Virgil van Dijk

[Lancet Fluke]

IMO we don't need to spend this amount on a Cb just to cover Vinnie. The way I see it is that the way we play is very risky, which I like as it beats watching turgid long ball, park the bus and counter attack tactics like the Rags play. we could buy the best centre back ever and we would still get exposed on occasions so it's all about risk remediation cost be benefits, would spending 70mil provide that much in benefits? I am not sure. For this system to work, it needs players to put a shift in 1st and foremost, win the ball back quickly and don't allow time for us to be exposed. This is what has taken Pep a season to get installed in the team as it is proactive and not passive like previous managers tactics - mindset change for the players is always the hardest thing to implement

Depends which way you look at it. I think if you're going to play a system which is high risk and leaving the CBs exposed then that is a reason to have the very best players there that you can so they have some chance of coping with being so exposed rather than being left on their arse by the striker when they are in the one on one.

 

[Airbags Optional]

Depends which way you look at it. I think if you're going to play a system which is high risk and leaving the CBs exposed then that is a reason to have the very best players there that you can so they have some chance of coping with being so exposed rather than being left on their arse by the striker when they are in the one on one.

Yeah I see what you say, I would rather spend the money on a quality passing midfielder with an engine but that's my view.

Someone else quoted me as well and I sort of agree with that as well, 3 at the back looked solid but I think we needed to play a passer instead of fern as our build up was too obvious. I still reckon we don't need to spend this type of money this year on a cb

 

[nmc]

Depends which way you look at it. I think if you're going to play a system which is high risk and leaving the CBs exposed then that is a reason to have the very best players there that you can so they have some chance of coping with being so exposed rather than being left on their arse by the striker when they are in the one on one.

Agree however good you are when teams park the bus - over 90 minutes particularly later in a game all teams force it and lose possession cheaply (you could argue we did it too often last season). We have to be set up and have the personnel to cope with this. This means fast players in defence that can deal with fast counter attacks - which any team that plays us will be planning for and working on.

 

[Calv_from_the_frog]

Yeah I see what you say, I would rather spend the money on a quality passing midfielder with an engine but that's my view.

Someone else quoted me as well and I sort of agree with that as well, 3 at the back looked solid but I think we needed to play a passer instead of fern as our build up was too obvious. I still reckon we don't need to spend this type of money this year on a cb

We NEED :

A left back
A centre half
A defensive midfielder
A centre forward

Because of FFP - and also the dangers of bedding in too many players at once - we can only go for two of these at a maximum.

I'd go for a centre half & a defensive midfielder personally, but that's just me. It'd be the difference between winning and drawing / losing not only tight matches (and therefore the league), but also European ties and cover for the inevitable downturn in VK & the Fern's form.

It's not the 'champagne' option though.

 

[Manchester_lalala]

We NEED :

A left back
A centre half
A defensive midfielder
A centre forward

Because of FFP - and also the dangers of bedding in too many players at once - we can only go for two of these at a maximum.

I'd go for a centre half & a defensive midfielder personally, but that's just me. It'd be the difference between winning and drawing / losing not only tight matches (and therefore the league), but also European ties and cover for the inevitable downturn in VK & the Fern's form.

It's not the 'champagne' option though.

I would go for a centre back and defensive mid too.

 

[nmc]

I would go for a centre back and defensive mid too.

Sorry to disagree but I'd go CB and striker. Not sure we need a DM in our system particularly when we go three at the back, Fernandinho, Yaya and Gundoghan will be fine in the deepest of three or four midfield role.

 

[J_MCFC21]

We NEED :

A left back
A centre half
A defensive midfielder
A centre forward

Because of FFP - and also the dangers of bedding in too many players at once - we can only go for two of these at a maximum.

I'd go for a centre half & a defensive midfielder personally, but that's just me. It'd be the difference between winning and drawing / losing not only tight matches (and therefore the league), but also European ties and cover for the inevitable downturn in VK & the Fern's form.

It's not the 'champagne' option though.

CB and CF for me. One injury away from a problem up top..

 

[OrigamiNinja]

IMO we don't need to spend this amount on a Cb just to cover Vinnie. The way I see it is that the way we play is very risky, which I like as it beats watching turgid long ball, park the bus and counter attack tactics like the Rags play. we could buy the best centre back ever and we would still get exposed on occasions so it's all about risk remediation cost be benefits, would spending 70mil provide that much in benefits? I am not sure. For this system to work, it needs players to put a shift in 1st and foremost, win the ball back quickly and don't allow time for us to be exposed. This is what has taken Pep a season to get installed in the team as it is proactive and not passive like previous managers tactics - mindset change for the players is always the hardest thing to implement

Is it about covering VK though? VVD is better than both Stones and Otamendi. I would expect if we did sign him, then Otamendi would find himself as back up. One of my biggest concerns about the current 3-5-2 setup is that we are a CB injury away, from us having to either having to abandon the formation or go with a huge drop off in quality. We are waiting for Vinny to be the one to get injured but when we are playing with three CBs and we actually only have three decent CBs at the club, we are playing with fire. Can you imagine going into a big Prem or CL game and having to play Tosin? I think if we intend to play four at the back for the majority of games we can probably get away with what we currently have, if three CBs is the way we are going to go, then for me, VVD would arguably be our most important signing of the summer.

 

[sky_blue]

We NEED :

A left back
A centre half
A defensive midfielder
A centre forward

Because of FFP - and also the dangers of bedding in too many players at once - we can only go for two of these at a maximum.

I'd go for a centre half & a defensive midfielder personally, but that's just me. It'd be the difference between winning and drawing / losing not only tight matches (and therefore the league), but also European ties and cover for the inevitable downturn in VK & the Fern's form.

It's not the 'champagne' option though.

One CF (or a forward, like Sanchez). Aguero is on another tier, Jesus has great potential. Both can contribute 40+ goals a season combined, but we're one injury away from getting fucked because our mids and wingers don't have enough goals in them.

One CB because Stones and Otamendi (lol) are not good enough to play vertical passes or even pick out the best pass. We need a world class defender who has a footballing brain and is capable of doing more than a couple sideway passes or just passing it to the closest player available.

 

[barryo]

We NEED :

A left back
A centre half
A defensive midfielder
A centre forward

Because of FFP - and also the dangers of bedding in too many players at once - we can only go for two of these at a maximum.

I'd go for a centre half & a defensive midfielder personally, but that's just me. It'd be the difference between winning and drawing / losing not only tight matches (and therefore the league), but also European ties and cover for the inevitable downturn in VK & the Fern's form.

It's not the 'champagne' option though.

Gibson and Nzonzi it is then.

*100% guesswork*