' IN DEFENCE OF BEN TURNER '

Tuesday 21st Jan 2014.

An open letter in defence of Cardiff City's under-fire centre back Ben Turner.

Head of Sport Paul Abbandonato has questioned whether Cardiff City defender Ben Turner has the passing ability to warrant his place in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's starting XI. Lifelong Cardiff City fan Brian Davies has written in with a staunch defence of the giant centre half, insisting he's in the mould of top Premier League defenders like Nemanja Vidic and Martin Skrtel.

Brian Davies insists Ben Turner is an excellent Premier League centre back

As a long standing Cardiff City supporter I feel justified and reasonably well-qualified in venting my dissatisfaction of your continued criticism of Ben Turner, an honest & conscientious professional who always gives 100 per cent and will continue to be a very important player in Cardiff's quest to retain their Premier League status.

Since signing from Coventry City Ben has developed into a combative and reliable centre half whose partnership with Steven Caulker has been one of the successes of a very difficult first season in the Premier League.
Turner certainly does not deserve the constant criticism he gets from certain sections of the press and clueless, so-called supporters.

Defensively he has been very good and although I would accept that he was at fault for Negredo's last minute header against Man City, Rooney's opening goal for Manchester United and Fletcher's first goal for Sunderland the number of crucial mistakes he has made, against some of the best forward players in Europe, have been few and far between.


To be a success as a centre back, at any level, you have to have certain qualities and I'm hopeful that you'll agree that the large majority of these are defensive. Turner has these in abundance.
The number of players in world football who possess these defensive qualities and are also capable of being composed under pressure, remembering that the centre half is usually on the ball in and around his own penalty box, are very few and far between.

To compensate, most sides try to develop a partnership at centre back, where the footballer compliments the stopper, not forgetting that both are selected in the main for their defensive attributes.
Ferdinand and Vidic are perfect examples of this, as were Bobby Moore and Jackie Charlton in my childhood.
The best passers of a ball in English football, like Bobby Charlton, Glen Hoddle and Steven Gerrard have never played at centre half, simply because they never possessed the basic qualities needed to play centre back.
In fact, Brendan Rodgers soon modified his"total football" philosophy at Liverpool when he realised that his best defender Skrtel was not comfortable with the ball at his feet on the edge of his own box.

The pressure being placed on Turner to become a footballing centre back is totally unwarranted especially now that nearly all Premier League sides are trying to win the ball back as quickly as possible.
That means pressing centre backs, the players least comfortable on the ball, in their own defensive third, in the way Barcelona, Bayern Munich and more recently Southampton have.
Man City were so impressive on Saturday, not just because of their sublime attacking skills but because they pressed Cardiff all over the pitch.

To summarise, I honestly believe that Turner and Caulker are very important parts of Cardiff's future.
Turner will never be as composed on the ball as Caulker but is far better than many people give him credit for.
Neither will Caulker be as aggressive and determined in the tackle as Turner but as a partnership I am optimistic that given the opportunity and support, when deserved, they will develop into a formidable defensive partnership capable of succeeding in the Premier League.

Hope you'll understand the reasons for this message, just desperate to see Cardiff maintain their Premier League status.

im sorry.... after;

Ben has developed into a combative and reliable centre half whose partnership with Steven Caulker has been one of the successes of a very difficult first season in the Premier League.


this.... isnt it only fulham who have conceded less than us this season?

I think most fans rate turner but it was a his constant aimless hoofballs to 5ft f**k all campbell that warranted criticsm.
At least Ole seems to have him working on that part of his game,noticed hes training with the forward players during pre match

I think most fans rate turner but it was a his constant aimless hoofballs to 5ft f**k all campbell that warranted criticsm.
At least Ole seems to have him working on that part of his game,noticed hes training with the forward players during pre match

It also helps now that he hasnt got Taylor along side him who will just pass it back to him everytime

I think most fans rate turner but it was a his constant aimless hoofballs to 5ft f**k all campbell that warranted criticsm.
At least Ole seems to have him working on that part of his game,noticed hes training with the forward players during pre match

It also helps now that he hasnt got Taylor along side him who will just pass it back to him everytime

maybe,but a lot of the time he was hoofing it with not a player within 100 metres, areal shame because aside from that i think hes an excellent defender that is constantly improving

Fair post, he's very solid defensively!
The fact he doesn't get much support doesn't help the fact he's not the most silky player, Declan John takes pressure off him because he goes outside rather than just squaring it back like taylor

Malky had us playing the hoofball. Under Ole there is already far more movement in front of Turner giving him options to pass it out. We still hoof it now and again but far less than under the previous gaffer.

He can say what he wants - what I see with my own eyes is Turner hoofing the ball upfield straight back to the opposition every game and Caulker running on the ball and passing short.

