Berra - is he any good?

[wolveman]

Hi guys.

 

Like yourselves, no doubt, I was surpised to hear that we were in for your captain - Christophe Berra. We've never really heard much about him(we only ever hear about Celtic and Rangers down here!) to be honest and was just wondering what you guys thought of him/what strengths and weaknesses he has.

 

After the season we've had its evident we need a strong centre back who can command the area when defending set pieces.

 

Will he be good enough for a team looking to challenge for the Premiership as we doubt it down here. Im sure he could be a squad player though.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Wolvie

[Therapist]

After the season we've had its evident we need a strong centre back who can command the area when defending set pieces.

 

Look elsewhere. He's no great shakes.

[JamboLad]

He will be a good championship defender but in my opinion is not worth 2 million quid. Won't make it in the premiership.

 

Wolves may aswell buy Andy Webster as he will cost next to nothing from Wigan

[S.N.T.H.]

He's an okay player but hardly spellbounding.

 

I found it absolutely asthonishing that he made the last Scotland squad, on the back of a season when he was at the Heart (pardon the pun) of a poor defence; A defence which finished 8th in the league.

 

He's nothing particularly special, although he's certainly not bad.

[Del1812]

Consistent but still very much a raw talent. Has a unique mixture of size (standing at 6ft 3inn) and speed (he's one of the fastest centre halves I've ever seen). Pretty much useless with the ball at his feet but he is a centre back so it shouldn't be held against him but he is also very strong in the air and will do a job if you need someone with height for set pieces.

 

His development has stalled with us because he has asked to be captain - he is never a leader in a million years - but I'd say that with a captain type alongside him he could be a very good player.

 

Personally I wouldn't want to lose him but ?2mil + is a very good deal for us.

[vegas-voss]

Hi guys.

 

Like yourselves, no doubt, I was surpised to hear that we were in for your captain - Christophe Berra. We've never really heard much about him(we only ever hear about Celtic and Rangers down here!) to be honest and was just wondering what you guys thought of him/what strengths and weaknesses he has.

 

After the season we've had its evident we need a strong centre back who can command the area when defending set pieces.

 

Will he be good enough for a team looking to challenge for the Premiership as we doubt it down here. Im sure he could be a squad player though.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Wolvie

 

He is decent young defender.It's hard to judge how good he could be because our club is a total shambles.

 

He has good pace for a defender and is good in the tackle but he is no leader.If you had him with a good experienced centre half and he had further time to develop i have no doubt you would be getting a good player for the money.Alot of folk forget he is only 23.

[CornhillHearts]

Needs a new challenge as captaincy too big a burden at moment, i think he is sound and has great pace, would be a good signing for Wolverhampton given time in settling in.

Would rather we kept him but as no obvious replacement at club at moment in my opinion.

[Alan_R]

I don't think he is suitable for your team...

 

...we have an exceptional talent in a young player called Calum Elliot though! played regularly at Scotland under21 level and hes been tipped for great things in the past, you would do well to sign him! *wink wink nudge nudge*

[Prince Buaben]

I don't think he is suitable for your team...

 

...we have an exceptional talent in a young player called Calum Elliot though! played regularly at Scotland under21 level and hes been tipped for great things in the past, you would do well to sign him! *wink wink nudge nudge*

 

Yep i'll second that!

[Stanley_]

I don't think he is suitable for your team...

 

...we have an exceptional talent in a young player called Calum Elliot though! played regularly at Scotland under21 level and hes been tipped for great things in the past, you would do well to sign him! *wink wink nudge nudge*

 

Yeah you're right. Calum Elliot is a great player. He's like Kenny Miller in that he doesn't score an awful lot of goals but he is twice the player. He would do a fantastic job in the Championship. While we're at it, Beslija, Makela and Goncalves are great players too! We'll let you have all 4 for a small fee.

[magicTs]

Berra is fairly raw and may learn quickly under an ex centre half in McCarthy (god knows he's had no coaching here) however I'm far from convinced he will be dominant enough in the physically challenging Championship. At ?2 million we would have done good business and you lot will probably still end up underachieving in 7th or 8th.

[moz]

Hang on guys, Elliot is shi.......oh.....wait....I see what you are doing here.

