Centre Backs 18/19

Seems to be a united belief that we need at least one better option than we currently have as we conceded so many headed goals last year and this area has become a clear weakness for us since we lost a settled partnership in Fonte and VVD.

I wonder though, whether we will buy a CB as we have four on the books and it seems unlikely any would be sold?

Yoshida - for me a 3rd choice PL quality player but has been a first choice for 2 years or so now, probably an indication of where we have dropped off in quality as a team. Were some rumours about him leaving, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Not a natural leader.

Hoedt - largely poor last year although better in final few games. Bought for a big fee so will be given a chance to establish himself. Not a natural leader.

Stephens - young Academy player who has definitely got quality but also goes missing. Little chance of selling him as he is the Academy player who plays the most games. Not a natural leader.

Bednarek - Promising if raw in his first games. Now he has been picked for the WC by a semi competent nation he would hardly settle for being a 5th choice at Saints, and no way we will sell him as seems a good talent. Too inexperienced to lead a PL backline.

If we play with 3 CBs as the main formation next year then possibly could get away with bringing in a first choice but even then some of the above would barely figure.

Be interesting to see...

IMO it wouldn't have been a bad time for Yoshida to leave as would have freed up one of the 'established' slots and allowed for some needed change.

If we are going to continue playing a back 3, we need 5 players suited to that position.

If we're going to mainly play with 2 cb's we need 4.

5 CB's needed if we're going to play 3 at the back...I'd try and offload Stephens and try and brign in two established CB's, though that won't happen. More likely we'll bring in 1 and keep Stephens.

NEW

NEW

Hoedt

Yoshida

Bednarek

Everyone is very keen to off load Stephens. How about moving him up to DM, not least as he is seemingly happy enough to carry the ball forward?

Everyone is very keen to off load Stephens. How about moving him up to DM, not least as he is seemingly happy enough to carry the ball forward?

Because our DM's are all better than him. (Including Reed & Clasie)

Think our CB’s are good enough if we had a demanding head winner and leader at the back.

Football is all about confidence and I reckon if we get Gibson from Boro then this department will be sorted.

Think our CB’s are good enough if we had a demanding head winner and leader at the back.

Football is all about confidence and I reckon if we get Gibson from Boro then this department will be sorted.

Hmm, think it would be a bit of a gamble. but could work. Problem is that none of Stephens, Hoedt, Yoshida or Bednarek are really good enough to be first choice in this division, but we can't get rid of them all in one window...!

We clearly need a VVD replacement, someone big, strong, dominating in the air and not that slow. It's a tough ask though as I'd imagine half the league is looking for that player as well.

Hoedt/Bednerak as the other two should be good enough.

Issa Diop and Julien get it done

Issa Diop and Julien get it done

With all due respect, what exactly is this based on?

Signing both centre backs from Toulouse, who stayed up via a relegation playoff, seems a bit odd...

Is De Ligt out of our reach? Jordan Torunarigha?

Maybe we should be looking at St Etienne, they had a good defensive record last season...Neven Subotic, Loic Perrin?

Who was the russian cb on loan to leicester last season , thought he had potential big brute

Who was the russian cb on loan to leicester last season , thought he had potential big brute

The Austrian dude, Aleksandar Dragovic?

yep thats him was impressed tbh

Agree with the notion we need 5 at centre back if we play a back three. I also have faith that Hoedt will get better, remember he wasn't first choice at the start of the season and is still relatively young for centre back, plus he improved in the last few games when the pressure was on. So I'd keep him and hope he improves further with a better centre back alongside him.

So we have Yoshida (who's said he's staying), Hoedt, Bednarek and Stephens. We need one new centre back, a first choice, complete, decent centre back to partner others. Yes, 5 centre backs is a lot if we play a back 4, but we need strength in depth (unless we have faith in Alfie Jones) and Stephens is fairly versatile in that he can play right back and defensive midfield.

Is De Ligt out of our reach?

