Qwiss! wrote:
AAStyle- wrote:
Holding is fine as long as he is 4th CB choice I think
He's even fine as 3rd choice. He's a very good defender, just not as good with the ball as our other CBs.
I'm not sure it's appreciated enough just how important the CB's abiliy to participate in the build-up game is. Similar to Leno, it's not just about whether they're good at goalkeeping or defending, or even just whether they can play a long pass ala David Luiz or get their foot through the ball reliably as Leno undoubtedly can. It's more nuanced than that. The defenders, like the rest of the team, need to be able to see the next pass, execute quickly and reliably, be agile and quick, spot on first touches, good ball manipulation when needed - it's a long list of demands, and it's why so much money has been spent on the defence.
The GK + back four in many ways are the technical base of the team, if it doesn't stand up, everything else will crumble in the face of aggressive opposition pressure. In seasons gone by the midfield has born the brunt of the criticism when we can't string two passes together, but in a set-up like ours, it begins with the defence.
All of this is to say that whilst Holding is a pretty good defender, if he was seeing a lot of extended game time, we'd be in big trouble. Just as we were with Cedric and Tavares.