Russel Martin and Ryan Bennett

[Greggs 0]

Would you put these 2 as our centre back pairing against west ham??.or stick with turner and bassong or do these 2 need a kick up the backside

[Mr Brownstone 0]

I don''t have a problem with Turner, but Bassong clearly still isn''t fit. Bennett was unlucky to lose his place, thought he was excellent tail end of last season and when his played this term.

Bennett and Turner would be my pairing until Seb is fully fit.

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

Bennett for Bassong for me. The latter is a shadow of last season accident prone and dwelling on the ball far too much

[Aggy 747]

No problem with Bennett in for Bassong - I didn''t think Bennett did anything badly wrong, and Bassong is clearly unfit or not working well with the new captaincy - there have been lapses in concentration which could be down to worrying about organising etc. rather than just defending.

Martin I haven''t been particularly impressed with, and I don''t think Turner has done much wrong either. Yesterday you can''t point fingers at individuals too much, because the whole team performed badly and the set up was just wrong. But I think Turner was probably the best of the defenders (not that that says much).

[thas a rummun 2]

Whichever pairing we choose to go for over the coming weeks, it should all lead to one thing... and that''s heavily dipping into those millions we apparently kept back for the January transfer window and spending it on the best centre back we can afford.If he costs 8-10 million, bring him in. Because a leaky defence could well ultimately cost us many, many more millions than that.

[Olly 0]

Russell Martin has been pants the last couple of games, but then Whittaker came in midweek and was even worse! Martin will turn it round soon I''m sure.

Bassong is a worry. Turner is outperforming him, and he''s been fairly average. I would be tempted to give Bennett a go, he was good back end of last season and at Stoke

[rock bus 850]

Posted this on the west ham line up thread:

Why alll the calls to drop Turner and replace him with Bennett.

Surely Bassong has been the weakest centre back this season??

Best pairing has been Turner and Bennett at Stoke.

[Aggy 747]

I''m not necessarily sure that buying another centre back is what we need. If we can get someone with experience and a real leader''s attitude, who can organise the defence a bit, then he might be worth getting hold of.

Otherwise, it''s not really a matter of the defenders not being good enough - it''s far more to do with organisation. That should be something you can sort out on the training pitch. Look at a Pulis or Allardyce team - takes average defenders and drills them so well that they are incredibly hard to break down. We don''t look drilled at all. Against the Man Citys and Chelseas you might need a better quality of defender, but to compete with the majority of sides in this division, our defence should be more than good enough if it is organised - as we saw last season.

[HampsteadCanary 0]

Yes to Ryan Bennett against West Ham....had the Stoke centre forwards in his pocket all game. I wonder if a ball playing CB would be a good buy in January, someone who is able to deal with pressure at the back and get us going forward quickly...

[Dubai Mark 0]

I wouldnt change, but agree that Bennett has done well when he has come in and against the, shall we say "lesser" sides each CB pairing has been fine despite Bassong not reaching the heights he did last season. So, no way would I pair Martin and Bennett....because that would mean dropping our best CB (Turner) and why would you do that at this critical time?   

[Mr Brownstone 0]

Bennett is also fantastic in the air, so he could restore some of our aeirial threat at set pieces.