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Seems strange to me that Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd haven't (as yet) added to their defence during the transfer window. Whilst Arsenal have gathered a promising winger to add to their already great midfield, Chelsea have also added another midfielder in Scott Parker (who plays pretty much the same way as Lampard, doesn't he?), and Man Utd have increased their attacking options with Saha.
But really, wouldn't all of these teams have benefitted from having another experienced centre-back in their squad?
Manchester United's back four without Rio will likely be Neville, Brown, Silvestre and O'Shea. At least the full backs have experience in the centre, and there's Phil Neville or Quinten Fortune to move to a full back position if necessary, but still, I'd rather have a more experienced man in the centre, given Brown's track record with injuries, you can't gaurentee he'll be fit for the rest of the season. People say Keane will fill in at the back, but he's not playing every game this season, and would be more effective in the centre anyway.
When Chelsea left out John Terry against Watford in the cup, they were awful. Now they face the prospect of three weeks without him after he ran into another player during training (or something). Given that they've got money coming out of their ears (it's a popular place to keep it in Rusia, they don't trust the banks) you would have thought they would have added another centre back? They're going to need to replace Desailly t some point anyway, and who else do they have, Gallas, any others? Cou7ld really do with more at the back?
Arsenal certainly suffered from a lack of defenders at the tail end of last season. Sol Cambell is good, and Toure has done well this season, but with Keown aging, and Cygan worrying, I can't help but think that some of the transer fee for Reyes would have been better spent at the back? Especially as it's being said that the transfer money for Reyes will mean that no one comes in this sumemr either.
There's a few days to go yet before the window closes, but there aren't even any rumours about these teams stregthening at the back. What do you think, do they need to? Or are they thinking about doing it the Real Madrid way, spend heavily on the front and midfield, and have a defence that can cope, but nothing too expensive...?
But really, wouldn't all of these teams have benefitted from having another experienced centre-back in their squad?
Manchester United's back four without Rio will likely be Neville, Brown, Silvestre and O'Shea. At least the full backs have experience in the centre, and there's Phil Neville or Quinten Fortune to move to a full back position if necessary, but still, I'd rather have a more experienced man in the centre, given Brown's track record with injuries, you can't gaurentee he'll be fit for the rest of the season. People say Keane will fill in at the back, but he's not playing every game this season, and would be more effective in the centre anyway.
When Chelsea left out John Terry against Watford in the cup, they were awful. Now they face the prospect of three weeks without him after he ran into another player during training (or something). Given that they've got money coming out of their ears (it's a popular place to keep it in Rusia, they don't trust the banks) you would have thought they would have added another centre back? They're going to need to replace Desailly t some point anyway, and who else do they have, Gallas, any others? Cou7ld really do with more at the back?
Arsenal certainly suffered from a lack of defenders at the tail end of last season. Sol Cambell is good, and Toure has done well this season, but with Keown aging, and Cygan worrying, I can't help but think that some of the transer fee for Reyes would have been better spent at the back? Especially as it's being said that the transfer money for Reyes will mean that no one comes in this sumemr either.
There's a few days to go yet before the window closes, but there aren't even any rumours about these teams stregthening at the back. What do you think, do they need to? Or are they thinking about doing it the Real Madrid way, spend heavily on the front and midfield, and have a defence that can cope, but nothing too expensive...?
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It's true for all positions, but even more so for defence it's important that there's consistency in the team. The players need to learn how each other think and move. You can put the best center back in the world into a team, but before he's had time to settle the team will be a mess. I guess it's harder to judge the quality of a defender too.
I remember when Jaap Stam first came to utd. He was a complete and utter liability for several months, but over the next year or two developed into one of the best defenders I've seen at the club. Strikers and midfielders tend to gel much more quickly. Buying a defender is an investment rather than a quick-fix solution. And of course, all of the clubs at the top are looking for the quick-fix to get a little edge over their rivals.
With Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal conceding well under a goal a game on average anyway, I guess it's hard to argue that changing the defence will make any serious difference to that.
I remember when Jaap Stam first came to utd. He was a complete and utter liability for several months, but over the next year or two developed into one of the best defenders I've seen at the club. Strikers and midfielders tend to gel much more quickly. Buying a defender is an investment rather than a quick-fix solution. And of course, all of the clubs at the top are looking for the quick-fix to get a little edge over their rivals.
With Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal conceding well under a goal a game on average anyway, I guess it's hard to argue that changing the defence will make any serious difference to that.
Seems strange to me that Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd haven't (as yet) added to their defence during the transfer window. Whilst Arsenal have gathered a promising winger to add to their already great midfield, Chelsea have also added another midfielder in Scott Parker (who plays pretty much the same way as Lampard, doesn't he?), and Man Utd have increased their attacking options with Saha.
But really, wouldn't all of these teams have benefitted from having another experienced centre-back in their squad?
Manchester United's back four without Rio will likely be Neville, Brown, Silvestre and O'Shea. At least the full backs have experience in the centre, and there's Phil Neville or Quinten Fortune to move to a full back position if necessary, but still, I'd rather have a more experienced man in the centre, given Brown's track record with injuries, you can't gaurentee he'll be fit for the rest of the season. People say Keane will fill in at the back, but he's not playing every game this season, and would be more effective in the centre anyway.
When Chelsea left out John Terry against Watford in the cup, they were awful. Now they face the prospect of three weeks without him after he ran into another player during training (or something). Given that they've got money coming out of their ears (it's a popular place to keep it in Rusia, they don't trust the banks) you would have thought they would have added another centre back? They're going to need to replace Desailly t some point anyway, and who else do they have, Gallas, any others? Cou7ld really do with more at the back?
Arsenal certainly suffered from a lack of defenders at the tail end of last season. Sol Cambell is good, and Toure has done well this season, but with Keown aging, and Cygan worrying, I can't help but think that some of the transer fee for Reyes would have been better spent at the back? Especially as it's being said that the transfer money for Reyes will mean that no one comes in this sumemr either.
There's a few days to go yet before the window closes, but there aren't even any rumours about these teams stregthening at the back. What do you think, do they need to? Or are they thinking about doing it the Real Madrid way, spend heavily on the front and midfield, and have a defence that can cope, but nothing too expensive...?
But really, wouldn't all of these teams have benefitted from having another experienced centre-back in their squad?
Manchester United's back four without Rio will likely be Neville, Brown, Silvestre and O'Shea. At least the full backs have experience in the centre, and there's Phil Neville or Quinten Fortune to move to a full back position if necessary, but still, I'd rather have a more experienced man in the centre, given Brown's track record with injuries, you can't gaurentee he'll be fit for the rest of the season. People say Keane will fill in at the back, but he's not playing every game this season, and would be more effective in the centre anyway.
When Chelsea left out John Terry against Watford in the cup, they were awful. Now they face the prospect of three weeks without him after he ran into another player during training (or something). Given that they've got money coming out of their ears (it's a popular place to keep it in Rusia, they don't trust the banks) you would have thought they would have added another centre back? They're going to need to replace Desailly t some point anyway, and who else do they have, Gallas, any others? Cou7ld really do with more at the back?
Arsenal certainly suffered from a lack of defenders at the tail end of last season. Sol Cambell is good, and Toure has done well this season, but with Keown aging, and Cygan worrying, I can't help but think that some of the transer fee for Reyes would have been better spent at the back? Especially as it's being said that the transfer money for Reyes will mean that no one comes in this sumemr either.
There's a few days to go yet before the window closes, but there aren't even any rumours about these teams stregthening at the back. What do you think, do they need to? Or are they thinking about doing it the Real Madrid way, spend heavily on the front and midfield, and have a defence that can cope, but nothing too expensive...?
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