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Skerritt

Who is the better defender?

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A lot of people on this board saying bassong is the best defender we have ever had but in all honesty, as a defender I think turner is better. They are both quality but turner just seems to make more vital challenges. Bassong is essential to the team though as we have seen without his leadershipwe haven''t done well (especially turner is some cases)

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Depends on what you want from your defenders really. I think they are two very different defenders and compliment each other brilliantly as Bassong gives you calm and composure ont he ball and can bring the ball out of defence readily, whereas Turner is a no nonsense, get rid sort of defender. Both have pros and cons but together make for a good partnership.

 

Bassong knows that he can run the ball out because Turner will always sit and hold the line.

 

Both are brilliant in the air and both bring their attributes to a solid defence. I''m sure most prefer Bassong due to the class he brings to the position and it wouldn''t surprise me that the fans that prefer Turner, are more defensively minded and perhaps played in defence at times.

 

I''m a defender and whilst I''d love to have the skill and composure of a Bassong, I''m less nervous when a defender gets rid (effectively of course, there''s no use in just hoofing).

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Bassong by a country mile for me. Turner seems to make more vital challenges because his positioning is rather poor. Bassong makes it easier for himself by reading the game better and not having to make last ditch challenges as often. Turner is a decent enough traditional centre half; he is good in the air and strong, but his positioning and anticipation isn''t anywhere near as good as Bassong''s.

Turner also has me worried in that he always looks prone to making a mistake, even if he doesn''t (and to be fair, after a few mistakes in his first few games he hasn''t made too many big ones since). But I think it''s a combination of knowing he did make some rather large mistakes early on in the season, and his body language which just seems to lack any confidence in his own ability that makes me nervous!

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They bring out the best in each other

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I''m with Nutty, they are an awesome pairing and so much stronger playing together.

As has been pointed out, Bassong is the more complete footballer, happier on the ball and able to run it out. Turner is the better tackler, more no nonsense, I think probably shades it in the air as well over Bassong, but Bassong is maybe slightly better at nicking it on the ground (just my opinion).

Their a great combo though and I would be more than happy with them remaining the starting pair next year with an experienced backup coming in for when one is injured.

Personally I think over the season Turner just shades it as the better defender but Bassong seems to give more to the team as a whole, as we are poor without him.

I know stats are not everything (hence my comment above) but if you look on whoscored.com Turner has made on average per game more clearances and blocked shots than any other player and more tackles and interceptions than Bassong.

In fact bizarrely he also has a higher pass completion than Seb and a higher number of accurate long balls. He does however give away more fouls by a slight margin (1 to 0.8 per game for Seb).

Stats don''t mean everything as I said though because I just think the team does better with Bassong on the pitch than without, which counts for a lot.

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Oh and the Sunderland mistake was actually a joint one between the two, watch it again and you see Seb pointing and calling for the ball to go back to Bunn, Turner gets caught in two minds when he should just be getting it clear up field and the rest is history....

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Not much to choose between them, and they do indeed make a superb combination.

 

It may be that Bassong is a little more comfortable on the ball, and may be a little quicker. In fact pace is the one weakness that they both have. When the ball is pinging about the penalty area,  as in Swansea''s two goals they can be a little slow to move. In this respect Bennett is quicker, - he''s very good at getting blocks in.

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I reckon the reason Turner doesn''t look the same player without Bassong is that his instinct is to defend deeper in case he gets caught for pace. Bassong encourages the back four to step up. I think Whittaker also has this effect driving the team forward. That''s why I like Tettey in midfield because he gets them further up the pitch. Then the further up the pitch Wes gets the ball the more dangerous he is. He''s wasted anywhere near the halfway line.

 

If Bassong gets too frustrated he has on a couple of occasions driven forward with the ball.

 

Defend from the front and attack from the back!

 

 

 

 

 

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Not sure either is the best ever - the 89-92 sets of defenders were top class.

 

I agree with the view that Turner regularly out performs Seb when they play together,  with Seb occassionally sloppy and appearing to lack concentration.

 

However when Seb is not there the whole back 4,  including Turner, seems to fall apart,   highlighting how key Sebs organisational and motivational skills are - he seems (may not actually do so mind) to keep and pull teh back 4 together.    With Seb Turner inexplicably appears to be less than half the player.

 

So while I would say that Turner is the better defender we miss Seb much more.

 

We are fortunate to have a great centre back partnership. 

 

 

 

 

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As pure defenders i prefer Turner. Had this discussion a million times and whilst Bassong is a class act i actually think Turner reads the game better, and certainly on a few occasions Turner has rescued Bassong''s positioning at times. This is no hate on Bassong because as an overall player he has that class on the ball which makes him better but whilst my view may not be shared by others it''s worth watching out for next game.

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Turner. Does everything the simple way, best attribute to have as a defender

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