Philippe Senderos

[RussellC]

Vlaar a no brainer for Yanited? Fair enough.

I think so. We'd probably accept £4m for him, with one year left on his contract.

[curiousorange]

Vlaar a no brainer for Yanited? Fair enough.

I actually agree with you - Vlaar isn't good enough for them. But I still think it'll happen. I'm torn between thinking Vlaar looks better because his colleagues are shit, or he'll get better with better players around him.

[sid1964]

As long as we dont give him longer than a 2 year contract then i have no problem with this signing

But lets just hope that this does not mean that Vlaar is leaving us to go to pastures new.

[RussellC]

Vlaar a no brainer for Yanited? Fair enough.

I actually agree with you - Vlaar isn't good enough for them. But I still think it'll happen. I'm torn between thinking Vlaar looks better because his colleagues are shit, or he'll get better with better players around him.

I guess the World Cup will be a good indicator of that. The Dutch have some very highly rated young defenders but Vlaar seems to be the first choice, with A.N.other alongside him.

[Chris Smith]

Vlaar a no brainer for Yanited? Fair enough.

I think so. We'd probably accept £4m for him, with one year left on his contract.

It's a possible, of course but by no means the certainty some seem to think. I know they had a dip last season but they are still one of the richest clubs in the world and therefore have far more options than when choosing a Dutch national side.

[ktvillan]

A colleague of mine made a fair point (liverpool) fan:  Why blood two youngsters (Clark and Baker) and suffer all the pain that inevitably comes with having inexperienced CBs and then buy a replacement at the point when they should in theory start to become good players?

I hope this means that Baker can go on loan for a season at a championship club. 

I think it's because it's fairly clear particularly in Baker's case that he won't become a good player.

A colleague of mine made a fair point (liverpool) fan:  Why blood two youngsters (Clark and Baker) and suffer all the pain that inevitably comes with having inexperienced CBs and then buy a replacement at the point when they should in theory start to become good players?

I hope this means that Baker can go on loan for a season at a championship club. 

To put it into perspective, Clark is older now than Gareth Southgate was when we signed him. Baker only a few months younger. They're not kids anymore and if they're not good enough we should be looking to sell them, not loan them out.

Why would they suddenly start to become good players, just because they have more experience?   If they lack the basic qualities, I doubt they are suddenly going to acquire them.   Certain things could theoretically be improved by good coaching such as Baker's tendency to dive in and throw himself around, and Clark's poor positioning.   But pace, strength, and composure are much harder failings to address.  I do think the coaching at Villa has possibly let them down - e.g. has no-one ever worked with Baker and suggested he try to stay on his feet a bit more?  As stated above, they are not kids any more and I don't buy into this "they are young and can only get better" bollocks frequently spouted as a reason to stick with players.   And let's not pretend Clark "can fill in at left back".  Only if you are comparing him to duds like Luna and Bennett maybe.  He was as woeful there as he is at CB, probably worse.   

[curiousorange]

Vlaar a no brainer for Yanited? Fair enough.

I think so. We'd probably accept £4m for him, with one year left on his contract.

It's a possible, of course but by no means the certainty some seem to think. I know they had a dip last season but they are still one of the richest clubs in the world and therefore have far more options than when choosing a Dutch national side.

I genuinely think Van Gaal rates him highly. I would like to think you're spot on, I just wouldn't be surprised if he did leave.

[RussellC]

and let's not pretend Clark "can fill in at left back".  Only if you are comparing him to duds like Luna and Bennett maybe.  He was as woeful there as he is at CB, probably worse.   

Unfortunately they are the only 2 left-backs that he can fill-in for, currently.

[Dave]

I'd be very surprised if Vlaar isn't playing for Man Utd next season.

He's not as good as Ferdinand or Vidic, but they don't have Ferdinand or Vidic anymore. He is better at the moment than any of Jones, Smalling and Evans. With a year left and his national team manager about to go there I can't see why they wouldn't sign him. They're not in the Champions League, so they're not going to be shopping in the same market as Man City and Chelsea.

I expect he'd go and I wouldn't blame him for a moment if he did.

[Dante Lavelli]

A colleague of mine made a fair point (liverpool) fan:  Why blood two youngsters (Clark and Baker) and suffer all the pain that inevitably comes with having inexperienced CBs and then buy a replacement at the point when they should in theory start to become good players?

I hope this means that Baker can go on loan for a season at a championship club. 

To put it into perspective, Clark is older now than Gareth Southgate was when we signed him. Baker only a few months younger. They're not kids anymore and if they're not good enough we should be looking to sell them, not loan them out.

I clearly rate Baker a little more than most on here, regardless the strategy of sending him on loan is partially to make sure we get the maximum amount of money for him if/when we do sell him.  If he's worth say £1m now I reckon he'd fetch £3m after a strong season in the championship i.e. when he's 'top dog' and his confidence can grow a bit.  Ideally the loan would have happened already but...

[LeeB]

A colleague of mine made a fair point (liverpool) fan:  Why blood two youngsters (Clark and Baker) and suffer all the pain that inevitably comes with having inexperienced CBs and then buy a replacement at the point when they should in theory start to become good players?

I hope this means that Baker can go on loan for a season at a championship club. 

To put it into perspective, Clark is older now than Gareth Southgate was when we signed him. Baker only a few months younger. They're not kids anymore and if they're not good enough we should be looking to sell them, not loan them out.

I clearly rate Baker a little more than most on here, regardless the strategy of sending him on loan is partially to make sure we get the maximum amount of money for him if/when we do sell him.  If he's worth say £1m now I reckon he'd fetch £3m after a strong season in the championship i.e. when he's 'top dog' and his confidence can grow a bit.  Ideally the loan would have happened already but...

No, sell now whilst they think he's just inexperienced. A year in the championship will probably expose him as not being up to that level.

[Quiet Lion]

Hangleland available on a free  - would rather him than Senderos for a season or two

[manic-road]

Baker isn't ever going to be a good player though.
[/quote

Baker isn't ever going to be a good player though.

As centre half's go Clark and Baker are still babies, John Terry looked shit when he first started out, in fact I can't think of to many players in that position who look decent at a relatively youngish age.

Clark and Baker can still improve a hell of a lot not sure if they will get the chance at Villa though.

[LeeB]

Hangleland available on a free  - would rather him than Senderos for a season or two

He's three years older and by all accounts was shocking last season.

[Mister E]

Senderos is very average. His acquisition - if confirmed - is a signal of our status as a club in limbo.
If we sell Vlaar to Manure then I'd hope for two things:
1. that we absolutely tonk them for a high fee: let's bloody make on if we have to sell our captain and most experienced defender.
2. that we get another CB in that can add some class and dependability (as hopefully Okore will) because Senderos and Clark are not entirely reliable.
I'd also hope that there is a plan to acquire a reliable left back and a reliable right back.
Baker is - IMO - no Premiership CB and we should be looking to get a fee for him from either a promoted side or an aspiring Championship side.

If Vlaar is going, does this signal that we'd be prepared to listen to offers on our other marketable players? - Guzan, Delph, Benteke, Weimann, Bacuna, Kozak?

Shite, times is  hard.