02 Aug 2022 02:11:16
Watching Lisandro Martinez kind of scared me yesterday.
Not because he is not a good defender but because he looked so little on the field. There was time when he and Fred were together and Fred looked like a giant in front of him.
He did well considering his height during his time at Ajax but premier league is a different beast. Hopefully he will not let his lack of height be an issue.
02 Aug 2022 06:29:48
His height might be an issue in some scenarios but his positioning is good and he is a very aggressive defender. We may we concede a couple of goals this season that we wouldn't if he was 6ft 3, however, if he's playing ahead of Maguire and Lindelof he will likely save us a few on his positioning and aggression alone.
Add to that his ability on the ball which is excellent. In a situation where most CB's would kick it out of the park or back to the goalkeeper can turn into Martinez turning away from an attacker and passing forward, leading to a United attack.
Plenty of hypotheticals in there but he already has the look of a good player in my opinion and one that United fans will love due to his aggression and leadership.
02 Aug 2022 07:40:42
He’s already our best centre half, for me.
02 Aug 2022 07:56:48
Every single defender has a weakness, an area of their game where they either make mistakes or cannot match a physical trait of an attacker.
Players who are 6'5 tend to be good in the air, if you're up against a tall CB you probably don't try and beat them in the air.
However, tall CB's can struggle with mobility. Especially quick turns and acceleration, with their bulkier bodies being slower to manoeuvre and their long legs taking more strides to get up to speed.
Just look at Maguire as the opposite to Martinez, tall, good in the air, slow, cumbersome.
Martinez might lose a few headers this season, he will however save us goals with his aggression, mobility, speed, his reading of the game and his positioning.
While he'll also massively contribute to our ability to control and dictate games with his on the ball ability and his press resistance.
It'll most likely be a case of him saving us 12 goals a season at least, while maybe costing us 3-4 goals from losing headers. I'd be more than happy to take a bet that we concede far less than the 57 goals we conceded last season this season with Martinez as a consistent starter.
02 Aug 2022 08:03:04
Wow shappy it never ceases to amaze me how you flip flop. Please refer yourself to your post about him being too small you posted when we were 1st linked with him.
02 Aug 2022 08:08:37
Let's wait before he actually plays a few games.
For me looked very composed on the ball, and easily beat the press. He didn't need 2 seconds to think of a pass. Think he controlled one difficult ball very well.
Also even if he fails at CB, he can still play LB and DM.
Yes the height is certainly an issue so ETH could decide to not play him against super physical very tall forwards. Squad rotation is a thing.
Agree with downsie, he looks our best CB.
02 Aug 2022 09:13:04
Baresi was 5’ 9.”.
02 Aug 2022 09:42:20
was thinking the same thing ken.
02 Aug 2022 09:46:46
It is an odd one but we have just seen Alaba win a CL playing CB for Madrid, not exactly a giant.
I think his ability to play a high line and defend proactively on the halfway line outweighs his height problem.
02 Aug 2022 09:57:54
I only heard the last few games on radio, but all the pundits were laughing at how awful Maguire was in the air for such a tall player.
02 Aug 2022 11:17:16
Give the lad a chance. Some of the best players in the air were not tall.
Prime example, Tim Cahill. It is all about aggression and timing.
02 Aug 2022 11:34:30
Ken, how have I flip flopped? I said when we were first linked I said he might struggle in aerial duels in the EPL.
Am I saying the opposite now? No. In fact I'm still saying that he'll probably lose more headers than he'll win.
That seems pretty consistent to me.
In this post I have just expanded by saying about the positives he will also bring rather than just the concern about his ability to win headers.
02 Aug 2022 11:58:36
Cannavaro was probably shorter. He wasn't too shoddy. If he is aggressive and clever then he will find a way to compensate.
02 Aug 2022 12:00:20
I don't know much about him but he apparently won 69% of his aerial duels last year which is not too shabby (unless the Dutch league has a large percentage of shorter players) . Like most I have only seen him in the recent friendly but he looked composed on the ball and his positioning was good. Perhaps being in the right place negates some of his lack of height or perhaps he has a good leap on him. We are sure to find out very shortly but I am not overly concerned currently.
02 Aug 2022 12:32:52
We’ve got Centre backs who are 6ft plus and we’ve been abysmal at the back and equally crap when attacking from corners for the past 2-3 years.
Give him a chance before we start bashing his ‘deficiencies’.
He looks like a cool customer, who reads the game well, positioning is sound and can win a tackle. An upgrade on our current mob.
02 Aug 2022 13:26:16
I am okay with the height as i feel that the way EtH will play will rely less on this and more on his other attributes.
Yes he will get caught out at times and may result in a goal but we will have to remind ourselves of the whole player.
02 Aug 2022 13:29:13
Agree 2 toms.
02 Aug 2022 23:30:58
Who said Maquire is good in the air? Most of the time I see Maguire try and head it as far as he possibly can. rather than cushioning it to a team mate. as well as playing a pass, admiring it then not moving at all to help his teammate.