12 Mar 2013 07:21:44
lets talk today about THOMAS VERMAELEN (cpt)
this guy has come under too much scrutiny in this forum its unreal. yes he has made mistakes that has cost us alot. and yes he seems to have faded away with the weight that's included in wearing that captains arm band but he is still the best CENTER BACK that we have. and that's a fact. (check the english premier league opta stats if you think am guessing)
this man should first of all relinquish his captaincy. and focus on his game. as I said yes he has done small mistakes that have cost us. but if you keenly check the man does a job for three people on the pitch.
by that I mean.
a) his partner mertesacker despite reading the game well most defenders gets past him. therefore vermaelen has to go deal with whoever has past BFG hence leaving space where he was supposed to defend. and worse is BFG doesn't go to cover his place when he leaves.
b) same applies to vermaelen and his mid field. the lack of a midfield general does the same to him. our mid field is easily bullied. hence vermaelen has to step in to calm the danger which once again leaves a blank at the back.
in short what am saying is it is due to the lack of better personnel in certain areas surrounding verm that puts him into a lot of trouble.
MY VERDICT : stick with verm this season and next pair him with kos the boss add a true DEFENSIVE MID and watch verm shine again.
iwarutis

1.) 12 Mar 2013
Vermalen is my first choice form or not, he just needs that freedom to roam forward again for us and maybe scrape a goal or two. I saw an article the other day about putting him as a DM but I think when he's on form CB is the place for him.

also read somehting earlier somewhere about mertesacker heading back to the bundesliga so that could solve the pairing issues out

2.) 12 Mar 2013
Iwarutis I like your posts (not that that means anything lol) you always seem to talk sense and I agree with you on this. I just a post saying all 3 of our defenders are off in the summer that is sheer lunacy. Koscielny and Vermaelen need COACHING not SACKING.

I made a lengthy post the other day saying how despite Mert's performances it is actually the fact that he is even in the team that we are falling apart because it makes Verm's job impossible. You're right in that he is doing several jobs but that does go for all the defenders not just him, including Verm. They all have to fill in and hang back/cover when needed that's the value of teamwork. What Verm needs is a partner who has the natural attributes that mean he can be coached into an amazing defender - that's Koscielny. He's already proved it. Yes error-prone but that is the self-conscious nature of the team these days and he needs confidence. I don't even think it's the captaincy affecting Verm it's the fact that last season his partner was Kos this season Mert is undroppable. All that will happen if we sell our entire defence and replace it is that a new bunch will come in and be the same if we don't get the coached.

I hear Bould is leaving, that is disastrous. What an asset to have, we should be doing whatever we can to keep him!

3.) 12 Mar 2013
Including Mert* sorry.

4.) 12 Mar 2013
Totally agree with Iwarutis and Metal Gooner, if you think back to last season we at least had Song as DM which allowed Verm to get forward on some runs, we don't have that protection this year so he has been restricted and doesn't have that extra cover in front of the back 4.
If we get a decent DM then bring Kos back in CB things will be a lot better.
Hoping Bould stays but rumors don't sound good on that front.