Klaus wrote:
Mari is a gem of a player who was brought in to be a starter for a long time, the situations aren't similar imo. Cedric is shit and old and was signed when we already had two rightbacks. He's useless and I hate him, and now we're stuck with him for the next three and a half years.
We had one right back in Bellerin, and another who can play there in AMN. Maitland Niles isn’t going to cut it here in general, let alone in a position he never wanted to play. He’s a great one vs one defender, has decent physical attributes and every now and then his touch can be alright. But he’s just way too casual and disinterested to play in defence, or anywhere else, for us long term. He’s played well there in spurts. But he’s also played well in midfield in spurts.
Just another Chambo imo. Jack of all trades, master of none.
I can live with us bringing in a safety net like Cedric for free so we can make some money off both Bellerin and AMN and eventually splash out on someone at Tierney’s level for on the right. Hopefully we can sort a loan out for him in the next day or two and get something close to what Wolves were rumoured to have offered us.
Disagree on Mari too. If he was intended to be a bonafide starter, as you’re suggesting, than we wouldn’t’ve spent 30 mill on someone who plays his position 6 months later. I think he was a cheap option who can be trusted to be part of the rotation, which I was happy with at the time, and am happy with now. I think he’s done relatively well whenever he’s played, and brings a calmness to the backline that we haven’t had since Per. I was one of the few people here who defended the signing, but even i don’t think the brass saw him as our starting LCB for the next 3-4 years.
