Djimi Troare - the best left back at the club

[Guest Kev]

I've posted on several threads saying this, so it's about time he had his own one.

 

1) He is a defender first and foremost. Riise and Warnock can also play left midfield so they have an attacking 'streak' in their game so cannot fully focus on their defensive duties.

 

2) He knows when to come inside when the central defenders are pulled out of position. Riise and Warnock tend to stay in their own 'area'.

 

3) His is a lot better in the air than Warnock and Riise.

 

4) His tackling is better than Riise's, and does not bottle out of challenges. I've left Warnock out of this because Warnock gets stuck in.

 

5) His power of recovery is a lot better than Riise's and Warnock's when beaten.

 

Now I know there area people out there who do not rate Jimmy, 'Bambi on ice', 'accident waiting to happen' etc etc. But look at the two goals yesterday. Riise at fault for the first and Warnock for the second, both took up the wrong position. If Jimmy had of been playing the knives would have been out, sharpened and placed in his body.

 

Jimmy is not perfect but I believe that he is still the best left back at the club at the moment. He is prone to errors the same as every player, but if you watch him closely enough you will see what I am saying.

[Guest PaulMcC]

I still don't think his positioning is good enough and he is susceptible to making stupid mistakes like against Drogba in the Chelsea game at Anfield. But he's the best left back at facing attackers one on one.

[Flight]

I've stuck up for Djimi more than anyone for the last four years Kev and I agree with most of what you are saying. His only three outings this term, though, have been our three worst game.

 

Bottom line is we don't have a LB at the club who is good enough, which a few of us have been saying for a while.

[Rushian]

Traore is a liability. Riise has been the best leftback in the league this season and I don;t see why Rafa keeps f***ing about with the position.

[Tones]

I think we need a new LB. I dont have that much faith in our 3 LBs. I would think Traore is the best defender out of those 3 though.

[Leo No.8]

Traore is a liability. Riise has been the best leftback in the league this season and I don;t see why Rafa keeps f***ing about with the position.

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Was amazed to see Warnock's name in the starting eleven yesterday...

[Gerry]

Riise is the best left-back at the club by some margin at the moment.

 

And just to pick up on one thing. Traore is a better header of the ball than Riise and Warnock? Is this the same Traore whose headers have a random trajectory once they leave his head and got outjumped (twice, laughably) by SWP?

[Morgul]

Riise is our best left back. As soon as Traore or Warnock plays LB, the offside traps get f***ed up. His positioning is way better than Traore's or Warnock's.

[Cobs]

Agree with Rushian and Leo here.

 

Warnock is a sound enough squad player but surely the point of squad rotation is that you have your best XI available/fresh for the big games.

 

Warnock is not in our best XI and i don't get why he played yesterday.

[Stevie H]

traore's appalling. his first touch is comical, his distribution is shocking, he's crap in the air for someone of his size and his positional sense is non-existent. as rushian accurately says, he's a liability.

[Guest Kev]

I've stuck up for Djimi more than anyone for the last four years Kev and I agree with most of what you are saying. His only three outings this term, though, have been our three worst game.

 

Bottom line is we don't have a LB at the club who is good enough, which a few of us have been saying for a while.

 

Not exactly true.

 

Real Betis (a) W 2-1

Chelsea (H) D 0-0

Chelsea (H) L 1-4

Blackburn (H) W 1-0

Anderlecht (a) W 1-0

Fulham (a) L 0-2

Chelsea (a) D 0-0

D. Carissa (n) W 3-0

Bolton (a) D 2-2

[Flight]

Not exactly true.

 

Real Betis (a) W 2-1

Chelsea (H) D 0-0

Chelsea (H) L 1-4

Blackburn (H) W 1-0

Anderlecht (a) W 1-0

Fulham (a) L 0-2

Chelsea (a) D 0-0

D. Carissa (n) W 3-0

Bolton (a) D 2-2

 

 

I was just listing the Prem games, Kev, which have been a disaster. Most of the games you have listed aren't Prem. He's only played 4 Prem games. (Sorry missed the B'burn game).

