Huddlestone

[diego_maradona]

It was actually the best thing I have ever seen him do, but who knows what element of luck was involved, because he has never done anything like it before and will probably not do anything like it again.

I do wish , fans would not yell out shoot when he has the ball, he has an extremely poor shooting record, so it makes little sense asking him to shoot.

[video=youtube;2dcGMApCOAo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dcGMApCOAo[/video]

 

[joey55]

It was actually the best thing I have ever seen him do, but who knows what element of luck was involved, because he has never done anything like it before and will probably not do anything like it again.

I do wish , fans would not yell out shoot when he has the ball, he has an extremely poor shooting record, so it makes little sense asking him to shoot.

I'd love to see a comparison of his shots from distance with other players in the Prem. This idea that he is poor at shooting is just so poorly thought out. Just because he rarely scores doesn't mean he has a poor shot. He's not shooting from inside the box. Adebayor has a poor shot. Huddlestone has a great shot. Yet look at that goals to shots percentages. Adebayors is much higher. The reason for that should be massively obvious.

I could understand you wanting him to shoot less if he constantly did it when there were better options on. But this is rarely the case. He usually shoots when it's been laid off to him on the edge of the box or when the ball comes out to him from a cleared set piece or similar. Look at the video above and rather than look at the quality of the shot, consider how often it was the right option. I'd say a vast majority of the time, which is rare for any of our players. When the ball falls to a player who can strike the ball well and there is little time to think, it's normal to have a shot. Huddlestone is very good at positioning himself to get on to second phase ball and great at striking it. When the opportunities come he should shoot.

Basically he's neither wasteful or has a poor shot, yet these are some of the ill thought our accusations I see thrown at him from our fans.

 

[metalgear]

hudds a class act with some nifty skills, but his lack of mobility makes him less useful in the modern game.
especially so in a fast paced pressing game game that we play, i don't think we'll see him achieve his full potential while with us.
but his touches and passes - real eye candy - perhaps a luxury we can afford if we have the right players around him e.g. siggy + sandro with great engines, and options like bale and lennon on the wings/cutting in.

not an easy one, but i anticipate that any decent manager will try to target tom as the weak link in our midfield. maybe AVB can find another way, but I distinctively remember a slimline version of hudd that seemed to move more easily... or is it the hair?

 

[braineclipse]

I'd love to see a comparison of his shots from distance with other players in the Prem. This idea that he is poor at shooting is just so poorly thought out. Just because he rarely scores doesn't mean he has a poor shot. He's not shooting from inside the box. Adebayor has a poor shot. Huddlestone has a great shot. Yet look at that goals to shots percentages. Adebayors is much higher. The reason for that should be massively obvious.

I could understand you wanting him to shoot less if he constantly did it when there were better options on. But this is rarely the case. He usually shoots when it's been laid off to him on the edge of the box or when the ball comes out to him from a cleared set piece or similar. Look at the video above and rather than look at the quality of the shot, consider how often it was the right option. I'd say a vast majority of the time, which is rare for any of our players. When the ball falls to a player who can strike the ball well and there is little time to think, it's normal to have a shot. Huddlestone is very good at positioning himself to get on to second phase ball and great at striking it. When the opportunities come he should shoot.

Basically he's neither wasteful or has a poor shot, yet these are some of the ill thought our accusations I see thrown at him from our fans.

Excellent post.

 

[Jordinho]

From shooting record I gather it's about the number of shots that either hits goal or creates a chance as opposed to those that hit the first man or goes well wide. Without some numbers (there are very few compilations of misses), all we have is our own impressions, right or wrong. And just because someone can strike it with a lot of power doesn't necessarily mean they're a good shooter, though it helps in cases of deflections or preventing the keeper from claiming it.

 

[braineclipse]

From shooting record I gather it's about the number of shots that either hits goal or creates a chance as opposed to those that hit the first man or goes well wide. Without some numbers (there are very few compilations of misses), all we have is our own impressions, right or wrong. And just because someone can strike it with a lot of power doesn't necessarily mean they're a good shooter, though it helps in cases of deflections or preventing the keeper from claiming it.

