Meatwad wrote:

"Vertonghen is a defender. He is an interesting player but he is a centre-back."

he says that like we're sorted at CB.

We actually are. Coaching is the problem. We can start Kos and the BFG next season and be fine

And what a problem!

as much as iI like big jan, im not sure he wouldve made the difference against norwich.

A calm, disciplined player with intelligent positioning wouldn't have been an improvement over the jumpy, sloppy and chaotic Vermaelen we saw today?

my point was we were a collective defensive shambles. vertonghen wouldve probably been infected by the same sheep-like panick.

in saying that, we should still sign him.

Vertonghen would have been hilarious to watch playing for us yesterday.

(Well, hilarious for Spurs fans anyway)

Mello wrote:

A calm, disciplined player with intelligent positioning wouldn't have been an improvement over the jumpy, sloppy and chaotic Vermaelen we saw today?

Vertonghen is none of those things. In fact, he is just like Vermaelen. But worse.

Vermaelen's a MUCH better defender than Vertonghen. It's not even close in my opinion. The one and only thing he has over Vermaelen is his extra height and strength, which, granted, long-term could see him become a better player, but it's not even close right now.

Sort the damn midfield out, that's what we need to address. It's a shambles.

The "calm, disciplined player with intelligent positioning" that people talk about would be Mertesacker and not Vertonghen.

Vertonghen can't deal with space behind him.

I miss Mertesacker.

Ricky1985 wrote:

Vermaelen's a MUCH better defender than Vertonghen. It's not even close in my opinion. The one and only thing he has over Vermaelen is his extra height and strength, which, granted, long-term could see him become a better player, but it's not even close right now.

Sort the damn midfield out, that's what we need to address. It's a shambles.

What? Ask any Ajax fan and they will tell you Vertonghen is the better defender and he is.

Vermaelen is a much better defender.

YounGunner wrote:

Ricky1985 wrote:

Vermaelen's a MUCH better defender than Vertonghen. It's not even close in my opinion. The one and only thing he has over Vermaelen is his extra height and strength, which, granted, long-term could see him become a better player, but it's not even close right now.

Sort the damn midfield out, that's what we need to address. It's a shambles.

What? Ask any Ajax fan and they will tell you Vertonghen is the better defender and he is.

Ask any United fan and they'll tell you Rooney is a much better striker than van Persie.

Vermaelen's streets ahead of Vertonghen at this point.

both didn't play for man united for them to compare, so how is that a counter to his point. ajax fans never rated verm as a CB so that doesn't surprise me anyway.

Might have something to do with the fact that Vermaelen never played centreback for Ajax.

Vertonghen plays in a two bob League and has done next to nothing in his career. Vermaelen plays for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, he's played in Champions League semi-finals, been named in the Team of the Year in the biggest and best League in the world, and is generally considered one of the best defenders in the League.

Maybe Vertonghen has the potential to be a better player in the future, but right now it's not even close. Why do you think Spurs are on the verge of signing him?

Ask Juventus' fans who out of Thierry Henry and Milos Krasic was the better player for them and you'd get similar answers. Doesn't mean anything. It's a bullshit measurement. Nothing to see here.

Ricky1985 wrote:

Might have something to do with the fact that Vermaelen never played centreback for Ajax.

Vertonghen plays in a two bob League and has done next to nothing in his career. Vermaelen plays for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, he's played in Champions League semi-finals, been named in the Team of the Year in the biggest and best League in the world, and is generally considered one of the best defenders in the League.

Maybe Vertonghen has the potential to be a better player in the future, but right now it's not even close. Why do you think Spurs are on the verge of signing him?

Thats so so not true. He played half a season at LB in his final season there because of an injury to their first choice, but other than that he has played in CB all his Ajax career