Issa Diop

[the pink palermo]

I've been a Dawson fans on the basis of punch for pound paid.
That doesn't stop me seeing that he is really starting to struggle. .

Yet the points tally I posted above suggests otherwise.

Or are you suggesting we would be significantly higher than 4th if Dawson wasn't playing ?

And if he wasn't playing, who would you select in his place ?

[IronZ-79]

Is Dawson getting worse as this season progresses? IMHO, yes.

The back 4 have suffered but still managed to get us results.

Dawson is carrying an injury. He has for the most part been excellent considering the fee paid.

The team looks leggy. The workload for the size of the squad plus Europe is showing results wise. Along with key injuries.

[BigFatSam]

For some reason there seems to be a few clubs than think he’s a good player. We would be wise to take advantage of this.

[Turtlecharityracer]

Yet the points tally I posted above suggests otherwise.

Or are you suggesting we would be significantly higher than 4th if Dawson wasn't playing ?

And if he wasn't playing, who would you select in his place ?

The points tally of late is not great and I do believe in trends in all walks of life.
Personally, I would stick with Dawson if I could change one CH as I feel Diop is a bigger problem.
Options ard very limited due to injury but, being realistic, Ogbinnas future is very uncertain due to age and injury.
If we have money this window, I seriously doubt we do, I would forget everything else and buy a long term CH. Solidifying the defence is, imo, the first thing we need to do. A CH with composure is essential to any progression, imo.

[Turtlecharityracer]

The back 4 have suffered but still managed to get us results.

Dawson is carrying an injury. He has for the most part been excellent considering the fee paid.

The team looks leggy. The workload for the size of the squad plus Europe is showing results wise. Along with key injuries.

Genuine question. Has anyone within the club said tiredness is an issue? I haven't heard it and our game schedule was expected before the season started.
Interested to see if this is an issue stated by the manager or coaches.

[D C]

I know he’a a troll but to be fair Dawson has been even worse defensively conpared to last season and no goals to paper of the cracks. Fine as 4th choice but pretty much as mediocre as he appeared to be at Watford, just looked better in a better team for a while.

Diop has been as bad/frustrating as ever but it is odd how people are so much quicker to dig him out over other poorly performing defenders like Dawson and Cresswell. Was the same with Haller getting way more stick than other attackers underperforming just as much, people can’t hide their bias’

[Burnley Hammer]

Dawson is solid and dependable, but limited in certain areas such as pace and passing. A bargain for what we paid for him though. Diop just looks like a player that's never going to progress. He lacks aggression, confidence, and struggles to anticipate things and rashly commits to challenges instead of standing his ground (to be fair so does Dawson on occasion). He's extremely poor with aerial duels considering his height - he's ok at clearing things unchallenged though. He cannot read high balls into the box properly and is frequently under the ball when a cross comes in. He's decent at striding forward with the ball but his distribution on the whole is poor. Maybe it's better than Dawsons but thats not saying much as Dawsons distribution is terrible. At the end of the day, if we want to be top 6 or even top 4 then we need to do far better than Diop and Dawson. I know they're only in because of injuries but we need a more dependable backup and we should be looking really for someone good enough to be a first team player. The drop off in quality from Ogbonna/Zouma to Dawson/Diop is huge. We want to be top 6 but we have a number of players in the squad who aren't of that quality. I personally think we've been doing well at times picking up wins whilst not playing particularly well - and I think we're probably overachieving a little.

[Bubbles Fortuna]

Inane or not, matter of opinion. One thing I don't do is abuse people unlike some replies to me.
Worth noting that I also get likes for my posts so some people have the same opinion.

You posted "Hmmmm...."

In the match thread at full time, blatantly meant to antagonise.

[Turtlecharityracer]

You posted "Hmmmm...."

In the match thread at full time, blatantly meant to antagonise.

That was after and referencing Bowens miss. I didn't want to say anything offensive so just left it at that.

