Gibbs I actually find myself aagreeing with most of your views but imo way off on Davies v Rose. First off I have time for both players, however Rose offers us so much more. I don't need to look at stats to show me that. He is vital to how we play both in getting forward to strecth defences and covering for our CB's with his pace.
I want to start Rose. He is a natural winger. I'm standing up for Davies because he got a lot of disrespect.
I don't think Rose in a backline is what this team needs and results are reflecting this. Do you really want to go back to the old Spurs? The rickety, anyone can beat us on the counter Spurs? WHL is a fortress. Away from home at league leaders Utd did not get a single shot on target with Bentaleb and Davies and it took a mistake for them to score.
We have the best defense record in the prem with Davies at left back. We need Rose going forwards but it's obvious to me that Jan and Rose are a bad mix compared to Jan and Davies. For instance, they got 9 corners and Rose would not have fared as good as Davies did. We need width but not at the cost of our fantastic backline.
Rose will leave you open to the counter. Davies is a safer bet and results are proving this.
I got my wish. Finally a game with no Rose, Townsend, Lennon, Naughton etc and we win 4-1 against City. We are holding firm defending corners. We are scoring corners and also screamers. There is a lot to be said for the entertainment value of the Lennons, Townsends and Roses but it comes at a cost.
Rose has shown to be a disaster in the back as recent as Carrierbag. He was a mess. His mess can really fuck with Jan's stability who has been so solid recently and we all know how quickly that can turn.
It was Sherwood who suggested Rose should be a left back. Not exactly the greatest footballing mind. Rose will take to the wing line a duck to water, and will make us even more solid off the ball and give us more fireworks on it.
I hate to break it to everyone: Long term, Rose is not a good defender. He's a good highlight reel defender, his tackling is amazing. But he has so many holes in his defensive game it's too risky. His positioning is the obvious one. His temper is another. His lack of concentration...Nope. Keep him away from the best back line in the prem. And take the ball and chain off that maniac and let him tear it up.
You put Rose in that back line and I'll give it a month before people are complaining about Jan's face looking like a smacked arse as he's left chasing shadows because Eriksen, Chadli and Rose have left him exposed. We need to do a Bale with Rose.