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- Dec 23, 2002
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Hansen definitely struggles with it, I agree. But that is why his position in the side has to be under threat IMO.
I understand what you mean, a guy who can use the ball well AND stop full forwards kicking 5+ goal bags are extremely valuable. However, primarily you want to stop guys like Franklin kicking 13 goals on you.
Tarrant seems fairly reliable, but a stopper with elite skills is AA material, they don't grow on trees, you are realistically going to have to make some compromises. Hansen's problem is that he is really poor defensively in 1v1 scenarios, to the point rovers and mids are out-bodying him. That compromises his value as a defender. He has improved somewhat in at least he will punch from behind more often than he used to and is more effective than he used to be defensively.
Delaney's issue was that he wasn't as good/consistent with the stopping, he was competitive, but he still had bags kicked on him for us. If you are a defender who leaks goals, you have to bring a lot more to the table. On a net bases, you have to add something which would overall be better than a more effective stopper.
That is in part the problem with Thompson and to a lesser extent Grima pre injury/retirement, they stopped contributed with those heavy rebounds, the kind of rebounding and aggressive play that made Thompson an AA. He has just become a reactionary player and is a shadow of the player he once was.