Huddlestone

[Rossi22]

Sorry but that midfield would never work. THose 3 CMs might contribute about 10 goals between them over the course of a season. Modric is a poor finisher, Thudd gets great goals but only 2 or 3 per years and Sandro is a defensive CM. Add to that Lennon gets 5-8 goals top per season....there's far too few goals in that team

To play 3 CMs you need one of them to be like Scholes, Lampard or Tim Cahill ie someone who will get you say 12- 15 goals a yea ron their own

It works if you have Van Persie upfront.

 

[parklane1]

I think Huddlestone would have been great for today in our midfield.I would have played him instead of Sandro because IMO it looked like we didn't really need a second pure DM since we already had Parker.Huddlestone would have provided a bit more attacking threat and that might just have been enough to maybe win us the game.

Hudd would not have got a kick today, he needs space and time on the ball otherwise he is a passenger. In a crowded MF like todays game the Chelsea players would have been all over him like a rash.

 

[punk_is_back`]

Yeah, lets have Henry in midfield, steven fletcher up front.

Yeah lets have Parker in midfield Saha up front.

Henry is a clogger yes, but aren't we using one in CM to do the very same job he does. Fletcher is a quality player too, he was brilliant in the game against us and has an amazing touch.

 

[yiddo2786]

Of course every team needs defenders, there are a lot more players who can do parkers job to at least the same standard he does. Sandro and Livermore have proven they can step in and do the same and we don't miss him. However take out any of Bale, Modric, Rafa, Lennon and you can see how affected our team is.

In fact not withstanding that we have 2 players who can do what Parker does, from the prem we probably can find the players in lesser teams that we can buy if needs be who can play it simple, hold position in front of midfield and put in a tackle:

Cattermole
Tiote
Henry
Diame
Sidwell
Palacios
Fellaini
and the list goes on, not even mentioning players from abroad.

If we sold any of Bale, Rafa, VDV who would we possibly buy to replace them?

And I wonder why Busquets, Khedeira, Mikel, Song, Fletcher, Barry etc regularly start for their top teams?

 

[braineclipse]

Of course every team needs defenders, there are a lot more players who can do parkers job to at least the same standard he does. Sandro and Livermore have proven they can step in and do the same and we don't miss him. However take out any of Bale, Modric, Rafa, Lennon and you can see how affected our team is.

In fact not withstanding that we have 2 players who can do what Parker does, from the prem we probably can find the players in lesser teams that we can buy if needs be who can play it simple, hold position in front of midfield and put in a tackle:

Cattermole
Tiote
Henry
Diame
Sidwell
Palacios
Fellaini
and the list goes on, not even mentioning players from abroad.

If we sold any of Bale, Rafa, VDV who would we possibly buy to replace them?

Saying that Sandro and Livermore have proven they can step in and do the same without us missing him is just wrong. Livermore has never put in the kind of performance Parker has at his best, and Sandro although very good at times seems a lot more inconsistent than Parker.

Secondly, some of the players you list aren't as good as Parker. Palacios? Come on! Defensively maybe as good. Maybe, but the amount of stray passes was shocking and made him a liability. Don't think Henry or Sidwell are as good as him either. Diame, Tiote and Fellaini are good though

However, what none of those players offer (in my opinion), is the leadership that Parker gives us. That is one of his stand out qualities, one you continuously ignore and a quality that is very difficult to find in football.

 

[punk_is_back`]

Saying that Sandro and Livermore have proven they can step in and do the same without us missing him is just wrong. Livermore has never put in the kind of performance Parker has at his best, and Sandro although very good at times seems a lot more inconsistent than Parker.

Secondly, some of the players you list aren't as good as Parker. Palacios? Come on! Defensively maybe as good. Maybe, but the amount of stray passes was shocking and made him a liability. Don't think Henry or Sidwell are as good as him either. Diame, Tiote and Fellaini are good though

However, what none of those players offer (in my opinion), is the leadership that Parker gives us. That is one of his stand out qualities, one you continuously ignore and a quality that is very difficult to find in football.

I don't ignore his leadership, i've always said that he'd be my first name on the england teamsheet as we need to win 6 cup finals. But in a 38 game league players form dip and I believe that we have good enough players to cope in his absence. Bare in mind that if we seek leadership and inspiration it should come from the management not from other players. Sandro had several very good games last year and him and livermore have also played well in Parker's absence, most notably against Manchester United at home where we were very unlucky.

