Joël Matip

[Montana]

Rhys is also pretty good in the air so has the overall edge on Philips.

We have to surely get in a centre-back now and maybe another on loan too.

[Fredo]

Out for 3 weeks according to Klopp so should be back for the United game. :cross fingers:

[danperkins]

Rhys is also pretty good in the air so has the overall edge on Philips.

We have to surely get in a centre-back now and maybe another on loan too.

Gonna put it out there, don't think either will make it at LFC. Philips is bang average and Rhys is just too slow to play in a high line defensive setup.

[S-RED]

Out for 3 weeks according to Klopp so should be back for the United game. :cross fingers:

that would be nice

[Mark79]

Gonna put it out there, don't think either will make it at LFC. Philips is bang average and Rhys is just too slow to play in a high line defensive setup.

Woah, steady on there Dan. Going out on a limb there, aren’t you?

Yeah, of course not. We tried our best to offload Phillips in the summer. And Rhys would likely be on loan again in a lower division if it weren’t for all the injuries.

[Norbs]

Gonna put it out there, don't think either will make it at LFC. Philips is bang average and Rhys is just too slow to play in a high line defensive setup.

Be interesting to see how many goals have been shifted by each of our CB pairings this season

[Montana]

Gonna put it out there, don't think either will make it at LFC. Philips is bang average and Rhys is just too slow to play in a high line defensive setup.

Agreed.

Phillips is championship level and we're managing to just about squeeze decent level performances out of him to get through this injury crisis. He'll definitely be gone in the summer. No pace and not good enough on the ball. Every pass is telegraphed and easily read.

Rhys can probably develop into a decent PL defender in future but certainly lacks pace for what we need and another who can hopefully do a job when called upon for now.

We really need to get a new CB back in if we want to retain this title.

Can you imagine having to start with Phillips and Rhys in a big game

[Fredo]

To be fair to Phillips last night, while he's not Virgil or Joe Gomez (which we are comparing him with), he has contributed to a clean sheet and done his job. It's not his fault we didn't score at the other end. And to be fair to all of them, they've done brilliantly since we've lost Joe and Virgil and since they've been out, we've had arguably the best defensive record in the league. I won't be surprised if we don't sign anyone in January unless our first choice target is available. If he's not, then we will carry on with what we have I think. Our defensive record since then probably back that sentiment.

That doesn't mean that I wont' be very nervous if either of them faces Rashford and al on the 17th of January and that Joel is not back.

[Montana]

To be fair to Phillips last night, while he's not Virgil or Joe Gomez (which we are comparing him with), he has contributed to a clean sheet and done his job. It's not his fault we didn't score at the other end. And to be fair to all of them, they've done brilliantly since we've lost Joe and Virgil and since they've been out, we've had arguably the best defensive record in the league. I won't be surprised if we don't sign anyone in January unless our first choice target is available. If he's not, then we will carry on with what we have I think. Our defensive record since then probably back that sentiment.

That doesn't mean that I wont' be very nervous if either of them faces Rashford and al on the 17th of January and that Joel is not back.

Both have come in and done better than expected and have certainly played a part in helping us get to the top of the league.

Ideal scenario would be if we could have Fabinho, Matip and new CB fit for most of the 2nd half of the season with Phillips and Williams as back up when / if needed.

Obvs VVD & Gomez returning by April would be fantastic but we can't bank on that

[Fredo]

Joël Matip

Ideal scenario would be if we could have Fabinho, Matip and new CB fit for most of the 2nd half of the season with Phillips and Williams as back up when / if needed.

Good point, so that he can be nursed in. I don’t see this happening in the January market though but we’ll soon find out.

[Irishnev]

Be interesting to see how many goals have been shifted by each of our CB pairings this season

I saw that stat but more inline with how many we have conceded when we changed partnership mid game (often) and something like 65% of goals came after we changed......Gomez came off at half time vs Villa which probably adds to that number

[Fredo]

What is hampering us by not having either Matip, Gomez or Virgil, is the passing from the back. Fabinho does a great job, but the other two (Phillips and Williams) do seem to be overly cautious, which is understandable if you're new to the team, but this hinders some of our attacks at times as the ball in not played in quick enough. Williams was making forward runs at times during the Spurs game though, which means he has it in him to be progressive. Just his pace when we're facing counter attacks which is a bit worrying.

[danperkins]

Agreed.

Phillips is championship level and we're managing to just about squeeze decent level performances out of him to get through this injury crisis. He'll definitely be gone in the summer. No pace and not good enough on the ball. Every pass is telegraphed and easily read.

Rhys can probably develop into a decent PL defender in future but certainly lacks pace for what we need and another who can hopefully do a job when called upon for now.

We really need to get a new CB back in if we want to retain this title.

Can you imagine having to start with Phillips and Rhys in a big game

it is an absolute must imo. Absolute madness not strengthening in that area when we have no senior CB's fit. Matip will 100% break down again and we most likely won't see VVD or Joe back to 100% this season. Fabinho is so incredibly important to our midfield as he does let the other lads play slightly higher, he will be CB for the rest of the season if we don't add to the squad. He has done superb there but he is a top class CM and we need him there imo.

Philips won't be at LFC long, Rhys will get time but regardless of how he improves.. pace will always be an issue for him. The game is only going to get faster too as time goes on imo.

Woah, steady on there Dan. Going out on a limb there, aren’t you?

Yeah, of course not. We tried our best to offload Phillips in the summer. And Rhys would likely be on loan again in a lower division if it weren’t for all the injuries.

I know, I know but I am not saying he won't be a good defender but our high line depends on pace in those CB areas and he is painfully slow. I know he's just a kid it'
s harsh me saying that, I could very well be proved wrong but in the prem these days a quick CB does seem to be the new criteria. They don't have to be lighting but I think we can all see Rhys is a bit of a snail and I can see that being a issue for him as he goes on in his career.

[baitman]

it is an absolute must imo. Absolute madness not strengthening in that area when we have no senior CB's fit. Matip will 100% break down again and we most likely won't see VVD or Joe back to 100% this season. Fabinho is so incredibly important to our midfield as he does let the other lads play slightly higher, he will be CB for the rest of the season if we don't add to the squad. He has done superb there but he is a top class CM and we need him there imo.

Philips won't be at LFC long, Rhys will get time but regardless of how he improves.. pace will always be an issue for him. The game is only going to get faster too as time goes on imo.

I know, I know but I am not saying he won't be a good defender but our high line depends on pace in those CB areas and he is painfully slow. I know he's just a kid it'
s harsh me saying that, I could very well be proved wrong but in the prem these days a quick CB does seem to be the new criteria. They don't have to be lighting but I think we can all see Rhys is a bit of a snail and I can see that being a issue for him as he goes on in his career.

We'd be mad to get rid of phillips and williams as we need some level of cover given how soggy our centre backs are.
It may be we play a bit less of a high line, we ultimately need to adapt the style of play to what we have available.

[dom9]

We'd be mad to get rid of phillips and williams as we need some level of cover given how soggy our centre backs are.

It may be we play a bit less of a high line, we ultimately need to adapt the style of play to what we have available.

I was reading an article a little while back which did some analysis pre and post VvD injury.

Turns out that after he got injured, we played a much higher line, and indeed general shape, whereas pretty much everyone expected the opposite.

The last few games, we've dominated possession. Suffocated the opposition. The centre backs have been stationed beyond the centre circle. The opponents side of the centre circle. That's just mad.

The result? Fewer goals conceded overall.

Defence is not the problem people are making out.