Good article on The Athletic discussing this exact point.

Mee is mentioned and contributes to the article too.

https://theathletic.com/3480238/2022/08 ... =twitteruk

Cannavaro is 5'9"

But in general, yes

Puyol.
If you aren't tall, you have to be able to jump well.

Yeah it talks about tactics to overcome height differences.

More important to be a good defender than tall.

Harry Maguire proves this 9 games out of 10

Heights a very important attribute & some players will be specifically signed because of being tall & the capability of withstanding aerial threats.

More aerial ability over pure height

I think with the trend of PL top sides to incorporate traditional 9s again (Nunez, Haaland) you’ll see the need for a centre half with good aerial ability.

Different type of defending obviously compared to when City/Liverpool we’re playing false 9s dropping into midfield

Bit of a daft debate really as it’s never going to be one attribute that defines a good centre back - especially when it comes to physical attributes.
That said I think as you go lower down the leagues it can start to become an issue if you don’t have enough height and strength in your team because height, strength etc is probably an easier / cheaper thing to find than technical ability, skill etc.
Ideally you just want to get as near to the right balance as your budget affords you.
I’m sure VK recognises this but he needs the time and a bit of luck in the transfer market to achieve the balance he wants.

I'd say pace and reading the game are the most important attributes at the higher level of the game. Height only really comes in when defending corners. Most teams play it out from the back so big goal kicks and lumps forward from defenders are much rarer. I can't see city changing to out and out wingers throwing crosses into the box for Haaland.

Tommy Boyle was 5'7" same height as Messi and Paul Scholes. He had great power in his legs from his years working in the Barnsley pits and could outjump his opponents.

I recall the discussion about Charlie Taylor on here last week and reference to his height. I made a point of checking on Saturday. He's certainly seemed comparable in height to Harwood-Bellis (6'2" from t'interweb) when I looked. He is definitely taller than 5'9" as stated on t'interweb.

Just depends on the strikers they’re up against and the style of play. It’s clearly becoming less of a factor because the long ball up to the big man approach is a dying art. Passing ability and technical ability is now valued more than being able to win an aerial duel.

I sometimes think there’s an acceptance amongst the bigger teams these days that they will concede the first aerial battle and focus on getting into the right position to pick up the second ball.

mikeS wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:01 am

Tommy Boyle was 5'7" same height as Messi and Paul Scholes. He had great power in his legs from his years working in the Barnsley pits and could outjump his opponents.

Goodness me. How did you know that? What a great comment.

Halley, Boyle and Watson. Legendary. I've read about them and one branch of one of their descendants is still in Burnley.

Zlatan wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:21 am

I recall the discussion about Charlie Taylor on here last week and reference to his height. I made a point of checking on Saturday. He's certainly seemed comparable in height to Harwood-Bellis (6'2" from t'interweb) when I looked. He is definitely taller than 5'9" as stated on t'interweb.

Heights reported on stuff like club official websites, transfermarkt and Wikipedia is often way out. Have been told (in all seriousness) by someone who works in recruitment that staff will often check FIFA games (well websites with their database on such as sofifa) for height as they are much more accurate than even the stats providers like wyscout, StatsBomb etc.

Taylor is certainly taller than 5'9" (FIFA has him as 6'1").

Zlatan wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:21 am

I recall the discussion about Charlie Taylor on here last week and reference to his height. I made a point of checking on Saturday. He's certainly seemed comparable in height to Harwood-Bellis (6'2" from t'interweb) when I looked. He is definitely taller than 5'9" as stated on t'interweb.

As mentioned already Puyol and Cannavaro were both well under 6 foot and two of the best CBs of the 21st century - Cannavaro the last defender to win the Ballon d’or.

So no, you don’t have to be tall although obviously it helps.

I think we'll found out the answer this season in the Championship.

I would suggest lack of height at the back has already cost one goal.

The late,great Billy Wright (Wolves) played over 100 times for England was only 5’8.
He didn’t do too bad.

Mattster wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 10:40 pm

Heights reported on stuff like club official websites, transfermarkt and Wikipedia is often way out. Have been told (in all seriousness) by someone who works in recruitment that staff will often check FIFA games (well websites with their database on such as sofifa) for height as they are much more accurate than even the stats providers like wyscout, StatsBomb etc.

Taylor is certainly taller than 5'9" (FIFA has him as 6'1").

Just to show how poorly recorded heights are on transfermarkt/wiki etc. here's the reported heights for some of our players from the Europa League game in Istanbul. Chose this picture because it's not often you get players lining up right next to each other.
Always gets me that JBG is reported to be 10cm taller than Taylor

clarethomer wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:03 am

Yeah it talks about tactics to overcome height differences.

John McGreal comes to mind!

JBG clearly standing on his tip toes

dougcollins wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:20 am

I think we'll found out the answer this season in the Championship.

I would suggest lack of height at the back has already cost one goal.

'Find' out is what I meant. My eyes aren't good enough to type on a phone.