The defence next season

[TheInfiniteOdyssey]

Didn’t realise how shockingly awful our goal difference is. The defence has to be far more robust next season.

[tgarve]

The stick I got for rightly saying we need to improve on Burn

[ilikenewcastle]

14 minutes ago, tgarve said:

The stick I got for rightly saying we need to improve on Burn

Some of these defeats have been a blessing in disguise. Players like Burn have been amazing at getting us out of a relegation scrap, but we need the powers that be to recognise they can't be relied upon to take us to the next level. 

[Ronaldo]

At an absolute minimum I think we need a new GK, CB and LB who will both fit the mould of our internal team culture, if you like, and be an upgrade on what we have.

 

Tough job for Howe, even with a large budget. Hopefully they’re already all over it.

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, TheInfiniteOdyssey said:

Didn’t realise how shockingly awful our goal difference is. The defence has to be far more robust next season.

Goal difference is -21, against the top 5 it’s -22. Against the rest of the league we’ve been fine. Naturally as we add more quality in defence and in goal that’ll prove hopefully.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by Optimistic Nut

[TheBrownBottle]

Trippier is the only defender at the club who’d be part of any remotely ambitious set-up medium-term; but we’re a long way from being competitive

 

Dubravka, Burn, Targett, and Schaar are bottom-half of PL quality (though much better than relegation fodder).  I’d hope to have them all replaced/sitting as squad players within 12-18 months if we’re going anywhere.  Personally I think Dubravka’s replacing is more urgent than others may think - his distribution is woeful and invites pressure, and his decision-making is questionable.  He also has at least one clanger per game in him.  A better quality keeper would be a priority for me - though if the reports on the budget are accurate, that might be tricky as it wouldn’t be as great a need as the forward positions.

 

A top notch defensive midfielder wouldn’t go amiss either - though I do think DM is now Joelinton’s best position (the talk of him being a ‘number 8’ worries me - the lad is hopeless in attacking positions; but he’s strong and tenacious and decent technically, and pretty good at reading the game - what you’d want from a DM).

[Dr Jinx]

Aye, for as good as Bruno is, he needs help in there and will look a much better player when we’re playing a possession style game.

 

Joelinton as much as I love him, is not that player to do that, I think his future will be further forward or a utility player in either when needed.

 

Shelvey can obviously pass the ball around well but he’s about as mobile as a hippo on land. We need an athletic destroyer who’s got pace to burn to add some balance to the midfield, Longstaff is not the answer and I also have reservations about how best to use Willock, who can obviously play but at the expense of who? He doesn’t seem to naturally fit the system our manager uses.

[Stottie]

Even with Tottenham and the City game yesterday, it's still only 19 conceded in 17 games since January 1st. Fifth best in the league. 9 conceded in the other 15 games, including Chelsea away and Liverpool home (!) Given how rarely we get a two goal lead, the defence has done brilliantly to get us so many points.

 

I would sign a CB and Targett, and look toward improving all the backups. There is so much deadwood in the squad. 

[DebuchyAndTheBeast]

Our defenders aren't that bad defensively but they are average or poor in other areas which limits how we can set up and play. They've improved under Howe and are ok in possession but aren't great. Sometimes they can give the ball away cheaply especially under pressure. They're also getting older and slower, so we usually can't push up and press teams effectively because we could get caught with a simple ball over the top. Also our fullbacks rarely contribute anything in attack barring Trippier...

[Guest HTT II]

We need a ball playing centre-back with power and pace so we can play higher up the pitch and defend and attack further forward, which of course pushes the opposition back, we lack that player and signing one will be just as key to us signing a top centre-forward.

[Kid Icarus]

I obviously don't know who we'll get, but if we go into next season with Schar and Burn as back ups that's already a gigantic step up on its own. If the centre backs we get fail or get injured or whatever, we know they've got what it takes against a lot of the league. They're also much further down the list of priorities than a striker, a RW, and a DM. 

[PlymouthGeordie]

1 hour ago, HTT II said:

We need a ball playing centre-back with power and pace so we can play higher up the pitch and defend and attack further forward, which of course pushes the opposition back, we lack that player and signing one will be just as key to us signing a top centre-forward.

 

Absolutely this.

 

Our back 4 is criminally slow. Even Trippier got roasted for pace for the 4th goal yesterday by Grealish who is hardly known for being quick. Given it was his first game back and positionally he normally protects himself well I don't think Trippier is a worry though.

 

I'm starting to think we should pass on Targett. He is good, much better than what we have but if we want to play high and press ggressively I'd argue we need someone quicker at LB. 

 

You're absolutely right regarding a CB too. We need someone quick and good on the ball to edge either Schar or Burn on to the bench.

 

Lascelles, Targett, Fede, Clark, Lewis and Manquillo could all go this summer.

 

We'd then need a new 2x CB and a LB to give us a pool of 8 defenders to choose from.

[The Prophet]

The attack is far more of a priority than the defence, this summer. I fully expect us sign a CB and a LB (probably targett permanently), but that'll be fine going into next season.

[SUPERTOON]

Our style of play will almost certainly change next season to a more attack minded approach. With that in mind we really do need to bring in a top quality CB, preferably with pace.