The reason he played so much last season, was that for some bizarre reason Holgate got dropped, despite being our best defender.
He's one of the main reasons why the manager felt it was necessary to go out and get two centre halves in.
I agree that minutes were cheap to come by as a CB last season and doesn't necessarily mean he is a quality player.He has to improve this season. As for getting two replacement players, I fear that has more to do with Holgate being out for a good while.