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Jammy Yellow

Curtis Davies

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Don''t need Scotlands new CB to cover SB, MT and RB and even SW played there for Scotland. Need other signings more.

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I thought Davies could have been a really valuable signing in January (not to mention last summer) but i wonder now if we''ve gone beyond this one.

Particularly in light of the continuing emergence of Ryan Bennett. Centre backs improve with age and i''d hate to bring someone in that reduces his opporunities and slows his progress. Equally, as good ol'' Russell showed against Croatia (and Man City), he''s a pretty good back up option and actually an excellent CB in his own right.

Given all that, i can''t see Davies being neccessary any more. I don''t know though, maybe i''m wrong and we do need further cover should Turner or Bassong suffer a major injury. Tricky one.

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Just a suggestion but with the priority to strengthen other areas and the fact that we have full backs that can play centre back, should we bring Adel Gafaiti into the first team, he seems highly rated and it would be good for him, he''d be fourth choice, realistically 5th with RM covering because is it worth bringing in a new centre back to be 4th choice as Ryan Bennett has established himself as a strong 3rd choice.

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[quote user="Go Wash Your Mouth Out Son"]Just a suggestion but with the priority to strengthen other areas and the fact that we have full backs that can play centre back, should we bring Adel Gafaiti into the first team, he seems highly rated and it would be good for him, he''d be fourth choice, realistically 5th with RM covering because is it worth bringing in a new centre back to be 4th choice as Ryan Bennett has established himself as a strong 3rd choice.[/quote]
I agree with this. Gafaiti looks like he could be the real deal. Probably needs a loan next year unless CH thinks he is ready to step up now. He seems to be attracting a lot of interest from other clubs too - also wouldn''t count in our 25.

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I wanted him in the past but I''ve moved on. 4 CBs made up of Bassong, Turner, Bennett and R Martin should be enough, perhaps send Ayala out on loan again? I would be inclined to spend the money on the FBs, one of our weakest positions IMO.

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Given Martin''s ability to cover at CB, I would Keep Ayala and let him out on a recallable loan should injuries occur. That would leave more money for quality attacking mid-fielders.

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Curtis Davies is not a bad player he has been an ok player in a poor team, but as others have said i think that our current selection of players are just as good if not better, if players are out there that are at a good price which will strengthen us then we should purchance them but no to the detriement of our other targets.  

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We dont need another CB?   Last season we looked distinctly threadbare at times and the hope bassong is fit was a real fear.   It seems that by not playing our squad has suddenly improved beyond.  Turner and Seb were solid  and ryan ended with a couple of good games but also had games leaving everyone concerned.  

 

Without Seb I feel we still lack a leader there and in particular we lack pace.    As man citeh found out last season if you stick with the same,  the teams around you improve.    If a pacey young CB is available at a decent price we should buy - after some centre midfielders and a striker this for me is our  third key area to strengthen.    

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Think most agree on this one. We have the squad there. Most signings now should be ones that improve our first eleven.

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Curtis Davies is a good Championship player, there is no doubting that, but you could say the same of Leon Barnett.  I think we need to look towards a younger player, someone who can forge a long term partnerships with Bennett.  Craig Dawson would be a good signing if West Brom were willing to sell. 

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The CB area is a difficult one to call because of Bennett''s form at the end of the season. The problem is can we get away with playing bennett for a long period of time alongside someone who is not Bassong?

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The fact that Hughton is in a unique position of having seen Curtis Davies and the centre backs at our own club to make a direct comparison and that he is likely to be well within our price range but still doesnt appear to be in for the player should tell you all everything you need to know.

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Despite my general view that we are ok as we are, it''s not clear cut and i can''t pretend i wouldn''t feel distinctly uneasy if Bassong did his cruciate or suffered something like Ruddy''s injury. In one of Garth Crook''s many selections of Bassong in the teams of the week, he pointed out his pass completion rate which was something ridiculous like 97%. THAT is why we miss him so much when he''s out. Do we have someone who can take us out of danger like that?  That''s not to say Davies would be the answer neccessarily but i think without Bassong we really miss a quality ball playing centre back. Hopefully Bennett can continue to be moulded in to just such a player but i can''t help thinking the mangaer might look to try and pick up one more good quality CB, which could well be to Bennett''s detriment. Really tough decision for the manager that one.

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[quote user="Yellowbeagle"]The fact that Hughton is in a unique position of having seen Curtis Davies and the centre backs at our own club to make a direct comparison and that he is likely to be well within our price range but still doesnt appear to be in for the player should tell you all everything you need to know.[/quote]

 

I agree with this - we have good coverage at CB at the moment with R Bennett improving last season and looking pretty comfortable against Man C''s forward line in the last game.  So if Hughton passes on Davies then fair enough, we can''t fault his judgement on buying defenders so far.  Conversely, if he does step in for him, I''d back his call.

 

Ayala must either go on loan to the Champ again and hope he can stay free of injury.  Or sell him but can''t imagine we''d get much given his injury record.

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[quote user="a1canary"] but i think without Bassong we really miss a quality ball playing centre back.  [/quote]

Is Bassong a quality ball playing centre back?

 

I don''t think his use of the ball is really any better than that of Turner of even Bennett. Like a lot of centrebacks his passing stats can be high because he plays a lot of "safe" sideways and backwards passes.

 

In terms of being able to play the ball out from defence the best centreback we''ve had at Norwich in recent seasons is Elliott Ward. And to be fair Ayala looked like he can do something on the ball too.

 

But I don''t think it''s something that is a strong feature of Bassong''s game.

 

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Whilst I can understand the points that many are making, particularly that there is a danger that Bennett''s development may be hindered by purchasing another Centre Back, I do fear for our defence in the prolonged absence of Bassong from injury.

A high quality Centre Back would be a good purchase imo. I have not seen enough of Davies to judge whether he is someone who fits this bill. Having managed him, Hughton will know - his other defensive purchases have been good.

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