We need a leader at the back, and we need a mobile, intelligent player to partner with said leader. Verts provides us with the latter. We completely lack the former. Let's hope the second-choice bargain buy Fazio can be that man for us, because we're screwed otherwise.
Christ, what an insipid performance. Kaboul, team captain, led with an awful display. Chiriches was even worse, and is clearly unfit for anything but being played next to an intelligent centre-back who can cover for his various errors and shocking lapses of judgement while the lad sorts his damn head out. We lost control of the midfield and the game when Dembele went off, but we were never really comfortable even when he was playing. Eriksen tried his heart out, but his set-pieces are just shockingly inconsistent. Brilliant one minute, utterly awful the next. Ade was surprisingly ineffective in the air, and his rangy running style doesn't help him when put through with through balls, because he can't control it quickly enough to make anything of the breakaway. Capoue quietly good, Dier acceptable, Rose the best of a bad bunch (even if his crossing remains frustratingly inconsistent) and Lamela needs to look up more when taking his man on.
Lots of work to do for Poch. Lots of players in this side that are ominously looking like they don't have the heart, the intelligence or the desire to play for him. Well f*cking done though, Levy. It doesn't matter that Poch has to endure a more painful transition than necessary, as long as the net spend remains positive.