23 Sep 2014 11:44:19
I know there is the "if you're good enough, you're old enough" saying, but for me our CB just aren't old enough or good enough for the starting 11.

We need an experienced head in the center who has been around for a while, who can command his back line and who can rally the troops, at the current time we don't have that.

Evans has been around a long time it would seem but is only 26, hasn't improved and with the looks of things hasn't learnt one thing from Rio or Vidic, and still lacks the leadership qualities for that back line considering he's our most experienced CB.

Smalling along side Rio looked calm, looked like he was going to develop into a real player, but now he just looks lost.

Jones, great potential, but rash, injury prone and for me lacks the tactical awareness to be a top CB.

In January we really need to go all out for Hummels, which is the obvious choice.

1.) 23 Sep 2014
We missed a trick not partnering Jones with either Rio or Vidic during the past couple of years, if fit Jones should have been the first name on the team sheet, to ensure he meets the standard required by this point in his career, instead there has been little to no progress from when we signed him.

Instead both he and Smalling have played bit parts in wrong positions and stagnated, the class isn't around them as they make mistakes now (so we get punished) and who are they learning from directly in training and asking questions of?

We now have a situation where the blind are leading the blind. Wouldn't it be great for Jones to have a bad game, be told what he needs to do and then have somebody like Rio or Vidic to hold his hand through that process of learning? Instead its all theory based, waffle.

It would have been nice for Blackett to be able to learn from Jones & Smalling now and the chain continuing, instead they are all left seeming bewildered.

I would just scrap the Smalling, Jones & Evans plan. The opportunity was wasted. We need 2 experienced CB's to come in and Blackett or equivalent to be partnered up so we get the cycle moving again.

Same will go for Wilson & Janujaz if we aren't careful. We leave it far too long to give these prospects responsibility - I blame previous management obviously for this because we now have no option but to think short term or we crumble.

SAF just thought signing prospects would be sufficient, he didn't think that you needed to give them regular games in their primary position. Foolish.

2.) 23 Sep 2014
23 Sep 2014 12:43:54
Evans hasn't improved? He has been better than Rio and Vidic for the last 2 seasons and has had 2 bad games this year. We were doing ok defensively until he got injured on Sunday.

He is certainly injury prone, but to say he has not improved is ridiculous.

3.) 23 Sep 2014
Ngiak agrees that Evans has been the most overrated centreback in the league
He is so bad that there is no way he is a certainty even for a team in the championship league
There will surely be 2 Centrebacks bought in soon
As Smalling is worse than Evans
gan

4.) 23 Sep 2014
Evans is a good centre back it showed with Rio or Vidic and with Hughes for Northern Ireland he always was and will be a great centre back beside a more natural leader of a centre back eg Hummels or even Dante or Miranda for short term options

5.) 23 Sep 2014
Evans is a squad player, prone to an error and a little injury prone. He is decent but nowhere near the standard needed. I look at Chelsea, Terry and Cahill, then at City Mangala and Kompany, what we had with Rio and Vidic. Evans isn't at that level, never will be.

6.) 23 Sep 2014
The penguins is back although has possibly naked his head. Evans has been a real plus in recent years. He has looked shaky but that is the new system that expects him to bring the ball out. Not for this thread but I'm not sure LVG is displaying the tactical acumen we had hoped for so far.

7.) 23 Sep 2014
Sheesh! For naked, read banged

8.) 24 Sep 2014
24 Sep 2014 03:35:07
Banged and naked, the name of something I watched earlier.