 

Yes, he is a top player,please don't take him.

[Cade]

Forget about Berra. He's not good enough for you.

 

This Elliot guy, however, is a great prospect and would do a job for you lot.

 

Please take him.

[Prince Buaben]

Yeah you're right. Calum Elliot is a great player. He's like Kenny Miller in that he doesn't score an awful lot of goals but he is twice the player. He would do a fantastic job in the Championship. While we're at it, Beslija, Makela and Goncalves are great players too! We'll let you have all 4 for a small fee.

 

Sure we could raise a small fee for you to take them!

[Towzer]

If youve never heard much about him,how do you know hell be a good

sqaud player?

[Craigieboy]

Don't rate Berra at all.

 

Average at best.

 

.

[Alan_R]

Yeah you're right. Calum Elliot is a great player. He's like Kenny Miller in that he doesn't score an awful lot of goals but he is twice the player. He would do a fantastic job in the Championship. While we're at it, Beslija, Makela and Goncalves are great players too! We'll let you have all 4 for a small fee.

 

of course by small fee we mean by your wealthy championship standards. I don't think Hearts would settle for anything under around ?4-5m collectively. However it would be money well spent as they would be unforgetable in the premiership! Wolves would become the most entertaining team in the premiership, I assure you!

[Del1812]

of course by small fee we mean by your wealthy championship standards. I don't think Hearts would settle for anything under around ?4-5m collectively. However it would be money well spent as they would be unforgetable in the premiership! Wolves would become the most entertaining team in the premiership, I assure you!

 

Yeah, he'll dance round defenders.

 

He's so good he has come up with his own unique style of being a forward who never has to score goals. But when you're Calum Elliot, you don't need to score goals, it's too mundane a task: goalscoring is for poofs.

[vladsmad]

Short on pace, weak right foot, great to get ?2m for him.

[Alan_R]

Short on pace, weak right foot, great to get ?2m for him.

 

do you even watch hearts?

 

I wouldn't say he is slow.

[Del1812]

Short on pace, weak right foot, great to get ?2m for him.

 

Eh? For what, a 200m runner? For a centre half he's fast, for a Scottish centre half he's damn near lightning.

[BobbyJenkins]

I think hes done very well in a poor team but hes not captain material, yet at least. Only 23, great pace for a CH, good tackler, wins most headers and left footed...very good CH IMO.

 

Ill be sorry to see him go as I belive under a manager and playin with better players he'll develop even more.

[Guest jambomickey]

if we get anywhere near the money being talked about for berra we doing well, he an average centre half

[Prince Buaben]

Sometimes you wonder how many matches some people go to!

[BobbyJenkins]

Sometimes u wonder if people know anything about football at all

[Only a Game]

Hi guys.

 

Like yourselves, no doubt, I was surpised to hear that we were in for your captain - Christophe Berra. We've never really heard much about him(we only ever hear about Celtic and Rangers down here!) to be honest and was just wondering what you guys thought of him/what strengths and weaknesses he has.

 

After the season we've had its evident we need a strong centre back who can command the area when defending set pieces.

 

Will he be good enough for a team looking to challenge for the Premiership as we doubt it down here. Im sure he could be a squad player though.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Wolvie

 

To sum up mate. If you sign Berra as one of your first choice centre halves for next season, you wont have to worry about how he'll do in the Premiership, because you wont be there.

 

At ?2million we're robbing you.

 

PS. I dont think he's that quick either, even by Scottish centre half standards.

[chester copperpot]

He is decent young defender.It's hard to judge how good he could be because our club is a total shambles.

 

He has good pace for a defender and is good in the tackle but he is no leader.If you had him with a good experienced centre half and he had further time to develop i have no doubt you would be getting a good player for the money.Alot of folk forget he is only 23.

 

 

 

Spot on. If Wolves want to pay ?2M for him, then great, but he's not what you'd call a great defender.

 

I dont want him to leave, as he's prob our best defender, but we'll see none of the money, thats the only reason I want him o stay. We've sold 16M of talent over the last 2 years, yet seen none back, unless you call spending useless wages on useless players.

[Guest jambomickey]

i agree with that, its hard to judge berra because he had that many partners and so much instability. he played his best football when tall was his defensive partner:107years:

[CornhillHearts]

"To sum up mate. If you sign Berra as one of your first choice centre halves for next season, you wont have to worry about how he'll do in the Premiership, because you wont be there.

