Andy D wrote:look how Kyle Walker shifts roles for Man City and England playing as a RCB, Luke Shaw for Man Utd and Cresswell for West Ham do it very well at LCB and non of them are known for their arial ability.
So let's pick this apart.
Walker is actually half decent in the air. He also has a very valuable quality that England's centre backs lack - blistering recovery pace. Shaw is a pretty big unit and physically strong. Cresswell I haven't watched as much of if I'm honest.
The main point though is that pretty much all the time, they are playing at centre back alongside two natural centre backs. Walker plays with Stones and Maguire in a back three for England, and Shaw plays with Maguire and Lindelof for United when they go to a back three. Pretty sure Cresswell was alongside two centre backs as well in Dawson and Ogbonna (I think) last season. When Gibson plays at centre back, it's generally alongside two natural centre backs - Wootton and AOC yesterday. Cooney-AOC-Gibson would only be one natural centre back there in the middle, which feels a bit risky. Especially considering how frail we've been defensively.
Another key point - they're all playing at international/Premier League level. Where ball playing ability etc is a more important asset for a defender than at the level we're at, where physicality and aerial ability comes in handy more frequently. If we were controlling possession etc more than we currently do, then maybe it's something worth considering? But given how things currently are, I'm not sure it would be a good idea.