Because our DM's are all better than him. (Including Reed & Clasie)

Are they? Reed and Clasie didn't impress me at all.

We need someone in that position that can cover the ground quicker and add a little physicality. Romeu had a very poor season, giving the ball away far far too much. If he can get back to his 16/17 form, then we are all set, but if not then that central position is a weakness.

I'm not a fan of suggesting centre backs move into that DM role, but Stephens dos look very comfortable with the ball when going forwards. Whether he can play with his back to goal is another thing though.

Seems to be a united belief that we need at least one better option than we currently have as we conceded so many headed goals last year and this area has become a clear weakness for us since we lost a settled partnership in Fonte and VVD.

 

I wonder though, whether we will buy a CB as we have four on the books and it seems unlikely any would be sold?

 

Yoshida - for me a 3rd choice PL quality player but has been a first choice for 2 years or so now, probably an indication of where we have dropped off in quality as a team. Were some rumours about him leaving, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Not a natural leader.

 

Hoedt - largely poor last year although better in final few games. Bought for a big fee so will be given a chance to establish himself. Not a natural leader.

 

Stephens - young Academy player who has definitely got quality but also goes missing. Little chance of selling him as he is the Academy player who plays the most games. Not a natural leader.

 

Bednarek - Promising if raw in his first games. Now he has been picked for the WC by a semi competent nation he would hardly settle for being a 5th choice at Saints, and no way we will sell him as seems a good talent. Too inexperienced to lead a PL backline.

 

If we play with 3 CBs as the main formation next year then possibly could get away with bringing in a first choice but even then some of the above would barely figure.

 

Be interesting to see...

 

IMO it wouldn't have been a bad time for Yoshida to leave as would have freed up one of the 'established' slots and allowed for some needed change.

You seem to be another of these morons who has an agenda against Maya Yoshida. Of course he is a Premier League quality defender even if not one of the best and he is one of the best leaders in our team. It's not worth reading the rest of your opinion because it clearly is not unbiased.

I must admit I was thinking the time was probably right for Yoshida to move on this summer - but whether he does or not we need to bring in a first choice centre back - and a big aggressive one at that who can pass ball.

Aleksander Dragovic the Serb who plays fr Austria would fit the bill - he was on loan at Leicester and they had an option to buy but he doesn't want to play for Puel.

That would give us 5 centre backs which we need at if we are going to play 3 at the back but I would be tempted to move Jack Stephens to right back to provide competition and cover to whoever replaces Cedric. Its where he started his career in the youth team I believe and probably his best position anyway. And he can also provide cover at cover at Centre Back and Defensive Midfielder if we need it.

If we do need a 5th centre back to replace Stephens (if he goes to right back) Fabian Schar would be a relatively cheap option at £4M or so having just been relegated with Deportivo La Coruna - and previously played with Dragovic at FC Basel. He'd also make a cheap alternative to Dragovic.

Because our DM's are all better than him. (Including Reed & Clasie)

Its almost like players don't develop with game time...

Seems to be a united belief that we need at least one better option than we currently have as we conceded so many headed goals last year and this area has become a clear weakness for us since we lost a settled partnership in Fonte and VVD.

 

I wonder though, whether we will buy a CB as we have four on the books and it seems unlikely any would be sold?

 

Yoshida - for me a 3rd choice PL quality player but has been a first choice for 2 years or so now, probably an indication of where we have dropped off in quality as a team. Were some rumours about him leaving, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Not a natural leader.

 

Hoedt - largely poor last year although better in final few games. Bought for a big fee so will be given a chance to establish himself. Not a natural leader.

 

Stephens - young Academy player who has definitely got quality but also goes missing. Little chance of selling him as he is the Academy player who plays the most games. Not a natural leader.

 

Bednarek - Promising if raw in his first games. Now he has been picked for the WC by a semi competent nation he would hardly settle for being a 5th choice at Saints, and no way we will sell him as seems a good talent. Too inexperienced to lead a PL backline.

