, have excellent positioning and reading of the game, and would help our younger CBS develop.

I think the main problem is that we have higher priorities elsewhere, particularly Full Backs, especially when such a perfect target as Sandro is available.


I think this clip especially highlights what Sandro can bring to us. He mixes energetic tracking back using his plentiful pace with his fantastic crossing. He would be such a perfect signing for us we almost certainly won’t get him

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

FIRST CHOICE
============
Victor Lindelof:
Had an excellent World Cup, he seems to have overcome his confidence issues. I like his positioning and his tackling, and he can play the ball out from the back, too. He had a shaky first few appearances last season, but it looks quite obvious that he has improved over time.
Eric Bailly:
Our best CB, IMO. Needs to stay injury free. Great tackling, great in the air, great on the ball. If he were playing for someone else, we'd be paying more for him than Alderweireld/Maguire.
Chris Smalling:
Best header of the ball we have, strong and experienced. He is not great in possession, agreed. But he is still very good, and can play if we choose to go three at the back or if Lindelof/Bailly are unavailable.

BACKUP
========
Phil Jones
Has the odd moment, and is perennially unfit, but can step up when we need a job done. Experienced, strong, can head well, and one of the faster CBs we have. Gives it all, good backup.
Marcos Rojo
Inconsistent, in the sense that despite having a brainfart in him every other game, he occasionally comes up with a strong dazzling display. Not bad for a backup, however. Great mentality.
Axel Tuanzebe
Full of promise, can get minutes every now and then.

We have six CBs in the club, 2 of them Mourinho signings. Why on earth do we need another CB so urgently instead of letting them bed in/battle it out? I just don't get it. What does Maguire bring to the squad that Bailly/Lindelof/Smalling do not?

Had Lindelof established himself last season,then we obviously wouldn’t have needed to sign another CB.But Lindelof was erratic last season and even though he had a good WC,it remains to be seen whether he can consistently perform at a high level in the PL...

Jones and Smalling are good squad players,but they make far too many errors in the big games and they can’t distribute the ball forward to save their life.Rojo is again very inconsistent...We need to sell 1 of Rojo\Jones\Smalling and we need a good ball playing CB who can confidently bring the ball out from the back.We certainly need a new CB...

 

[artursk]

I think our defensive record is so great because of the overall defensive organisation of the team (something Jose is great at), not purely because our current defenders are showing something much better than the opponents. We can clearly step up. We conceded way too many goals from set play last season and could do better at the other end as well. Furthermore, distribution from the back could be improved as well. Someone like Maguire would improve us significantly in these departments.

 

[renatosanches85]

Using our defensive record last season as reasoning for not buying new defenders is misguided. We were defensively strong due to playing such a negative brand of football.

Mourinho has been around long enough to know a good defender. He doesn’t trust what he has so he makes the whole team play defensively. I hope that if we get Alderweireld he will play alongside Bailly and the team will be given a little more freedom as a result.

 

[simplyared]

Smalling and Jones are at the level they're at. Can't see any of them improving their skills and adapting to the modern game. Bailly and Rojo could mantle the role, with Rojo the most uncertain of the two. Bailly is almost there imv. Lindelöf is nowhere near the level required and we've offloaded Blind who was a good back-up and never got the credit he deserved. So yes we're screaming for an established, modern, authoritive, footballing CB who can go in and boss the place. Must be priority no.1 and it's worrying we haven't addressed the issue yet in this window.