However as I've said before, Bale, Rafa, Modric are indispensable as players, they are the players that are match winners and I cannot think of what we'd do should we need to replace them. Yes if we lose Parker we lose out on his "leadership" skills but i'd rather lose that than lose any of those three players. Its ridiculous to think that any one other than the staunchest Parker fanboy would rather Parker in their team than any of those three. A lot of people have come out and criticised him recently for stuff that he has been doing all season, but only because we are losing. To be he is a lot less valuable than the 3 matchwinners in our squad and certainly less irreplaceable.

 

[punk_is_back`]

And I wonder why Busquets, Khedeira, Mikel, Song, Fletcher, Barry etc regularly start for their top teams?

I wonder why Messi, Xavi and Sneijder regularly start for their top teams?


OF COURSE you need a DM, im not saying you don't. But what i'm saying there a lot more around then players of Bale, VDV or Modrics quality. Name me some players we realistically can buy if bale leaves, rafa leaves, or modric leaves who can do the same job they do.

 

[braineclipse]

I don't ignore his leadership, i've always said that he'd be my first name on the england teamsheet as we need to win 6 cup finals. But in a 38 game league players form dip and I believe that we have good enough players to cope in his absence. Bare in mind that if we seek leadership and inspiration it should come from the management not from other players. Sandro had several very good games last year and him and livermore have also played well in Parker's absence, most notably against Manchester United at home where we were very unlucky.

However as I've said before, Bale, Rafa, Modric are indispensable as players, they are the players that are match winners and I cannot think of what we'd do should we need to replace them. Yes if we lose Parker we lose out on his "leadership" skills but i'd rather lose that than lose any of those three players. Its ridiculous to think that any one other than the staunchest Parker fanboy would rather Parker in their team than any of those three. A lot of people have come out and criticised him recently for stuff that he has been doing all season, but only because we are losing. To be he is a lot less valuable than the 3 matchwinners in our squad and certainly less irreplaceable.

Leadership is just as important over a 38 game league season as it is over a cup tournament. Recent seasons we consistently underperformed against "smaller teams", a bit of leadership was sorely missed. Even the best managers in the world regularly look to bring in and keep players with leadership qualities, I don't see how it can be replaced by management qualities alone.

I agree that he's not as good, or important as Modric or Bale and to some extent VdV. But that's not what you're arguing, you're arguing that he's no better than Livermore, Karl Henry or Steve Sidwell! There is a rather large gap in quality between Luka Modric and Steve Sidwell...

 

[punk_is_back`]

Leadership is just as important over a 38 game league season as it is over a cup tournament. Recent seasons we consistently underperformed against "smaller teams", a bit of leadership was sorely missed. Even the best managers in the world regularly look to bring in and keep players with leadership qualities, I don't see how it can be replaced by management qualities alone.

I agree that he's not as good, or important as Modric or Bale and to some extent VdV. But that's not what you're arguing, you're arguing that he's no better than Livermore, Karl Henry or Steve Sidwell! There is a rather large gap in quality between Luka Modric and Steve Sidwell...

If you look at my earlier post you can see that I was responding to someone else's pos who said that Parker was the first name on the teamsheet by saying that the other 3 were more importmant. Of course that is what i'm arguing, i'm not saying he's better or worse than the other players, that wasn't the point I was making, but that they can do the same limited job he does for us by keeping it simple, holding your position in front of defence and making sure the ball gets to your creative players.

 

[braineclipse]

If you look at my earlier post you can see that I was responding to someone else's pos who said that Parker was the first name on the teamsheet by saying that the other 3 were more importmant. Of course that is what i'm arguing, i'm not saying he's better or worse than the other players, that wasn't the point I was making, but that they can do the same limited job he does for us by keeping it simple, holding your position in front of defence and making sure the ball gets to your creative players.

"there are a lot more players who can do parkers job to at least the same standard he does. Sandro and Livermore have proven they can step in and do the same and we don't miss him."

"In fact not withstanding that we have 2 players who can do what Parker does..."

This is not an argument that the players your listed as well as Sandro and Livermore can do what Parker does at least at his level?

 

[punk_is_back`]

"there are a lot more players who can do parkers job to at least the same standard he does. Sandro and Livermore have proven they can step in and do the same and we don't miss him."

"In fact not withstanding that we have 2 players who can do what Parker does..."

