Hes fine with forwards and midfielders. But lets be honest bar Laporte our CB signings have been utter shit, fullbacks not much better. He clearly struggles at defensive department
Agreed, our ideal defenders have both exceptional physical attributes in terms of pace and strenght to deal with counters, but also need to be great technically. Probably the hardest mix to find in any player, let alone centre-backsDefending in a Pep system is a different ball game to defending at practically all other clubs. Little to no midfield protection if the initial press fails means all defensive buys carry more risks than normal. It also explains the poor hit rate.
Mendy was never anywhere near the best left back in the world.Stones, a staple in the England defence?, please don't try and compare the English national team with Manchester City, the drop in standard is huge, City would batter England.Okay, but Mendy before his ACL injury was looking world class and arguably a contender for the best LB in football.
Stones, prior to his life crisis it seems, was also looking top class and helped us win 100 points, and was a staple in the England defence.
Walker was also a good buy and also a staple for England until this last year.
Cancelo has been a bit more of a ? but lest we forget Bernardo was being heavily questioned by a good number of our fans during his first season, as was Fernandinho as far as I recall.
Laporte took some time as well, so let's not act like Cancelo was a huge problem. We also bought him because we needed a replacement who would fit for Danilo who wanted out, whilst Nico also wanted out. Nico only stayed because we had no replacement and Valencia wanted to steal him from us for nowhere near where we assessed his value.
I hope so. Having pursued Pep for so long to the detriment of Peller's last season and given that his tenure is likely to end in 2021 surely we have 2 chances in the CL with Pep. And on the basis he was brought in to win the CL surely Txiki has to give him a CB now.Looks like we dont have any plans for the january window then again we might be keeping our cards close to ones chest.
I'll agree on Mendy. Stones was good. And Cancelo is a fantastic RB. We'll see how that plays out.Mendy was never anywhere near the best left back in the world.Stones, a staple in the England defence?, please don't try and compare the English national team with Manchester City, the drop in standard is huge, City would batter England.
Cancelo was a luxury signing we did not need, especially with a weak CB line up
IF Cancelo was fantastic he would be getting far more minutes, he has been very disappointing so far, but he must be given longer to settle. I would also say Walker has risen to the challenge well, not a player I can see loosing his place anytime soon.I'll agree on Mendy. Stones was good. And Cancelo is a fantastic RB. We'll see how that plays out.
Also we weren't weak at CB. They just got injured.
Laporte, Oto, Stones, Dihno, Garcia, etc was a good stable of CB. You'd be hard pressed to find many better. Unfortunenately, Laporte the best of them got injured. Same will happen to Pool if Van Dyke got injured. Or Pique at Barca. etc.IF Cancelo was fantastic he would be getting far more minutes, he has been very disappointing so far, but he must be given longer to settle. I would also say Walker has risen to the challenge well, not a player I can see loosing his place anytime soon.
We are desperately weak at CB , Laporte apart, Oto is finished, JFS is, well JFS, not a player I would want in the trenches with me.
There were and are better options than JFS and Otto. Otamendi was never a great defender, in 5 seasons with us, he had one outstanding season, that apart he was always likely to mess up at least once a match. At our level that is unacceptable.Laporte, Oto, Stones, Dihno, Garcia, etc was a good stable of CB. You'd be hard pressed to find many better. Unfortunenately, Laporte the best of them got injured. Same will happen to Pool if Can Duke got injured. Or Pique at Barca. etc.
Would I be excited if we got Koulibaly and had 2 studs at CB? Absolutely. But look around, almost no team has 2 WC CBs. It's not the norm.
I hope we become one of the ones that do. But I won't pretend it's the norm.