I think it's partly about unrealistic expectations. People see cracking long range efforts going in left right and centre on highlihts and goal shows on tv, yet we get to see all the misses and failed attempts for Spurs.

Very few people would argue that Ronaldo isn't a good shooter, yet you see him in game after game take several shots that don't work out. Last night he ended up scoring in the end (he often does), but when he did it was from inside the box. Hudd obviously isn't as good as Ronaldo, just to be clear, but he very rarely gets chances to shoot inside the box and so looking only at conversion rate (not taking into account where the shots are from or in what situations they are taken) or number of goals (not even taking into account the number of shots taken) is just not going to give any kind of trustworthy result.

I disagree that he isn't good at directing his shots if that's what you're implying, it certainly seems to be what other people are implying.

He has a great technique when striking the ball, both when it comes to power and accuracy. He isn't great at getting into those good shooting positions though.

 

[ArcspacE]

To summarise - he has a strong shot which is not very accurate

 

[Jordinho]

I think it's partly about unrealistic expectations. People see cracking long range efforts going in left right and centre on highlihts and goal shows on tv, yet we get to see all the misses and failed attempts for Spurs.

Very few people would argue that Ronaldo isn't a good shooter, yet you see him in game after game take several shots that don't work out. Last night he ended up scoring in the end (he often does), but when he did it was from inside the box. Hudd obviously isn't as good as Ronaldo, just to be clear, but he very rarely gets chances to shoot inside the box and so looking only at conversion rate (not taking into account where the shots are from or in what situations they are taken) or number of goals (not even taking into account the number of shots taken) is just not going to give any kind of trustworthy result.

I disagree that he isn't good at directing his shots if that's what you're implying, it certainly seems to be what other people are implying.

He has a great technique when striking the ball, both when it comes to power and accuracy. He isn't great at getting into those good shooting positions though.

I don't think he's particularly good or bad at directing them. Slightly above average.

Getting into positions is the most important part though. Anyone can smack it in the top corner if the ball comes rolling towards you. Shooting while running with the ball is much harder, but something Hudd can do well and should perhaps try more often.

 

[colin fishwick]

I think he has an extremely poor shot, because I have seen him shoot over a number of seasons and because he has a very poor goal scoring record, there are plenty of CH and FB who have better.

He also has a very low assists record. If he had such a great shot, he would have been taking our fee kicks and he would have been scoring from them.

He is like a golfer, who can sometimes connect well, but cannot keep the ball straight. Unfortunately the facts speaks for themselves , over 6 or so seasons , if he had a good shot, he would have scored more.

 

[diego_maradona]

I think he has an extremely poor shot, because I have seen him shoot over a number of seasons and because he has a very poor goal scoring record, there are plenty of CH and FB who have better.

He also has a very low assists record. If he had such a great shot, he would have been taking our fee kicks and he would have been scoring from them.

He is like a golfer, who can sometimes connect well, but cannot keep the ball straight. Unfortunately the facts speaks for themselves , over 6 or so seasons , if he had a good shot, he would have scored more.

He is a terrific striker of the ball. Fantastic technique. I think his shooting is as good as Gerrard from distance. I've seen him miss many many long rangers.

 

[colin fishwick]

He is a terrific striker of the ball. Fantastic technique. I think his shooting is as good as Gerrard from distance. I've seen him miss many many long rangers.

Can't quite reconcile, the lack of goals from the great shot. Why has he not been taking all our free kicks? Surely it would have been worth it, if we had such a player, with such a great technique , it would have been a no brainer.

Just in the last two matches, in the limited time he was on the pitch, he took two shots and both were pi$$ poor.

 

[diego_maradona]

Can't quite reconcile, the lack of goals from the great shot. Why has he not been taking all our free kicks? Surely it would have been worth it, if we had such a player, with such a great technique , it would have been a no brainer.

Just in the last two matches, in the limited time he was on the pitch, he took two shots and both were pi$$ poor.

