- Jan 26, 2005
- 3,785
- 9,630
Tom Huddlestone – Is he the brightest talent in English football? or without pace and agility will he struggle in the modern game?
Tom Huddlestone has shown the best and worst of his talents in a short spell in the first team, he has controlled games with power and great passing with even more effectiveness than Carrick.
I watched him against Manchester City and saw a player that I thought could be the best midfielder in the Premiership, however since then I have been disappointed slightly, but what can you expect of a 20 year old central midfielder. What has occurred to me is that the City midfield was, via Joey Barton, pathetic and more importantly slow and did not close Spurs down so Huddlestone had time and space to show his true game, since then he has looked rushed, less effective and more importantly slow.
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It seems that a lack of pace is allowed if you are a defensive midfielder as being mobile is not the most important attribute for that position. They sit there and spray balls around the park like Carrick or Xavi and have great positional sense defensively. However these players have good agility and balance, which is an area where Huddlestone seems slightly lacking.
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I have no doubt that Huddlestone will be a quality player and his footballing wisdom will grow him into a Spurs great but can he ever be a world beater without pace and perhaps more importantly agility. I here you scream out a list of players who have made it in the premiership despite being slow Carrick and Sheringham spring to mind straight away, but those players are famed for their reading of the game and only time will tell if Tom develops in this area.<o></o>
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Arsenal are rumoured to have a policy where Wenger will only sign players who are essentially athletes over short distances. Apparently he refused Carrick and even Robinson for these reasons. He has based his team around players who are young and fast because he thinks that in modern football you ‘generally’ have to be pacy. For all the insults about his nationality, attitude to losing, and his transfer policy you cannot argue that there is not a chink in his logic.
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Are scouts looking at pace first and talent second? There is a prime example at <st1:city><st1lace>Chelsea</st1lace></st1:city> in my opinion where you have <st1lace><st1lacename>Wayne</st1lacename> <st1lacename>Bridge</st1lacename></st1lace> and Ashley Cole. <st1lace><st1lacename>Wayne</st1lacename> <st1lacename>Bridge</st1lacename></st1lace> you could argue is technically a better footballer than Ashley Cole, however Ashley Cole is very fast and that seems to be what cuts it in the modern game.
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In the end Tom is still young and has the promise to become a great player despite his lack of pace, but are the slower players like Huddlestone a dying breed in the Premiership? Huddlestone will make it due to his superb technical ability, but slow players in general will in my opinion eventually become a thing of the past.
Tom Huddlestone has shown the best and worst of his talents in a short spell in the first team, he has controlled games with power and great passing with even more effectiveness than Carrick.
I watched him against Manchester City and saw a player that I thought could be the best midfielder in the Premiership, however since then I have been disappointed slightly, but what can you expect of a 20 year old central midfielder. What has occurred to me is that the City midfield was, via Joey Barton, pathetic and more importantly slow and did not close Spurs down so Huddlestone had time and space to show his true game, since then he has looked rushed, less effective and more importantly slow.
<o></o>
It seems that a lack of pace is allowed if you are a defensive midfielder as being mobile is not the most important attribute for that position. They sit there and spray balls around the park like Carrick or Xavi and have great positional sense defensively. However these players have good agility and balance, which is an area where Huddlestone seems slightly lacking.
<o></o>
I have no doubt that Huddlestone will be a quality player and his footballing wisdom will grow him into a Spurs great but can he ever be a world beater without pace and perhaps more importantly agility. I here you scream out a list of players who have made it in the premiership despite being slow Carrick and Sheringham spring to mind straight away, but those players are famed for their reading of the game and only time will tell if Tom develops in this area.<o></o>
<o></o>
Arsenal are rumoured to have a policy where Wenger will only sign players who are essentially athletes over short distances. Apparently he refused Carrick and even Robinson for these reasons. He has based his team around players who are young and fast because he thinks that in modern football you ‘generally’ have to be pacy. For all the insults about his nationality, attitude to losing, and his transfer policy you cannot argue that there is not a chink in his logic.
<o></o>
Are scouts looking at pace first and talent second? There is a prime example at <st1:city><st1lace>Chelsea</st1lace></st1:city> in my opinion where you have <st1lace><st1lacename>Wayne</st1lacename> <st1lacename>Bridge</st1lacename></st1lace> and Ashley Cole. <st1lace><st1lacename>Wayne</st1lacename> <st1lacename>Bridge</st1lacename></st1lace> you could argue is technically a better footballer than Ashley Cole, however Ashley Cole is very fast and that seems to be what cuts it in the modern game.
<o></o>
In the end Tom is still young and has the promise to become a great player despite his lack of pace, but are the slower players like Huddlestone a dying breed in the Premiership? Huddlestone will make it due to his superb technical ability, but slow players in general will in my opinion eventually become a thing of the past.