Yeah, they could do with having a bit of time in a preseason friendly match or something of that ilk.
You've missed the point. If you have a player that's barely had any chance to play with any of his team mates, do you put him into the more exposed position of centre back, or do you give him the simpler and less vulnerable role of a full back?
It was a meaningless friendly, as many are keen to point out. Who gives a f*** if he's exposed? It would be a start. And if he's that exposed it says a lot about the team in front of him anyway.
He'll now go into a competitive match against a very good opponent with no match time with either partner whatsoever. Ideal.
Exactly. Why not ease him into it in a "meaningless friendly", rather than pushing him into the deep end against Southampton when the pressure is on to perform well?
Doubt he'll start, to be honest. Pretty sure we'll see the same back 4 as today.