I'd like you to watch a lot of players who take long rangers during the course of a game. Gerrard, Alonso etc. You will see many poor efforts as they find their range. Form and fitness has a large part to play also. When confident and the player has found his range you will see better efforts. Free kicks often require a different technique. Yes he can really strike a ball, but he's not the type to bend it round a wall perfectly in the top corner. I think it's a little weak to just expect every shot to be great, like saying he's a pro, he should always score that chance.

 

[WookieD]

I'd like you to watch a lot of players who take long rangers during the course of a game. Gerrard, Alonso etc. You will see many poor efforts as they find their range. Form and fitness has a large part to play also. When confident and the player has found his range you will see better efforts. Free kicks often require a different technique. Yes he can really strike a ball, but he's not the type to bend it round a wall perfectly in the top corner. I think it's a little weak to just expect every shot to be great, like saying he's a pro, he should always score that chance.

But Diego, he scores one goal every 15 games, that's the official stat and it marries up to my recollection of most of his shots being wide or under powered. Yes he can stroke it like Rocco Siffredi's **** hungry fluffer, but in reality he rarely finds his range. Whether that means he should actually be taking MORE shots is irrelevent, calling him a good goal scorer is silly. Michael Essien can absolutely destroy a ball from 35yds out, that doesn't mean he's a good goal scorer either, but when he pops in with them, they're generally sensational.

He has beautiful technique and the "potential" to be a good goal scorer, but 15 goals in all competitions over 7 years tells me you lot are telling porkie pies.

 

[diego_maradona]

I never called him a good goalscorer. I just said he hits the ball from range as good as anyone else out there. Not strictly true, but still most renowned longe range strikers of the ball miss way more than they score with these long rangers

 

[colin fishwick]

I never called him a good goalscorer. I just said he hits the ball from range as good as anyone else out there. Not strictly true, but still most renowned longe range strikers of the ball miss way more than they score with these long rangers

There is missing and there is NEVER scoring. There is simply no evidence that he has a good shot or that he is a goal scorer, he averages about 1.2 PL a season, That is quite frankly pathetic.

Gerrard cannot bend a ball, but he has still scored from free kicks, others too. Going by the last 5 years,he is going to score from about 1 longe range in the PL in the next 5 years.

There was a reason Stoke was the only interested party.

 

[diego_maradona]

There is missing and there is NEVER scoring. There is simply no evidence that he has a good shot or that he is a goal scorer, he averages about 1.2 PL a season, That is quite frankly pathetic.

Gerrard cannot bend a ball, but he has still scored from free kicks, others too. Going by the last 5 years,he is going to score from about 1 longe range in the PL in the next 5 years.

There was a reason Stoke was the only interested party.

Laughable. Refer to the youtube video posted above.

Those stats are probably incorrect I would presume, as he has been injured for almost 2 seasons.

 

[WookieD]

Alright then, if the only criteria for having a good shot is hitting the odd swinger once a season, I hand you Benoit Assou Ekotto:

[video=youtube;06hagXmAzz8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06hagXmAzz8[/video]
[video=youtube;6soG_agvQZc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6soG_agvQZc[/video]

You people will be telling me Kaboul has an excellent free kick next!

 

[uksb]

Alright then, if the only criteria for having a good shot is hitting the odd swinger once a season, I hand you Benoit Assou Ekotto:

[video=youtube;06hagXmAzz8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06hagXmAzz8[/video]
[video=youtube;6soG_agvQZc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6soG_agvQZc[/video]

You people will be telling me Kaboul has an excellent free kick next!

Ekotto does have a good shot on him.

 

[colin fishwick]

Laughable. Refer to the youtube video posted above.

Those stats are probably incorrect I would presume, as he has been injured for almost 2 seasons.

He has about 7 PL goals EVER, he has not been out for 2 years. The you tube is the one that goes in every 5 years. As someone posted BAE has scored from longe range, so has Walker, Danny Riose has a better shots per goals record.

I really wish his shot was as good as you say, we could do with it, but don't hold your breath. If he starts scoring , then I will say fair enough you were right - if however he continues to not score,I think some fans will continue to say, he has a great shot.

 

[ArcspacE]

Ekotto does have a good shot on him.

But largerly inaccuarte - which is, I believe the crux of the argument here