What is happening at centre half? (1 Viewer)

JSL said:

Dion Sanderson at Birmingham is apparently leaving them this summer as now surplus. He only joined in January and we were rumoured to be interested.

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baldy said:

Hope we're still not interested - crap defender

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skybluecam said:

Thomas and Kitching are fine.

Binks is an enigma, as you say he has a lot of good qualities but for some reason is just a liability.

I'd personally get rid of Lati purely because I don't like watching him.

Wouldn't be surprised if we stick with what we have which wouldn't be the end of the world.

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Chicken Mcgraw said:

Well our summer window started with two underwhelming defensive signings. One being a left back with very little pedigree, the other a very good right back to replace the even better right back we already had.

So with those sorted, what’s going to happen at centre half? I think it’s the most difficult problem for Lampard to address. All Things Sky Blue @BUSA did a very interesting podcast on the subject which inspired me to share my thoughts.

Things To Consider

Right - Left Footed Partnership:

Does Lampard hold any weight in this? He played in an era where it wasn’t really relevant. Thinking Terry / Ferdinand for example. Will he look to keep it? If he does, does that spell the end for Binks Or Kitching? Would he be insisting on a left footed parter for Thomas as is in fashion. Fairly certain at the start of his tenure here he played a Thomas and Lati partnership which suggests not. I’m interested to see the answer to this.

Pace v Experience:

A massive difference between Lampard and Robins is the depth of our defensive line. The high line we have played under Lampard has been suicidal at times but effective in others. It clearly isn’t going anywhere regardless. Example below:

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With that in mind, what type of defender do we look to recruit? Do we look to partner Thomas with a quicker centre half who has the pace to recover, or an older more experienced head who can guide Thomas on when to push up and how far? Lampard has spoken a few times calling us a ‘young squad’ and has clearly sought experience with his signings in Grimes and Paterson. I wonder whether he will look to sign an older centre half as he has done in his past clubs:

Lampard’s Previous Duo’s

Keogh - Tomori
Silva - Zouma

At Derby, he already had Richard Keogh and sort to bring in Tomori with his Chelsea connection. At Chelsea he was unable to sign players in his first season but for the second season, he brought in Thiago Silva who he mostly paired with Zouma. The profiles here are clear: experienced leader alongside a younger more athletic partner.

Tarkowski - Coady (and Godfrey/Mina)

This is the one that is most similar to Thomas - Kitching and interests me the most. I believe they were both signed by Lampard. Both touching 30 and neither had the athletic profile of Tomori or Zouma. However, he was regularly changing this into a back 3 by adding in Mina or Godfrey. Similar to how he has flirted with a back 3 here. Did that suggest he didn’t have confidence in these 2 profiles together in a back 4 and does that suggest he will try to avoid a similar pairing again?

Something to note in all 3 examples, as far as I can see there isn’t a right - left partnership in any of them.

Current Options

Bobby Thomas

Seemingly Lampard’s favourite. His stats are fine, he passes the eye test and provides handy attacking contributions. Here is Thomas compared with Kitching:



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On the negative side, he is prone to a silly error. A missed tackle, poor pass etc always seems to come at a bad time. A lot of the goals we concede seem to be individual errors. If he can eradicate these from his game, he’ll be fine.

Joel Latibeaudiere

I know he isn’t rated on here but even his biggest critic will accept he’s been quite unlucky. Recruited to play on the right side of a back 3, he was regularly shunted to the left or the middle before we changed to a back 4 in his first season. He’s been used in midfield under Robins and now in Lampard’s short time here has already played rcb and lcb in a back 4, the same in a back 3 and even at right wing back vs Ipswich. Lampard will have to decide if Lati is going to be back up to Kesler Hayden at rb or back up to Thomas at rcb. Should we look to move him on, I’m confident he’d be able to get a championship move.

Liam Kitching

As provided by @fernandopartridge, we are a good team with Kitching in it:

62 starts
30 wins
17 draws
14 losses
17 clean sheets

The underlying stats however are much unhappier reading:

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Kitching is another player, like Lati and Binks, who would be better suited to a back 3. He has good attacking attributes which we aren’t likely to utilise in the current set up. He was the 4th centre half Lampard chose to use at the start of his tenure and we quickly turned our form around once he was back in the team. I have a feeling that Lampard isn’t his biggest fan but perhaps his transfer fee will put pressure on Lampard to find a place for him.

Luis Binks

When you watch Binks, you see a good player. Looks classy, can play attractive passes and seems competent in the air.

And yet, we concede so many goals with him in the team. By my count we have kept 6 clean sheets in 2 seasons with him in the team and even less when he features in a back 4. His clanger at Luton is still very recent in the memory and he is likely the one we would look to move on if we could.

Potential Signings

So I guess who signs depends on who leaves? It’s unlikely we will have 5 cb’s right?

Do we maybe push Lati to rb cover and bring in a rcb. Would that then mean Thomas is second choice? It may not be possible to move on Binks and it is unlikely Kitching leaves for a cut price. Does that mean we have no room for another lcb?

As mentioned before what type of profile do we even look to sign? The athletic, quicker, younger player or the older, experienced, intelligent player?

In the all things sky blue episode they mentioned:

Anselmo Garcia Macnulty

Can’t pretend to know much about him but according to the podcast he is a left footed centre half who has excelled in the Eredivisie. He is more in the mould of Kitching and Callum Doyle and certainly has good pedigree. Stats as follows:

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Dishon Bernard

A player we have all seen a few times. Athletic, competent on the ball and has a nasty side (poor Jamie Allen). His disciplinary record is poor and is currently rehabbing a serious knee injury. Great player though and likely available cheaper than his value. I would be happy to see him sign.

Eiran Cashin

Again we’ve all seen him. A great player likely to be available on loan. Left sided but can play either side. Great in the air, championship experience and his ability to read the play may help with the high line issue. Seems a no brainer.

Further Options

Ashley Phillips

Had a successful spell at Stoke. Seems pretty athletic and only going to improve. His ability on the ball may be a worry.

Ethan Pye

Very classy defender who had a great season at Stockport. A player with a bright future. He has risen through the levels in a short space of time but whether he is ready for a top 6 championship team remains to be seen. I suspect Lampard is looking very much in the short term for his tenure here and that will be reflected in his signings.

Hayden Carter

As with Bernard, he has championship experience but injury troubles. Strong in the air, decent on the ball and can also fill in at right back. He’s a player I like the look of:

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Final Thoughts

Does anyone have any suggestions for an older more experienced centre half that could be available? I was not able to spot any.

Or, could we go with no signings at all? Will an extra year of Thomas and Kitching help them improve into top championship defenders?

Everyone agrees our defence needs to improve. We have recruited at lb and rb but in my opinion, neither are better than what we already had. That leaves GK and CB to try and improve on.

No doubt we’ll get the answers soon.

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