 

At ?2million we're robbing you.

 

PS. I dont think he's that quick either, even by Scottish centre half standards"

 

Do not listen to him as he knows nowt about nowt for example who is quicker than Berra?. Nobody on here can really say for sure how good he is, potentially very good and MM being an ex centre half who played at a decent level sees a player, nobody on here can say they have the same eye for a player that he has thats for sure.

[BobbyJenkins]

Mark Mcghee when asked at a recent Q&A session with Motherwell supporters stated that Berra and driver were 2 of the 3 players outwith the OF he rates highly and would like to have at Motherwell. Think the 3rd was fletcher. This was before the will he/wont he debacle past couple of weeks.

 

I think ex players and peopel in management probably have a better idea than anyone on here. Just my opinion like.

[Martin_T]

Can I just add that I couldn't give a flying feck what Berra could do for Wolves, all I'm interested in is the contribution he could make for Hearts next season. For all those talking Berra down, our record without him last season reads...

 

Played 4

Won 0

Drew 0

Lost 4

Goals for 1

Goals against 6

 

2 million is a good deal for who? Romanov? It sure as hell isn't a good deal for Hearts as we'll lose our best centre half, with no cash for a decent non-Lithuanian replacement. If Berra leaves I fully expect we'll get Kancelskis back at the club as his 'replacement'.

[Rick Grimes]

Berra's a very solid young defender with a lot of potential. ?2m is terms of English prices is a steal.

[Captain Canada]

I always felt Kancelskis showed a bit of promise when he played but never got a good run in the team. Miles better than Barasa, knew how to tackle but was never really given a chance. Considering how completely gash Zaliukas has been I feel we could have done worse than play Kancelskis a bit more.

[Bordeaux 03]

You could buy Karapidis for half the price and get a far better centre half.

[Martin_T]

I always felt Kancelskis showed a bit of promise when he played but never got a good run in the team. Miles better than Barasa, knew how to tackle but was never really given a chance. Considering how completely gash Zaliukas has been I feel we could have done worse than play Kancelskis a bit more.

 

Kancelskis is 32. He wouldn't come close to replacing a 23 year old Scottish international. The fact of the matter is that Hearts should be looking to rid ourselves of the over paid non tryers such as Pinilla, Nade, Kingston etc and build the team around Berra, Wallace, Driver, Jonsson and Glen.

[Charlie-Brown]

Kancelskis is 32. He wouldn't come close to replacing a 23 year old Scottish international. The fact of the matter is that Hearts should be looking to rid ourselves of the over paid non tryers such as Pinilla, Nade, Kingston etc and build the team around Berra, Wallace, Driver, Jonsson and Glen.

 

An excellent idea Martin and one I wholly subscribe to although I think we are likely to see this idea tested to the limit, maybe even broken by a combination of the relative weakness of Hearts & the SPL versus stronger economic competitors as well as the players own financial & footballing ambitions....it's quite a big multi-faceted question probably deserving it's own thread.

[Toxteth O'Grady]

Can I just add that I couldn't give a flying feck what Berra could do for Wolves, all I'm interested in is the contribution he could make for Hearts next season. For all those talking Berra down, our record without him last season reads...

 

Played 4

Won 0

Drew 0

Lost 4

Goals for 1

Goals against 6

 

2 million is a good deal for who? Romanov? It sure as hell isn't a good deal for Hearts as we'll lose our best centre half, with no cash for a decent non-Lithuanian replacement. If Berra leaves I fully expect we'll get Kancelskis back at the club as his 'replacement'.

 

 

Thanks for digging out the Stats Martin I was just wondering how we did without Christophe.

 

I totally agree that we should keep him along with the rest of our good young players you mention (in your next post), if we sell these guys it would be a massive mistake.

[Legend Claws]

I think he could go on to be a French legend alongside the likes of Zidane, Thuram, Lizarazu and Henry.

[Charlie-Brown]

Sooner or later we will face the same challenges that Mowbray & Collins faced with Murray, Riordan, O'Connor, Caldwell, Brown, Thomson, Sproule, Killen, Whittaker...Beuzelin....Fletcher?

