I'm not just referring to the own goal two days ago. But it seems this season and even last season, Verm and kos are a bit erratic. they may make a bad tackle, be out of position, or make a silly header. Is this the true root of our defensive problems? Overall, both are good defenders, but it's this erratic nature that is troubling.
a mix of bad luck and lack of discipline. they need to really concentrate on spatial awareness (ie. where the opposition are) and keep both formation and an ability to be in a position to cut out potential danger.
I think because they are often the more mobile CB of the one they are paired they find themselves in bad positions. I also wonder if Kos is a good communicator on field.
I'm not saying they should never make mistakes. But it seems in almost every game, they do some silliness. They seldom ever have perfect games.
They're both listed as over 6 ft, with Kos listed as 6'1". Cahill, Terry, Ferdinand, Vidic, Lescott are all listed as between 6'1" or 6'2". Gallas and Carvalho (and yes both are certainly past their prime) are listed at 6. Kolo is listed at 6 but certainly did the job for us until he got fat. Only Kompany is significantly taller at 6'4". Point is...they're not undersized and neither really lacks pace either. They just both make too many mental errors with Verm's compounded by the fact that he seems to lack tactical discipline as you mention.
Both Verm and Kos did well last season, but I've been unimpressed with them of late. Bouldy needs to work on their mental discipline and decision-making.
I think I saw some pictures on here from a while back where the Arse-AM supporters posed with Verm. He ain't no 6-0 footer, Sir. And also, undersized = height plus strength. Both are a bit lightweight.
So you know how tall the ArseAm supporters were then, I suppose? Also both of their weights aren't far off from all the other defenders I've already mentioned so unless you've been spotting them when they hit the weights, I doubt you have any insight into how strong they are. More importantly, I'm not sure why you're giving Vermaelen a pass based on physical attributes when it's pretty clear from watching him that he costs us goals because of dumb mistakes and getting pulled all out of tactical shape with relative ease by opposing players.
Vermaelen is tactically atrocious. He's got all the tools except positional discipline. I still remember how Barcelona made him look like such a little bitch by simply floating balls up through the right channel.
Not trying to pick a fight with you man. I just don't think they are tall enough, or strong enough, or in the case of Verm, disciplined enough, as CBs on a top team should be. We have all seen enough already.
And the latter part of your sentence is really my point. Whether you believe the sites that say he's 6 feet or the sites that say he's 5'11" or 5'10.5", I just disagree that his lack of size is what's contributing to his mediocre-to-poor form over the last season or so.