Balogun or Helander as first choice?

I can't answer that. We have 4 very good centre backs and they will all be used accordingly. It is our strongest area and i have no worries about who plays.

Midfield is still the worry and needs addressed ASAP.
 
Pretty difficult to compare them fairly given Balogun has only played 1 game against an Aberdeen side without their main strikers. Helander had a great showing against some of the top attacking players in Europe tonight.

Also, I suspect there's a reason we pay £3-4m for Helander while Balogun comes on a free.
 
A fit Helander is our best CH imo.

Its great to have an area of the team that’s so strong. We need to rotate and not rely so much on Goldson, (who I’ve thought has started the season well).
 
Helander did very well against top class players especially considering he hasn't played a full game in 7 months before tonight.
 
Helander looks great in Europe where he gets a bit more time. However, the pace of the game in Scotland seems to spook him at times. Like others I think they will rotate, and it will be horses for courses. Need to see a bit more of Balogun first before deciding who is top pick of the two.
 
Play all 3

then play Tav , Jack, Kamara, Aribo, Barisic in the middle
Up front the two new signings. If Roofe still injured play Kent or Hagi.
Not many goals in that side.

I don’t get the logic of taking out be of our front 3 to stick in another defender. Doesn’t make sense.
 
Balogun I think would be more suited to home games where we could benefit from his forward runs. He looks more attack minded than Hellander.

Hellander I think will be more suited to away games against Hibs/Motherwell/Celtic etc. Where we will benefit more from clean sheets rather than trying to break down 10 men behind the ball.

A good problem to have nonetheless
 
said on whats app group earlier

great problem to have,especially if all our centre halfs look strong .

you could argue it was unlucky for big George to be dropped ,Balogun came in an looked strong and comfortable

thought considering the time big helander has had out an the strength of tonight's opposition ,he did great ,distribution was erratic,but defended well
 
Tonight Helander played very well. For me I prefer Edmunson. Very tough decision though. We currently have 4 very good Cbs. Goldson is improving every game so he is a Def.
 
No point in saying pair them as Goldson is our first choice centre half and the organiser of the defence.
2 competitive games, they have played a game each and been really impressive.

Balogun looks mobile, good on the ball, composed and a great reader of the game.
Helander is an out and out defender, gets in blocks, and has terrific game awareness.

A lovely problem to have, who would you say is the better partner for Goldson?
Why not both ?
 
Helander was good tonight but still has a bit of the carthorse about him for me. Balogun for me looks like he’ll quickly become our best centre half but Gerrard will never put Goldson below him in the pecking order.
 
Helander was my pick of the team last night think did well he will be on bench Sunday though still getting back to full fittness.
 
Helander looks like our best overall defender, but Balogun looks like he'd offer more driving out of defence against the weaker teams. Suspect we'll see Helander in the tougher games for sure, and Balogun as a rotation option
 
No need for 3 central defenders in our domestic football.

It's more creativity and attacking threat we need and that's what we've signed.
Play all three. Can't balogun play right back, leaving goldson and helander in the middle, cut out the service for the opposition down our right;)
 
Play all three. Can't balogun play right back, leaving goldson and helander in the middle, cut out the service for the opposition down our right;)


Lol. ;)

The fact Tav had 15 assists last season and 19 the season before, suggests to me Gerrard won't want to lose that attacking threat from our side mate.
 
Because he was MOTM on Saturday and only out the team because he was ineligible. He should start on Sunday.
Balogun played well against a sheep side with no real striker who barely got out their own half - Helander was our motm against a top quality outfit who were battering us all game. Not slating Balogun in the slightest, but Helander has shown he's probably our best defender
 
Hard to say from a very limited view of Balogun so far, but I feel that domestically he might be a better choice than Helander, in terms of being a bit more mobile, faster and able to step forward with the ball out of defence.

Helander, on the other hand, looks like a great siege defender for games we might be up against it, like in Europe.
 
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I’d start with Balogun. No sense in forcing a big Phil to play twice in3 days after 8 months out.
We have 5 subs though. Get the game won and give him another 25-30 to help the match fitness.
He was excellent for me tonight - he makes up for a lake of pace give great anticipation a la Davie Weir but the ball over the top will always be the biggest Achilles heel.
 
Balogun had a good 90 minutes up against Bruce Anderson - a 21-year-old back up player who scored once in 11 games last season - and Ryan Edmundson, a 19-year-old on loan from Leeds who only signed the night before.

Meanwhile, Helander came back in and kept Volland quiet, another big scalp for him after shutting out Marega of Porto earlier in the tournament. Our best run of form last year came with him in the side.

Some people took a look at Helander's ungainly playing style and decided he wasn't for them. I've read posts on here claiming Katic and, hilariously, Edmundson being better than him. Sorry, but that is objectively wrong.

Balogun had a solid debut; he seems a good guy as well. But Helander is a big-money signing from Serie A. He starts every game when fit.
 
Balogun played well against a sheep side with no real striker who barely got out their own half - Helander was our motm against a top quality outfit who were battering us all game. Not slating Balogun in the slightest, but Helander has shown he's probably our best defender
I think it depends on the opposition. In games where we are being pinned back by better teams then Helander is excellent, his lack of pace is not an issue. But against most of the SPFL where we are doing most of the attacking then I think we need centre half’s with pace as it’s the opposition hitting us on the break.

Both will see decent amounts of game time I reckon, depending on who we play.
 
No point in saying pair them as Goldson is our first choice centre half and the organiser of the defence.
2 competitive games, they have played a game each and been really impressive.

Balogun looks mobile, good on the ball, composed and a great reader of the game.
Helander is an out and out defender, gets in blocks, and has terrific game awareness.

A lovely problem to have, who would you say is the better partner for Goldson?

My starting position is that Balogun is our only CD that has genuine pace.

Last night illustrated how easily players can be in on goal against us, despite both CDs generally having a good game.

Probably in the minority, but my position is Balogun & one other.
 
With the use of 5 subs we can start to rotate the squad to give more players game time which I think SG will use to the advantage. Helander had a good game last night considering he’s been out for the length of time he has, so he will need games and Goldson has been playing in every game like to see both Helander and Balogun pairing together as we have options now , even go to a back 3.
 
I'm included to say Helander in Europe and Old firms where we are likely to be on the back foot more and less prone to counter attacks. Balogun for domestic where we will need his pace to counter the opposition on the break.

Obviously we wouldn't be sticking to this religiously and there will be injuries, suspensions and edmundson cameos too... But as a working plan, I see this.
 
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