DYC.

Are they really reliable? Mendes being his agent is a positive sign at least. Gomes is one of my favourite youngsters.

I hear what you're saying, and yes marking is a pretty big weakness in his game. But we see some terrible defending in Chelsea colours as well, the same goes for City, Arsenal etc. Let's just say I rate him a bit higher than you do.

Mehh.. Vertonghen suffers from the (a little too) occasional brainfart, but he's not that bad at all. I think you're being very harsh. He takes risks, he's pro active. It will backfire at times, but he does a lot of good as well. He's a Spurs player, that's his level. Alderweireld has done well this season, but Fonte is the defender that actually impresses me at Southampton. Very good defender.

As a starter? I would say no. He's a ball-playing defender. Strong on the ball but not a great defender, not better than Terry and Cahill (Zouma with his potential). But then again, he's still on the young side. He didn't impress at Atletico at all though. Think he's more a Vertonghen level defender. It would be nice if Southampton manage to keep him.

He scores rather well as it appears. But shot conversion is not something you look at for a player like Hazard. He is not a striker or a goal scorer. He's an attacking midfielder and he does not go out looking to score goals. The likes of Silva, Coutinho, Nasri, Ribery, Mata, Di Maria, Eriksen (not to mention attacking midfielders of the past) don't share that pressure to score goals, even though Hazard has a similar playing style. The likes of Neymar, Robben, Bale, Reus, Sanchez (Messi and Ronaldo sigh...) play nothing like Eden and have different qualities and weaknesses. Well, Messi does but he's a freak of nature. Hazard is absolutely brilliant at what he does, and I wouldn't trade him for anyone else. The team could definitely use a 'Neymar type' though.

I find this quite shocking. It's strange they don't actually let us see these kind of charts. They keep track of it anyway, why not post them?

Wingers cut inside though, and don't occupy wide positions a whole lot. So while their influence has increased in football, it's not as much about winger vs fullback anymore. And when they do face them, they're usually on the losing side anyway since wingers cut in on their weaker foot. I don't think it's that they don't take pride in their job though. Players like Alaba used to play further forward and were moved back because they were deemed not talented enough. A player like Marcelo for example doesn't mind and adopts the new role, whereas someone like Alaba still has ambitions (ego?). And then you have a guy like Lahm that plays fullback for over 10 years, is tried in the middle, likes playing there and doesn't want to play fullback anymore haha. Playing fullback is a pain though, the most physically demanding role in football if you are asked to contribute on both ends of the pitch. If you don't attack enough, you are critcised for not providing enough offensive threat. And if you do go forward a lot, you are criticised for leaving space in the back. EDIT: Ash is from the old school, an actual defender. Nowadays you have to be a hybrid.

82 goals!!! My eyes popped out when I read that.

Taller than Costa and Remy, that 1.80 I read was way off then. He seemed very slender in the pics I saw though. But I'll take your word.

I read he was was 1.80. Maybe you're right though. I'm not so sure about Mourinho not caring about height. Unless you have a very good leap, contesting for long balls and such. Though I was actually referring to his built. Very slender from what I've seen. Benzema and Milito are both deceptively strong and Higuain was no pushover. Adebayor of all people joined Real to add some height and power. I did not know that. You never stop learning.

Great for him and good luck to him. Reading the article, I doubt he'll be in the first team next season. Strikers have to be the hardest to promote. He'll be 18 by then, no first team football experience. That's not happening under Mourinho. And he's bit on the small side for a 'Mourinho striker'.

It's a shame Alaba does not like to play at LB. Even when he was a teen, you would read stories about him wanting to play further forward, in the middle of the pitch, so you can't help but believe they are true. I understand him too. The fullback position is the least prestigious role of all outfield players. And he has a point of being capable of playing further forward, since he is clever and he does possess fine technique. But Alaba can become the player to define the new fullback, the reference point of his generation. Like Lahm, R. Carlos and Maldini before him. When you do that, you become more than just a mere fullback.

That's the first time I've heard of a situation like this. Training with national team but not actually being selected, a youth player as well. Any idea why?

