2020/21 Mason Holgate

[Goat]

Yeah against some teams I agree the deep line is better. I would play Keane and Mina against Liverpool but ultimately sitting too deep cost us against Leicester as we couldn't get out. I also like the idea of playing one of each in some games. Having 4 interchangeable CBs is the way forward. Add Holgate and Godfrey are versatile as well and it gives us a chance of competing on all fronts. Need this level of competition everywhere else now.

Its not really that easy to change tactics weekly tho.

I honestly think Carlo likes the deep line, against Leicester we just couldn't get a hold in midfield and the ball just kept coming back.

Pushing up our CBs in that game would only have given them space behind us.

 

[ihcakoma]

I think Keane and Mina are our current best.

But Godfrey and Holgate have both shown they arent lacking.

We currently have 4 very good CBs, with young Branflakes already looking a prospect.

Keane and Mina both had major dips in form, Mina had lots of niggly injuries, but both are now playing at a very high level, being 4th best when your behind players playing well isn't a slight. Being 4th choice when you have Ashley Williams and Funes Mori is a different matter.

I don't disagree with anything you said, Keane and Mina have been great. Godfrey was brilliant the other night at CB.
But I would have put Holgate above both Keane and Mina at the end of last season and without seeing him at CB really this season its harsh to say he is now worse than them in that position.
I thought he was immense last season and see no reason he wouldn't do the same this season given the chance in his proper position now that he is fully fit.
We may not have signed Godfrey if Holgate and Branthwaite hadn't got injured at the start of the season.
Either way we are spoiled for choice at CB for next season

 

[Zatara]

I want to see the stopper pair Holgate and Godfrey, both strong, great with the ball and incredibly fast, could keep high pressure on half of 90% of the team...

Godfrey is rapid, Holgate is quick.

Would be a great combo if we went with a high line...

....spot on. I’m still of the opinion we need a new RB, though, and with Branthwaite on the books and full of potential, Holgate might be a decent asset to cash-in.

I don’t think we should even consider selling Holgate, every good team needs a player like him. He can step in anywhere across the defence and will let nobody down. Eventually I think him, Godfrey and Branthwaite will be the three to battle it out for the two centre back spots, but, that’s in a couple of years time when Keane and Mina have moved on.

Great position to be in for central defenders though, at the moment it is perm any two from three of Keane, Mina or Godfrey, with Holgate there as cover and the very promising Branthwaite to return from his loan spell with much needed first team experience.

...Keane has recently been rewarded a new contract & I was thinking last night that they might try & get Mina on a longer deal (Not sure if that is complicated by the Barcelona link). I can now see Godfrey starting most games at CB with the other 2 rotating. Not sure how much game time Holgate might get at CB, and if we do bring in a RB then Coleman could be ideal as back-up.

I’m not in a rush to show him the door, he’s a good one to have around.

The complication with Mina (I suspect) is he was brought here on pprently very high wages (120k p/w). We don't know what will happen in the market but lets assume it remains quite static on wages, he's probably only really began to show his worth on those wage sin the last 3-4 months. Thats not saying before he didn't show promise, but 120k p/w is a lot of money for us.

I don't think there will be that many clubs battering down the door to take him while he's on tmhose wages, so the club can probably be a bit less aggressive. Hopefully he can maintain form and fitness until the end of the season, as he gets better week on week.

If the right bid came in for Holgate, he's one we could consider moving on. He's a really good centre back. In the seasons we were limping on with William, Jagielka & Mori this Holgate at 24 would be better than all 3 of those by some distance. He's just unfortunate we have deveoped 3 very good defenders at CB now and as yet he hasn't shut the door on the right back question with his form. I hope he does.

I think it would be totally insane...like literally insane to sell Holgate.

Probably one of the most bizarre transfers in the premier league era for the club if that happened.

Good all round player, talker, snide and lots of passion who can play LB / CB / RB / DM positions....thats gold dust.

Also, a different player to Branthwaite. If Branthwaite needs a pathway then it would be Keane or Mina sold.

 

[messymascot]

Its not really that easy to change tactics weekly tho.

I honestly think Carlo likes the deep line, against Leicester we just couldn't get a hold in midfield and the ball just kept coming back.

Pushing up our CBs in that game would only have given them space behind us.

