Rick Rant - Fullback Conundrum
Where do I start with this one? I have just finished watching the Bayern away game in the champions league and it highlighted what we all new already; we need new full-backs.
We currently have Rose, Aurier, Davis, KWP as dedicated full-backs and Foyth, Vertonghen, Sissoko and Sessegnon as emergency full-backs. When you look at it like that it appears we have plenty of options but lets look deeper.....
Rose is passed it and will be gone soon.
Aurier is ok going forward but gets injured regularly.
Davis is currently long term injured.
KWP is not good enough and should be sold.
The full-back emergency players Vertonghen and Sissoko are regular players in other positions so when they fill in, they leave a gap behind them. Foyth is not a regular and neither is Sessegnon so they can fill in, but its not an idea situation because if they get injured there is no-one left.
Years ago, we had the best full-back pairing in the league in Rose and Walker and it's no coincidence that the we played better with them, than we do now without them.
The full-back position is criminally underrated, and its no coincidence that the better teams have the best fullbacks. The full-backs often face an adversary who is speady and skillful and the primary provider of assists in the opposing team. The full-backs job is to stop crosses coming in, and to halt the progress of the opposing winger. If they can assist the attacking players as well it is a bonus. Only the best full-backs can do both.
Since we lost Kyle Walker, our full-back positions have been neglected and I think the demise of Poch (who played a system that required good fullbacks), was a consequence of not improving this position in the team. He even made the situation worse by selling Trippier, an inconsistent player but a body that was not replaced.
What will Mourinho do about this? I really don't know. I would hope he would prioritize this position as it cannot have escaped his notice that Rose is done and KWP is not good enough. So at the very least he either needs to buy reserve full-backs or promote youth full-backs. The ideal situation would be to buy two first team full-backs and the ones we have can either be backups or sold to raise the funds.
I am not concerned about the result of the Bayern game. We used this game as a training exercise for reserve players. Our concern should be Wolves on Sunday and in Mourinhos words: "Only the next game matters".
Rick - COYS