- Jul 3, 2020
- 1,121
- 1,832
My issue with Toby sans Vertonghen is that he react to where the ball is coming from when defending, as opposed to Vertonghen who attacks a headable ball. That’s fine as long as he’s paired with another proactive header (Dier fits the bill) but when with Sanchez, who is also reactive rather than proactive, it invites pressure. A centre back who prefers to defend by forcing the attacker to run out of options should always have one centre back partner who defends on the front foot. King had Dawson and Woodgate, Carvalho had Terry, Pepe and Ramos, Ferdinand has Vidic. By the same token, two proactive centre backs leaves you exposed when they over commit. It’s about balance. There’s a reason you hear about centre back partnerships more than the individuals.
Dier is our only cb now who is proactive header ... And bar sheffield game, dier has looked solid along with both sanchez and toby