Dean Coneys boots 1,400 Posted September 10, 2017 So remove Martin and Husband and a much better defence emerges. Even more evidence that neither is good enough for this level of footballWhat worries me - as I said last week- is that we went all out and got a CB when we had Klose in the wings...yet LB looks the glaring weakness on the pitch. Thought Klose was like a new signing and I rate Zimmerman - also think franke would be good with Klose. But husband - help!! You know it is bad when your first choice is kept out of the team by a bloke playing out of position Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BroadstairsR 2,140 Posted September 10, 2017 fair enough comment about the left-back position but with Farke often preferring the three central defenders system then the new signing makes more sense.Will Jamal Lewis be back in contention soon? I have forgotten the extension of his lay-off.A strong three at the back and with Pinto and the promising Lewis as wing backs might deem the ideal combination for the furure.In the meantime Stiepermann seems a competent stand in as the universally un-rated Husband seems a no-no at the moment.One would hope that there is some underlying reason for the latter''s very poor start at the club and that eventually something might fall into place, otherwise you have to question the scouting, the signing and the fee (approaching £1m?)In actual fact he came with a decent build up and at the time I wasn''t too concerned about the input although this hardly marked the disappointment of not getting another loan-in for last season''s incumbent whose name has currently slipped my mind, although I seem to remember it was foreign sounding.Even after just one clean sheet to an apparently ordinary Birmingham attacking force I am now instantly more confident about the defensive situation at the club. Having said that it could hardly have gotten any worse.Gradually the new Euro-boys seem to be rising in expectations. Led by Trybull and followed by Stiepermann I am glad that Zimmerman seemed to put in a decent showing yesterday.I actually still hold on to the belief that we will be a stronger unit for the second half of the season (and Pritchard and Lewis will be in contention?)Ten points+ from the second round of five games (and we now have three in the bag) and we could be in contention for that top six place I still aspire too (hic!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
king canary 7,599 Posted September 10, 2017 Of course that is your main takeaway... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoola Han Solo 448 Posted September 10, 2017 Always amazes me that some will desperately look for something to moan about after a decent win Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,653 Posted September 10, 2017 How many shovels did you use digging to find this sort of negative? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herman 9,743 Posted September 10, 2017 It did take him well over 12 hours to come up with this, so that sort of proves the club is slowly moving the right way. Sort of.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 10, 2017 This bloke would find a negative in a threesome with 2 page 3 girls. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barking Mad Barclay Boy 13 Posted September 11, 2017 only 2? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AJ 1,218 Posted September 11, 2017 To be fair, he''s right. LB looked our weakest area on Saturday with Stiepermann getting caught out a few times. Husband seems to take a while to bed in, but with several goals coming down his flank against Millwall, he had to rightfully be dropped along with Martin. You cannot carry poor performances. From what we have at the moment, Siepermann is probably our best option when playing 4 at the back. He''s still new so will no doubt improve, especially as I''m sensing it isn''t a natural position for him.From a business point of view I guess it makes no sense when you''ve signed Husband and have a rising talent in Jamal Lewis to go out and sign another LB. Hopefully this means Lewis will get his chance.Last I heard regarding his injury he had seen a specialist and possibly had some surgery that would take several weeks to recover from. I can''t remember the suspected date of return but believe it was not going to be any time soon sadly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Woodman 92 Posted September 11, 2017 Don''t forget we also have Toffolo on our books, but he doesn''t seem to be in favour at all, otherwise he''d have stayed. We''re not playing in the way we did last season with Olsson or Brady getting forward and overlapping Murphy, so the left back / wing back role is more defensive.Certainly for tomorrow night, I''d play Stiepermann there again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westcoastcanary 173 Posted September 11, 2017 Husband is being prematurely written off because no account is being taken of the midfield vacuum in front of him. The days of one-to-one duals (e.g. between fullback and winger) are over; leaving Husband to cope singlehanded with two attackers, as frequently happened at Millwall for example, is inviting problems which even Adam Drury would not have been able to cope with. If Husband had played instead of Stiepermann on Saturday, with Klose inside him and the same midfield defensive shield in front, he''d probably have received less criticism than has been handed out on here to Stiepermann. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Apples 1,317 Posted September 11, 2017 "Wrong emergency signing"Shouldn''t somebody be reporting this, lives may be at risk?Apples Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BobLoz3 492 Posted September 11, 2017 We have options of players to slot into that LB role (albeit not amazing options) now Stiepermann has played it (quite well) and it will be interesting to see how Lewis performs in this league when back from injury. He looked quite integral to what we were doing in friendlies and seemed incredibly lively from the games I managed to watch.I''m not going to bang on about how negative the OP is, our LB options do seem the weakest and I''d like to have improved there. However, as we needed the CB position sorting as a matter of urgency I''m happy that the investment was made in that position as a priority. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icecream Snow 761 Posted September 11, 2017 Lewis is out for four months. Saw a knee specialist. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dean Coneys boots 1,400 Posted September 11, 2017 [quote user="BobLoz3"]We have options of players to slot into that LB role (albeit not amazing options) now Stiepermann has played it (quite well) and it will be interesting to see how Lewis performs in this league when back from injury. He looked quite integral to what we were doing in friendlies and seemed incredibly lively from the games I managed to watch.I''m not going to bang on about how negative the OP is, our LB options do seem the weakest and I''d like to have improved there. However, as we needed the CB position sorting as a matter of urgency I''m happy that the investment was made in that position as a priority.[/quote]My point was that Klose covered the need for a new CB. Whilst LB is a gaping and obvious issue- for those who actually see what is happening on the pitch. Honestly ~I cannot believe Husband has anyone defending him given his truly appalling displays so far. And I dont think it is negative to simply put a considered point of view on a message board. Glad we beat a struggling Birmingham who were bedding in 6 new players - but one swallow does not a summer make and I foresee problems ahead with the LB options we have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Smith 2,317 Posted September 11, 2017 [quote user="Icecream Snow"]Lewis is out for four months. Saw a knee specialist.[/quote]When was that 4 months from, about a month ago? Even so suggests it will be the new year before he''s in contention. We Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Smith 2,317 Posted September 11, 2017 Ps I agree with the OP to a degree here in that I think we needed to strengthen both areas. Having Husband as our only specialist left back worries me greatly as he''s not good enough. Stiepermann appears ok as cover there but jotting more. Until January is a long time to get by using a midfielder as cover. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PurpleCanary 5,556 Posted September 11, 2017 [quote user="Jim Smith"]Ps I agree with the OP to a degree here in that I think we needed to strengthen both areas. Having Husband as our only specialist left back worries me greatly as he''s not good enough. Stiepermann appears ok as cover there but jotting more. Until January is a long time to get by using a midfielder as cover.[/quote]I believe we could barely - if at all - afford to strengthen in one area, so both would have been out of the question. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6088m canary 0 Posted September 11, 2017 Agree with the comment regarding protection.The fulham game was another blindingly obvious example. Massive gaps from a midfield that had no idea where o who they should be covering. Husband was constantly left with 3 to deal with.We all know that this side is perfectly able with the ball. However, as has been proven the past 3 seasons, it is without the ball where we need to massively improve. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daly 501 Posted September 12, 2017 [quote user="Inch High aka Inchy.."]This bloke would find a negative in a threesome with 2 page 3 girls.[/quote]Inch highBe careful you could be reported to the Equalities Commission. by your remarkThey probably would prefer 3 men in a bedOne in a dress if possible Share this post Link to post Share on other sites