I really don't get this attitude of "he's not that good but he's an okay 4th choice centre back" talk. If a player is not good enough to get into the first eleven then he is not good enough full stop. There is no middle ground, the entire purpose of having a strong squad is that you can absorb injuries and out of form players with players who are worthy of playing in the first team on merit. I agree that a centre back of the ilk of Alderweireld is going to be difficult to acquire because he will not accept the possibility of playing second fiddle to Gomez and van Dijk. There are better central defenders than Lovren or Matip out there who would come to the Club.
I try not to bother myself with Lovren and Matip anymore but the fact remains that they are not top class defenders. They consistently make mistakes and many of these mistakes are very costly. All joking aside, i would play Hoever ahead of Matip and Lovren. They have had many chances and still they can't take them.
Thatâs not true though is it, no player who is good enough to potentially be a first choice is going to be happy to sit on the bench to be a 3rd or 4th choice.
The players of that quality simply wonât sign or hang around, unless itâs an academy player looking to break into the team.
I suppose they could be enticed by huge wages but thatâs unrealistic.
And that is the reason why there is a drop off in quality, hence why Matip is ok as a 3/4 choice.
« Last Edit: Feb 12, 2019 07:40:22 am by HScRed1 »
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