When will we ever have decent defense?

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If we want to challenge Liverpool, ManU and Arsenal next season for the title and potentially quality teams in Europe we need to break the bank for a new defense.

Our midfield and attack can be awesome but our defense!!!!! When will we ever have a defense that can win games. Dabizas and O'Brien aren't good enough.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Answers

Our defence are adequate at best. I rate O Brien but he had a nightmare v Ipswich. Seemingly he was ill - so why was he playing I ask!

NUFC NEVER have seemed to have a decent defence. In all my years of watching (not saying how many) the defence has always been a problems, always prone to mad cap errors.

I'd keep OB, put Distin in beside him, play Hughes at RB and try Bernard at LB. Then buy a new left full back in the summer.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002


I could put up a good argument that Manure haven't got a good defence either (esp. this season, look how many goals they've let in / given away) but do they really care; they score more than they concede and don't miss penalties either. Van the Horse has been taking their pens. this season, he was subbed yesterday so Beckham had to take their pen., and did he try to place it........like **@k!

Sorry AS (I'm your biggest fan) but you get paid zillions not to miss them :-(

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002


no need to have a go at Shearer, anyone can miss

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

their second goal was more worthy of abuse than Shearer's miss, what were our boys thinking, if O'Brien was injured then Elliot should have been on at half time, woudl have still allowed Dyer and Lua2/Shola to come on

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Saying that, Shearer was inches wide. It wasn't miles wide.

Still shouldn't ever miss a penalty though.

Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal all have one player that we don't - a defensive midfielder playmaker. Rob Lee used to be our playmaker, and until he got injured Gary Speed.

Recently though we have had nobody to do that job. Against Arsenal last week Acuna did it, and did it well, and the defence looked great.

If Jenas turns out to be this player then great, but BR seems to think he isn't like that. The fact that he said he models his game on Patrick Vieira would suggest BR doesn't know him well enough yet.

Man Utd's made Henning Berg look a decent defender by having Roy Keane in front of the defence. If we can get our hands on a quality playmaker then we have the other cogs in the machine to go places. We have to get one young though. Roy Keane moved from Forest when he was young. Vieira joined Arsenal as an inexperienced player, learning his trade from Petit and Gerrard has came through the ranks at Liverpool.

Even Villa and Chelsea have these players, in Boateng and Petit.

Dare I suggest even Gavin McCann could do a job for us in this role?

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002



I'm 100% in agreement with Rob - I'm bloody fed up with our ongoing inability to defend properly, and sorry Lynda but imho our defence is far from 'adequate'.

"The ManU also have a crap defence" argument doesn't wash with me either. Firstly, I reckon they have a better defence than we do, and secondly I really don't give a bugger what they do anyway.

I see nothing wrong with having a good defence and wonderful attacking players, and I really can't us winning owt until we finally sort out the defence.

My instinct is that neither O'Brien or Dabz are really top drawer, but I suspect either one of them playing alongside Distin would be a better combination.

One current problem I can see is that by playing Distin at LB we are not really assessing his ability to play CB, which is where we really want him to play.

I'm not too uncomfortable at RB with AH and Griffin, but we really must sign a top class LB in the summer.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002


Left back and centre midield are our two major priorities.

The thing is, good left sided players are very hard to get - which is firstly why we should pull out all the stops to keep Distin, and secondly why a large chunk of our summer transfer budget should be put towards this position.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002


... we should go for the S'ton LB, Wayne Bridge.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Aye, Bridge is a great player. Pretty decent going forward, and great at the back. Better than bloody Ashley Cole for England IMO.

Another quality player is Wilfried Bouma from PSV, although he is a bit like Bernard in that he is more of a left wing back. He is still a fine defensive player though. Probably quite expensive however.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002


Bridge is certainly better than the only other left back I can think of with the same first name.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002


Bridge stood out for me when I realised he was the first defender this season that matched Bellamy for pace, good enough for me

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

L-B..Neil Clement of W.B.A.pace,strength, and good initials...

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

We certainley need to play distin CB , Dabizas has been at fault for 5 of the last 6 goals weve conceded wholey or partly, Hughes has an annoying habit of failing to keep the line thus playing people on side a la Bent on sat.

I cant blame Obrien too much as Dbs madea hopeless attempt of getting the ball instead of l;eaving it for OB and it just got stuck between his feet.

Although Al shouldnt have missed a PEN his two dissalowed goals were perfectly OK.... O and our PEN was never a pen...

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002


Lynda, I've been championing the defensive line up you quote for months. Trouble is, even if Dabs gets injured I think YBR would put Elliot in at LB after moving Distin into Dabs's spot. We've got to have Elliot and Dabs injured/ill together for it to happen. Maybe.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

Len - Neil Clement has been getting good write-ups this season, so I was looking forward to seeing him in the recent FACQF game v Fulham - as a "possibility".

He may just have had a bad day but I thought he looked well short of the class needed for the PL, especially defensively.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002



You have to add into this equation our Scottish international centre halves, Steve is capped and now it looks like Gary too. I'd have to say that Gary looks a better long term bet than our heroic/anti- heroic Greek

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

Are either of the Caldwell's loan deals up before the end of the season. It would be nice to see them get a chance in the first team for our last matches. Give them some hope for next season.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

Steve C. is back at SJP ciara - not sure about Gary's arragement with Hibs.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

This morning's Journal says GC is on loan at Hibs until the end of the season, and that he is out of contract then!!

Hibs have already been in discussion with his Agent qbout signing him, but not surprisingly other "big Clubs" interested in him after he has already created a highly favourable impression in Scotland.

So - unless he fancies competing with Marcelino for a place in our Stiffs, he could well be on his way. Bloody brilliant!

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2002


Hibs have nothing left to play for as Scotland descends into its daft end of season split. They would like to hold on to Caldwell for ever, but definitely for the rest of the season. Their manager is quoted this morning as hoping that Gary sees that he has a chance of playing for Scotland if he's getting first team football at Hibs, whereas his older brother has no chance from Newcastle reserves/Bradford/Blackpool

Has there ever been a faster international call up for a player who has 4 starts for Darlington, and 6 for Hibs, or even more strangely, has only ever appeared in 4 first team games on the winning side ?

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2002


With the current squad I am afraid the answer is not as long as their arses point to the ground!

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2002

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