Defence or No Defence
Oct 23, 2019 11:35:08 GMT
Post by stoatey on Oct 23, 2019 11:35:08 GMT
So 13 games into the 2019/20 season and still no clean sheet. After last nights game Warburton stated the obvious and said 'we defend as a team. I'm not sure we do defend as a team and I believe that is down to Warburton's preference for a 4 man defence.
In respect of our defence we know that:
Lumley is a very good goalkeeper who should be in the team and not warming the bench. His kicking might need improvement but his shot stopping and his positional sense is much better than Kelly. There are players who have retained their place in the team and made far more expensive mistakes than Lumley.
Kelly is nowhere near as good a goalkeeper as Lumley and for the 2nd goals against both Hull and Reading he was more at fault than any defender. He might kick the ball well but don't we really need a goalkeeper that can keep the ball out of the net.
Leistner is good in the air and is a reasonable defender but lacks pace so when he is one on one it's odds on that he is going to lose the race. IMO Leistner is our best central defender and is a good leader on the pitch.
We know that Manning is better going forward and links well with Eze but he gets caught out of position too often and leaves the central defenders exposed. If we want to see Manning charging forward and providing crosses for Wells and Hugill then we must accept that his defensive positioning might suffer.
Barbet like Leistner is susceptible to pace and tactically he gets caught out of position too often. This is proven by the number of penalties he has given away plus his sending off. However, his poor positional play might be as a result of Manning not getting back quick enough to help him out down our left hand side.
Barbet has averaged a rating per match of 6.49, according to WhoScored, which is a lower rating than Leistner and Hall respectively.
Rangel is a reasonable defender and whilst he doesn't have abundant pace he does a decent job getting up and down the right. I feel he struggles to play twice a week and like Manning he can leave the central defence in a diffult position.
Hall is probably our quickest central defender but he isn't a speedster. IMO he is not as good a central defender as Leistner but somehow Warburton chose him to start the season as our captain and right sided central defender. I think he plays better in a 5 man defence where his pace is a plus and the bonus with Hall is that he can play as a defensive midfielder which gives the manager options.
Kane does well going forward but like Manning he can get caught out of position and leaves the centre backs vulnerable.
Cameron was a bit off the pace against Reading and wasn't great in supporting the central defence. It's my opinion that at this stage of his career his performance drops when he has to play more than once a week. The other point I would make about Cameron is that he is not a central defender and when playing in that role he was a major liability.
Scowen does ok as central midfielder but lacks any consistency and can be out muscled. He wouldn't be my first choice in the midfield.
Ball is a bit like Scowen and there isn't a lot between them.
Whilst we should defend as a team it's also down to the manager to pick the right team.
In respect of our defence we know that:
Lumley is a very good goalkeeper who should be in the team and not warming the bench. His kicking might need improvement but his shot stopping and his positional sense is much better than Kelly. There are players who have retained their place in the team and made far more expensive mistakes than Lumley.
Kelly is nowhere near as good a goalkeeper as Lumley and for the 2nd goals against both Hull and Reading he was more at fault than any defender. He might kick the ball well but don't we really need a goalkeeper that can keep the ball out of the net.
Leistner is good in the air and is a reasonable defender but lacks pace so when he is one on one it's odds on that he is going to lose the race. IMO Leistner is our best central defender and is a good leader on the pitch.
We know that Manning is better going forward and links well with Eze but he gets caught out of position too often and leaves the central defenders exposed. If we want to see Manning charging forward and providing crosses for Wells and Hugill then we must accept that his defensive positioning might suffer.
Barbet like Leistner is susceptible to pace and tactically he gets caught out of position too often. This is proven by the number of penalties he has given away plus his sending off. However, his poor positional play might be as a result of Manning not getting back quick enough to help him out down our left hand side.
Barbet has averaged a rating per match of 6.49, according to WhoScored, which is a lower rating than Leistner and Hall respectively.
Rangel is a reasonable defender and whilst he doesn't have abundant pace he does a decent job getting up and down the right. I feel he struggles to play twice a week and like Manning he can leave the central defence in a diffult position.
Hall is probably our quickest central defender but he isn't a speedster. IMO he is not as good a central defender as Leistner but somehow Warburton chose him to start the season as our captain and right sided central defender. I think he plays better in a 5 man defence where his pace is a plus and the bonus with Hall is that he can play as a defensive midfielder which gives the manager options.
Kane does well going forward but like Manning he can get caught out of position and leaves the centre backs vulnerable.
Cameron was a bit off the pace against Reading and wasn't great in supporting the central defence. It's my opinion that at this stage of his career his performance drops when he has to play more than once a week. The other point I would make about Cameron is that he is not a central defender and when playing in that role he was a major liability.
Scowen does ok as central midfielder but lacks any consistency and can be out muscled. He wouldn't be my first choice in the midfield.
Ball is a bit like Scowen and there isn't a lot between them.
Whilst we should defend as a team it's also down to the manager to pick the right team.
! This is an interesting blog post on the same subject I have just seen: 