The thing I like about Ancelotti is he sets up according to the opposition usually whether that is change in formation or personnel. I'm hoping we continue with this as Moyes drove me crazy sending same team out in same formation regardless of opposition.

At the minute Holgate is our best right back hopefully this is addressed in the summer.

 

[LocalNative]

Not sure where I see him long-term. I think Godfrey, Keane and Mina are all better CB's than him and he's not a complete RB really. Would he be happy to sit around as 2nd choice RB and 4th choice CB? Not sure, but I think that's probably the best we can offer him at the end of this season (providing we buy a new RB).

 

[TheBigIguana]

Its not really that easy to change tactics weekly tho.

I honestly think Carlo likes the deep line, against Leicester we just couldn't get a hold in midfield and the ball just kept coming back.

Pushing up our CBs in that game would only have given them space behind us.

I don't think the deep line is an issue at all. It's a lot of the other stuff. We don't have the players to push up right now.

But among the other stuff is not having a real RB with any type of ball playing ability.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

It baffles me that people now think he is our 4th best CB...
At the end of last season most people would have agreed that he was our best, he hasn't got to play CB this season and suddenly he's our worst?

Says more about the form of mina and keane, and the surprising start by Godfrey than colgate

 

[Goat]

I don't think the deep line is an issue at all. It's a lot of the other stuff. We don't have the players to push up right now.

But among the other stuff is not having a real RB with any type of ball playing ability.

I agree, the lack of a right-sided fullback overlapping really hinders us.

 

[Saint Domingo]

We’re a better team with him in it. Least of our problems right now. Our set piece defence is ridiculously good, we’re scoring from set pieces, he’s part of a first choice defence that barely concedes. I’d not really care if he’s not Dani Alves going forward, our centrebacks can’t cope with attacking fullbacks no matter how good they are as shown with Digne. This lad scraps and defends properly and offers way more to the team than lots of other players. Along with Godfrey he’s one of the first names on the team sheet for me.

 

[Lanolin]

Godfrey is rapid, Holgate is quick.

Would be a great combo if we went with a high line...









I think it would be totally insane...like literally insane to sell Holgate.

Probably one of the most bizarre transfers in the premier league era for the club if that happened.

Good all round player, talker, snide and lots of passion who can play LB / CB / RB / DM positions....thats gold dust.

Also, a different player to Branthwaite. If Branthwaite needs a pathway then it would be Keane or Mina sold.

See I look at it completely the other way round. I don't want him to go or anything but I think he's the most dispensable saleable asset we have. My personal opinion - and i've said it for a while - is that he just isn't quite good enough to be a first choice player for us. He'll do a job at centre half, and he'll do a job at right back, but I just don't think he's particularly good in either position. If Branthwaite is deemed ready to be part of the squad next year then I just don't really see him getting games. If we could raise £20m+ from selling him it would make perfect sense to me. It'd be a shame, but it would make sense.

 

[jtl60]

Funny how things change, had he not been injured in the last pre-season game of the season Holgate was probably first choice CB with one of Keane or Mina as the other.

 

[arch stanton]

One of my favourite players, good PL player, still a kid, rarely causes an issues or messes up, he will be large in Carlos plans

 

[Paul Rideout]

See I look at it completely the other way round. I don't want him to go or anything but I think he's the most dispensable saleable asset we have. My personal opinion - and i've said it for a while - is that he just isn't quite good enough to be a first choice player for us. He'll do a job at centre half, and he'll do a job at right back, but I just don't think he's particularly good in either position. If Branthwaite is deemed ready to be part of the squad next year then I just don't really see him getting games. If we could raise £20m+ from selling him it would make perfect sense to me. It'd be a shame, but it would make sense.

surely Keane is more saleable? Older, also British, very flavour of the month in the press... but people forget how fragile his mentality is when the crowd gets on his back, best time to sell him is when we're not allowed in to boo him.

 

[Country Mac]

Am I missing something with him at the moment? He hasn’t been as good as last season but he’s come in and done a good job playing out of position. I mean can someone actually tell me what bad games he’s had?

 

[LocalNative]

Am I missing something with him at the moment? He hasn’t been as good as last season but he’s come in and done a good job playing out of position. I mean can someone actually tell me what bad games he’s had?

I think everything is just acknowledging he's not a long-term solution to the RB slot and probably isn't a regular started at CB anymore either.

He's done alright at RB but he was partially at fault for Leeds' goal last night.