If Thomas Vermaelen Is The Answer, I Don't Know What The Question Is.

By Adedayo Ayodele

THOMAS VERMAELEN

Reading through some comments this morning, I can conclude that Thomas Vermaelen is a great reader of the game, has great positioning, is good on the ball and is a vocal and experienced leader, the only thing that has been holding him back is injuries and a subsequent loss of form. I don't know who's feeding you fans this info, but he/she has done a fine job of selling him. 

Thomas Vermaelen's strengths are: Decent pace, decent in the air, he's good on the ball and is as aggressive as they come. However, his reading of the game and his positioning are terrible, literally lost count of how often he gets caught either out of position or too far up on the pitch and he can't hold an offside line to save his life. 

His aggressiveness means he'll be flying into tackles high up the pitch, often leaving his defensive partners exposed as he'll need to recover a lot of ground to make up for how rash and prone to mistakes he is. 

It could be tactical and coaching related, but seeing as how Koscielny has stepped up I doubt it. You're in for a rude awakening Barcelona fans, if Thomas Vermaelen is the answer, I don't know what the question is.