The central defence conundrum

April 14, 2009 by Martin Banks
Filed under: Aston Villa 
Martin Laursen

Super Skipper

Without Martin Laursen there is no doubt that Villa are leaky at the back. Brad Friedel, whilst still very capable and with some very valuable experience, needs a little more protection than Knight and Davies offer. Carlos Cuellar is injured almost as often as Laursen and when he is fit he is often played out of position.

So what is the answer to Villa’s defensive riddle?

There’s no two ways about it; Villa miss Laursen MASSIVELY. We are dangerously reliant on the injury prone skipper and while he has been out we have seen our first bad run this season, with goals leaking in far more than any challenge on the top four can sustain.

The partnership of Curtis Davies and Zat Knight initially looked like it was capable of being solid, with a couple of good games where they played with confidence but it soon deteriorated and now they just look shaky and like they don’t trust each other or even sometimes; like they don’t want to be there. The job of a central defender is an often thankless task, but it is also a VERY important cog in a winning machine. Our cog is looking very rusty and it is showing in the results.

Carlos Cuellar has spent far too much of his Villa spell so far on the sidelines or at full back. He initially looked like he has potential but has struggled to adjust fully and is still a long way from the quality we need at the back. I think if he and Laursen were fully fit they could forge a great partnership, but that doesn’t look likely at all. In fact, we Villans may have to accept that Martin Laursen will never return to full fitness. There have even been suggestions that his career is over.

Come the summer we will definitely need to purchase at least one centre back. We need a proven, reliable, solid player. Not a youngster hoping to come good or a player who used to be good (I’ll let you assign names there).

If we want to mount a better challenge next season, then we need new defensive signings to make sure the wheels don’t come off mid-flow again.


Comments

One Comment on The central defence conundrum

  1. claretandblueknees on Tue, 14th Apr 2009 12:55

    2. I think we miss Mellberg as well.

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