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Morisons Prozac

Centre back

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Presume we sign a sure fire starting CB over the coming weeks with Premier League class, who would they play along side. Each of our current centre backs are unique and bring different qualities to the defence.

Ward

Pros: One of the calmest defenders under pressure I have ever seen in the Championship, great distibutor, good with penalties.

Cons: Switches off too often and can be too relaxed at times.

 

Barnett

Pros: Best ability of the three, pacy

Cons: Terrible attacking-wise, can lose his temper as seen when he was sent off against Pompey.

 

Whitbread

Pros: Always knows when to make the tackle, rarely gets caught out

Cons: If he starts the game poorly then it takes him a while to get going

 

Personally I think it is very tight-run between the three but I think Whitbread edges it as he is the only one not to get a chance at this level (I think) whereas Barnett couldn''t get into the West Brom team and Ward didn''t make it with West Ham (although I think he was sold to Coventry before the season started.

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I think 2 new centre backs will be coming in as this, in my mind, is our weakest area

 

Barnett is by far our most capable defender but, as you say, even West Brom felt he wasn''t up to that standard.

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Don''t think what they''ve done or haven''t done at their old clubs has got anything to do with it. All three of them have been brilliant for Norwich City.

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[quote user="GJP"]

Don''t think what they''ve done or haven''t done at their old clubs has got anything to do with it. All three of them have been brilliant for Norwich City.

[/quote]

Exactly; ''The past does not equal the future''. - Thank goodness for that!

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[quote user="Norfolk Mustard"][quote user="GJP"]

Don''t think what they''ve done or haven''t done at their old clubs has got anything to do with it. All three of them have been brilliant for Norwich City.

[/quote]

Exactly; ''The past does not equal the future''. - Thank goodness for that!

[/quote]

I''m not meaning to say that, I think all three have been great for us that''s why I think this is such a hard choice.

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Personally I see Whitbread and Barnett as our first choice pair at present - as far as I remember, we''ve not seen them in the same team yet, but they''re our strongest centre-backs, with Ward as equally good cover for either.

 

Think we''ll need at least another, however, to add strength, depth and competition... an experienced head, someone who can push our current batch for a starting place.

 

Who that might be is another question... I''ve given up on trying to second-guess Lambert''s targets!

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Definitely an area that needs reinforcing with a couple of signings. Whatever combination of the current three you pick they were hardly watertight playing with one of the best sides in the Championship so it''s difficult to be overly optimistic about what they''ll do against premiership quality forwards. Of course, it''s possible thet they will find it easier against the better quality players than those of Championship quality. No doubt PL has it all in hand.  

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[quote user="Evil Monkey"]

Personally I see Whitbread and Barnett as our first choice pair at present - as far as I remember, we''ve not seen them in the same team yet, but they''re our strongest centre-backs, with Ward as equally good cover for either.

 

Think we''ll need at least another, however, to add strength, depth and competition... an experienced head, someone who can push our current batch for a starting place.

 

Who that might be is another question... I''ve given up on trying to second-guess Lambert''s targets!

[/quote]Approaching Everton for Joseph Yobo on a season long loan would be a sensible move in this respect.

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I think both Whitbread and Barnett are capable at playing at this level on a consistent basis, but in midfield I question whether Crofts and Surman are good enough to play consistently in the Prem. Centre mid is the area we need to target first in my opinion.

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Crofts could end up being Gary Holt mk2 in the Prem. His passing is better than Holt''s but he still gives the ball away too much and whilst I think he deserves his chance, we need to have proper competition for his place. Surman could go either way for me. His technical skills could shine in the Prem where you traditionally get more time on the ball, or his lack of pace could mean that we get bogged down in midfield and he negates our cutting edge.

Agree that Whitbread and Barnett are probably our best pairing just because Ward is more prone to mistakes which get punished at the highest level, but we definitely need at least one other centre back, probably two. We need to remember that it''s a lot more difficult to bring in emergency loans etc if we have an injury or two in the PL.

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