Bramble's the new pricey kid and Nikos has solid for years, but I don't think I was the only Mag shielding his eyes on more than a few occasions during yesterday's match. With the first transfer window closed, we're going to be stuck with these two (and O'Brien) for a good amount of time... not that there was much talk in the offseason about bringing in another center back. I thought Bramble appeared a real mess against Liverpool, and for all the fantastic plays made by Dabizas he drew a PK, nearly cleared into his own goal and was left dizzy by Owen. Am I the only one that is a bit concerned about our center backs?
Our centre backs have been useless for years. Distin was the best we had last season and now he has gone to Man. City. Of the remainder, I think that O'Brien is the best. Dabizas looks OK against moderate players but is often exposed by top class strikers (e.g. Bergkamp, Owen). Bramble has loads of potential but in lots of games (based on his time at Ipswich and his start at the Toon) he makes critical errors which are punished. One error can detract from lots of good defensive play. Hughes has also played very well at centre back in the past, but I think that everyone sees him as a full back / wing back now. There are rumours that our £6m misfit Marcelino may find himself back in the reckoning, especially for Champions League games. It surprises me that a team like Bolton can sign Ivan Campo for a season from Real Madrid - he would have been a good signing for us and I am sure he would rather have played for us had we made an offer.
I think Dabizas has improved greatly under Robson (and I used to be the Greek's biggest critic). His problem, as I see it, is his lack of foot speed. Bramble suffers from his youth - he's 21. In fact, with the exception of Dabizas, no one who regularly plays on defence is older than 23. Elliott is 29, but he hasn't seen action lately...and Marcellino, forget him.
I agree, Bramble is a great prospect and we just have to live with the odd slip. We have all tried to forget Marcelino - unfortunately he is still drawing a £1 million a year basic salary for doing nothing! There is a view that he will get into the team just so the club can sell him for a reasonable fee.