Sorry/not sorry about the title spelling.
Right, at the moment Everton have too many ingredients and not enough recipe when you look at the center backs. If you include Lewis Gibson, there are 6 first team CB in the squad--I'll leave him out of my comments below because I don't see him factoring in the squad selection next season, although I've been wrong before. Out of those remaining, who fits and who doesn't? And how do we fix what we have in the squad, or does it not need fixing at all? To me this is a major problem.
Ben Godfrey -- He's fast, powerful, brave, and loves a tackle. He's not played a ton of CB in his first year, and has shown as much, but I can see him in a good CB pairing. 3/5 and should improve, but some of this grade assumes he doesn't stagnate like Holgate.
Yerry Mina -- I love watching Yerry Mina play, most of the time. He's enthusiastic, fun, unconventional, one of the first to celebrate, and creates real problems for the other team. But he's prone to injury and error and still runs like a baby horse. I think we have what we're going to have with Yerry Mina, and with the right pairing he could be a force, but I can't figure out if he's part of the right pairing. 3/5 for Mina, but a squad with him will always be a little unpredictable and error prone.
Big Mick Keane -- Michael Keane is very measured and consistent, but also quite limited. He can cover ground well and put in a timely tackle, but he doesn't have any dominating physical traits. He's played well with Mina in the past, but these together are a limited pair and dictate how the team sets up. I'm convinced Keane can be a great #2, but he's never a #1 CB. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just bad that this squad appears to be full of #2s. I don't see his upside as high as Jagielka's, but he could grow into that role in the right setting. 3/5 for the Keggers, but he could be part of a dominant pairing if we find that #1 CB.
Mason Holgate -- I want Holgate to be great for many reasons, but partly because he seems to have the tools to do the job. Yet even as good as he looked in certain roles (like his midfield gem under Ferguson), he has looked terrible at the back both central and wide this season. Let's hope he's hit a rough patch in his development and will rebound, but it might be that his level is at a lower club, even Championship. 2/5, I hope he keeps developing but the signs aren't promising.
Jarrad Branthwaite -- he's got some tools in his bag but has been given little game time so far. I'm excited to see what he can do and he looks to me like a 4th choice CB to see if he can develop into something, but he's unlikely to be a first choice CB next campaign, and frankly unless we see a lot of shifting in the squad he'll probably be loaned out by Brands again. 1/5 but shows some promise and could be a useful squad player.
What are your thoughts on the squad? The players in the squad? The solution for EFC's defensive woes? Do we have the solution(s) in our squad now or do we need to see Brands looking elsewhere? Which of these need to go, if any? Which of you knuckleheads is putting tacks in driveways on match day to limit Carlo's selection next season?
Right, at the moment Everton have too many ingredients and not enough recipe when you look at the center backs. If you include Lewis Gibson, there are 6 first team CB in the squad--I'll leave him out of my comments below because I don't see him factoring in the squad selection next season, although I've been wrong before. Out of those remaining, who fits and who doesn't? And how do we fix what we have in the squad, or does it not need fixing at all? To me this is a major problem.
Ben Godfrey -- He's fast, powerful, brave, and loves a tackle. He's not played a ton of CB in his first year, and has shown as much, but I can see him in a good CB pairing. 3/5 and should improve, but some of this grade assumes he doesn't stagnate like Holgate.
Yerry Mina -- I love watching Yerry Mina play, most of the time. He's enthusiastic, fun, unconventional, one of the first to celebrate, and creates real problems for the other team. But he's prone to injury and error and still runs like a baby horse. I think we have what we're going to have with Yerry Mina, and with the right pairing he could be a force, but I can't figure out if he's part of the right pairing. 3/5 for Mina, but a squad with him will always be a little unpredictable and error prone.
Big Mick Keane -- Michael Keane is very measured and consistent, but also quite limited. He can cover ground well and put in a timely tackle, but he doesn't have any dominating physical traits. He's played well with Mina in the past, but these together are a limited pair and dictate how the team sets up. I'm convinced Keane can be a great #2, but he's never a #1 CB. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just bad that this squad appears to be full of #2s. I don't see his upside as high as Jagielka's, but he could grow into that role in the right setting. 3/5 for the Keggers, but he could be part of a dominant pairing if we find that #1 CB.
Mason Holgate -- I want Holgate to be great for many reasons, but partly because he seems to have the tools to do the job. Yet even as good as he looked in certain roles (like his midfield gem under Ferguson), he has looked terrible at the back both central and wide this season. Let's hope he's hit a rough patch in his development and will rebound, but it might be that his level is at a lower club, even Championship. 2/5, I hope he keeps developing but the signs aren't promising.
Jarrad Branthwaite -- he's got some tools in his bag but has been given little game time so far. I'm excited to see what he can do and he looks to me like a 4th choice CB to see if he can develop into something, but he's unlikely to be a first choice CB next campaign, and frankly unless we see a lot of shifting in the squad he'll probably be loaned out by Brands again. 1/5 but shows some promise and could be a useful squad player.
What are your thoughts on the squad? The players in the squad? The solution for EFC's defensive woes? Do we have the solution(s) in our squad now or do we need to see Brands looking elsewhere? Which of these need to go, if any? Which of you knuckleheads is putting tacks in driveways on match day to limit Carlo's selection next season?