This is not an argument that the players your listed as well as Sandro and Livermore can do what Parker does at least at his level?

The defensive side of things yes, not the whole leadership thing. But as I said my argument was against Charlietheyid who claimed that he is the first name on the teamsheet. Who would you say is the first name on the teamsheet or our most irreplaceable player?

 

[Rossi22]

I think Parker along with our centre backs(when all are fit) are the most replaceable of the current 11.

 

[braineclipse]

The defensive side of things yes, not the whole leadership thing. But as I said my argument was against Charlietheyid who claimed that he is the first name on the teamsheet. Who would you say is the first name on the teamsheet or our most irreplaceable player?

Modric. For me that's not even close. Followed by Bale, behind Modric since he still runs very hot and cold. Then it gets closer between VdV and Ade.

About Parker though, surely leadership and other similar aspects such as experience (more likely to be consistent, deal with different situations) are part of the overall value of a player to a team? And part of what makes Parker stand out?

 

[punk_is_back`]

Modric. For me that's not even close. Followed by Bale, behind Modric since he still runs very hot and cold. Then it gets closer between VdV and Ade.

About Parker though, surely leadership and other similar aspects such as experience (more likely to be consistent, deal with different situations) are part of the overall value of a player to a team? And part of what makes Parker stand out?

Parker has been ever present throughout or bad run recently; I failed to see his leadership get us out of that. Its a team game and we need the whole team to perform well to increase the chances of us winning, but we only have a few genuine match winners in the squad. Im not going to blame him for our bad run, but i'm not going to solely credit him when the team plays well.

 

[braineclipse]

Parker has been ever present throughout or bad run recently; I failed to see his leadership get us out of that. Its a team game and we need the whole team to perform well to increase the chances of us winning, but we only have a few genuine match winners in the squad. Im not going to blame him for our bad run, but i'm not going to solely credit him when the team plays well.

Are you now arguing that he doesn't have valuable leadership qualities that helps our team?

Someone could just as well say that Modric has been ever present throughout our bad run recently, but his playmaking hasn't gotten us out of that. Would be equally irrelevant.

 

[charlietheyid]

Parker is a leader, he is always at the right place at the right time breaking the oppositions attacks. Superb player. Key to our good season.

 

[liquid_football]

When Parker saves his energy for his defensive duties and last ditch tackles/interceptions/blocks to help defenders instead of forward runs,he is a brilliant player to have.
Yesterday was a perfect example of what he should do and what areas he should occupy.
Sandro is definately the more spectacular player with his tackles,but Parker is still the far superior player.

 

[punk_is_back`]

Are you now arguing that he doesn't have valuable leadership qualities that helps our team?

Someone could just as well say that Modric has been ever present throughout our bad run recently, but his playmaking hasn't gotten us out of that. Would be equally irrelevant.

I'm saying that regardless of leadership qualities you still need the other 10 players to contribute too. No point in having a leader on the field if the players fail to show some gonads. Im not turning this into a Parker v Modric debate, both have been equally bad recently and both have stepped it up against chelsea. But we can see that they haven't played well together in a 4-4-2 in 2012 so something had to change and the introduction of Sandro helped both. However it is plain to see that Parker cannot handle the defensive responsibilities by himself as evident against Arsenals midfield waltzing right through us, muamba ran right past parker as well in the bolton game, and his mistiming of challenges in the stoke game.

In reponse to Charlie, parker's 2012 have been terrible other than against 'pool and against Chelsea. He played well against chelsea as he had Sandro pressing ahead of him helping to make up the bodies in midfield. Take that away and there is no way he would have had the performance he had.

 

[charlietheyid]

As you're saying, hes best he just sits in front of the back 4.

It was pretty easy to see that the team wasnt well organized in recent games because he was all over the place.

The best i have seen him play is probably for England against Spain 4months ago. He was magnificent, blocking everything.

 

[punk_is_back`]

As you're saying, hes best he just sits in front of the back 4.

It was pretty easy to see that the team wasnt well organized in recent games because he was all over the place.

The best i have seen him play is probably for England against Spain 4months ago. He was magnificent, blocking everything.

That is one thing I would like him to do more, just hold his position, or fill in for the full backs when they are attacking as that is the space the AM will look to exploit. Let the other players press high up and all he needs to do is sweep up mistakes. Then again if we had a deep plying playmaker in that position to sweep up we could launch counters that would be ever so effective...