Bender

[Maltese Falcon]

To go back to Bender... anyone knows why he plays so few games (average of 20) per season.

Is the guy another Sicknote?

 

[milo]

Well... I was us to be as successful...

And we will never be successful if we again leave the gaps in central midfield that we did last season!

We all want us to be successful.

 

[parklane1]

Well... I was us to be as successful...

And we will never be successful if we again leave the gaps in central midfield that we did last season!

This is the crux of the matter, if we are looking to improve ( and we should be) then we have to change what was happening to our CM last season. Otherwise our back four is going to be run ragged again by runners from the opposing team.

 

[billyiddo]

You are not getting it are you no where have I said I want a player who does nothing but sit on the half way line. We seem to be at a impasse either I am not explaining myself well or you are failing to understand what I have written. Maybe if we meet up at the Lane one day I will try and explain it better ( slowly).

I think the problem must be your end

On the first page of this thread in reply to Scara saying 'his defensive contribution looks good but he'll need to improve offensively' you said 'as long as he's good defensively that's all that matters for now'

That is a plain contradiction to the idea that we need someone good at both parts of his game!

 

[Nigeyman]

I'm sorry to hear that

I'm all for having options in the squad but I think that they all need to be comfortable with our A game. As Billy says a more defensively minded CM would be great as long as it is not at a detriment to our passing/possession game.

not really Milo...take it as a compliment, it was not meant in a nasty way...I love it really

A dm who has an eye for a pass would be a bonus but its critical we get a player in who will ensure the likes of Bentaleb, Kane & Eriksen get more time on the ball.

 

[DublinSpur]

To go back to Bender... anyone knows why he plays so few games (average of 20) per season.

Is the guy another Sicknote?

Based purely on what a couple of people have said on forums, it does seem like he's had injury troubles over the past couple of years. No idea if it's a long-term thing that we should be concerned about, or something that he's now over and won't recur. Anyone able to shed some light on whether he's "injury prone" or just had an unlucky couple of seasons?

 

[Maltese Falcon]

Interesting to know if those advocating the "rounded" approach, would take Makelele in his prime in our current team?

 

[milo]

not really Milo...take it as a compliment, it was not meant in a nasty way...I love it really

A dm who has an eye for a pass would be a bonus but its critical we get a player in who will ensure the likes of Bentaleb, Kane & Eriksen get more time on the ball.

I'm not set on one way of playing, I supported AVB until quite late on and he was definitely a more defensively minded coach than Poch.

I am trying to work out what I think our manager wants and how he will develop the team. From his actions so far, I think that he considers midfielders who can turn defense into attack quickly are more important than ones that just provide a shield. The first doesn't proclude the second but I think that it is his priority.

 

[Nigeyman]

I think the problem must be your end

he really should go and see the doctor about that.

 

[parklane1]

I think the problem must be your end

On the first page of this thread in reply to Scara saying 'his defensive contribution looks good but he'll need to improve offensively' you said 'as long as he's good defensively that's all that matters for now'

That is a plain contradiction to the idea that we need someone good at both parts of his game!

Now you are splitting hairs ( taking my post out of context), we ( some) have already accepted that those stats could be misleading and from experience its a lot easier to improve passing then it is to give players a defensive mind set. And as I have said IF he needs to improve offensively then that can be done, getting Mason to be better at the defensive side of the game would be a lot harder.

Wrap it up whichever way you want but unless we improve/strengthen our CM then the back four will be run ragged, now the fact that Poch has played Dier in the CM in the friendlys MAY suggest he has the same fears. ( notice I have said MAY before you take it out of context).

 

[Nigeyman]

I'm not set on one way of playing, I supported AVB until quite late on and he was definitely a more defensively minded coach than Poch.

I am trying to work out what I think our manager wants and how he will develop the team. From his actions so far, I think that he considers midfielders who can turn defense into attack quickly are more important than ones that just provide a shield. The first doesn't proclude the second but I think that it is his priority.

Yeah I think that poch would favour the type of cm that you are advocating.

slightly worried that mata/memphis will give us the run-around next week, and our soft underbelly will become glaringly obvious...really hope I am wrong.

 

[milo]

Now you are splitting hairs ( taking my post out of context), we ( some) have already accepted that those stats could be misleading and from experience its a lot easier to improve passing then it is to give players a defensive mind set. And as I have said IF he needs to improve offensively then that can be done, getting Mason to be better at the defensive side of the game would be a lot harder.

