Huddle

[yanno]

I'm on the side of those who think that Ramos may have found a brand new position for the Hud, which is as the creative half of our CM alongside an out-and-out DM.

Big Tom does strike the ball fantastically cleanly - the goal against Chavski was perfectly hit. He has fantastic composure, and his ability to read the movement of our front players is very good.

Given "Ramos football" requires the CMs to use the ball simply and quickly whilst remaining disciplined, and does not necessarily need CMs to make box-to-box runs, Huddlestone may be the playmaker we've been crying out for. I certainly think Ramos is going to continue to experiment with him in this position.

This will particularly help a striker like Darren Bent who will thrive if we have a midfield player with the vision to spot his runs early, and the technique to deliver a perfectly weighted through ball. Danny Murphy got shedloads of assists putting Bent through for Charlton, and Hud has a shedload more vision and ability than Murphy...

 

[yanno]

I just wish his movement off of the ball was better.

Meaning?

 

[clarryboy]

I said it before and I'll say it again. He looks faster in short sleeves and should never go back to long sleeves, not even in winter.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I'm sorry fellas but I really think your building yourselves up for some disapointment if you think Ramos has decided Huddlestone is to be the new Riquelme. These threads often seem to burst up whenever Huddlestone has a half decent game. The so so dozen he has in between seem to get forgotten. Yesterday was an ideal game for Huddlestone. Porstmouth showed no attacking ambition whatsoever. He did well enough yesterday but it wasn't much of a test. The two balls he played that lead indirectly to goals were not that great in all honesty. One was a poor ball over hit to Chimbonda the other was only turned into a pass by the speed of Bent and lack of by heriederson. And ManU aren't the worst opponent in the world either as their style of play is more open and creative heavy, and that does allow teams to play if they are good enough.

Against tough sides that move the ball quickly the game often passes Huddlestone by. he also often hits a pass and stands there admiring it instead of constantly moving and demanding the ball ( a la Hoddle). And for me there is no comparison with riquelme either as he, like Hoddle, could absoloutely control games against the best.
Huddlestone is a long way from that.

He has a good passing range, but at the moment I could only ever see him truly being effective in a midfiel 5. The good news for him is that just about every other club in the premiership seem to play that way so if things don't work out at spurs he shouldn't have much problem getting a game (and making a good contribution).

Just don't think we'll ever truly get the benefit of him unless we change to a midfield 5. And I personally would rather sacrifice the odd nice long pass once every 5 or 6 games for a more dynamic CM of a higher calibre, albeit with a smaller range of passing.

 

[wojch]

Ok, let's start my speech then.

"Hudd is only good against weaker sides"... Chelsea (19.03) and Arsenal (22.01) are not weaker sides, now are they?

Hudd's set pieces are superb (against Arsenal when he came on and did the free kick or his corner against Chelsea). What about his free kicks against West Ham (09.03) when he created two out of four goals.

Hudd Creator. During second half against Chelsea we scored three goals. Of course it may be just a coincidence, but it was when Huddlestone was playing (gave MOTM that day). Same yesterday - great vision of the whole pitch. And those are just recent performances (from the top of my head if you want).

He's got to play first team now more often alongside JJ or Tainio and Spurs WILL go marching on...

Unfortunatelly I can't really say anything about England team but I hope he will make and play his 100 percent!


Good thread 900triumph! COYS.

 

[sim0n]

Simple as Hudd starts and Jenas is in the squad... Tom has good vision, passing, and makes much better decisions with the ball than Jenas. Seemingly an easy choice, but Jenas gets more playing time :shrug:

 

[chileanspursfan]

You are right in some respects GL, I did get a bit carried away there, especially when you quote it in letters ten feet high!

However I genuinely think that Hudd could be a great player and think that England teams have failed internationally through an over reliance on the Lampard/Gerrard type midfielder as opposed to a mix including players with more flair and less reliance on graft and athleticism.

Top level games in European and International competitions often need that spark of creativity and imagination to break down defences. Gerrard and Cole have it, Lampard and Hargreaves do not - but you do need to "accomodate" a player like Huddlestone or Carrick. I wish I'd used that phrase rather than "build a team around" in retrospect.

I agree Gerrard is a top notch player, but a comparison is indirect. I'm sure Gerrard could play Hudd style better than Hudd could mimic Gerrard, but that doesn't mean he's better than Hudd at what Hudd does best. Gerrard is a completely different type of player. I'd love to see them play in the same team! (so long as it's England or Spurs!).

Anyway let's hope Huddlestone achieves my wildly optimistic expectations and becomes Englands answer to Zidane without the headbutting - it'll be great for Spurs and England if he does!

Come on, totally different kind of player...

As for Pompey's match, he was great and a fulcrum indeed, but only because Zokora did all the dirty work impeccably and allowed him to do his job without worrying.

 

[Blue_Mauvey]

Personally...I think he's a bit too white.

 

[si_yidarmy]

when carrick first joined us and was playing, people slated him... i said he would be amazing for us...

I said the same for Hudd, in my opinion i wld have huddlestone over carrick

Huddlestone is the new Hoddles

 

[General Levy]

Meaning?

I wished his movement off the ball was better. Driving the game and moving into space more often.