 

If we play with 3 CBs as the main formation next year then possibly could get away with bringing in a first choice but even then some of the above would barely figure.

 

Be interesting to see...

 

IMO it wouldn't have been a bad time for Yoshida to leave as would have freed up one of the 'established' slots and allowed for some needed change.

I think it would be mad to let Yoshida leave as he's actually the current best of the lot. Also think he could be a decent Vice Captain or Captain.

Also have the opinion that Hoedt was actually okay early on in the season but then got worse second half of the season...when we conceded a ****tonne of goals

We badly need is a strong aerial presence, who in an ideal world is also an organizer.

If we were to get rid of any of them it would be yoshida for me.

If we plan to continue with 3 at the back then you’d think we would need 5 rather than 4.

Yoshida has the experience and the attitude to stay here and doesn’t disappear when the going gets tough. Given that we really need to strengthen with at least one senior player, that leaves Hoedt, Stephens and Bednarek fighting over two spaces. For me, WH and JB have the greater potential, which leaves JS still standing when the music stops.

Either he is Pied’s replacement as backup RB, which I’m okay with personally, or he should move on.

Also have the opinion that Hoedt was actually okay early on in the season but then got worse second half of the season...when we conceded a ****tonne of goals

Find it amusing how this myth has arisen that we conceded a lot of goals last season. 56 in total is not a lot of goals. We only conceded more than 3 goals on 2 occassions, (Spuds and Leicester). We conceded 3 goals in a game 5 times, 3 of which were after Hughes came in. That means in 31 games we conceded 2 or less. Conceding shed loads of goals was not our problem last season. The main problem was not scoring enough/any.

You seem to be another of these morons who has an agenda against Maya Yoshida. Of course he is a Premier League quality defender even if not one of the best and he is one of the best leaders in our team. It's not worth reading the rest of your opinion because it clearly is not unbiased.

I just feel that we were so weak at CB last season, but can't see us selling Hoedt, Bednarek or Stephens.

We need to bring in someone who is better than all the other CBs we have, and Yoshida is probably a player who wants to be starting every week.

I think he has improved massively but if we really want to be a team fighting for top 10 then you need better centre backs than Yoshida and I don't feel he would he happy moving back to third choice, which I fully respect.

Would not actively look to offload him, but had he left this summer it may have provided an opportunity for more change in this position, something that is badly needed.

Instead the club will probably put faith in Bednarek, Hoedt and Stephens to kick on alongside Maya.

IMO that set of centre backs is what we were last season, a bottom third club, fighting relegation. For example, both of Brighton's centre backs would have got in our first team once VVD left.

Find it amusing how this myth has arisen that we conceded a lot of goals last season. 56 in total is not a lot of goals. We only conceded more than 3 goals on 2 occassions, (Spuds and Leicester). We conceded 3 goals in a game 5 times, 3 of which were after Hughes came in. That means in 31 games we conceded 2 or less. Conceding shed loads of goals was not our problem last season. The main problem was not scoring enough/any.

We kept things very tight for much of the season and by keeping men behind the ball restricted the number of chances created against us. The problem was, that when someone did pop a half decent ball into the box, more often than not, it got tucked away. I think our central defenders' lack of presence, particularly in the air, has a lot to say in that regard.

We kept things very tight for much of the season and by keeping men behind the ball restricted the number of chances created against us. The problem was, that when someone did pop a half decent ball into the box, more often than not, it got tucked away. I think our central defenders' lack of presence, particularly in the air, has a lot to say in that regard.

I think there's a large element of truth in this. Our complete lack of adventure over the last 2 years has flattered our defence somewhat. When Hughes came in and tried to play with a bit of purpose we immediately started shipping 3 goals a game.

Issa Diop and Julien get it done

With all due respect, what exactly is this based on?

 

Signing both centre backs from Toulouse, who stayed up via a relegation playoff, seems a bit odd...

