I really hope we don't sign Cahill and Young as our big ones. They're both painfully average. If we have to sign a British duo, Shawcross and Johnson for me. We have so many ball-playing centre-backs coming through, but not enough tough tackling ones. And Johnson is the best winger in England.
I like Shawcross, but Cahill is better than him at everything except heading the ball. Considerably better. Cahill is one of the victims of the Premiership being a closed off league at the top.
I don't think some on here have seen half as much of Cahill as they make out before jumping in with an opinion (based on passport...)
One lad was saying we shouldn't be targeting players like him because of the type of football Bolton play. They've probably played better stuff than we have over the majority of the last 15 months! It's not the Allardyce team any more.
Cahill is very good on the ball. Easily comparable to either Vidic or Ferdinand. He is not
Agger good, but then the only centrebacks in the league that are are Luiz and Agger. There's being a ball-playing centreback and then there's being a genuine libero. Agger, Luiz and Pique are the latter but they're a select few. That doesn't mean they're the only centrebacks good on the ball. People have to recognise the difference between being able to step out of defence, pick a pass and even move ahead of play when the situation calls for it, and the ability those 3 have to move out of defence, dribble pass a player or three, do a cryuff turn and then think "let's chip the keeper". United haven't had a centreback like that for as long as I can remember. For all the hype over Rio Beckenbauer (Franz Ferdinand) he was never, ever anything like that. What he does is that he'll move in to space if the opposition offer it, and he'll drop a shoulder to make it. Same as Cahill really.
Cahill doesn't hesitate and wait for the opposition to set its self before stepping forward. He moves forward with the ball and plays it crisply. Occasionally he'll follow the play if the opportuity presents its self. That is what 95% of your ball-playing centrebacks do. If they throw one of
these as the cherry on the top of that cake once in a while then that's just brilliant.
He's good in the air in either box, he's aggressive and strong, his tackling when he needs go to ground is very clean, he's got decent pace if he gets turned. He's a very good defender who is improving quite steadily and is now doing so in a team that plays good football and leave themselves open.
The only thing I've seen wrong with him is a few times when Bolton try to play an offside line he is very deep and gives himself too much to do to step-up. I remember him doing it away to Stoke earlier this season. Consequently he has to show that ability to slide tackle a lot more than he should, and it can't always come off. I wouldn't expect him to be the perfect centrehalf though, and his problems are stuff that gets coached rather than anything physical he'll never get over.
Maybe he needs to go to Palermo or Espanyol to get the credit he's due, rather than the out-right skepticism because of his passport.
