17 Mar 2015 00:16:40
Can we please stop this nonsense of "If you aren't usain bolt, you're too slow to play centre back". Biggest load of nonsense i've ever heard, centrebacks are there to defend, not run, or else we'd buy a team of sprinters.
I can't believe we let vidic start for us year after year, what a terrible defender he was.
17 Mar 2015 09:50:15
Your right you don't have to be, but in the Premier league a lack of pace in defence can be an issue. It is an end to end league where teams break on you with pace, if you haven't got the pace in defence to keep up then you can be exposed at the back.
Vidic wasn't lighting quick but he wasn't slow either, he also had Evra and Ferdinand alongside him who were both very quick which ment he had pace either side of him.
17 Mar 2015 10:46:04
Vidic was much slower than Hummels is. And he'll have Rojo/Smalling/Jones, Shaw and Rafael/New RB. all of which have good pace.
People saying we shouldn't go for Hummels for this reason are nonsensical.
17 Mar 2015 11:12:03
I don't think there's much difference in there respective speeds between hummels now and vidic at his peak. I seem to remember Torres destroying vidic for pace. And forwards are getting quicker. I just think spending 40 million on a slow injury prone player doesn't make sense. Sorry for having a nonsensical opinion.
17 Mar 2015 11:22:06
MPez you don't need to be Usain Bolt but you can't be a Stephen Hawking in defence either. Exaggeration works both ways mate.
17 Mar 2015 12:14:38
The rumours are starting to get more and more far fetched. Personally I can see us making a move for 20th century philosopher and literary maverick Jean-Paul Sartre, he'd do an excellent job in a free role behind the striker.
17 Mar 2015 12:20:59
Torres at his peak(before injury) was one of the quickest forwards in the world. And he would target Vidic because he was our slowest centre back. As you mentioned forwards are getting quicker, why bring in someone who imo is slower that Vidic was at his peak?
There is a lack of world class centre backs atm, certainly none who could challenge the likes of Baresi, Beckenbauer, Moore ect as best ever, not even any on the same level as Nesta, Thuram, Koeman or Costacurta.
So with no genuine world class CB's then we need players who can at least match forwards for strength and pace.
Hummels has injury concerns and a lack of pace and you want to throw him into the quickest most physically demanding league in the world?
17 Mar 2015 13:17:43
With most teams playing one up top, having speedy CB's is not quite as important nowadays, as one can cover the other.
17 Mar 2015 17:52:20
Maybe if we brought in Hummels then maybe Van Gaal would play with a bit more freedom and trust his defense more but we need a right back more though.Cover on the left is needed and Evans and Jones should be out the door
18 Mar 2015 10:27:28
The problem with the left is we have Shaw, Rojo, Blind, even Young & Evans.
The problem is our right, I love Rafael, but the gaffer doesn't so we need a proper RB, Valencia is just a stop gap and we get found out there.