[Albion] Igor Julio - SINGS for 4 years!

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

He looks much more comfortable in his preferred position of centre back than he did when having to cover at left back for much of last season,

 

[borat]

I agree he did well at Everton and last night.

We're in a position at the moment where we have 3 good CBs and one poor, slow one. I'm glad it's Hurzeler's problem.

None of our CBs are blessed with pace. In fact I would say its one of our biggest weaknesses.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

He looks much more comfortable in his preferred position of centre back than he did when having to cover at left back for much of last season,

This is a big factor. You can't judge him by those appearances at left back

 

[Don Tmatter]

Yep did really well today. Showed good composure on the ball.

Always has done when I’ve seen him

 

[schmunk]

None of our CBs are blessed with pace. In fact I would say its one of our biggest weaknesses.

Having "fastest player in the Premier League" Mike Van Der Ven didn't help Spurs yesterday...

 

[Milano]

I thought he was excellent yesterday, grew into the game. He is very confident and calm in possession. Seemed to link up well with Pervis too. If JPvH isn't back v Newcastle then I'm a bit more relaxed with the idea of Dunk/Igor starting than I would have been 24 hours ago.....!!

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

None of our CBs are blessed with pace. In fact I would say its one of our biggest weaknesses.

Yep, it's not always a silver bullet and the answer to defending with a high line as a lot about being a good defender is in the head as Spurs showed in the second half yesterday with the quickest player in the league playing at centre back not helping them but we really could do with adding a more mobile to CB to the squad. I'm assuming that's why we were interested in Boscagli, he's not rapid but definitely more mobile.

 

[borat]

Having "fastest player in the Premier League" Mike Van Der Ven didn't help Spurs yesterday...

It didnt but and of course having rapid centre backs doesnt mean a team wont concede.

Its more than our current style of play with defence pushed forward and sometimes joining the attack means we need a few defenders who have the ability to to recover balls through the middle and over the top. A Konsa type player springs to mind.

 

[GJN1]

Thought he made one of his best performances in the Albion shirt today. He was a little bit shit for his first 30 but once he came into it, he did well.

So close to getting a second yellow when he nearly took Kulusevski out wide on the halfway line in the second half.

 

[jcdenton08]

Lad did well yesterday. But I would say we look light at centre-back beyond Dunk and Van Hecke. I can see us investing in this area sooner rather than later, with one or both of Igor and Webster saying their goodbyes.

 

[barbus_max bhafc]

Thought Igor’s performance was generally good yesterday, uses his weight to his advantage and isn’t easily pushed off the ball - also very good on the deck and seems quite composed in his passing ability. Yes he’s not got too much pace but that’s the same for most of our CB’s, and with both Webster & Van Hecke likely to be out for a number of weeks he may well be one sharing the CB load with Dunky

 

[SkirlieWirlie]

Was a time in the not too distant past we seemed to be stacked with CBs and short on cover elsewhere...

 

[jcdenton08]

Was a time in the not too distant past we seemed to be stacked with CBs and short on cover elsewhere...

I personally think we should buy 8 more wingers…

 

[Han Solo]

So close to getting a second yellow when he nearly took Kulusevski out wide on the halfway line in the second half.

Yeah because he's not very good in general and if he was someone starting 30+ league games he'd be a very weak link in the team. Sure, he's better with the ball than our other defenders but he is a careless duelist and doesn't read the game well.

Obviously the 4th choice CB in a mid tier Premier League team isn't going to be a world class player or anything, but I have had doubts if he should be part of a PL team at all. Yesterday was a step in the right direction imo, he showed the world won't end just because we might have to give him a handful of starts.

 

[Merlin57]

Alongside Dunk or JVP, looks decent, probably the most skilful of the lot, but paired with Webster, an accident waiting to happen!

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Yeah because he's not very good in general and if he was someone starting 30+ league games he'd be a very weak link in the team.

Hard to say that though, he's only appeared sporadically and sometimes at full back.

I think he'll get a run in the side in his favoured position. I'd be surprised if we get JP or Webby back soon. In a month, I think we can conclude whether he's good or not

 

[London Irish]

When he came on at Stamford Bridge, he also did very well, so two reasonable games in a row. He's very comfortable with the ball and distributes maybe better than even Dunk. Doubt if any of that will quell criticism of his defensive positioning or acceleration off the mark. Surely centre-back is number 1 position that needs strengthening in the Jan window - and I hope we don't get the usual whining "oh we don't buy in January because it's not what we do" - it will be literally just one signing.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I've also got a bit of a suspicion we won't see very much more of Webster. Hope i'm wrong as I like him. But I think Igor will do well enough to retain his place until JPVH is back. I don't see Webby coming back sooner and displacing him.

So it's then 4th choice, he might get a game in the cup. Dunky will get his usual red card and suspension so he might come in for a game or two over the winter.

My suspicion is based around his injury record. That fella has been seriously blighted by 6 to 8 week injuries in his time here. I just don't see him staying fit enough, for long enough, to get the form to challenge for more regular football

And if Boscagli or similar comes in, it's game over

 

[jcdenton08]

When he came on at Stamford Bridge, he also did very well, so two reasonable games in a row. He's very comfortable with the ball and distributes maybe better than even Dunk. Doubt if any of that will quell criticism of his defensive positioning or acceleration off the mark. Surely centre-back is number 1 position that needs strengthening in the Jan window - and I hope we don't get the usual whining "oh we don't buy in January because it's not what we do" - it will be literally just one signing.

The questions would be though, who is the centre back target that would improve the squad instantly, are they within budget and are they available for a fee which falls within our valuation.

I don’t doubt we are looking though

 

[Han Solo]

The questions would be though, who is the centre back target that would improve the squad instantly, are they within budget and are they available for a fee which falls within our valuation.

I don’t doubt we are looking though

Yes, we made bids for the PSV guy as confirmed by PSV themselves, and Eric Smith (St Pauli) also recently said we made a bid for him. Clearly there is a desire to get a CB in but I just don't think we were keen on going all-in for it given the adequate number of CBs in the squad. If (most likely candidate) Igor would have left I'm sure our efforts to bring in a new CB would have been more intense.

Problem is also obviously that whoever comes in, they need to be prepared to be backups for Van Hecke and Dunk as none of those will be benched this season even if the new Alessandro Nesta turns up out of nowhere