Centre Backs. - TA specific - Tartan Army Message Board Jump to content

Centre Backs.


marinello

Recommended Posts

I appreciate the picture is looking brighter with the form of Mc Kenna and Hendry plus the experience of Mulgrew.

But with question marks hanging over Hanley, Martin, Souttar , Berra and Lindsay I dont think it would be unreasonable for Mc Leish to be looking at Tom Aldred of Motherwell for the games in May/June.

His attributes centre on his no nonsense approach and solid dependability which have been vital to Motherwell`s recovery since he came up from Bury in January. Add to this he is only 27.

BTW before anyone questions his Scottish credentials please note that his mum is Scottish. 

He is worth a shout I feel.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, marinello said:

I appreciate the picture is looking brighter with the form of Mc Kenna and Hendry plus the experience of Mulgrew.

But with question marks hanging over Hanley, Martin, Souttar , Berra and Lindsay I dont think it would be unreasonable for Mc Leish to be looking at Tom Aldred of Motherwell for the games in May/June.

His attributes centre on his no nonsense approach and solid dependability which have been vital to Motherwell`s recovery since he came up from Bury in January. Add to this he is only 27.

BTW before anyone questions his Scottish credentials please note that his mum is Scottish. 

He is worth a shout I feel.

 

I don't agree with question marks over Christophe Berra. If called on we know he can do a solid job for us. Also I cannot see how there are question marks over Souttar and Lindsay who have yet to be given a chance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How nice to be able to say: we don't need any more centre backs! But we don't. Soutar and Lindsay are really unlucky to miss out. And McRorie and Bates will be candidates 'fore too long so no need to look at a 27 year old.

The real question is: are we going for a back 3? If yes, then the key requirements are to be able to build up from the back and to have decent pace. So that would seem to suggest Hendry, McKenna and Tierney. Only problem with the latter may be a relative lack of height at 5' 10". Distribution is Souttar's strength, not sure about Lindsay. Berra' s distribution is not great which is maybe why he was overlooked, yet he could be a candidate for the player of the year! Good times. Wish we had this depth at right wing back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Mulgrew has a part to play. He isnt a great defender, but I reckon he can talk 2 less experienced defenders through a game. 

There will be times when the young lads will have the ball at their feet and under pressure from opposition forwards. Id feel more comfortable if their "out ball" went to Mulgrew rather than someone less composed. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Dairbee said:

I think Mulgrew has a part to play. He isnt a great defender, but I reckon he can talk 2 less experienced defenders through a game. 

There will be times when the young lads will have the ball at their feet and under pressure from opposition forwards. Id feel more comfortable if their "out ball" went to Mulgrew rather than someone less composed. 

I agree and don't understand why so many on here want him him out.

I actually thought both he and Berra were pretty decent in the last campaign.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dairbee said:

I think Mulgrew has a part to play. He isnt a great defender, but I reckon he can talk 2 less experienced defenders through a game. 

There will be times when the young lads will have the ball at their feet and under pressure from opposition forwards. Id feel more comfortable if their "out ball" went to Mulgrew rather than someone less composed. 

The two younger players looked more composed than mulgrew. Mulgrew attempt at the goal against Costa Rica was almost comical, he almost cost us a goal against Hungary.

as far as I am concerned he’s part of the old problem, don’t get me wrong I’d be happy for him or any other player to become an influential player and captain but I don’t believe he will. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, vanderark14 said:

The two younger players looked more composed than mulgrew. Mulgrew attempt at the goal against Costa Rica was almost comical, he almost cost us a goal against Hungary.

as far as I am concerned he’s part of the old problem, don’t get me wrong I’d be happy for him or any other player to become an influential player and captain but I don’t believe he will. 

Fair comment, I didnt see the Costa Rica game just the Hungary one. 

I think having a mixture of Lindsay, McKenna, Hendry, Souter etc is too inexperienced at the moment. Mulgrew \ Hanley \ Berra can aid their development. 

Give it a season or so and we may have mid 20 year old seasoned campaigners who are playing as high a level as possible. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, ParisInAKilt said:

While we’ve never been the strongest at centre half in my time watching Scotland, I’ve always felt we’ve defended poorly for the most part as a team, especially from set pieces, rather than individual mistakes. 

