Victor

Igbo father, Northern mother. Apparently I’m Igbo, Kanuri, Igala & a little Fulani. Here’s my Imo state entry ❤️ Call me Olaedo 😍

Tell us a crazy but true story.

John Obi Mikel & Celestine Babayaro featured for Chelsea Legends against Liverpool Legends at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 💙

I said it during the transfer window that our sporting directors don't seem to value the defence a lot. We needed someone as soon as it was clear that Colwill would be out for a long time. I mean, I understand that we have CBs out on loan who need pathways but we mustn't buy. A one-year loan deal would've made a lot of sense in my opinion. Get someone who is experienced enough to steady the ship until Colwill returns. Irrespective of the agendas flying everywhere, our major issue is the defence. Even with 10 men, you will be under pressure against any team in the Premier League, which means defending your box is unavoidable. Unfortunately, we can't defend our box well because we don't have proper CBs who enjoy box defending. This has been a lingering issue since last year. What Maresca did was defend high and tight from the back to the mid zone. I have said this several times, including during the first half yesterday that our best defence is counter-press, getting the ball back as soon as possible, and limiting balls coming into our box. Each time we are forced to defend the box, we fail. And that's down to the profile of centre-backs at the club. Now, without Levi Colwill, defending outside and inside the box becomes even more complicated. I'm not saying Maresca doesn't have his own issues with managing 10 men but getting something with 10 men is a tall order for any manager. It's 50-50 especially when you are down to 10 in the first half without a healthy lead. I would rather focus on the main issue which is poor defending and mistakes by the players. 10 men or not, if we improve that, we will look a lot better. The defence holds the key. The problem is, I don't even know how we can solve that problem until January.