I like Turner, he makes a lot of important blocks during games. I don't think he is as good as Caulker and we could probably improve on his position but he has definitely done well for us this season.

I also think Malky/Ole are right to play him over Hudson.

In my opinion Ben is good centre half who is unfairly criticized about his distribution when the midfield rarely make a big effort to make themselves available. I hope that those who advocate Hudson as a better option fully assessed his performance against West Ham - poor distribution and dominated by Cole..

He is a young player, Is robust and solid. He will get better with his distribution in time, and agree with the posts above that he only had one option for a pass and that was to the left-back, who more often than not passed it back to Turner for him to just hoof away.

Turner is awful , the first 3 man city goals were down to his poor ppositioning .

Turner is awful , the first 3 man city goals were down to his poor ppositioning .

bit harsh considering the level of opposition

Turner is awful , the first 3 man city goals were down to his poor ppositioning .

bit harsh considering the level of opposition

Is it really though ?
If you look at the goals they should have been stopped no matter who the team was .

Dzeko 1st goal he allowed him to get in front of him on the six yard line and was caught flat footed with his back to the player who just flicked it in , that is school boy stuff

2nd goal navas , the ball came over the top and turner being the last man committed himself way to early and left us open , he should have just been shoulder to shoulder with dzeko taking him wide until the opportunity arises to tackle cleanly not allowing him to turn inside so easily .

3rd goal toure , toure was running at the defence who stayed in a perfect line backtracking ! Good defending , then for some unknown reason he decides to step up to toure on his own without the rest which leaves aguero open for the one two which resulted in the goal . Again very poor you either all step up and hold or none of you . It's basic defending .

All three down to his positioning . Watch the goals back and you'll see what I mean .
It's not the first game he's done it either , I might sound harsh but he just can't cope with the movement of prem strikers . You very rarely see caulker out of position .

I like Turner, if he was playing alongside a better LB and we had a more solid RB, he'd flourish IMO. As much as I like Taylor he does have the tendency to pass back to Turner every time and with KTC being dodgy at the back it gives the CBs more to do

Turner gives away more of the ball than anyone else on the pitch due to his hoof instead of the simple option, he can head the ball thats about it imo

finally some sense about turner. he's an excellent defender. i wouldn't disagree that he hoofs it a lot but iv seen him start passing a lot more under ole so far. i don't think people must have been looking when caulker was hoofing in games cos he can do no wrong apparently.

Turner is awful , the first 3 man city goals were down to his poor ppositioning .

bit harsh considering the level of opposition

Is it really though ?
If you look at the goals they should have been stopped no matter who the team was .

Dzeko 1st goal he allowed him to get in front of him on the six yard line and was caught flat footed with his back to the player who just flicked it in , that is school boy stuff

2nd goal navas , the ball came over the top and turner being the last man committed himself way to early and left us open , he should have just been shoulder to shoulder with dzeko taking him wide until the opportunity arises to tackle cleanly not allowing him to turn inside so easily .

3rd goal toure , toure was running at the defence who stayed in a perfect line backtracking ! Good defending , then for some unknown reason he decides to step up to toure on his own without the rest which leaves aguero open for the one two which resulted in the goal . Again very poor you either all step up and hold or none of you . It's basic defending .

All three down to his positioning . Watch the goals back and you'll see what I mean .
It's not the first game he's done it either , I might sound harsh but he just can't cope with the movement of prem strikers . You very rarely see caulker out of position .

If you evaluate it like that then maybe he is to blame in some way but you defend as a team plus players like aguero,toure etc have made even the most experienced players look silly. caulker was mugged off by the world class aguero for the 4th, full backs have been our main problem this season,top drawer players will create opportunities given the time to deliver

Trouble with people who have it in for Turner they never see the interceptions , ,tackles he makes those far outway his mistakes and hoofing the ball away! For which tactics generally are to blame..., unless you want him to just pass sideways or backwards, as no alternative options.

I probably am being a bit harsh on him . He annoys me because he has potential to be a great defender if he would just be more consistent with the basics .
Maybe he needs to learn and train with a better quality left sided centre back for a bit to bring his game up to scratch

I probably am being a bit harsh on him . He annoys me because he has potential to be a great defender if he would just be more consistent with the basics .
Maybe he needs to learn and train with a better quality left sided centre back for a bit to bring his game up to scratch

Don't forget he's still young! And tbh playing in the system he was how is he going to learn anything other than hoofing or pass backwards? He will improve like you say with better ball players with him in team.

Turner is awful , the first 3 man city goals were down to his poor ppositioning .

bit harsh considering the level of opposition

Is it really though ?
If you look at the goals they should have been stopped no matter who the team was .

Dzeko 1st goal he allowed him to get in front of him on the six yard line and was caught flat footed with his back to the player who just flicked it in , that is school boy stuff

2nd goal navas , the ball came over the top and turner being the last man committed himself way to early and left us open , he should have just been shoulder to shoulder with dzeko taking him wide until the opportunity arises to tackle cleanly not allowing him to turn inside so easily .

