Selling Alex/Ivanovic?

[forbzy]

I put this in the rumours section since there has been nothing to substantiate any of these stories so far but both players have been linked with possible moves in the January window. Either to balance the books or possibly to raise some funds for an attacking player. Personally I like both players and would not want to see either leave but what is the general consensus among us all if we were able to bring in a new winger e.g Zhirkov by selling one of these 2 players? If we were to introduce Mancienne as the 4th defender I'd say we could let one of Alex/Ivanovic go to free up funds for an attacking player. After looking at our defensive errors the last 2 games I personally think we would be better selling Ivanovic of the 2 (if any). This is not in any way suggesting that Alex is better but I'm basing it on the players we have. Clearly we cannot play Ricky and Ivanovic together as we lose the physical presence in the center. I think we could all clearly see that from the 2 late goals conceded in the last 2 games. The same way I'd say that JT and Alex is not our best pairing as they are too similar. I would always go with either JT/Alex alongside Ricky/Ivanovic. Mancienne is more of a cultured defender from what I've seen and could step into Ivanovic's position. So if we have to sell one I'd go with Ivanovic as long as we got a decent price. I will say again though that I'd prefer to see both stay in the ideal world and am only suggesting this scenario based on the possibility of bringing in another attacking player with the funds generated.

[loz]

From the perspective of whether either deserve to be sold I would say no however if the funds were to be given to Scolari for a winger then it would make perfect sense to sell one and install Mancienne as 4th choice centre half.

Personally I would see Alex before Ivanovic - again not based based on form/quality but more based on versatility.

[forbzy]

From the perspective of whether either deserve to be sold I would say no however if the funds were to be given to Scolari for a winger then it would make perfect sense to sell one and install Mancienne as 4th choice centre half.

Personally I would see Alex before Ivanovic - again not based based on form/quality but more based on versatility.

I agree that Ivanovic seems on paper to be a more versatile player. However he seems to be lacking in the physical presence provided by JT and Alex and that is needed against many teams in the Premier League (not to mentio lower division teams in the cup). Mancienne seems to be more like Ivanovic so if we sold Alex we'd be unbalanced I think.

[bjd]

Alex has been top drawer for us these past 18 months but i could understand selling him if it meant we were going to use the money to bring in a new attacking option.

However I think it would be outrageous if we sold Ivanovic.

[Chippy]

The way I look at this is we can't have it both ways,

I like Alex and Ivan and the way they have stepped in when needed has been superb but if we really want to bring some youth through, there is no better time to sell one of them,

Mancienne is a promising player and likely much more so than the forwards we cry out to be given a run out most weeks.

I would let one of them go but it's a very hard choice which one and I would be looking at bids and destinations before I made a decision if it were up to me.

[loz]

I would let one of them go but it's a very hard choice which one and I would be looking at bids and destinations before I made a decision if it were up to me.

Not sure about that approach as you don't really want both players thinking they are expendable. Choose which one we are prepared to let go and plan it from there. He could possibly be used in a part exchange (this is all speaking hypothetically of course)

[Chippy]

Not sure about that approach as you don't really want both players thinking they are expendable. Choose which one we are prepared to let go and plan it from there. He could possibly be used in a part exchange (this is all speaking hypothetically of course)

There is that side of it Loz but both players have been rumoured to have asked for transfers so sparing their feelings would not be as high on my priority list as not selling them to a team we really dont want to strengthen and getting the most money we can for a purchase.

[bar24rat]

Who constitutes the best central defensive pairing in the premiership? As much as it grieves me to say the answer is in my opinion Ferdinand and Vidic. Both are physically very strong and the former is very quick for his imposing size. The latter sometimes verges on the animalistic. Together they are more than formidable.

Alex/Ivanovic do not compare as a pair. Alex has similar tendances to Vidic but needs a quicker colleague. Fortunately when Alex has been alongside JT we have not come up really quick opponents. JT needs Ricci in the same way Ricci needs a stronger partner in the air.

Cast your thoughts back to Euro 2008. Germany crushed Portugal in the air- Portugal had no answer to Germany's power at set-pieces, it was a field day for Ballack and co. I can't remember the name of Ricci's central partner but he was no bigger than Ricci both in height and general stature.

At the time, BEFORE that game, Scolari admitted he was concerned about Germany's power in the air and said it could be very decisive.

How true that proved to be!

Modern football has proved that a physical as well as ball playing central pairing that is ALMOST ERROR-FREE is essential. Without it means 2nd place is the best you'll achieve.

[Ruh Buh Juh]

I think Alex is a much wiser option. Alex is lot more known than Ivanovic so we could potentially get big money for him. I've never seen Mancienne play, so I don't know what type of player he is, but presence wise isn't that where Mikel comes into the equation?

[TheWestwayWonder]

bar rat, I think Carvalho's partner in the Euros was Pepe, Real Madrid's 30m euro man. Not a big guy under any stretch, and certainly a more "technical" defender rather than a powerful one.

I agree with alot of people here

-dont want to sell either

-would rather we lose Alex if we had to dump one

-it better be for a large fee against a non-rival opponent

I think Alex would thrive in Italy being that he is a little bit slow for the English game but obviously is built like an Ox. Italian clubs dont seem to be spending much these daysm, but a defender like Alex who is young and has other parts to his game has got to be worth at least 10-15 million. A club like Milan who have money and need for young blood in defense would be ideal buyers.

To sell Ivan would be a sin. He might not be the strongest now, but he is only 23 and has the skills and intangibles that cannot be taught. I think with a few years in England will make him play a smarter game. If he can be as good as Vidic, we have gotten a steal. In my opinion, he is already better than Skrtel. This guy is the future

[bar24rat]

Greetings Westwaywonder. If indeed Pepe was Cavalho's partner and is Real's £30 million man then it begs the question as to where Real is in La Liga and how many goals have they shipped this season.

If Cannavario is the other half you have 2 ball-playing centre backs who are far from giants in stature.

[loz]

It was Pepe who, to be fair to him, actually had a very good tournament in Euro 2008 with the exception of that Germany game where he, along with a lot of the rest of the Portuguese side seemed to get caught like rabbits in the headlight. It hardly does much for your morale when your own manager come out before the game an announces that he thinks his team are going to struggle! The 3-2 scoreline flattered Portugal somewhat.

Real certainly don't have the toughest or tallest back line just now. When you think that their back four is picked from the likes of Pepe, Cannavaro, Ramos, Heinze, Salgado and Metzelder the only one who is comfortably above 6 ft is Metzelder and he isn't a regular.