Wrap it up whichever way you want but unless we improve/strengthen our CM then the back four will be run ragged, now the fact that Poch has played Dier in the CM in the friendlys MAY suggest he has the same fears. ( notice I have said MAY before you take it out of context).

I think that is probably because Mason has been out.

I think that we should not write Mason off on the back of his debut season. He does have areas of his game that he needs to improve but most players do at his stage of their careers.

 

[milo]

Yeah I think that poch would favour the type of cm that you are advocating.

slightly worried that mata/memphis will give us the run-around next week, and our soft underbelly will become glaringly obvious...really hope I am wrong.

We weren't given the run around too many times last season and our squad looks better than it did then. There's room for improvement but I am optimistic about our prospects.

 

[Nigeyman]

I think that is probably because Mason has been out.

I think that we should not write Mason off on the back of his debut season. He does have areas of his game that he needs to improve but most players do at his stage of their careers.

I think mason & Bentaleb is fine in certain games but away against the top sides, or when the tide has turned against us I worry.

I like Mason and I am all for his continued development, but I think all of us know deep down if we have any aspirations, then we need another defensively minded option.

 

[parklane1]

I think that is probably because Mason has been out.

I think that we should not write Mason off on the back of his debut season. He does have areas of his game that he needs to improve but most players do at his stage of their careers.

It could well be the reason that is why I said MAY, I am not writing Mason off and I hope he goes on to prove me and others wrong. But if he does it will not happen overnight and in the meantime we need a upgrade while he does so, I do not want to sit in my seat ( behind the goal) and see nothing but empty spaces and opposing runners in front of our back four again next season.

 

[billyiddo]

Now you are splitting hairs ( taking my post out of context), we ( some) have already accepted that those stats could be misleading and from experience its a lot easier to improve passing then it is to give players a defensive mind set. And as I have said IF he needs to improve offensively then that can be done, getting Mason to be better at the defensive side of the game would be a lot harder.

Wrap it up whichever way you want but unless we improve/strengthen our CM then the back four will be run ragged, now the fact that Poch has played Dier in the CM in the friendlys MAY suggest he has the same fears. ( notice I have said MAY before you take it out of context).

Unless you've been reading someone else's posts by mistake then you should have noticed that CM is my primary cause for concern in the team and the position I think we need to improve the most - both you and MF seem to be under the impression you're arguing against people that don't realise the need to combat the defensive issues in CM, when that is not the case in the slightest - in fact I don't think I could pick out one person who doesn't think we need to do better defensively in the middle.

 

[Nigeyman]

We weren't given the run around too many times last season and our squad looks better than it did then. There's room for improvement but I am optimistic about our prospects.

I cant share your optimism just yet, we shall reconvene at the end of this transfer window.

Thats not to say I am unhappy with the business we have done...far from it I am pleased we have shored up the defence and sold the players we have sold.

But our business in the next month is absolutely critical....we need some attacking signings and a decent cm to boot. At present with our current squad I think we will finish 6-8th and be quite a distance from top 4.

 

[parklane1]

Unless you've been reading someone else's posts by mistake then you should have noticed that CM is my primary cause for concern in the team and the position I think we need to improve the most - both you and MF seem to be under the impression you're arguing against people that don't realise the need to combat the defensive issues in CM, when that is not the case in the slightest - in fact I don't think I could pick out one person who doesn't think we need to do better defensively in the middle.

I thought we were debating mate not arguing, so do you think we should start the season with Mason and Betaleb as our CM or should we try and bring in a upgrade.

 

[milo]

I think mason & Bentaleb is fine in certain games but away against the top sides, or when the tide has turned against us I worry.

I like Mason and I am all for his continued development, but I think all of us know deep down if we have any aspirations, then we need another defensively minded option.

Would you rather we go into these games with a more defensive mindset? I thought that our results against the top teams were better last season than when we tried that.

 

[milo]

I thought we were debating mate not arguing, so do you think we should start the season with Mason and Betaleb as our CM or should we try and bring in a upgrade.

I hope that Billy does not mind me stepping in on his dance. I think that of course we should look to strengthen in central midfield but making the right signing is more important than any signing. I suspect that given the choice between a Sandro/Parker style CM and continuing with Bentaleb/Mason, he would pick the latter.