I hear you, Skippy. I have the lost the ability to get excited about youth players, so I have nothing to add or say. Let's see what happens.

Surprisingly agile and quickness of feet for a player his size. I don't bother watching youth footage so I did not know this, but that's a huge positive. Good performance.

Micah Richards? Seriously, go for quality or don't bother. Better than Ivanovic? Not at all. One pretty good season in his entire career and that was 4-5 years ago.

Really? Kolarov is more of a wingback. He has has a fantastic left foot when it comes to his crossing and FK taking. But his ball control, dribbling, passing is not that good imo. Neither do I rate his ability to keep the ball under pressure. Luis is better on the ball imo. And he's slow and sluggish, I don't understand how that is still accepted of a fullback in football today. You obviously don't rate Luis much. I guess that's fair, it's your opinion.

Choulo, you did not. R. Rodriguez is brilliant, but Coentrao? Kolarov? Kolarov?? Wow. I wonder who else is on that list. Clichy? Gibbs? Schmelzer? Evra?

He is like CR, but his positional sense, timing of runs behind the defence and anticipation is not nearly as good. That's why CR is so effective in his goal-scorer role on the left. And that's why his overall game is tolerated because if not for averaging a goal a game, he'd be like Bale. But even worse, Bale possesses inferior ball control (seeing a player of his cost need 3, 4 touches to properly control the ball if it is played with pace is quite painful) , he's a lot less agile, his feet aren't nearly as quick as CR and he heavily relies on his left foot. That hurts him a lot on the right. Bale has a wonderful left foot. His crossing is awesome and playing on the left, it's a lot easier for him to move quickly, controlling the ball with the inside of his foot. And he's a lot better going around the fullback than cutting inside. I'm not saying he's awful on the right, but not as good as he can be. Less goals on the left, but better overall. I agree with you that he would be an addition to the team. A lot more space in the PL, we've seen how devistating he can be with space. And because of that, he'd have an easier time on the right. Not to mention, here he would take free-kicks. Bale is 5x the FK taker CR is. Gotta love ego and status. But yeah, it's his price. I wouldn't want the club to blow money crazy on Bale, not having enough to strengthen in other areas. Which is definitely needed imo. I doubt Real would let him go for under 60 mil pounds. The club would do well to start strengthening the defence, moving up to midfield and then go for the offensive players. I also think Utd will go for him. I think City would be perfect too. I'd leave if I were Bale, if a move was possible.

I could be wrong, but I think Matic covers the most ground in the PL. If not the most, he's definitely up there at the top of the list. It's not a stamina issue. I think he's either overplayed, or he's covering too much ground. As in doing too much. We have a saying here, it's not about moving a lot, it's about moving enough. Either way, Matic does not look fit and sharp and that's a problem. But he's definitely not the only one.

That's just sad. Bale is a decent man, I feel for him. Can't help but think this will end up like Owen. Some good moments but never going to work.

Bale is not worth the fee you would have to pay to get him imo. Football's a funny game. Last season he's one of the best in the world, but now he's not good enough? 13/14 Bale and 14/15 Bale is basically one and the same. The good and the bad. A bit less effective in terms of goals and assists but that's it (And that's mostly because of Real as a collective. Real was the best team of 2014 by far, they made scoring goals look ridiculously easy. 2015 Real have become mortal again.). Bale's entire season was defined by his goal against Barca in the Copa final, and scoring the 2-1 in the CL final. All of a sudden everything that happened before, the criticism and the questioning of whether he suited Real, was erased. But I have to say, his work rate has dropped. But whether that is because of Ancelotti's instructions or Bale's ego, that's all speculation. Playing on the right doesn't help him though. It doesn't suit him. His deficiencies become all the more apparent. But I wonder if he's willing to play on the left again, where I think he's at his best. He won't score as much on the left, he might not like that.

Oh Eden, you magnificent bastard. Please don't ever leave. Chelsea, provide this man with the supporting cast he deserves.

That game made my football weekend.

Sub-par? You can't compare this kind of defending to defending deep with layers and layers of protection. I've seen some fine defending. We will have to disagree on this.