Gary Cahill
Cahill at twenty five years old is the oldest of the four center half's that I will be speaking about today. Gary started his career at Aston Villa where he was a product of their youth system. David O'Leary gave him his debut against Manchester United in 2006 and from then on in was a fixture in and around the Villa first team. To say he made a big impression in his early days at Villa is an understatement. Gary's first start was in a midlands derby against West Brom. This was quickly followed by the game against bitter rivals Birmingham City scoring the winning goal in spectacular fashion with an over head kick.

Phil Jones
Blackburn Rovers also have a rich history of center half's and with the potential and talent that Phil Jones has already shown can join that list. Jones shot onto the scene when Sam Allardyce gave him his debut in the League Cup last season. Since then he has worked his way into the Rovers first team and has impressed many people including Arsene Wenger no less. He is not the tallest or fastest defender but wins his fair share of aerial battles and rarely do you see strikers beating him for pace. Jones best attribute for me is his work with the ball and would describe him as a footballing defender. Jones is that good on the floor he has been playing in midfield which is not an easy transition to make, Rio Ferdinand's stint as a midfielder is an example of this. Rio is known to be a footballing center half but struggled to make the transition unlike Jones who seems to have made that position his own.
Jones has the potential to play for England for a long time and from what we saw last season when he played at the back against the Premierships best, he was magnificent. My worry is that Blackburn are wasting one of the best talents in the country by using him as a midfielder. Yes he has been playing at the back since he was a child but not in the Premier League. He needs to be playing there week in week out to really learn the position to take him to the next level. I know its not Rovers job to worry about the future of England but that is one worry i have that could hold Jones back from filling that huge potential as a center back. Another similar worry to one i have about Cahill is the fact he plays for one of the smaller clubs in the league, and have explained why that is an issue. The boy has a great future and look forward to see how he progresses.
Chris Smalling

He has not played a lot of league game and only recently starting to play well after some early struggles, so why would I look at this lad as a candidate? The first reason is recent performances for his club side. He was outstanding along with Vidic in the biggest Manchester derby in years, Tevez was very quiet due to Smalling and showed me that he has looked at his game and worked to improve it. The dominance in the air during the Southampton game was very impressive, you can say Southampton are a League 1 team but believe the game helped his confidence. This allowed him to show his manager how well he is playing and the platform for his performance against City. The second is his employer, Manchester United where Ferguson almost always brings the best out of his players. Rio Ferdinand the man we hope he can replace is still there and playing at a high level and believe he almost plays the Ferdinand way, so by training with him and Vidic he is almost certain to learn and improve his game. The third is linked with the second, playing for Manchester United brings its own pressure. The club is the third biggest in the world and if he performs while dealing with that pressure, will only make playing for your country easier and hopefully bring better performances. I hope he carries on his good form and becomes a great player for Manchester United and England and to add I love Rio and want him to be around as long as possible, but he wont be round forever.
Ryan Shawcross
Here is a typical English central defender with his tough tackling and sheer presence at the back. Playing for Stoke City you have to be good in the air, strong, and be able to look after yourself. Ryan brings all of this onto the field but with his Manchester United background can play on the floor too. Stoke City signed him for one million pounds which is must be one of the signings of the century.

All four can become England center backs but will they be great? did we know Rio would be great when he was at West Ham? We have to wait an see but it is worrying to see the lack of quality English center half's playing for the big five. Lescott and Upson are certainly not good enough, while Dawson and Phil Jagielka are in their late twenties and ready for the Euro's coming up. I like all four but personally like Cahill and Shawcross the best and hope they can find moves in the summer.
Loving the look of Smalling recently. Sometimes slow to make decisions on Tuesday but has looked rock solid and mature for his age.
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