Centre Back Pairing

[YtarmyYtarmy]

I for one was suprised to see Matt Mills Paired up with Zat Knighht on Tuesday,on top of that I was amazed at Mills pace and how slow he actually was On top of that there was acres of space between them, and i can see us getting caught out if we come up against a fast paced striker straight down the middle. I know there are a lot on here that dont like Knight, but i thought he put some good challenges in on Tuesday and got us out of the brown stuff on a couple of occassions. Personally i think he should be commanding the back 4 now as one of the more senior players,but he didnt seem to do that either. When is Wheater back as we are missing him desperatly, I would of preferred Ream & Knight on Tuesday, but he still needs to prove him self also.

[BWFC_Insane]

Ream isn't very good and was atrocious against Burnley! For now I think Mills and Knight will stay together. It is lacking in pace. If we had a decent left back I'd like to see Knight and Ricketts at centre back.

[boltonboris]

As I said in another thread, it's difficult to judge Mills' pace after Tuesday as Nathan Tyson is probably one of the fastest sprinters in the football league. This McGugan guy from Forest is quick too though.

[TANGODANCER]

Zat Knight in front of a back four of Mears, Rickets, Mills and Alonso?

[as]

Knight & Mills.

Ream made Gerald Cid look like Bobby Moore at Burnley, at least Cid was playing the top flight when he was found out.

Ream might come good - but he's a fairy with no bottle. I miss Gerry Taggart and Chris Fairclough.

[Prufrock]

I'm not sure yet whether Ream is a massive fanny, or he has just spent his entire career so far playing in a league where no-one ever heads it. If it's the first, he is fooked, if it is the second he may be all right, given he is a lot quicker than any of our other centre halves. Jury still very much out on him, but I didn't see the Burnley game, or West Brom for that matter.

[scotty]

I'd like to see Ream and Mills at some point. Probably best to leave it until Mills has settled in a bit more though.

Never been a Knight fan and I quite like Ream on the whole (although I know a lot on here don't rate him and he did have a shocker at Burnley)

[thebish]

there's nowt much wrong with knight at the moment... why dispose of the one who's playing well?

[scotty]

there's nowt much wrong with knight at the moment... why dispose of the one who's playing well?

True.... thats why I said 'at some point.'

i think Ream and Mills have the potential to be a good partnership. Could compliment each other quite well.

[BWFC_Insane]

No sense in taking knight out at the minute. Looks the most comfortable so far, and dare I say it seems to be taking responsibility more now....

[H. Pedersen]

I'm not sure yet whether Ream is a massive fanny, or he has just spent his entire career so far playing in a league where no-one ever heads it.

It’s odd, given that MLS has a reputation as a physical league with “no blood, no foul” referees, but the aerial prowess is lower than you’d expect. Eddie Johnson washed out completely in Europe and spent four years either on the bench or on the treatment table. But at Seattle he’s scoring with his head for fun this season. Heading is as much about jumping and positioning as being tall, but I think a lot of Ream’s coaches probably looked at him and said “you’re over 6 feet, you’ll be fine.” See Knight, Zat.

In short, I expect Tim Cahill to score roughly 300 goals for New York next season.

[Little Green Man]

Looks the most comfortable so far, and dare I say it seems to be taking responsibility more now....

When did we last have a centre back that could be described as the leader of the back four? (Not that it's an overriding prerequisite of keeping a clean sheet.)

[Prufrock]

So it could just be that he just isn't used to anybody being able to head? Coz I'm not sure he has actually 'won' a header for us yet! He is quick, decent on the ball, a bit wonky positionally (even compared to the likes of Knight, but probably quick enough to get away with it) but so poor in the air it is untrue.

I think he thought everybody over here was as tall as Robbie Keane, though he probably won headers against him in training! Yep, Cahill must be rubbing his hands with glee.

[Prufrock]

Looks the most comfortable so far, and dare I say it seems to be taking responsibility more now....

When did we last have a centre back that could be described as the leader of the back four? (Not that it's an overriding prerequisite of keeping a clean sheet.)

Depends what you mean by leader? If it's blood and guts lead by example, probably Faye, or early days O'Brien. If you mean organisation, Cahill was always talking. Sam Ricketts does a lot of organising too. Not saying either were particularly good at it like. That said, I don't think it is a back four problem. Keith Andrews appears to have inherited Reo-Coker's fortunate position as only midfielder who can bastard tackle. There's is a problem with balance, and it means teams get at our back four, all four of them, far too easily.

If we MUST play 4-4-2, then for me we can't get away with Petrov or Mark Davies, who are about as much use defensively as a one-legged man in an arse-kicking contest, or Kevin Davies who offers absolutely no mobility whatsoever.

Boggers

Mears/Riley - Mills- Knight- Ricketts

Lee- Vela/Pratley/one-legged Holden - Andrews - Eagles

------Sordell-----Afobe-----------------

for me, assuming our glorious leader stays wed to his beloved formation.

[Little Green Man]

That said, I don't think it is a back four problem. Keith Andrews appears to have inherited Reo-Coker's fortunate position as only midfielder who can bastard tackle. There's is a problem with balance, and it means teams get at our back four, all four of them, far too easily.

That seemed clear throughout last season even from crummy, low-resolution streams (hence my bit in brackets above). Given the thread title I just thought I'd pose the question.

[H. Pedersen]

So it could just be that he just isn't used to anybody being able to head? Coz I'm not sure he has actually 'won' a header for us yet! He is quick, decent on the ball, a bit wonky positionally (even compared to the likes of Knight, but probably quick enough to get away with it) but so poor in the air it is untrue.

I think he thought everybody over here was as tall as Robbie Keane, though he probably won headers against him in training! Yep, Cahill must be rubbing his hands with glee.

There are some decent target men in MLS, but there are a lot of turds too. I think the main factor is that Ream has simply played at a much lower level than an average European player of his age. Until 2010 he played at college level, where most of the players aren't even good enough for MLS.

[officer_dibble]

As I said in another thread, it's difficult to judge Mills' pace after Tuesday as Nathan Tyson is probably one of the fastest sprinters in the football league. This McGugan guy from Forest is quick too though.

Thing is I can imagine a lot of sides having a quick striker.

Ricketts as centre half with Knight coyld work...signing an actual left back would be a massive fecking help.

Mills hardly played for Leicester at the end of last season so it may be s fitness issue as well.

[Little Green Man]

That said, I don't think it is a back four problem. Keith Andrews appears to have inherited Reo-Coker's fortunate position as only midfielder who can bastard tackle. There's is a problem with balance, and it means teams get at our back four, all four of them, far too easily.

That seemed clear throughout last season even from crummy, low-resolution streams (hence my bit in brackets above). Given the thread title I just thought I'd pose the question.

Oops, that comes over as a bit stuck up on re-read. It wasn't meant to be.

[SmokinFrazier]

I thought Ream was pretty good alongside Wheater last season. He wasn't flawless and we did concede goals with them in the team but I thought they looked good together. They complemented each other well unlike Mills and Knight who are both deathly slow. I like the combination of a big strong defender and a ball player, like United have with Vidic and Ferdinand or Chelsea have with Terry and Cahill.

[Tombwfc]

I think every club in the Championship has a token 'can sprint really fast but can't score' striker. I'm shocked Johann Smith didn't manage to make a career for himself.

Regardless, I think you'll get caught out more often for being a massive fanny than you will for being slow. Knight and Mills for me.