Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder says he has little choice but to keep faith with his under-fire defenders and again insists he will never "do his dirty washing in public" and single out players for criticism.
We all know the problems Titus Bramble has caused to every manager he has worked under. The man is physically the best central defender on United's books, but his lapses of concentration are starting to become legend on Tyneside.
Craig Moore had a brilliant World Cup in Germany, but he too, doesn't seem to be the answer long term. He lacks pace, and he doesn't have the foresight to read situations before they happen. Something that comes natural to the likes of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand or Sol Campbell.
Steven Taylor and Peter Ramage say central defence is where they are best suited. But both are young, and neither has a strong presence or the build of Bramble. Both can be pushed off the ball at dead-ball kicks, a little too easily for their own good, and I still believe you can play one or the other. Their day will come, I'm sure, but they need a mature leader in there to help them along.
The full-back pairing is another under scrutiny. Stephen Carr holds down the right-back spot but Bolton's Sam Allardyce showed on Sunday how he pin-pointed Carr as the week link. Instructions to his players at half-time centred around giving Carr a hard time, and it worked for him. I'm not saying Carr is a liability, we've had a whole host of defenders worse than him, but I'm not saying he's the answer either.
Celestine Babayaro can look elegant going forward, but clumsy defending. Is he up to the job? Personally I think not. The golden rule in defending on the wing is to stop the winger putting over the cross. Someone should teach that to the ex-Chelsea player.
That leaves Olivier Bernard. A tried and trusted player three years ago, but why have so many clubs tried him on a trial and let him go? He has been at the club since the summer ... it is now almost November ... and STILL he isn't match fit!
What does Glenn Roeder think of it all?
Roeder: "Individual errors are not done on purpose. We can only talk about them, work hard in training and hopefully eradicate them when it comes to the next game. I am limited for choice in the defensive part of the team, but nevertheless there are still one or two possibilities I could still try.
"We have spent some time as a team together. I do not just take the defence away on their own. Defending is about the rest of the team as well. I know the back four and the central defenders in particular have come in for some criticism, and they have to be big enough to accept what has come their way.
"We have sat down, we have viewed goals we have let in during this current season and looked at ways we could have done better and the way we need now to do better when defending.
"With the games coming up thick and fast, it is difficult to do too much punishing training - we want to make sure we do not leave their legs on the training ground and that we are fresh and ready for every game that comes along."