 

Even IF we pay competitive wages and have a good team manager and maybe even win a cup or make an impression in Europe (all the things we currently aren't achieving) .... is plundering of best players (& coaches) by stronger competitors inevitable?

 

Do we have to plan not only how to build a succesful team but also how to cope with it being broken up? and how we rebuild again after that to challenge?

[bishop1874]

He is very fast, wins pretty much everything in the air, reads the game well and is a solid tackeler.

 

A lot of people on here complain that he is never a captain and loads of other nonsense but he is a complete professional, leads by example and has had another good season in a very bad side.

 

I would like to keep him at least for another season because I believe he could go on to become worth a lot more if we were playing better football and receiving more media attention.

[Towzer]

He is very fast, wins pretty much everything in the air, reads the game well and is a solid tackeler.

 

A lot of people on here complain that he is never a captain and loads of other nonsense but he is a complete professional, leads by example and has had another good season in a very bad side.

 

I would like to keep him at least for another season because I believe he could go on to become worth a lot more if we were playing better football and receiving more media attention.

 

[Boab Mugabe]

He is very fast, wins pretty much everything in the air, reads the game well and is a solid tackeler.

 

A lot of people on here complain that he is never a captain and loads of other nonsense but he is a complete professional, leads by example and has had another good season in a very bad side.

 

I would like to keep him at least for another season because I believe he could go on to become worth a lot more if we were playing better football and receiving more media attention.

 

 

Leads by example? By not organising, shouting or anything a centre half is meant to do, never mind captain?

[CostaJambo]

"To sum up mate. If you sign Berra as one of your first choice centre halves for next season, you wont have to worry about how he'll do in the Premiership, because you wont be there.

 

At ?2million we're robbing you.

 

PS. I dont think he's that quick either, even by Scottish centre half standards"

 

Do not listen to him as he knows nowt about nowt for example who is quicker than Berra?. Nobody on here can really say for sure how good he is, potentially very good and MM being an ex centre half who played at a decent level sees a player, nobody on here can say they have the same eye for a player that he has thats for sure.[/QUOTE]

 

Are you saying MM has never picked a dud??? Lucky man if that's the case. Berra is still the unfinished article and could be a good buy with the right coaching but could also turn out to be a waste of money. In other words, a bit of a gamble at 2 mill.

[CornhillHearts]

No what I am saying is MM is more likely to recognise a player than 100% of folk on here and ?2m is loose change even in that Division in England.

[Drylaw Hearts]

If we lose Berra we lose our best defender.

 

?2million is a good price for him though.

 

If Wolves sign him they will get themselves a CH with plenty of potential.

 

 

I hope we spend a 3rd of that money and bring Russell Anderson back to Scotland.

[sked21]

Decent defender who will become a good player (With a bit of luck a great player) under the right manager.

 

But all I would say is that it is nothing to get excited about.

[bishop1874]

 

Leads by example? By not organising, shouting or anything a centre half is meant to do, never mind captain?[/QUO

 

He is quiet when compared to Pressley but he communicates well. You dont have to shout throughout the whole game to be a captain take Beckham for example.

 

He is 23 and will only get better, I honestly cant think of a better cb in Scotland apart from Cuellar.

 

Worth more than 2million

[Makween]

He's an average defender in a poor league. He does have potential, but that's all that it is. People go easy on him because he's young and Scottish. I'd say that a Championship side with aspirations of promotion should probably be aiming higher.

[269miles]

Wolves sold Lescott to Everton for ?5m. On that basis , I'd say Berra is worth ?2m. He is better in the air and just as quick on the ground but isn't as comfortable with the ball at his feet .

It would also give me a reason to go back to Molineux.

[Csaba's Broon Shoes]

Berra is probably the best centre half in the SPL outwith the old firm

 

He is not the finished article and Mick McCarthy at Wolves could bring him on

 

with good coaching as Jardine did with Levein in the 80s

 

Berra is too quiet to be a captain but when he matures will boss his defence

 

Good pace , big strong and physical though not nasty enough

 

He has scored a few set-piece goals however has scored as many OGs

 

Here is the deal if you want Berra you must also take No28 also

 

2 Million is the going rate for centre halfs in the championship