 

Brum 2-2

 

Chavs 1-4

 

Fulham 0-2

 

Bolton 2-2

 

 

 

Until yesterday his 4 games we had conceded 10 out of the 13 goals we have conceded in 22 games.

Edited February 6, 2006 by Flight

[Earl Hafler]

This season Riise has been by far the best left back at the club, and i've criticised him before.

Traore has the pace to recover from mistakes but Riise makes fewer mistakes and has more positional sense, greater awareness.

[Knox_Harrington]

Riise is the best left back at the club. He should have played there yesterday.

[Guest Kev]

but Riise makes fewer mistakes and has more positional sense, greater awareness.

 

You did not see the first goal yesterday ?

[Stevie H]

You did not see the first goal yesterday ?

 

that was a f***-up. he didn't do what his captain told him to. traore backheeled one into his own net away at burnley, something only a special few players are capable of.

[Flight]

I agree, Riise is probably our best option at LB. But I also think he hasn't proved to be good enough to be our long term solution to that position.

 

 

I don't understand how people can say he is the best LB in the league, when Rafa has only played him at LB a half dozen times, only at home and only against very poor opposition.

 

 

The test for me was always going to be this run of harder games. I watched the Manc game a couple of times over to see how Riise did. First half Riise was cracking and I specifically thought to myself, Rushian is right, I'm wrong. But then the first 25 minutes of the second half the Mancs targetted him and he had a nightmare - could easily have cost us a couple of goals. He simply wasn't good enough when under pressure from quality opposition.

 

 

 

I do agree that he is prolly the best at the club at the moment, on current form and that a good run would prove whether he can make it his own or not. That Zenden injury has really cost us.

[Guest Kev]

that was a f***-up. he didn't do what his captain told him to. traore backheeled one into his own net away at burnley, something only a special few players are capable of.

 

Both result in goals that could have easily been avoided. Why is Jimmy's mistake worse than JAR's ?

 

Forgot to add.

 

(6) Jimmy can use both feet. Riise can't. In a split second Jimmy can clear with his right, Riise needs another few seconds to get the ball on his left.

[Lee W]

The best left-back in the League is out for the season with a cruciate ligament injury.

 

The good news is that his manager just spent another 5m quid on a withering wreck, that by hook or by crook must be related to Traore.

 

The fact that the manager has chopped and changed so much between Riise and Warnock and virtually ignored Traore, is a damning indictment in the faith he has in all three of them.

Edited February 6, 2006 by Lee W

[The Hitman]

Possibly,but only because Warnock is s***,and Riise is more a midfield player.

[Archangel]

Stick Traore up front!

 

Couldn't be any worse

[uppsala]

I think Traore has done a good job for us but Riise is by far the better left back when he's played there.

[Gunga Din]

FFS. its "Champions League winner Djimi Traore"

[Atticus Finch]

I'm definitely in the Riise is the best bet, but none of them are good enough camp.

 

Couple of points re Traore:-

 

1. The reason he is better at recovery tackles etc is because he makes more mistakes and gets caught out of position more and therefore is forced into desperate last ditch tackling.

 

2. To say he is better in the air is laughable. He is as vulnerable as Seaman was to a ball floating over his head - how many times have you seen completely miss the ball when he is trying to head it clear at the back post. He also cannot jump in that situation, which is why SWP (and others) have outjumped him.

 

3. His passing is woeful, as is that turn inside he does every single time he attacks - how many times have attacks either broken down completely or lost their momentum once the ball gets to him.

 

Our offside trap has been excellent this year and has contributed a lot to our defensive success. The only one of the 3 left backs who can be relied upon to hold the line is Riise.

 

I think the fact that Rafa has barely picked him this season, despite his definite improvement last season, is a damning indictment of Champions League winner Djimi Traore.

[Barnes' left foot]

Was amazed to see Warnock's name in the starting eleven yesterday...

 

Same here.

 

Would have been even more amazed if Traore was in the starting eleven.

 

I really do wish we'd stick with Riise at left back, with Kewell on the left in midfield.