Maybe a few seasons ago I'd agree with that, but not now.
Yes we do. Kompany isn't fit enough to lace his own boots - that's the problem!
Firstly I agree that we do not know Vinnies long term prospects none of us are in a position to know, we can hope for the best but may fear for the worst.
Secondly I don't particularly want to knock any of the current defenders , generally we have played very well this season but to my eyes the defense has occasionally looked a little suspect. When fit to me Vinny as a defender was imperious his reading of the game defensively was excellent he had a habit of sniffing trouble very early and had the physical attributes and ability to deal with trouble.
Individually with the exception of Stones our defenders have been the same as they have been previously when Vinnie always looked the best when fit.
Stones may well develop into that kind of defender and is certainly very promising but at 22 is still callow, occasionally makes the wrong decisions and was bullied a bit by Ashley Fletcher when Pep removed him. This is not a whinge at Stones I think he is a a very promising central defender but young players are almost all a little inconsistent.
Against Swansea at times Kolarov made a few of the errors that had people foaming at the mouth last season, Peps use of him and his distribution skills is excellent but he is still making some of the defensive errors we have seen in the past. Routledge physically dominated him on at least one occasion, he also failed to cut out a couple of dangerous crosses that nearly resulted in goals. For the Swansea goal he was slow to stand up and move forward after heading out hence playing Llorente onside when the rest of the defense was ahead of Llorente.
I am certainly not trying to criticise either Pep or our defenders but when fit Vinnie is simply superior to them in my eyes whether he will regain full fitness or not I don't know.