Have seen both names mentioned, so you've given that some context.

Qustion though, which might be the better option, one of those two, who didn't get relegated with their club, or Gibson from Middlesboro who did get relegated season before last, and has spent a year in the Championship?

Pontus Janson has been mentioned regularly on here and in the press. But after his recent bleating to the Swedish press I noticed a number of Leeds fans on an article saying they've had enough of his taliking about playing at a higher level and would be happy to see the back of him. Talks a good game but peformed poorly much of last season.

I think we need more of a dominator and leader at CB than any of our current group provide. No idea who though.

Find it amusing how this myth has arisen that we conceded a lot of goals last season. 56 in total is not a lot of goals. We only conceded more than 3 goals on 2 occassions, (Spuds and Leicester). We conceded 3 goals in a game 5 times, 3 of which were after Hughes came in. That means in 31 games we conceded 2 or less. Conceding shed loads of goals was not our problem last season. The main problem was not scoring enough/any.

We must of conceded 2 a lot which makes it almost certain we get 0 points possibly 1 point if we actually score 2

Seems to be a united belief that we need at least one better option than we currently have as we conceded so many headed goals last year and this area has become a clear weakness for us since we lost a settled partnership in Fonte and VVD.

 

I wonder though, whether we will buy a CB as we have four on the books and it seems unlikely any would be sold?

 

Yoshida - for me a 3rd choice PL quality player but has been a first choice for 2 years or so now, probably an indication of where we have dropped off in quality as a team. Were some rumours about him leaving, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Not a natural leader.

 

Hoedt - largely poor last year although better in final few games. Bought for a big fee so will be given a chance to establish himself. Not a natural leader.

 

Stephens - young Academy player who has definitely got quality but also goes missing. Little chance of selling him as he is the Academy player who plays the most games. Not a natural leader.

 

Bednarek - Promising if raw in his first games. Now he has been picked for the WC by a semi competent nation he would hardly settle for being a 5th choice at Saints, and no way we will sell him as seems a good talent. Too inexperienced to lead a PL backline.

 

If we play with 3 CBs as the main formation next year then possibly could get away with bringing in a first choice but even then some of the above would barely figure.

 

Be interesting to see...

 

IMO it wouldn't have been a bad time for Yoshida to leave as would have freed up one of the 'established' slots and allowed for some needed change.

Unless we get two experienced CBs, Yoshida should be here for at least the next season.

Dont understand the 'not a leader' tag, clearly one of the most notable leaders in the squad (albeit one that is fairly short on them). Also in the last few games he was the key organiser of the defence, visibly instructing Hoedt, Bednarek and Stephens. His absence was notable against Swansea as the three left over ran around like headless chickens without an iota of positional sense for the entire match, luckily Swansea were extremely limp in front of goal and McCarthy had a blinder.

Hoedt is good at tackling, but horrible at passing, dribbling and positioning was atrocious. Potential is there though and as mentioned elsewhere he declined after an encouraging start to the season.

Stephens is good on the ball, but has awful positioning and is weak in the air.

Bednarek in the few games he played looked encouraging and appeared to ease our aerial weakness slightly. He definitely is quite far off the finished article though.

Take your pick.

Stick with what we have - they are all either good enough already (Yoshi and Bednarek) or have the potential to become good enough. What has been missing is confidence, and organisation/coaching.

Hoedt is not a premiership player in my view.

Replace with nearly anyone ....

None of them can head the ball ffs. Even against the midget Ayew brothers they lost everything in the air. I don't really understand it because they're all quite tall. It must be a bravery/confidence issue. 1 new CB who can show the rest how easy it is, is a must.

Have seen both names mentioned, so you've given that some context.

 

Qustion though, which might be the better option, one of those two, who didn't get relegated with their club, or Gibson from Middlesboro who did get relegated season before last, and has spent a year in the Championship?

