Steven Caulker

It is clear to see, Jozo is on a another level to Erik. Better tackler, substantially better distribution, excellent in the air..

 

Tbf it's not difficult to be our 2nd best available CB with Boyata injured, even then some would rather see Ajer, given Sviatchenko's decline. Don't get me wrong I'm not giving up on him but it's clear Simunovic is a class above him and Boyata. Rarely is Simunovic in the wrong position, where as Erik's positional sense is poor causing him to concede cheap free-kicks.

We need to strengthen.

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Spot on.

I actually think Erik is our best tackler (bar Tierney). He makes some e incredible last-ditch tackles, but normally that's due to being caught out of position in the first place.

He's competent enough for the SPFL but in Europe I'd be worried. Not necessarily qualifiers but in the group's I'd definitely prefer someone else in next to Jozo while Boyata is out.

 

First time poster here bhoys so am sorry if a mess something up somewhere, getting to grips with how to work things haha.

Been reading this from start to finish and quite shocked to see people saying that caulker would be a bad move. He's about 6'3 and built like an ox, technically very sound with the ball at his feet and represented his countries national team at 3 age groups, along with playing for a host of respectable clubs down south and even captaining one of them, from as young as 24 (which I find impressive since that's still young). Coming up on 26 now he's still got plenty of years in him, his personal life seems to getting better and Rodgers man to man skills will no doubt drastically improve his mental state along with his ability on the pitch, he needs an arm round the shoulder and guidance by the looks of it. He's no doubt better than anyone we have already (bar jozo, but probably round about the same level). Would be delighted if we are actually signing him. HH.

 

Jozo is our best CB and Erik has had a few ropey moments but the criticism is a bit ott for me.

 

I'm not saying I'm happy with either cause I'm not but exactly what I said was that I would RATHER ajer than erik.... like I could've said I'd rather Ramos but that's not an option whereas ajer is

 

Bendtner isn't a no mark, there's a reason he has a good record for Denmark, he's a big awkward strong * with good technique who just happens to be an absolute * clown sometimes.

The Samaras comparison is apt. *'s awkward.

 

I'd say he's probably been much more of the latter in recent year's, hence his move to Norway and Forest before that where he was pretty pish..

He can be a threat but is known for * up good chances. We should watch him but him being their biggest threat is music to my ears..

That's *. It was a quality moment when Jozo put perma tan up in to orbit but he was certainly rated highly before that. If you're gonna bring up a hun game then infact he was even more beast mode in the 1 nil semi when he blocked Holt's shot late on and strolled it..

 

I'd have an issue bringing this guy in as the the highest paid player at the club. He's not really done anything to deserve that accolade.
It could be someone like this sits well next to Lustig, but i'm far from convinced he's actually good at the playing football part. So to bring someone like that in, taking a drop in wages and becoming maybe one of the more expensive in terms of wages is a problem if he doesn't fit the group and generally that stems from mistakes in games. I've a feeling we could do something with this guy's career, but it will take time because he's an old school type defender and in our system, Sviatchenko is for me better on the ball and so is Simunovic. So on the money we'd be talking on wages, i'd pass on this one, purely because i think he's a fairly average player that's been over hyped via some lucky moments in games. Deals like this look good on paper, but on the pitch i don't think he's worth the wages.

 

When on top form, erik Sviatchenko is our best centre back in my opinion. In his first season and a half here he was one of our best players.

 

He played a very good long ball up to griff for moussas goal aswell in the 1-0 game.

 

Simunovic is easily our best centre half. I can't think of one major error he's made since joining.

He's a class act.

 

I take issue with this. He is not. Even in his first season Sviatchenko had a noticable lack of pace and penchant for niggling, unnecessary fouls ( caused by his lack of pace ).That Inverness game away their forward sped away from him and left Eric for dead. The two games against Sevco he was found out too. Even Shamrock Rovers found him out. Do we need any more evidence ?. Not fit for purpose anymore.

 

Wonder if this was just a media rumor in the first place.

 

Sviatchenko's biggest weakness is by far his pace. The way we press the game means he's always going to be potential problem. I quite liked other parts of his game at first but he seems to be getting worse. I agree with the lad - he was brutal in the 2 Sevco games. In my opinion Sviatchenko and Lustig are the only players(first team)who haven't improved under Brendan Rodgers. I'm amazed we haven't had someone lined up for central defence and centre forward. We've needed these players for more than a year. The defence is by far the weakest part of the team, and we must be the only Champions League team with only 2 strikers in their squad. I know he's said he wants to wait to the end of the window to see what's available, - that's what good scouting is about though, you want to be doing the exact opposite. You want to be signing players you have watched for months/years. The teams that we should be copying are Ajax, Anderlecht, PSV, to name a few. These clubs are like machines, from the youth up. Every year they are bringing through players worth fortunes, and the others they are scouting at good ages for reasonable fees. Look at that Lyon team for eg, the age of them. We bring through a youth player every 5 years or whatever, and sometimes it seems to be luck. We released Andy Robertson, and supposedly Teirney was also about to be released when he finished St Ninians at 16. As far as I know it was a last minute decision to give him a contact. We've just released about 10 players from the development squad, half of these guys will end up at a Morton or out the game.

 

I'd say Ajer gave a better performance against a fairly good Rosenberg team than Sviatchenko did against that * Linfield.

Not that am getting carried away with Ajer but when put in that prospective, we have to ask questions of Erik?

 

I'll crack the jokes.

 

This is a good post and I agree with your sentiments. I believe we also let James McCarthy slip through our fingers when he was a Celtic youth trialist.