Jump to content
IGNORED

Right back


Rudolf Hucker

Recommended Posts

We've never had top drawer right-backs in my time following City since '92, but have been blessed with an embarrassment of riches at left-back as others have said. 

Amankwaah and Ribeiro both had potential, Jamie Smith was a nutter, Orr made a good fist of it but was a square peg in a round hole, Locke was limited, Foster and Hunt really scraped the barrel. I always thought Ayling would've suited right-back, but Cotterill's system didn't. 

Reece James would be a great signing next year if we could get him on loan or otherwise. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, tin said:

We've never had top drawer right-backs in my time following City since '92, but have been blessed with an embarrassment of riches at left-back as others have said. 

Amankwaah and Ribeiro both had potential, Jamie Smith was a nutter, Orr made a good fist of it but was a square peg in a round hole, Locke was limited, Foster and Hunt really scraped the barrel. I always thought Ayling would've suited right-back, but Cotterill's system didn't. 

Reece James would be a great signing next year if we could get him on loan or otherwise. 

You just pipped me to the posts  I have been following city from around the same time ,  but for me Riberio was a very exciting talent and  similar style  full back to DaSilva . I rememeber  being impressed watching him take on a whole team  from RB , if it wasn't for his  injuries I think he would of been a class player. Interesting article on him

https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2018/mar/28/christian-ribeiro-gareth-bale-wales-retire-oxford-injury

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

Ribeiro had promise but was made of glass - played one, missed half a season!

Too true. I thought Ribs and Joe Bryan were similar fleet-footed sorts. One avoided injury, the other was plagued by them. Shame. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rudolf, you've really hit the nail sweetly. I must admit to not realizing how much different and superior, the great majority of City left backs have been over their right sided colleagues.

When I started, Ivor Guy and Jack Bailey were fixtures in the side and it was age and the arrival of Mike Thresher that broke the partnership. I still believe, even allowing that it is impossible to compare those from different eras, that Thresher was the best left back I've seen at City.

Guy and Bailey when he moved to right back were solid defenders.

In 1960's Tony Ford and Trevor Jacobs were good. Then came Sweeney and Gillies. I would put Sweeney, who arrived from Scotland as an inside forward (modern attacking midfield), as the best ever during my time and Gillies also up with the second best. Don't forget they were the right backs in our stay in Division One.

Since then, we've had plenty of reasonable right backs, most of whom Rudolf has listed. Also a fair share of total numpties led by Mitchell and Nicky Hunt. But I'm struggling to find/remember any as good as Sweeney, Ford and Jacobs.

A priority whether we go up this season or not.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Riaz said:

Agree with the orignal post. Right back is on of our weakest positions.

Should never have let Ayling go, he was class.

I don’t think at the time we let him go many thought this.

He was always quality coming forward (and I remember so many people saying he was league one standard) but I also remember him being suspect defensively, especially in Cotterills last days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin
9 hours ago, Carey 6 said:

Think you're being very harsh on Hunt there. 

Don't think he started too well, but I think he's been a lot better since coming back from his injury earlier on in the season. He's definitely one of those who's better going forward, but most full backs/wing backs seem to be that way now. 

5 assists as well, equal with Weimann, Taylor and Eliasson. 

Surprised me that Saturday was first time in his career he's given away a penalty. 

 

He still didn't give one away, the ref imagined it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

I’ve been watching City for over 55 years and during that time we’ve had a lot of very good, left backs, eg Drysdale, Bell, Scott, Brennan, Cunningham etc and now, Kelly and Dasilva. However I can’t honestly recall many equivalent right backs who were quick, classy, tough-tackling and likely ever to be in demand elsewhere. 

Sweeney is the best I’ve ever seen in a City shirt and frankly, he had all of the qualities I’ve described above plus he was as hard as nails. But that was 40 years ago. 

Paul Stevens had promise though it was unfulfilled; Llewellyn was certainly tough-tackling but not a lot else; Carey played there for a time, though out of position because he was truly a centre back and lacked pace; Orr was a fans favourite and totally committed but wasn’t quick and could never be described as elegant!; Ayling has surprised me how well he’s played there for Leeds because, though I rated him in the middle of the back four for us, again his lack of pace often let him down at right back (although it seems he’s now much improved his positional play to mask his shortcomings). I’m sure that I’ve missed others but tell me who else was worthy of note?

Hunt is a great character but I’ve been underwhelmed with his performances overall; I really thought that he was going to be considerably better than he’s proved to be. Pisano is ok and I like him but to me, he’s not really top six of the Championship standard. Wright is a centre back playing right back. 

To me right back is the weak link of our otherwise very strong and capable back four and it’s a position which we must fill going forward. Vyner or Taylor Moore may be the answer but whoever fills that role for us next season needs to hit the ground running. 

Its just curious to me that it’s the one position in which we’ve been perennially weak. 

Barnard... sorry had to say

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, cidered abroad said:

Rudolf, you've really hit the nail sweetly. I must admit to not realizing how much different and superior, the great majority of City left backs have been over their right sided colleagues.

When I started, Ivor Guy and Jack Bailey were fixtures in the side and it was age and the arrival of Mike Thresher that broke the partnership. I still believe, even allowing that it is impossible to compare those from different eras, that Thresher was the best left back I've seen at City.

Guy and Bailey when he moved to right back were solid defenders.

In 1960's Tony Ford and Trevor Jacobs were good. Then came Sweeney and Gillies. I would put Sweeney, who arrived from Scotland as an inside forward (modern attacking midfield), as the best ever during my time and Gillies also up with the second best. Don't forget they were the right backs in our stay in Division One.

Since then, we've had plenty of reasonable right backs, most of whom Rudolf has listed. Also a fair share of total numpties led by Mitchell and Nicky Hunt. But I'm struggling to find/remember any as good as Sweeney, Ford and Jacobs.

A priority whether we go up this season or not.

 

I’d forgotten about both Jacobs and Gillies.

Trev was a ‘steady Eddie’ who was tough tackling but a little on the slow side (a feature of so many of our right backs down the years).

We signed Donnie from Morton as a striker but moved him to right back where he performed well although he never looked a natural in the position. Hard as nails though, as were so many of our Scots lads at that time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

More RWB wasn’t it?  Happy to be corrected.

Pulis played him at right back once.  ? He didn't have a good game!

We had a winger Black I think was his name??? and Pulis bollocked Scotty for not passing the ball to him.

Scotty could have wiped the floor with him as well.

 

I remember a Canadian? Les Wilson playing for us. He didn't last long, but was an exciting swashbuckling attack minded right back. The East End liked him.?

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Robbored said:

Chatting with Brian Tinnion a while ago I asked him that very question - without hesitation he said Adam Locke.......he should know.

Came here on a free as well as I remember. we definitely got a good player for that.

10 hours ago, devoncider said:

who was our right back in the Wilson days? Did Louis play on the right to accommodate Coles/Butler as a centre half partnership?

There were about 3 of them, but at one stage he had them all playing in midfield for us! I actually thought that Joe Burnell was a decent right back until Wilson tried to turn him into a midfield player. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...