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New CB?

ozboy said:
I did think that myself but Puyol wasn’t that tall.  
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Puyol also played in Spain where that isn't really an issue. 

For mine if you're not at least 6ft1/185cms with great ability in the air then you're potentially a risk, particularly if we go back to a back 4 at some point. We're buying a player for at least 5 years we need to consider that possibility.

 
A few years ago and unlike the Premier League the ball was more often played on the ground than in the air.

Puyol played with a taller CB whose name escapes me yet think both together would have struggled with a corner played to Andy Carroll.

 
Strider6003 said:
A few years ago and unlike the Premier League the ball was more often played on the ground than in the air.

Puyol played with a taller CB whose name escapes me yet think both together would have struggled with a corner played to Andy Carroll.
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Puyol was a right back to start with. I think the night we beat them in the CL Oleguer played with him. He was tallish. Not good enough in the air to stop JT powering home that corner for the win though!

 
Argo said:
If we stick to a back three I genuinely can't think of any serious upgrade on Christensen and Rudi.
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But if we ever want to play 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 again then part from T.Silva we don't have a world class defender, Christensen simply wasn't consistent enough in a back 4.

 
Gol15 said:
But if we ever want to play 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 again then part from T.Silva we don't have a world class defender, Christensen simply wasn't consistent enough in a back 4.
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While ofcourse he still has to fully prove himself in that position (hence my if we stick to a back 3 comment) but I think it's not as simple as back 4 he a average back 3 he's world class.

Firstly when he first lost his form at the end of Conte's reign we were playing in a back three and he was largely okay under Sarri in a back four all be it limited appearances. Then a season with Frank's system combined with Kepa behind him was always a recipe for disaster, even Thiago would have only done so much against such a tide himself either.

So I think there's a lot of caveats to it deeper than back 3 vs back 4.

 
Argo said:
While ofcourse he still has to fully prove himself in that position (hence my if we stick to a back 3 comment) but I think it's not as simple as back 4 he a average back 3 he's world class.

Firstly when he first lost his form at the end of Conte's reign we were playing in a back three and he was largely okay under Sarri in a back four all be it limited appearances. Then a season with Frank's system combined with Kepa behind him was always a recipe for disaster, even Thiago would have only done so much against such a tide himself either.

So I think there's a lot of caveats to it deeper than back 3 vs back 4.
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Sure it's not that simple but in the end of the day the idea is to challenge Man City for the league title with T.Silva being our best defender. He's 36 years old, our captain is going to be 32. Christensen did well for us in recent times but if we aren't looking to change our formation at all, there is a risk that our tactic will be figured out and in that case we won't have another alternative but to stick to it and wait for the next summer. Though I'm aware that Conte won the league with the back 3 (again) and that Diego Simeone played many games with a back 3 in La Liga and also won it... But I'm still not sure if we can do it in the PL, for me something is missing there.

Man City signing first Laporte and more recently Dias made Pep's team once again the best in the league, Liverpool couldn't keep up with them once their best defender was out.

I don't remember the last time we signed a CB that was top quality, part from T.Silva coming for free as an older player that is... I'm not sure if I can count D.Luiz as such a signing.

 
Kounde has a great leap and doesn’t get beaten in the air much whenever I have seen him play. Obviously it helps being tall but timing of the jump and positioning is just as important as height. Tim Cahill is a great example of this

 
rtwelch said:
Pau Torres? Anyone watched much of him?
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There was a quote in the Media, apparently for Villareal Official Site, where he was saying he was not planning on leaving in the summer and was looking forward to the Supercup final.

Not sure if this can be indication for anything, we've seen it all in football, but he might stay loyal to the club or considering his consistent form during the Euro, he will cost a lot.

 
BordeauxBlue said:
Same question for Akanji (Switzerland), first class against France and Spain (so far). 

Any Bundesliga fans who can tell us more? 
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BordeauxBlue said:
Same question for Akanji (Switzerland), first class against France and Spain (so far). 

Any Bundesliga fans who can tell us more? 
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I watched Akanji for dortmund  I think it was two seasons ago and he looked good although he’s been criticized a lot. . Didn’t see much of him this last season.  Not the worst choice out there although I’m sure it won’t happen. 

 
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Akanji is not good and makes a lot of mistakes for Dortmund, Pau Torres is good on the ball but is terrible in the air ( a spanish Christensen sort of ).

 
rtwelch said:
Pau Torres? Anyone watched much of him?
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Pau Torres is an interesting one. Played really well for Villareal last year but watched the Croatia game and Kramaric/Pektovic bullied him upfront. Didn't look like he wanted to head the ball or compete in physical situations.

Playing week in week out against Ashley Barnes would make him suffer. 

 
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