See, I don't watch players like Salgado, Emerton and Givet and see anyone all that much worse than Samba. Nelsen in particular, is pretty much of a very similar standard (or at least used to be, been quite a bit past it last couple of seasons). Actually, Salgado's pretty toss, but you catch them on the right day and they'll look like decent individuals. Watch them 20 times a season, and it's easy to understand why they're in the shape they're in.
Yes, Hodgson did a good job organising Fulham's defence, but he did it around Brede Hangeland, who he brought in the January after he joined.