You must be old enough to remember Gary Caldwell?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Third Lanark said:

How nice to be able to say: we don't need any more centre backs! But we don't. Soutar and Lindsay are really unlucky to miss out. And McRorie and Bates will be candidates 'fore too long so no need to look at a 27 year old.

Agree on 3 of those. Bates isn't good enough though. The only reason he'll ever get a sniff at international recognition is because he's at Rangers. 

From my limited viewings of McCrorie, he seems to be a more accomplished player when he's sitting just in front of the defence, rather than at centre backs. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Going forward I don’t see too much of a point in playing Mulgrew just for experience sake. His ability to play out from the back is an asset but he’s just too poor defensively (as evidenced by these two games). 

Maybe you’d want an experienced centre back if, in our next competitive games, we were up against Lewandowski, Bale or Mandzukic. Instead we’re playing teams and attackers that aren’t experienced at playing at the highest level. 

Lets build a young defensive now in the upcoming friendlies and in the nations league. Give them the experience.

One or two experienced centre backs in the squad wouldn’t do any harm but hopefully we move forward with a mix of Tierney, McKenna, Hendry, Souttar and Lindsay...possibly Bates or McCrorie (depending on game time and where McCrorie is played). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Parklife said:

Agree on 3 of those. Bates isn't good enough though. The only reason he'll ever get a sniff at international recognition is because he's at Rangers. 

From my limited viewings of McCrorie, he seems to be a more accomplished player when he's sitting just in front of the defence, rather than at centre backs. 

McRorie will be good on the right side of a three as well as midfield. McRorie, Hendry, McKenna could be a fantastic trio if that’s our formation. Unbelievably good when thinking where we were a couple of years ago. All three are very quick, can play and can deal with the physical stuff. I’ve gone off the idea of Tierney at left centre half. Stick with these boys and play Tierney at left back and Robertson in front.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, er yir macaroon said:

McRorie will be good on the right side of a three as well as midfield. McRorie, Hendry, McKenna could be a fantastic trio if that’s our formation. Unbelievably good when thinking where we were a couple of years ago. All three are very quick, can play and can deal with the physical stuff. I’ve gone off the idea of Tierney at left centre half. Stick with these boys and play Tierney at left back and Robertson in front.

Although I see now that makes no sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, er yir macaroon said:

Although I see now that makes no sense.

Ha ha....  theoretically you could have Tierney left wing back and robertson left in a four man midfield.  If we are play8ng a back four  in a 4-5-1, I would play McKenna left cb, Tierney lb, Robertson lm.....   what’s the chances of all three being fit and 8n form at same time though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, ceudmilefailte said:

Would say good bye to Berra now and keep Mulgrew as the experienced centre half for the sake of continuity

Don't agree with this. I thought Mulgrew made a positive difference when he came in during last campaign. Also feel Berra's experience can be an asset, especially if if we play younger players such as Hendry. McKenna looked good in last two games so has to be in next time. I know I am virtually on my own with this next one but I repeat that I would like to see Calum Paterson play centre back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Jacques Hunt said:

Don't agree with this. I thought Mulgrew made a positive difference when he came in during last campaign. Also feel Berra's experience can be an asset, especially if if we play younger players such as Hendry. McKenna looked good in last two games so has to be in next time. I know I am virtually on my own with this next one but I repeat that I would like to see Calum Paterson play centre back.

Paterson can't defend when the player is running at him, so wouldn't play him in the defence anywhere. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Parklife said:

Agree on 3 of those. Bates isn't good enough though. The only reason he'll ever get a sniff at international recognition is because he's at Rangers. 

From my limited viewings of McCrorie, he seems to be a more accomplished player when he's sitting just in front of the defence, rather than at centre backs. 

Agree on McRorie in the midfield as an out and out holder. Has a good range of passing too and quite happily deals with the physical side too. 

You're wrong on Bates though. He's the best centre half at Ibrox. Much better than either Alves or Martin who are supposed to be helping him develop. His passing isn't as good as McKenna based on the 2 games there though but he is definitely better at defending than Mulgrew. 

Suppose it's finding the 3 that work best together but I wouldn't have Hendry yet and definitely wouldn't keep Mulgrew. 

McKenna is a real find though, if he can keep this improvement going. Let's hope he doesn't move for money and end up not playing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...