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Are we going to be the first team ever to go down and have an even better team, buzz about the place than we had beforehand? :lol:

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Chancel Mbemba will almost certainly be away at the African Cup of Nations which runs 14 January – 5 February 2017.

 

Assuming he doesn't leave the club in the transfer window, Mbemba will be away for up to 2 months of the season so NUFC better get some decent cover for him. 46 games (not including cup games) and currently the only senior centre backs are Coloccini (Leaving?), Mbemba and Lascelles.

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  • 1 month later...

So, just to clarify, TCD thinks Paul Dummett had a better season than Chancel Mbemba..

 

Yes. He was much more important to the team for a couple reasons.

 

Firstly, his deputant is awful and injury prone. Can't defend, can't attack - nothing good about his ability except athleticism that he doesn't put to effect. Then he also missed plenty of games and the lads that filled in were also worse.

 

Secondly, Mbemba didn't add anything to the team last season. Whether he was in or out it didn't affect the team much. He played most of the season with Colo - they have similar strengths and identical weaknesses except pace. When Lascelles came into the team under Rafa he offered something new. Leadership, brawn and aerial ability - all things Mbemba lacks. We were a weak team from set pieces and crosses before Mbemba joined, and he didn't help that at all. With Dummett, he's like a 3rd CB who is actually good in the air. He makes such a difference defensively, he helps the CB positionally and in the air. Had Dummett played 3 more games over the course of the season his defensive smarts would've gained us a point (or make up for a point his stand-in lost).

 

I'm not anti-Mbemba. He seems a decent lad and has good footballing skills. But he was a nothing player last season. The best thing about his play last season is that he looks to play forward passes and carried the ball forward. Hopefully he can adapt to the English game in the Champo this season and come back a better PL player.

 

But aye - last season he was pap. A central defender in a team that can't defend is likely to be pap that year. The team damn near to a man, was pap.

 

Think Lascelles under Rafa

Anita at RB

Sissoko created chances

Townsend was legit good

Dummett was solid when fit

Wijnaldum had 4-5 good games or scored important goals

 

The rest 2-3 good games followed by average - total pap. Including Anita at CM (one of the worst culprits), Wijnaldum 80% of the time was total ghost, Lascelles in the few games he played pre-Rafa. Dummett himself missed half the season.

 

 

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To be fair to TCD, Dummett has always been reliable from a defensive point of view and Mbemba has made the odd error. I think Mbemba has much more potential but they are both young and can improve. I like them both.

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there's some truth in that diatribe about the chancellor but it's overly negative imo, for a start he was fit for the majority of the season, his head never dropped during the shite times and he was certainly no worse than any of the other pap that played despite it being his first season in the country at age 21

 

he was a massive positive last season for me, love the chancellor

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I think Mbemba's best attributes that really stand out is his ability to provide cover with his pace, his tremendous slide tackling ability, and his passing / dribbling into space to help build attacks. He's decent in the air and holds his own most of the time when he doesn't have to cover the massive strikers (and now that Hanley and Lascelles are around we're fine there).

 

Rafa will develop him into a class player IMO.

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