Zat Knight Signs

[SCIAG]

I hope we never see him play, and that's not being antiZat.
Even if Pearce was injured (and Clark has said he's fine) Cooper and Hector are more than capable of playing out the rest of the season. Both comfortably good enough at this level and would benefit from a run in the side. They could be an excellent long term pairing for us.

Perhaps long term, but I don't think Cooper is good enough for us yet. Along with Patrick Roberts, he has the worst successful-tackles-per-match ratio of any defender or midfielder in the league (according to WhoScored). I'd be very wary of playing him against a side with a tricky forward.

Still, at this stage of the season I think we should be giving players a try. I'd quite like to see Dickie or Hyam given a try, but Cooper's got plenty of potential and I guess he's not going to improve unless we play him.

[Ian Royal]

What's happened to Sweeney?

Keown's played at CB a bit hasn't he? What's he like there?

[SCIAG]

What's happened to Sweeney?

Keown's played at CB a bit hasn't he? What's he like there?

Keown's probably played more at centre back than right back now. Looks a better right back, but this way all the older defenders get to play.

Both of them look OK, but not quite good enough. Our defensive record has been poor this season. Only Stoke and Villa have conceded more goals, and we've played fewer matches than most teams. Despite all the injuries and not having a left back, the U18 defence has been much better.

Not necessarily writing any of the U21 back four off, but I think Dickie and Hyam are the two to watch.

[Ian Royal]

What's happened to Sweeney?

Keown's played at CB a bit hasn't he? What's he like there?

Keown's probably played more at centre back than right back now. Looks a better right back, but this way all the older defenders get to play.

Both of them look OK, but not quite good enough. Our defensive record has been poor this season. Only Stoke and Villa have conceded more goals, and we've played fewer matches than most teams. Despite all the injuries and not having a left back, the U18 defence has been much better.

Not necessarily writing any of the U21 back four off, but I think Dickie and Hyam are the two to watch.

They certainly excited me when I saw them.

[3points]

Me own looked a bit small to be a centre back

[RoyallyFcuked]

We certainly need some better experience at the back than Pearce has and he should help the young talents like Cooper and Hector.

Pearce has over 200 Championship and Premier League appearances to his name. He's got plenty of experience.

It's a shame I can't notice it when I watch him play

[sandman]

Helps if you open your eyes.

[RoyallyFcuked]

Helps if you open your eyes.

Good one. For a player (and a captain!) who has played that much you would think Pearce would command his defence a bit better and not look so nervous (and amatuerish) in possession. He's a good header of the ball but apart from that, he's fairly crap and IMO should not be a starter on the team sheet next season if we want to move forward.

[Ian Royal]

In your opinion. But it doesn't seem like many people agree with you.

[SCIAG]

Helps if you open your eyes.

Good one. For a player (and a captain!) who has played that much you would think Pearce would command his defence a bit better and not look so nervous (and amatuerish) in possession. He's a good header of the ball but apart from that, he's fairly crap and IMO should not be a starter on the team sheet next season if we want to move forward.

Our average position with Pearce in the team is significantly higher than our current position.

Don't get me wrong, I think we could upgrade on him, and in the long run one of our younger centre backs should be an upgrade, but he'd certainly be one of the last first teamers I'd look to improve upon.

[Ian Royal]

He's worth forgiving some of his flaws (which are there, but far from as bad as RoyallyFcuked says) for his passion. It's a lift to see him go mental when he scores, or we win a game. And that step over at Donny was a thing of beauty that's not far off worth giving him a job for life.

[RoyallyFcuked]

@SCIAG - I get your point, I just don't think he should be a starter next season. There is certainly a few first team places that could be improved and Pearce is one of them. What's more, he hasn't been at his best since we went up in 2011/12 and hasn't really ever looked like getting back to that level.

@Ian Royal - I agree I like his passion too but the step over at Donny wasn't a thing of beauty because it was skillful, it was just hilarious. Don't get me wrong I'm glad he pulled it off but it looked clumsy and slow and had he tripped over the ball or his own feet (which he was pretty close to doing) then it could quite easily have been one of the biggest LOLs in RFC history.

[Hoop Blah]

Considering that Pearce is our best and most consistent defender I'd agree with SCIAG that there are plenty of other positions that I'd prioritise for improving over the summer.

[Victor Meldrew]

The trouble is HB our defensive record is one of the worst in the division with Feds ,Gunter, Pearce, Obita and to a lesser Hector having played in most of those games as a back 5.
I know that defence does include all other positions and if Blackman and/or Kanu are playing it means very little support to the defence.
IMHO the whole team needs an overhaul during the summer and Pearce's place must be questioned as must that of all the other players in what has been a poor League season for a club that not so long ago was a Premier side (the same comment would obviously apply to Fulham and Wigan but I don't care about them).
Back to topic-I don't think that Zat Knight is the answer at the back nor Yakubu up front.

[Hoop Blah]

I'd agree on the suggestion that a total overhaul is needed and that every place should be up for review.

Realistically we won't replace the whole 11 though and Pearce is steady at what he does. His role might be more easily replaced than, for example, Hectors though so perhaps he will be replaced. If he is then as long as it's by an improvement then that's great for the side.

Totally agree on Knight. He and Yakubu are only short term reinforcements to see us through to that overhaul in the summer though.

[Ian Royal]

Yeah lets plug the holes and poorly filled positions before we worry about the adequately filled ones.

Pearce can stay as a place holder for Hyam or Dickie.

[SCIAG]

I don't mean to pick on the young man, but how many goals do we concede a match when Cooper starts v. without?

Not trying to build a case against him as such, because obviously sometimes he's played in deliberately weakened sides. Rather, that the Hector-Pearce partnership might be better than our "Goals Against" column suggests.

I'd be very uneasy about going into next season with Hector as our most experienced centre back. With our financial restrictions, I think we might find it difficult to recruit an upgrade on Pearce. If we have £900k to spend, I'd rather it went on Convey than Gorkss.

[Ian Royal]

TBH centreback could be the lowest defensive priority considering our circumstances.
Federici - out of contract
Gunter - out of contract
Kelly - out of contract
Obita - converted winger
Travner - is he any good
Andersen - development stalled

We're probably going to need at least 1 right back, 1 left back and 1 keeper plus we could need another right back too. Not to mention the dearth upfront and at left wing. All of which needs to be sorted on a tight budget as the parachute payments take a big cut for next season.

[SCIAG]

TBH centreback could be the lowest defensive priority considering our circumstances.
Federici - out of contract
Gunter - out of contract
Kelly - out of contract
Obita - converted winger
Travner - is he any good
Andersen - development stalled

We're probably going to need at least 1 right back, 1 left back and 1 keeper plus we could need another right back too. Not to mention the dearth upfront and at left wing. All of which needs to be sorted on a tight budget as the parachute payments take a big cut for next season.

Aren't Travner and Andersen both out of contract?

If we lose Gunter and Kelly then we'll need to get someone else in. Personally, I'd rather we stopped recruiting players who weren't going straight into the team. If we need a back up right back then we have several options from the Academy. A quick count suggests we're going to have seven U21s with experience at right back next season, though most of them also play in other positions.