 

Pontus Janson has been mentioned regularly on here and in the press. But after his recent bleating to the Swedish press I noticed a number of Leeds fans on an article saying they've had enough of his taliking about playing at a higher level and would be happy to see the back of him. Talks a good game but peformed poorly much of last season.

 

I think we need more of a dominator and leader at CB than any of our current group provide. No idea who though.

How about Johnny Evans for £3-5M? Skilled, yes, experienced, yes. Make him a regular, give him the captaincy.

How about Johnny Evans for £3-5M? Skilled, yes, experienced, yes. Make him a regular, give him the captaincy.

Given a couple of years ago we easily had the best CB pairing outside the top 6, it has regressed a lot.

Maguire and Evans is miles better than anything we have.

Evans for £3-5m. We should be all over that.

Evans for £3-5m. We should be all over that.

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Is that a release clause? If not we should offer £7-8million and get it done.

 

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Read somewhere agent wants 7 million and Evans 150k per week thats why city pulled out as they refused to pay agent 7 million, the total cost over 3 year deal was something

like 35 million perhaps you can see why he's not for us especially at 30 years old

Is that a release clause? If not we should offer £7-8million and get it done.

 

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The release clause is low, clearly, but talk of an agents fee on top of that, so that's why I quoted a range. £7-8M would get us the player financially. Just a case then of whether another suitor attracts him more.

I would imagine signing Gibson / Mawson / Diakhaby would be much more 'us' than signing Evans.

Will be interesting to see if there's a change in policy under Hughes.

We must of conceded 2 a lot which makes it almost certain we get 0 points possibly 1 point if we actually score 2

Nope, 9 of which we won 2 by 3-2. As I said it is a myth that we conceded shed loads of goals. Bit like the myth that Stephens can't head the ball/is weak in the air.

I would imagine signing Gibson / Mawson / Diakhaby would be much more 'us' than signing Evans.

 

Will be interesting to see if there's a change in policy under Hughes.

Apparently, Gibson would be a waste of money.

Leicester in for Evans

Surprised more teams weren't all over Evans at that price - it's apparently two instalments of £1.75m.

For a club struggling with a leader at the back I'm also surprised we didn't have a sniff. I assume we're calm and relaxed about the situation though. I know it's crazy to think, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised for the club to think CB is covered and assume that Bedernak, Hoedt, Yoshida and Stephens are enough, with Alfie Jones as the 5th.

15:55BREAKING NEWS

Sky Sports News understands West Brom defender Jonny Evans has agreed to join Leicester after they met his relegation release clause.

The fee of £3.5m is to be paid in two instalments.

Heavens above, Leicester need to pay for this on the knock?

Would be interested to hear how much he's earning, probably upwards of £150k a week at that fee...?

Surprised more teams weren't all over Evans at that price - it's apparently two instalments of £1.75m.

 

For a club struggling with a leader at the back I'm also surprised we didn't have a sniff. I assume we're calm and relaxed about the situation though. I know it's crazy to think, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised for the club to think CB is covered and assume that Bedernak, Hoedt, Yoshida and Stephens are enough, with Alfie Jones as the 5th.

I honestly think that's the way we're going. I think Hughes will go back to 4231 rather than 3 at the back which means we won't sign another center back.

Perhaps with the right coaching and some solid midfield work we'll be able to protect the back 4 more effectively and Hoedt will improve on the back of his first season. It's a gamble but I can see it happening

CB needs a complete overhaul, really let us down last season. Hopefully a couple in, couple out.

I honestly think that's the way we're going. I think Hughes will go back to 4231 rather than 3 at the back which means we won't sign another center back.

/QUOTE]

 

I disagree with the logic that going back to 2 CBs would mean we don't need to sign one. On the contrary, if we go to a back 4, it is all the more essential that we have better quality in the CB position than we have at the moment. Our poor defence was after all a major reason for why Hughes moved to 3 CBs after we were getting spanked playing with a back 4!

 

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Regardless of whether we play 2 or 3 at CB next season, we still need a first choice CB.