Agree with this.

Good Champioship CB but still needs work on his concentration for Premiership. Just about every week Kamara remarks about him losing his concentrration. He has been at fault for at least one goal every week for the last few games.

That being said, Hudson did exactly the same for the first WHU goal as well. These players are being found out. Defending at this level should not be about last ditch blocks and tackles; look at Roger Johnson. It's about reading the game and postioning, Caulker has it. Trouble is, Turner does not seem to be improving and we are running out of time. Go and get Lescot on loan.

3rd goal toure , toure was running at the defence who stayed in a perfect line backtracking ! Good defending , then for some unknown reason he decides to step up to toure on his own without the rest which leaves aguero open for the one two which resulted in the goal . Again very poor you either all step up and hold or none of you . It's basic defending .

All three down to his positioning . Watch the goals back and you'll see what I mean .
It's not the first game he's done it either , I might sound harsh but he just can't cope with the movement of prem strikers . You very rarely see caulker out of position .

im unsure about big ben to be fair, everytime we conceed i seem to notice hes somehow at fault, which is probably unfair but i cant help but notice. as for the hoofball, even when malky had us pass out from the back, he'd kick it for no reason, he is very frustrating on that point. i think we've conceeded far to many goals, and would now like to see a hudson-caulker partner ship

I probably am being a bit harsh on him . He annoys me because he has potential to be a great defender if he would just be more consistent with the basics .
Maybe he needs to learn and train with a better quality left sided centre back for a bit to bring his game up to scratch

good points you make to be fair, He is frustrating,especially when he hoofs the ball , like you say hes got great potential

im unsure about big ben to be fair, everytime we conceed i seem to notice hes somehow at fault, which is probably unfair but i cant help but notice. as for the hoofball, even when malky had us pass out from the back, he'd kick it for no reason, he is very frustrating on that point. i think we've conceeded far to many goals, and would now like to see a hudson-caulker partner ship

Hudson did a terrific job for us in the championship but made carlton cole look like a peak Didier drogba in his only premiership start,with all due respect to him I don't think hes good enough

Turner is a decent defender and probably deserves his place in the team ahead of Hudson at the moment. His passing is suspect so he reverts to hoofing the ball. Needs to keep it simple and let those around him pass the ball out of defence.

He was doing ok early part of the season but hes been at fault for so many goals since Villa away. The first 2 at Man City last week was just schoolboy defending. They highlighted it on Goals On Sunday.

At this level you cant appeal for handball and STOP ffs which is what he did for the first goal allowing Dzeko to get in front of him for the pull back.

I see he was blamed for the 3rd last week that is harsh, Noone shit out v Toure when it was 70/30 in his favour (understandable he would have crushed him ) and when Toure got into his stride and is running at you full pelt its very difficult to stop him. Better defenders than Turner will pay testament to that.

He was doing ok early part of the season but hes been at fault for so many goals since Villa away. The first 2 at Man City last week was just schoolboy defending. They highlighted it on Goals On Sunday.

At this level you cant appeal for handball and STOP ffs which is what he did for the first goal allowing Dzeko to get in front of him for the pull back.

I see he was blamed for the 3rd last week that is harsh, Noone shit out v Toure when it was 70/30 in his favour (understandable he would have crushed him ) and when Toure got into his stride and is running at you full pelt its very difficult to stop him. Better defenders than Turner will pay testament to that.

True noone did shit out , what I criticised him for was the last second step up when you can clearly see caulker organising the line . That allowed aguero the space to receive the one two pass . You also then see caulker telling him with his arms out in a line saying to hold .

He was doing ok early part of the season but hes been at fault for so many goals since Villa away. The first 2 at Man City last week was just schoolboy defending. They highlighted it on Goals On Sunday.

At this level you cant appeal for handball and STOP ffs which is what he did for the first goal allowing Dzeko to get in front of him for the pull back.

I see he was blamed for the 3rd last week that is harsh, Noone shit out v Toure when it was 70/30 in his favour (understandable he would have crushed him ) and when Toure got into his stride and is running at you full pelt its very difficult to stop him. Better defenders than Turner will pay testament to that.

Liverpool away, Suarez first goal (Henderson clipped infor a volley), he also appealed for offside (arm up, back turned to play) when he should have been closing down Suarez and potentially could have blocked the shot.

In the main he is an excellent defender but there's been a few instances like City and Liverpool where he loses concentration, play the whistle FFS. I would love to see his passing stats for the season, they must be appalling.

Turner gives away more of the ball than anyone else on the pitch due to his hoof instead of the simple option, he can head the ball thats about it imo

Agree with this. We need to sign a premier league defender to toughen up our defense!