Mats Hummels

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Sometimes I suspect Hummels' defensive ability is actually underrated because he is very comfortable on the ball. I won't claim to have watched him nearly as much as others here but any time I have seen him it seemed his defensive instincts were good.

Another common criticism is his lack of pace but would that be much of an issue for us? I mean he has managed to excel in a Dortmund/German defence that is far more aggressive in terms of the defensive line they take than any of ours have been. If his lack of pace was such a crippling weakness you'd think he'd have been exposed far more often in those teams, no?

Finally, there's this idea about that he's quite error prone but I've never actually seen people provide many examples of this, even when someone like Sphaero calls them on it.

I don't know enough about his injuries or form generally to comment on them, he might be an awful signing for all I know. The people saying he is weak defensively, error prone or too slow have yet to really convince me though....
 
I'm sorry but this thread is getting a bit ridiculous lately. Hummels is a great player who's having a bad period due to health problems and overall poor performance from his team. It's ridiculous, however, to doubt his qualities as a defender. Sure, he's not the fastest player but he's never been slower than other highly rated defenders such as Godin, Dante, Garay, Terry, Vidic, Pique, Mascherano (the last three may be past it for some, but they've never been much faster). By the way, from what I've seen, Laporte is not blistering quick either.
Hummels is intelligent, strong, knows how to use his body, has great passing skills, vision, tackling and reactions. Not the perfect player but still one of the best CBs on form. He's having a bad season because of his numerous short term injuries that stop him from gaining any match rhythm. He's been good whenever he's had the chance to play full 90 minutes though. I'm not saying we should get him, as his fitness is doubtful, just disagreeing with those saying he's not good enough.
 
sullydnl said:
Sometimes I suspect Hummels' defensive ability is actually underrated because he is very comfortable on the ball. I won't claim to have watched him nearly as much as others here but any time I have seen him it seemed his defensive instincts were good.

Another common criticism is his lack of pace but would that be much of an issue for us? I mean he has managed to excel in a Dortmund/German defence that is far more aggressive in terms of the defensive line they take than any of ours have been. If his lack of pace was such a crippling weakness you'd think he'd have been exposed far more often in those teams, no?

Finally, there's this idea about that he's quite error prone but I've never actually seen people provide many examples of this, even when someone like Sphaero calls them on it.

I don't know enough about his injuries or form generally to comment on them, he might be an awful signing for all I know. The people saying he is weak defensively, error prone or too slow have yet to really convince me though....
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I don't know why people seem to think it's impossible for a CB to succeed in the PL unless he's really rapid. Terry and Vidic were by no means quick but had (in Terry's case, are still having) great careers. In fact, you could argue that the two of them would both belong in the top three best CBs of the league over the past decade or so.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Terry and Vidic were by no means quick but had (in Terry's case, are still having) great careers.
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But they were always at their best when partnered with someone much quicker (eg Rio.) Maybe Smalling is quick enough to partner Hummels.
 
Laphroaig said:
He's very handsome and lovely. Our main criteria for transfers these days is good looks so I reckon we'll be in for him.
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Reckon you could do with Giroud then. Swap deal for Rooney maybe? Everyone wins :angel:
 
glazed said:
But they were always at their best when partnered with someone much quicker (eg Rio.) Maybe Smalling is quick enough to partner Hummels.
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You definitely need to find a partner who will complement them but I'm just disagreeing with the idea that not being quick is a deal-breaker.

As an aside, is Gary Cahill quick? (genuine question, I don't know the answer) Him and Terry seem to have formed a really good partnership, which might go against the idea that you absolutely must have at least one really quick CB.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
You definitely need to find a partner who will complement them but I'm just disagreeing with the idea that not being quick is a deal-breaker.

As an aside, is Gary Cahill quick? (genuine question, I don't know the answer) Him and Terry seem to have formed a really good partnership, which might go against the idea that you absolutely must have at least one really quick CB.
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Well, he's not slow. As quick as Evans or Rojo maybe, not Smalling. It's a tough thing to measure though, especially for a CB.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
You definitely need to find a partner who will complement them but I'm just disagreeing with the idea that not being quick is a deal-breaker.
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Definitely not a deal breaker but perhaps doesn't solve our defence problem on his own. Then again maybe looking for that complete player is a fool's errand, since that player would already have been bought by someone else as rich as us if not richer.

I just love watching fast players I guess.
 
Chelsea plays deep, while our defenders have to cover lot's of space so they have to be quick. But I don't think that that should be the biggest problem for not buying Hummels.

I just don't think that Hummels is worth 35mil pounds, and he would cost that much (put aside his injury problems, which are a huge problem in my opinion).
 
Can Hummels play on the left side of defence?

Assuming he's naturally a right footer and the fact van Gaal likes to play with a left footer, where does that leave Smalling and Jones if we sign him?

Rojo, Evans and Blackett can cover the left. Hummels, Smalling, Jones and McNair would be competing for the right spot - one of either Smalling or Jones would need to be sold. A difficult decision in my eyes as you'd most likely be selling one to Arsenal.
 
AkaAkuma said:
Can Hummels play on the left side of defence?
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He does it all the time. Subotic, Sokratis and Santana were all rightfooted centerbacks as well and it was always Hummels who played the left sided one at Dortmund. Same is true for the nationalteam, when he played next to Boateng or Mertesacker. The few games next to Badstuber (around Euro 2012) are the only exception.
 
glazed said:
But they were always at their best when partnered with someone much quicker (eg Rio.) Maybe Smalling is quick enough to partner Hummels.
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They could work similarly to the Hummels/Boateng combination at the World Cup.

Kounan said:
Chelsea plays deep, while our defenders have to cover lot's of space so they have to be quick. But I don't think that that should be the biggest problem for not buying Hummels.
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This is also a fair point, under LvG we play a pretty high line and our fullbacks push on a lot more than Chelsea's do. Mourinho's back 4 is the most compact of any of the top teams.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
You definitely need to find a partner who will complement them but I'm just disagreeing with the idea that not being quick is a deal-breaker.

As an aside, is Gary Cahill quick? (genuine question, I don't know the answer) Him and Terry seem to have formed a really good partnership, which might go against the idea that you absolutely must have at least one really quick CB.
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Yeah Cahill is quick. The thing about Chelsea is their defence drops deep and leaves little space behind them to exploit. AVB asked them to hold a high line and Terry was all over the place. Jose is way smarter than to do that.
 
Balu said:
He does it all the time. Subotic, Sokratis and Santana were all rightfooted centerbacks as well and it was always Hummels who played the left sided one at Dortmund. Same is true for the nationalteam, when he played next to Boateng or Mertesacker. The few games next to Badstuber (around Euro 2012) are the only exception.
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Ok, I read he was right footed on transfermarkt, although it positions him on both sides of defence. I wonder if that would suit van Gaals preference for left footers.
 
Redo91 said:
Great defending but not sure if it was going in regardless.
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So what? When in doubt kick it out!! Or in this case head it out. How can you not give him the benefit of the doubt? To me, that's a world class bit of defending there
 
AkaAkuma said:
Ok, I read he was right footed on transfermarkt, although it positions him on both sides of defence. I wonder if that would suit van Gaals preference for left footers.
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He doesn't have a preference for left-footers, he has a preference for playing a left-footer as LCB and a right-footer as RCB.
 
Can't help but feel he would thrive under LVG's philosophy, as a calm, composed and play making CB like we've seen from Carrick a few times this season. If you stuck him next to a rock like defender they could make such a good partnership for the way we're attempting to play.

A fine example of this would be Hummels and Subotic.
 
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