 

[Blotto]

Good thread but i dont think u can teach the above. Like trying to 'give' someone pace. Either quick or ya not :shrug:

Through training you can get quicker and faster, you may not turn a 300-pounder into a world-class sprinter, but you can improve...Hudds' weight loss helps a lot too...

Hudds has had a good season and I think the future looks bright for him.

 

[Vegas]

The lad's done triffic considering he was one of the first players to be dropped when Ramos took over.

 

[stevenqoz]

Huddlestone, like Hoddle, has little problem receiving and keeping the ball. The point is that he has great awarenes of time and space. His ball control and passing ability have few peers in the EPL. Failure to move off the 'ball' is not a problem for Huddlestone.........he receives and keeps it no problem. I feel that another preseason with Ramos will bring him on even more. He will never be a 'runner' like Jenas or Zokore but our side will accomodate him through Ramos getting the right structure. Hoddle, Brooking, Zidane, Metgod all had significant careers without being known sprinters. Let the water carriers worry about that stuff the skilled ones are there to pull the strings.

 

[Bulletspur]

for me that is the key. against the lesser teams that we will dominate in terms of possession, hudd will be awesome, but i cant help feel that his mobility issues and pace will leave him and us struggling against the top teams. maybe its something he will be able to change as he progresses but i'm not sure. theres no doubt he's a class act, but i dont know if he will ultimately be good enough. it depends who plays alongside him as well

Exactly! No one more than me want to see Huddlestone be the fulcrum of our midlfield but he will not be I am afraid.

Yes he had a good, game but dont fool yourself, Pompey were poor and played with six 1st teamers missing, and trust me, had Diarra being playing he would not have a had a sniff.

900triumph you may need to put down the hero worshipping and see thing more realistically.

Play Huddlestone in a match with a midfield that is weak or give him space and he will have the time to turn look pass and / or shoot. But if he is properly marshalled as he usually is, he is useless. Remember against Prague, when all their counter attacks started because his opposing midfielder had him in his back pocket by simply not giving him time to play? Reason, he is very slow and immobile and telegraphs any challenges he makes.

 

[General Levy]

The HUDD played well against Arsenal at their ground earlier in the season and against Chelsea both in the Cup final and at the lane last week...

 

[Kyras]

All the doubters, give him time, he's just turned 21!

Carrick was shit at 21, and Hudd is getting better with every game.

To add to this, he has become more mobile, and more aggressive. All the people saying that he only did well because Zoko did the dirty work, well that's kinda the point of Zokora, would you rather they shared the creative responsibilty and the defensive responsibility?

Midfield partnerships dont work like that, Real had Makalele, and didn't win a title for 5 years after he left, Zokora can be our lesser version of Makalele, it's got potential to be an awesome partnership if given time and games.

btw, as an aside, does anyone think that O'Hara has the ability to be converted into a tenacious, Makalele type DM?

 

[General Levy]

All the doubters, give him time, he's just turned 21!

Carrick was shit at 21, and Hudd is getting better with every game.

To add to this, he has become more mobile, and more aggressive. All the people saying that he only did well because Zoko did the dirty work, well that's kinda the point of Zokora, would you rather they shared the creative responsibilty and the defensive responsibility?

Midfield partnerships dont work like that, Real had Makalele, and didn't win a title for 5 years after he left, Zokora can be our lesser version of Makalele, it's got potential to be an awesome partnership if given time and games.

btw, as an aside, does anyone think that O'Hara has the ability to be converted into a tenacious, Makalele type DM?

No.

 

[Bulletspur]

The HUDD played well against Arsenal at their ground earlier in the season and against Chelsea both in the Cup final and at the lane last week...

Of course and against Pompey on Saturday and other games during the season, but this still doesnt make him bees knees for the reasons already given.

Back in the days another young English one for the future Jason Dozzell use to have the occasional match wining performance...............:shrug:

Not saying for once that the Hud will turn to be a disappointment like Dozzell by not realising his true potential, but he has a long way to go be in the class that the thread starter has put him.

 

[Bulletspur]

All the doubters, give him time, he's just turned 21!

What has age got to do with? At 21 he is a big assed man so stop pampering him. Ronaldo, Rooney, Lennon, Walcott, Bale and lmore who play in the EPL were already playing for their country when they were teenagers so the point about his age is a bit redundant, dont you think?

And its not doubting his potential, its about being realistic about his abilities and perfomances without putting him on that pedestial.

 

[yanno]

I wished his movement off the ball was better. Driving the game and moving into space more often.

GL - as stevengoz writes, the Hud will never be a box-to-box runner. And he doesn't need to be to play CM in a Ramos team.

What Big Tom does do is show for the ball in tight situations, and then look to use it creatively. Pass and make himself available to receive the ball. If we have the likes of Hutton and Bale bombing forwards from FB next season, the job of the CMs will be to stop the opposition playing, and then to use the ball quickly and simply when we have possession. Huddlestone is well suited to this, and I'm sure Ramos will be encouraging him to pass the ball as quickly as possible.

B-C: the Hud played a couple of lovely early fizzed balls along the ground to our strikers, enabling them to catch the Pompey defence off balance. The role I'm envisaging for the Hud is not the out-and-out ACM role of a genius like Riquelme. It's a more conventional CM role. But if he's playing alongside Zokora, it makes sense that Huddlestone gets the lion's share of possession, because he's a much better creative user of the ball, with a vastly better range of passing. Indeed, he's a better user of the ball than JJ too.