- Jun 8, 2003
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- #1
Having already looked at our defence and concluded that things should be quite straightforward, it’s time to look at the midfield.
Unfortunately, the midfield is a lot more complicated so to simplify it I’ll start off by doing what Arry’s failed to do so far, ship out the deadwood. Bentley and Jenas are gone. To whom and more importantly to Levy, for how much, is an issue that needs to be addressed soon as it’s dragged on for far too long.
The next difficulty with the midfield is that we are on the verge of signing Diarra but it’s not yet completed. For the purposes of this article I’m going to assume that he won't sign but if he does, Palacios is also sold.
Finally, I believe that a 5-man midfield is the way we’ll play and with that taken into consideration, the selection of the midfield is not that difficult
Modric and Sandro are a great pairing in the centre and if we manage to keep both I’m confident that over the next few seasons they could truly develop into a world-class partnership. Bale and Lennon for the flanks is the obvious choice and the one I think Arry will go with but I’ll go on record here saying that I don’t think Lennon’s progressed anywhere near as much as he should have. Whether that’s down to our awful strikers or his own fault I‘m not sure and I feel that’s the only reason we haven’t shipped him out yet. If we get a decent target man in the box and Lennon still fails to fulfil his potential then I’m afraid that should be the end of him. Having said that, for now he’s what we have and makes the team.
That just leaves Van der Vaart to play in the advanced floating role. If he was more comfortable on the right, I’d immediately play him there over Lennon but I feel he’s more comfortable in the centre where he can link play more effectively.
With the first choice picked, it’s maybe worth making a few comments on the remaining players. I’m a big Kranjcar fan. I would absolutely love it if we could find a permanent role for him in the team and feel that the way that Arry’s treated him has been criminal. When you look at most of our teams over the last 10 years, Kranjcar would have been our star player, on a par in terms of ability with Ginola or Teddy. If he was a bit stronger and a bit faster I’d even consider playing him up front (I almost suggested playing Bale up front given the truly awful form of our so-called strikers). His ability to play right across the middle could have Kranjcar acting as cover for VDV, Modric, Bale or Lennon but he deserves first team football and we just can’t offer him that. If we could loan Kranjcar out to give him the chance he wants then that would suit everybody involved...
In complete contrast, Steven Pienaar. He’s done absolutely nothing to impress since his arrival from Everton and if we could I’d happily add him to the deadwood category and ship him out, favouring the likes of Livermore or Townsend if it comes to it. Unfortunately Arry seems to see something we don’t and I expect him to continue to act as the versatile midfield substitute, rather than Kranjcar who we should have in that role.
Having gone from the sublime in Kranjcar to the ridiculous in Pienaar, we’re left somewhere in between with Huddlestone. His great technical ability and vision compensate for a frightening lack of pace and positional sense. With 3 or 4 better players in front of him, I can only see Tom playing a bit-part this season, even more so if we complete the signing of Diarra. Personally I’d sell him while his stock is relatively high and while clubs like Liverpool appear to have money to burn and are willing to pay highly for the English premium.
Again, with no major signings made we're much the same as last season with:
Whilst an extremely talented line-up, personally I'd rather see this which I feel would fair much better against the more physical teams that we failed to press effectively last season:
Unfortunately for now, we have what we and until it changes this is what I'd do with it:
Aaron Lennon
Gareth Bale
Rafael Van der Vaart
Sandro
Luka Modric
Niko Kranjcar
Tom Huddlestone (sold for the right money)
Steven Pienaar (sold if we promote some of the young players)
Jake Livermore
Andros Townsend
David Bentley
Jermaine Jenas
Wilson Palacios
(first choice, sub/Euro games, loaned out/given chances in Europe, surplus to requirements)
Unfortunately, the midfield is a lot more complicated so to simplify it I’ll start off by doing what Arry’s failed to do so far, ship out the deadwood. Bentley and Jenas are gone. To whom and more importantly to Levy, for how much, is an issue that needs to be addressed soon as it’s dragged on for far too long.
The next difficulty with the midfield is that we are on the verge of signing Diarra but it’s not yet completed. For the purposes of this article I’m going to assume that he won't sign but if he does, Palacios is also sold.
Finally, I believe that a 5-man midfield is the way we’ll play and with that taken into consideration, the selection of the midfield is not that difficult
Modric and Sandro are a great pairing in the centre and if we manage to keep both I’m confident that over the next few seasons they could truly develop into a world-class partnership. Bale and Lennon for the flanks is the obvious choice and the one I think Arry will go with but I’ll go on record here saying that I don’t think Lennon’s progressed anywhere near as much as he should have. Whether that’s down to our awful strikers or his own fault I‘m not sure and I feel that’s the only reason we haven’t shipped him out yet. If we get a decent target man in the box and Lennon still fails to fulfil his potential then I’m afraid that should be the end of him. Having said that, for now he’s what we have and makes the team.
That just leaves Van der Vaart to play in the advanced floating role. If he was more comfortable on the right, I’d immediately play him there over Lennon but I feel he’s more comfortable in the centre where he can link play more effectively.
With the first choice picked, it’s maybe worth making a few comments on the remaining players. I’m a big Kranjcar fan. I would absolutely love it if we could find a permanent role for him in the team and feel that the way that Arry’s treated him has been criminal. When you look at most of our teams over the last 10 years, Kranjcar would have been our star player, on a par in terms of ability with Ginola or Teddy. If he was a bit stronger and a bit faster I’d even consider playing him up front (I almost suggested playing Bale up front given the truly awful form of our so-called strikers). His ability to play right across the middle could have Kranjcar acting as cover for VDV, Modric, Bale or Lennon but he deserves first team football and we just can’t offer him that. If we could loan Kranjcar out to give him the chance he wants then that would suit everybody involved...
In complete contrast, Steven Pienaar. He’s done absolutely nothing to impress since his arrival from Everton and if we could I’d happily add him to the deadwood category and ship him out, favouring the likes of Livermore or Townsend if it comes to it. Unfortunately Arry seems to see something we don’t and I expect him to continue to act as the versatile midfield substitute, rather than Kranjcar who we should have in that role.
Having gone from the sublime in Kranjcar to the ridiculous in Pienaar, we’re left somewhere in between with Huddlestone. His great technical ability and vision compensate for a frightening lack of pace and positional sense. With 3 or 4 better players in front of him, I can only see Tom playing a bit-part this season, even more so if we complete the signing of Diarra. Personally I’d sell him while his stock is relatively high and while clubs like Liverpool appear to have money to burn and are willing to pay highly for the English premium.
Again, with no major signings made we're much the same as last season with:
Code:
VDV
Bale Modric Sandro Lennon
Code:
Bale VDV
Modric Diarra Sandro
Unfortunately for now, we have what we and until it changes this is what I'd do with it:
Aaron Lennon
Gareth Bale
Rafael Van der Vaart
Sandro
Luka Modric
Niko Kranjcar
Tom Huddlestone (sold for the right money)
Steven Pienaar (sold if we promote some of the young players)
Jake Livermore
Andros Townsend
David Bentley
Jermaine Jenas
Wilson Palacios
(first choice, sub/Euro games, loaned out/given chances in Europe, surplus to requirements)