Just wanted to give him a shout out as I think he's been superb recently. He's so good at winning the ball with interceptions that he rarely need to slide tackle. His positioning and raw pace make him an excellent sweeper as well. He seems to have it all - pace, strength, aerial ability, positioning and the ability to play it out from the back, granted he's not on the same level as Ream or Tosin on that front.
Well done to Marco and the recruitment team for getting him in after a prolonged negotiation.
Was a beast last night. Reads the game so well, and just seems to appear at full pace for the perfect tackle.
Great signing - good work ffc team
Was my stand out MoTM last night. His aggressive press and attacking of the ball suits us down to the ground. Just need to get some attacking flow back and we'll pick up points again.
Agree!
I'm another who agrees.
He's our best CB and has been so since he started getting regular starts (around the Bournemouth match).
Thought he was fantastic all game
I thought he was excellent. Really been impressed so far.
Our recent history of singing centre backs is not good, seems that we have changed that.
Quote from: filham on January 24, 2023, 04:33:07 PM
Our recent history of singing centre backs is not good, seems that we have changed that.
Best crop of CB's since Hughes and Hangeland with Baird as back up
Reams been a major signing for us in his time here.
Anderson was brilliant last time out
Tosin has been pretty damn good value for money
Diop looked an absolute beast last night and has been all round pretty great since claiming the starting spot. Was gutted to miss out on Romagnoli at the time but Issa is younger and seems very commanding at the moment. Long may it continue.
Even Duffy is probably a decent enough back up from the bits we've seen.
If we lose Tosin this summer I hope we can find another top-quality CB to play alongside Diop for years to come with Ream another year older. A top 10 finish would put us in the window for a few quality additions this summer. Another top CB in the Romagnoli mold would be epic - Anderson would be the perfect partner for him but would probably cost 40m+ in today's market so out the question.
Loved what Andreas has been doing this season but I'd also like to see the CAM position strengthened with Cairney also turning 33 next year. Someone who can really battle it out for that spot.
Shopping list for the summer would be CB to pair with Diop long term, world-class CDM/CM alongside Palhinha (great as Harrison is), exciting CAM, and an upcoming CF option in a completely different mold to Mitro - someone pacey.
Diop is really growing on me. He is getting more confident and appears to be a very proficient one on one defender. He has good speed and physicality and his range of passing keeps getting better. Hopefully he continues to improve, but he is already playing very well.
Agreed, he's been decent and seems to be growing with confidence, only issue he's got is to stop himself laughing at west ham
Yeah he looked quality again
Totally agree. He's really good. He reads the game well, which is why he seems to intercept so many passes.
It's amazing how confident and steady he is,the compleat opposite when playing for spam.must be that genius Silva.
Looks like I got that wrong!
Just demonstrates how far we've come from CBs making this type of error more frequently. Great signing.
Wasn't he candidate for man of the match last week?
Early minutes not switched on poor concentration that all comes into,he needs a rocket from Marco and boa.
Quote from: hovewhite on January 29, 2023, 11:33:06 AM
Early minutes not switched on poor concentration that all comes into,he needs a rocket from Marco and boa.
Who doesn't make mistakes. He looked pretty gutted. As we probably all did at that moment.
Sunderland are a point away from a playoff spot and they have a young team who, like us on a good day play a quick passing game and pressed really well.
Quote from: hovewhite on January 29, 2023, 11:33:06 AM
Early minutes not switched on poor concentration that all comes into,he needs a rocket from Marco and boa.
I sit by the dugout & from what I've seen, Marco & Boa probably wouldn't adopt these old school approaches.
Glad to see theres not pile on. A mistake is a mistake and they happen across the course of a season (which he has been great in). Forgiven and move on to the replay
Quote from: filham on January 24, 2023, 04:33:07 PM
Our recent history of singing centre backs is not good, seems that we have changed that.
Has he had any hits?😇
Defenders will always make mistakes. He is Issa Diop, not prime Sergio Ramos. He is still very very good for us and for our level
He looks a lot more comfortable alongside Ream than with Tosin. Potentially a problem if Marco sees them as our first choice pairing next season