Premier League defending is appalling and laughable, says Ian Wright as Stan Collymore bemoans a 'dying breed' of 'proper defenders'

  • There were 36 goals across 10 Premier League matches over the weekend
  • Ian Wright says he wishes he could have played against the current defences
  • Stan Collymore believe he would 'have' the likes of John Stones 'for breakfast'

Premier League defending has come under fire with two former forwards claiming the top flight's back lines are 'laughable' and 'rubbish'.

Arsenal legend Ian Wright and former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore used their national newspaper columns on Tuesday to lay into the standard of defending in the Premier League.

Last weekend saw 36 goals conceded across 10 matches including six-goal floods at games between Leicester and Manchester City as well as Hull and Crystal Palace.

John Stones and Aleksandar Kolarov were part of a Manchester City defence that conceded four goals in their defeat by Leicester City at the weekend

Ian Wright says Premier League defences are not at the standard they should be

MOST PREMIER LEAGUE GOALS SCORED PER GAME 

2016-17: 2.89

2011-12: 2.81

2010-11: 2.80

2012-13: 2.80

1999-00: 2.79 

Only four teams managed to keep clean sheets.

Wright says that is not down to the Premier League having top-class goalscoring talent and is rather a result of defensive deficiencies.

Writing in his column in The Sun, the former Crystal Palace and Arsenal forward says: 'Quite frankly, some of the defending this season — and this weekend in particular — has been appalling.

'(It has been) laughable. The sort of stuff which would leave a Sunday team wincing.'

Wright picked out the errors from City's backline in particular as being 'shambolic'. Jamie Vardy scored a hat-trick at the King Power Stadium as Pep Guardiola's back three were taken to pieces.

Wright added: 'Can you imagine how many the likes of Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andy Cole or Robbie Fowler would have got against defending like we're seeing?

'I wish they'd been as slack at the back when I was playing. Shearer, Thierry and Co would have been going home with a match ball every week.'

Stan Collymore would back himself to cause problems to the current defences in his prime

Collymore, in his column for the Daily Mirror, concurred.

While the likes of Liverpool's Loris Karius and West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph have faced criticism this season, Collymore says the responsibility stands as much with the men in front of them.

'Defenders these days are rubbish,' he wrote. 'I reckon that, to a man, every one of us  (former strikers) must be watching matches these days and wetting ourselves with laughter at the thoughts of what we'd do against David Luiz and John Stones.

'I remember watching Stones for Everton against Tottenham in one of his first games and thinking how skinny he was — I'd have taken glee in having him for breakfast.'

Hull City and Crystal Palace shared a six-goal thriller at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday

Collymore picks out Manchester United's Phil Jones, just back from injury, as one man who 'relishes' physical challenges but bemoaned the switch of focus to defenders more concentrated on the work they do with the ball at their feet.

'Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister were proper defenders but they could both play as well, Bruce in particular,' Collymore says.

'Nowadays their breed is dying out, maybe it's already dead, so it's no wonder keepers are feeling more exposed than ever.'

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