Huddlestone

[Kingdawson]

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.

Why do you keep making such good posts?

 

[WookieD]

Wooks, would you say Xabi Alonso is a good 'shooter'?

Not particularly. Again, he has wonderful technique but I wouldn't call him reliable. Difficult to call out a man who can score from 60 yds on more than one occassion, but that's the way I feel. But then, neither Xabi or Huddlestone is in the team to score goals.

 

[ArcspacE]

So? I bet Defoe will outscore Kaboul this year too. Doesn't prove a thing if Gerrard and Lampard play almost as 2nd strikers in comparison to Huddlestone.

Now I'm arguing Huddlestone's corner, it will be said that they exaggerate how good he is.

Their positions on the field are irrelevant - we are talking about goals/shots from distance - i.e. shots from outside the box.

There is no way Huddlestone can be mentioned in the same bracket, imv - he is nowhere near prolific not clinical enough

 

[diego_maradona]

Not particularly. Again, he has wonderful technique but I wouldn't call him reliable. Difficult to call out a man who can score from 60 yds on more than one occassion, but that's the way I feel. But then, neither Xabi or Huddlestone is in the team to score goals.

How about Scholes?

 

[ArcspacE]

The guy has the best shooting technique i've seen for a long time and his accuracy level in terms of shooting on target is exellent.

Are we talking about Tom Huddlestone here?

 

[diego_maradona]

Their positions on the field are irrelevant - we are talking about goals/shots from distance - i.e. shots from outside the box.

There is no way Huddlestone can be mentioned in the same bracket, imv - he is nowhere near prolific not clinical enough

Well you said an indication they are better relates to the number of goals they have scored, and that is the only indicator you have to 'prove' your point. This measuring stick is irrelevant if you can't tell me how many were long range and how many were pens or tap ins. So in summary unless you present with a clear argument for shots at goal to goals ratio, you point is well... non-existent.

 

[WookieD]

VDV would have lots of shots from outside the area, but how many did he actually score? Does this mean he has a bad shot? In fact VDV scores from just 10% of his shots, does that mean he was poor at shooting? When he played for us Darren Bent scored with about 20% of his shots. I'm I supposed to conclude from that that Darren Bent has a better shot the VDV? gonads he does.

Shooting from distance is a hard skill. Shooting from distance when it comes from second phase play is even harder, as you have little time to control the ball and have to get the shot off quickly.

I wouldn't say that a great majority of his shots come in second phase... Actually, those are the ones you can normally bank him breaking the net with! (or somebodys arse/balls/stomach/head).

Personally, I would be interested to see us try the "Scholes" corner with Tom on the pitch and see if he can't score a few that way, it's actually open play that I feel he is worse at.

 

[NaijaSpurs]

I am just happy Hud is not on loan at Sunderland or the like. Even if he is not a regular starter I think he will re an integral part of our first team squad this season

 

[WookieD]

How about Scholes?

Ah, beat you to it with my Scholes corner analogy! Stick him on a spot and ping it to his feet and the goal will come!

 

[uksb]

He has 8 (eight) PL goals in as many seasons

?

Most of which were outside of the box. Which, like I said, is more than the vast majority of players in his position.

 

[ArcspacE]

Well you said an indication they are better relates to the number of goals they have scored, and that is the only indicator you have to 'prove' your point. This measuring stick is irrelevant if you can't tell me how many were long range and how many were pens or tap ins. So in summary unless you present with a clear argument for shots at goal to goals ratio, you point is well... non-existent.

I said it can be used as a good starting point - since most of time both of those players arrive from the middle of the park and strike from distance. I don't recall Lampard and Gerrard scoring many tap-ins over the last 4-5 years but a good few crackers instead.

I don't need to prove anything with those stats - Huddlestone's own numbers speak for themselves. 7-8 crackers in as many seasons. I'm sure any Gerrard or Lampard Youtube fanboy compilation would include just as many over 1 season alone. So to have in mentioned him that bracket is considerably off the mark, imv

 

[Kingdawson]

Are we talking about Tom Huddlestone here?

Over these past 2 days it honestly feels like i'm living on another world to some people on here. First people claim Jermain Defoe has been superb since AVB has taken over (conveniantly forgetting his 2 bad games) and now people are arguing that Tom Huddlestone isn't a good long range shooter. It's something i can't believe i'm discussing.

 

[Kingdawson]

I am just happy Hud is not on loan at Sunderland or the like. Even if he is not a regular starter I think he will re an integral part of our first team squad this season

and then there's the over-reactors....

 

[diego_maradona]

Ok so I was going to say

Huddlestone has 8 goals in 125 appearances accoriding to wiki
Alonso at madrid has 4 goals in 108 appearances for madrid

How many long rangers do you think Scholes has in the last few seasons?

 

[ArcspacE]

Most of which were outside of the box. Which, like I said, is more than the vast majority of players in his position.

I feel we are talking about a different point here - see my other replies

 

[Jordinho]

Over these past 2 days it honestly feels like i'm living on another world to some people on here. First people claim Jermain Defoe has been superb since AVB has taken over (conveniantly forgetting his 2 bad games) and now people are arguing that Tom Huddlestone isn't a good long range shooter. It's something i can't believe i'm discussing.

He has great ability when it comes to striking the ball, but I wouldn't call him a good long range shooter. Neither is he a bad one.

 

[WookieD]

You're right, almost any player can hit a one wonder strike (see Edman).

But Huddlestone has hit a lot of 20+ yard strikes. More than the vast majority of players.

Yeah, it's funny, but when I get drawn into these arguments I'm rarely frothing at the mouth and stamping my feet, I just feel there is too much hyperbole thrown about. I certainly feel it's the case with Tom. He:

- Is the greatest passer in the team
- Has the greatest technique in the team
- Lifts most of his shots
- Needs better compsure

Joey brought up a good point about second phase. A player like Zokora I expect to run onto a ball with his body open and scream one to the heavens, but I would expect a player like Tom, with his level of understanding, to shape himself better. A lot of his goals that look sensational look that way as they are rising so hard.

 

[Kingdawson]

I said it can be used as a good starting point - since most of time both of those players arrive from the middle of the park and strike from distance. I don't recall Lampard and Gerrard scoring many tap-ins over the last 4-5 years but a good few crackers instead.

I don't need to prove anything with those stats - Huddlestone's own numbers speak for themselves. 7-8 crackers in as many seasons. I'm sure any Gerrard or Lampard Youtube fanboy compilation would include just as many over 1 season alone. So to have in mentioned him that bracket is considerably off the mark, imv

Tbh a player that scores 1 long range stunner a season for 8 seasons means he's pretty good at it to me.

 

[diego_maradona]

I feel we are talking about a different point here - see my other replies

Sounds on point to me following your previous points. The whole argument is about Tom's long range shots and whether he has a good shot.

 

[ArcspacE]

Over these past 2 days it honestly feels like i'm living on another world to some people on here. First people claim Jermain Defoe has been superb since AVB has taken over (conveniantly forgetting his 2 bad games) and now people are arguing that Tom Huddlestone isn't a good long range shooter. It's something i can't believe i'm discussing.

Defoe has looked sharp this season - including his England games (in fact he was looking good already since January but overlooked for Saha in most games which was shocking)

Huddlestrone is not a good long range shooter - rather someone who can thump a cracker once/twice a season as opposed to a consistent return of let's say 6-10 goals/ season.