Geoff didn't go to Europe until he was 27 though. So in that sense Miazga is ahead. Geoff was playing for the Dynamo, undisputed starter, as is Matt with Reading. IMO the Dynamo back in 2009 was better than this Reading, though. On the other hand, Cameron was making about 35k/year back then, while now Miazga must be making almost 30x that much, which even adjusted for inflation is about 15 times more.
Very hard to understand why MM is not getting a look at Chelsea. Kurt Zumba Zouma is a terrible defender. Not bad, terrible. Two left or right feet. No positional awareness. Can't pass. Doesn't score. Get's beat off the dribble. Get's beat in behind. Loses his mark on set plays. Christiansen is an extremely composed player. Very smart. Always right position. And yet, he's f'ing up every single game just about. He can't keep a clean sheet and certainly should not be leading the line. He is basically the Tim Ream of Chelsea. Should be good, but is absolutely a goal against guaranteed. If I were captain of this ship, I'd sacrifice him to the gods. Bad Luck.
I think Christiansen would be fine with some better partners. He feels like he thinks he's got to do it all - not without some reason. CP will get some blame if he doesn't score a few goals, but the real problem for Chelski is and will be defense if they don't fix it up. Not sure Matt is the answer, but they need to change something.
Is it possible that the Chelsea coaching team thinks MM is even more terrible than Zouma? That would be my first guess.
Starts: 🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨One change to the Starting XI as Lucas Boyé comes in to replace Lucas JoãoAnd a foot injury for @Yaks75 forces him out of tonight's squad; @DannyNamaso takes a place among the subs#WBAvREA pic.twitter.com/TqjW56G47g— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) August 21, 2019
Rudi should start when he's back healthy and I don't think anyone over there rates Matt higher than Tomori. Azpi can play centrally and we can rotate others outside if need be. I'd say at best, Matt would probably be 4-5 on the depth chart. Here's a serious question....Is Matt better than Michael Hector?
Yeah, I don't think Miazga is ultimately good enough to be the sort of CB Chelsea want/need, but he probably isn't much worse (if at all) than what they're throwing out there right now.
This. Plus, Matt's in good form, whereas Chelsea's CB's really aren't right now. I could see MM doing better initially, but I'm not sure he would be able to raise his game and keep it up for an entire EPL season.
WBA attacking at will against Reading. Appeals for a penalty against Reading waved off. Can't seem to hold the ball for more than 4 passes. Didnt watch the first half, still 0-0.
Completely against the run of play, Reading player with biggest hair takes two steps at top of the box and sends in an absolute knuckler. Goal keeper didnt even move.
Yes, Matt is better. He's also better than Zouma. Lastly in the air, on set plays, as a competitor and possibly on the pass, he is as good at Christiansen. Rudi...good defender who is also mistake prone. At best the backline is a mess at worst it is in trouble.
MM playing the RCB and really holding far wider than makes me comfortable, but that is clearly the 'Pep' effect as I've seen DeBouring do the same at LCB for atlanta at times among others. He needs to get a bit more professional on his 1 v. 1 defending. I know he's trying very hard not to give away a free kick, but twice more I'm seeing him give up too much ground.
Disagree completely on Zouma. Everton wanted him back for a reason. He kept Mina (when healthy) out of the lineup. He played really well for them last season.
Rated a 9 by this source, with a bunch of other fellows: Miazga 9 Made some superbly timed tackles and was excellent in the air as well. Forming a really excellent partnership with Morrison and Moore in the back three. https://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/reading-fc-player-ratings-ejaria-16794485
They didn't know Zouma was going to suck when they loaned Matt out, and even if he had stayed, Tomori and Rüdiger (who's back) would have been given the chance before him.
If he were to finish the season among the top 5-8 centerbacks, would that secure him a damn good transfer next season?
The barrier is always going to be that as a Chelsea player, unless the parent club pays a good chunk of the salary, Matt is too expensive for most everybody outside England.
No. His Ligue 1 failure looms large, and players don't really make "damn good transfers" out of the Championship, unless it's to the Premier League. Given the lack of interest in Miazga at that level thus far, it's hard for me to envision a scenario where anyone in the Premier League is interested in him, much less a decent team in that league. Two defenders have left the Championship for a fee this window - both for about €2 million, one to Dijon and one to Fenerbahce. Frankly, another season in the Championship is a waste if his career is going to progress to first-division football. His best case is to get sold for cheap next summer to a team tipped for relegation in one of the big 5 leagues, and to do well once he's there.