LCFCnotKPFC

We signed Vestergaard in 2021. He played just 10 times for us in the Premier League before we were relegated in 2022/2023, and ZERO of these appearances were made during the relegation season in 2022/2023. He first became a regular for us in 2023/2024, featuring in 42 League games in which he was a key part in winning the league and having the best defence in the league. He also achieved this by partnering with Wout Faes, who our fans also claim is a horrific footballer. In 2024/25 when we were once again relegated from the top flight, he featured in 18 League games, just less than half of the 38 league games available. How have people somehow become convinced we are where we are because of Vestergaard? He was blamed for our initial relegation too, despite not playing at all that Season. My eyes don't deceive me, he's the one guy always willing to get on the ball and try to progress it forwards.

I want to make it clear that I'm not stating he's some incredible defender, but our fans appear to have a short memory. Can people not remember how lost Wes Morgan was in 2014-15 before Huth came in? His levels were what our fans claim Vestergaard/Faes to be. What really helped Morgan was the fact he had terrific physical attributes, he was rapid across the ground and completely underrated in this regard. Huth basically told him what to do every game and the rest is History. Vestergaard doesn't have any legs around him, and he needs it. Could you imagine Huth in this back 4? He'd look very similarly exposed too. Marti mishandled Aluko earlier this Season. After the two yellow cards, of which one comes about from a horrific pass from the supposed to be experienced Choudhury, Aluko should've been back in the team after his suspension. The idea you think a player is "Ready", but then you drop him after just one performance is terrible judgement from a terrible manager.

I'm confused with your post. Because you seem to come to the conclusion that a good manager/head coach is important, but only when it suits you (E.g. Winks, Ricardo, Daka, Mavididi)...But that Faes and Vestergaard are just bad. I could write a hell of a lot about this, I speak often to the two guys next to me at the game about how under Enzo we were basically able to give the ball to Fatawu and Mavididi on the touchline every game, often, despite other teams knowing we were going to do it, this is because we were well coached and had good patterns of play. But I disagree that Mavididi was particularly effective, I thought Fatawu was, he would take his man on for fun game after game. But I was constantly disappointed with Mavididi, especially because he had KDH to combine with that side. Mavididi was given far more freedom by the fact Fatawu/KDH/Vardy were such threats. Mavidi fools a lot of fans by looking like he's a threat, but all he does when he gets the ball to feet is a couple of stepovers, drops his shoulder as though he's looking to be direct....Then pass it backwards. His decision making is poor. Winks is a terrific footballer, still the best central midfielder in this league imo. Ricardo's legs went years ago, Maresca helped him a lot with the different role and he had KDH/Ndidi doing his running, which is true for Winks too. We were much better coached under Enzo. But even so, if you watch us play today, you can still see that Vestergaard has that progressive passing ability which is superior to anyone else in the squad.

Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard were our centre half partnership in 23-24, when we won this league and had the best defence. Their midfield screen was the diminutive Harry Winks. With Hamza Choudhury routinely being asked to play at full back, and the inexperienced Callum Doyle also often featuring at left back. But apparently it's a good idea to play Ben Nelson over them, because he's young, local and helped Oxford to finish 17th last Season. A Season in which he ONLY played 17 games for them by the way. In a 46 game Championship Season, even with a 6 point deficit, we don't get relegated with a Faes-Vestergard-Winks trio starting every game.

There's a guy who sits two rows behind me who constantly slags off Vestegaard and I know it's a popular opinion to hate guy bloke, but it doesn't seem to be performance related to me. He seems to be the scapegoat for our initial relegation, despite never playing a single League game for us that Season. In his defence, we know his flaws, yet people never discuss his strengths. He ALWAYS gets on the ball and is the player who always tries to get us playing and progressing forward. It's bizarre to me how much criticism he gets, as a centre half, when we've regularly seen Choudhury play in the last few years, a central midfielder, who always avoids responsibility and just passes sideways and backwards. I feel the same with Winks, who by the way, is night and day the best footballer we have in our squad and is still the best central midfielder in this League. The fact he has played for King and now Rowett proves to me he wasn't just flat out refusing to play....Because he's now playing. Seems like we trusted an incompetent manager to toss aside players like Winks and Faes, who no matter what personal vendetta you have against them, are miles better than the guys who have replaced them. Winks, Vestergaard and Faes walked this league a couple of years back. Suggesting Nelson should be playing just because he "Did ok at Oxford", is also part of the reason we're in this mess. We've overrated our young players massively and backed the wrong players, and now we're paying the price.