Russell Martin. Strong and commanding? Or a liability? Manager Alex Neil has a decision to make. The first thing I want to say is this: this is not a debate about whether he should be in the team. It is about what position he should be occupying.
Martin is the club captain and has made over 200 appearances for the Canaries, yet the majority of these have been at right-back. It’s only the last few years in which Martin has moved to the center of defense and fans are still split on whether he is good enough to play there. Now, this is just my opinion, but there is no doubt in my mind that Martin is a Premier League quality right-back. Whether or not he can make it at the centre-back is what I am now going to discuss.
Coming into our first season back in the Premier League, most, if not all, fans have been saying that we need to purchase a new central defender to shore up our defence, myself included. Virgil van Dijk and Chancel Mbemba being two players that had been mentioned. However, I never thought to myself, who would be dropped? I cannot see Bassong being dropped due to his Premier league experience and consistently good performances under Alex Neil. So that leaves Martin as the player fans want to be moved away from central defence. The Scottish International has been labeled as a ‘liability’ by some sections of supporters as well as being branded as ‘not strong enough’. This comes on the eve of his mistake versus Brentford to give them their equaliser. My tweet following the match asking whether he was good enough was met with over 30 responses, sparking an argument on my timeline between fans who believe he is those who think otherwise.
One argument that people can use to show Martin is capable at centre-back could be the fact he was voted by his fellow professionals as one of the two best central defenders in the league last season. This clearly shows he was doing something right.
I think the rest of the choices for that Championship XI were fairly accurate so it is highly unlikely that he was undeserving of a place in the team. In my opinion, I think he deserved it. He was a solid defender and great leader for throughout the season, with both Neil Adams and Alex Neil having faith in him in the central position.
However, some fans think that it means nothing. They have the opinion that just because he was in the Championship team of the season, it does not mean he is good enough for the Premier League. Now, whereas that is sort of true, it does not mean you are a Premier League player. It also does not mean you are not one. Anyone in that side could go into the Premier League and succeed or fail.
Admittedly Martin made errors. Many fans have pointed out his mistakes at the back and that he will be a continue to make them in the Premier League. Now, yes, he made some errors during the last season. However, whilst under the stewardship of Neil Adams, most players were making errors on a regular basis and to single out Russell Martin would be unjust and unfair. Another point I have seen that I do not agree with is that ‘he gets beaten in the air too much’. I do not agree with this. I have seen him win far, far more headers than he has lost.
I think the fact Alex Neil has continued to show faith in him in the central defensive position speaks about his ability to play there. Just look at how meticulous Alex Neil is with his preparation; his team’s playing style, transfers and the players themselves. If he did not think Martin could be a Premier League centre-half, he would not be playing there. Also, the fact that he has not brought in another defender shows again that he trusts Martin. Instead he has brought in Wisdom, a right-back. If he was planning on dropping Martin from central defence then he would be playing on the right, as I do not think he can be left out of the team, and after the signing of Wisdom, we now have two solid right-back options already. With Steven Whittaker likely to start the season as first choice and Wisdom as back up to begin with.
In conclusion, I believe in Alex Neil, I believe in Russell Martin and Neil’s trust in him to be able to play in the Premier League. This may be biased as I have always been a huge fan of him, no matter whether he has played on the right or in the centre. I would be happy and confident to see him play in either position this season.
Do you agree with Daniel Emery? Is Russell Martin a Premier League centre-back?
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