[the pink palermo]

The points tally of late is not great and I do believe in trends in all walks of life.
Personally, I would stick with Dawson if I could change one CH as I feel Diop is a bigger problem.
Options ard very limited due to injury but, being realistic, Ogbinnas future is very uncertain due to age and injury.
If we have money this window, I seriously doubt we do, I would forget everything else and buy a long term CH. Solidifying the defence is, imo, the first thing we need to do. A CH with composure is essential to any progression, imo.

So, Dawson is currently the best of who is available ?

[the pink palermo]

Genuine question. Has anyone within the club said tiredness is an issue? I haven't heard it and our game schedule was expected before the season started.
Interested to see if this is an issue stated by the manager or coaches.

Smart managers don't present their players with ready made excuses.

Smart managers use every scientific technique they have to assess players tiredness, it's why players frequently wear monitors.

Today for example, Fornals got hooked to many people surprise. Moyes most likely did it to avoid the player getting injued.

[prophet:marginal]

The points tally of late is not great and I do believe in trends in all walks of life.
Personally, I would stick with Dawson if I could change one CH as I feel Diop is a bigger problem.
Options ard very limited due to injury but, being realistic, Ogbinnas future is very uncertain due to age and injury.
If we have money this window, I seriously doubt we do, I would forget everything else and buy a long term CH. Solidifying the defence is, imo, the first thing we need to do. A CH with composure is essential to any progression, imo.

Agree with this

[e20too]

Yet the points tally I posted above suggests otherwise.

Or are you suggesting we would be significantly higher than 4th if Dawson wasn't playing ?

And if he wasn't playing, who would you select in his place ?

That’s a rather extensive catalogue of presumption to extract from his rather straightforward statement isn’t it.

[the pink palermo]

That’s a rather extensive catalogue of presumption to extract from his rather straightforward statement isn’t it.

He didn't say so,I don't agree with you either, but if it's your opinion, crack on, it's your opinion.

However, we are 4th, we have a positive goal difference, and we are half a dozen points behind the reigning European Champions.

[Crouchend_Hammer]

The big man is part of a makeshift defensive line, sure, but that shouldn’t stop him from cutting out that third goal.

I think you mean the 4th goal that was disallowed

[Turtlecharityracer]

So, Dawson is currently the best of who is available ?

I would say so.
TBF, my point was about deteriorating standards of Dawson and other defenders and why our manger can't put s top to it.
I think its fair to say we have been struggling our last 10 - 12 games and, imo, a big part of that is individual defenders playing worse than they did 12 months ago.

[the pink palermo]

I would say so.
TBF, my point was about deteriorating standards of Dawson and other defenders and why our manger can't put s top to it.
I think its fair to say we have been struggling our last 10 - 12 games and, imo, a big part of that is individual defenders playing worse than they did 12 months ago.

Why do you think he can't put a stop to it ?

[Turtlecharityracer]

Why do you think he can't put a stop to it ?

The reference was to date.

Some stats.
Leeds have not scored 3 goals away from home all season in the PL until today.
Southanpton have only scored 3 goals away from home in the PL this season against us.

Mostly, what see. Imo, clear deterioration in certain defenders.

[Metal Hammer]

The reference was to date.

Some stats.
Leeds have not scored 3 goals away from home all season in the PL until today.
Southanpton have only scored 3 goals away from home in the PL this season against us.

Mostly, what see. Imo, clear deterioration in certain defenders.

Maybe answer the question

[Turtlecharityracer]

Maybe answer the question

Moyes. I think he's a manager of yesteryear, like Mourinho.
I think this new way of playing, keeper practically never long kicking and always rolling the ball to a defender, goes against everything he has done for many years. The thing is, every PL manager feels pressure to play that way. Some managers adapt better to it than others. Imo, Moyes, Mourinho, Dyche and a few others struggle as it goes against their natural instinct of a defenders job.