why do we need??

[watties wallies]

why do we need a central defensive sitting midfield player

why can't we have midfield players that are capable of  playing a defensive  role picking up attacking opposition players but having the ability 

to push forward and create openings for our forward players

discuss

 

 

[potty trained]

Like old school 4-4-2 players?

Maybe the game has evolved, formations have evolved and players roles have become more specific. Are box to box midfielders harder to find?

[watties wallies]

but what is a defensive midfield player

its someone that sits there and tries to break up any opposition play, its not about any creative play pushing forward into the opposing half

iv'e watched osman and others in that position , winning the ball sometimes and pushing it forwards

but  why cant we have midfield players that win the ball and push forwards  drawing opposing player to them and creating space for our forwards

too often last year  defensive midfield players would win the ball play it forward and the literally stop, expecting the forwards to do he business

this season  we should be on the front foot, lets play the game in the opposition half

get the ball forward much more quickly

we now have players that have pace and ability 

keep the opposition on the back foot 

watching celtic on saturday ... low hard crosses into the box--- food and drink for doolan

why don't we do it ???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jags on tour]

Aye its weird thinking back to when we won the 1st div under Lambie we had a central midfield  with the likes of Lennon, Hardie, and Dolan, no defensive mids in those days, Lennon and Dolan were hard as nails, take no sh1t midfielders who done the job, not like today when midfielders need another holding mid behind them!

[Paulo]

The theory is that this guy allows your more offensive players to stick to their strengths.  A good player in this position will also cover the full back spaces when they get caught up the park, allowing the centre backs to retain their positions and not look silly.  Think of the old Italian sweeper role, but in the middle of the park.  

[lady-isobel-barnett]

1/If you've got attacking full backs you need midfield cover in defensive areas. Similarly to when a centreback gets drawn out of position.  

2/Said midfielder needs a reasonable turn of pace and stamina. The latter all important as he's likely to be called on for above duties late in the game. Could easily argue failure to do that is what ultimately did us. Compare the Osman of his first few seasons with Barton, Edwards and the Osman of last season. 

3/You need at least one strong but clean tackling midfielder to break up play and allow other more creative midfielders to be effective.

So if anyone can come up with a nippy, hard tackling, strong, box to box midfielder with staying power plus an eye for scoring and creating  goals, but who is in our price bracket, I think the Club would be most interested. Meanwhile we'll just have to plod on with horses for courses and I feel we require a defensive mid as a priority.

[allyo]

I blame Claude Makalele.

And all the pundits who went on and on about how amazing he was, just because they like to highlight "unsung" players because they think it makes them sound clever.

[Paulo]

20 hours ago, allyo said:

I blame Claude Makalele.

And all the pundits who went on and on about how amazing he was, just because they like to highlight "unsung" players because they think it makes them sound clever.

I hear Claude Makalele blames Gordon Strachan.

[Jaggernaut]

21 hours ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

1/If you've got attacking full backs you need midfield cover in defensive areas. Similarly to when a centreback gets drawn out of position.  

2/Said midfielder needs a reasonable turn of pace and stamina. The latter all important as he's likely to be called on for above duties late in the game. Could easily argue failure to do that is what ultimately did us. Compare the Osman of his first few seasons with Barton, Edwards and the Osman of last season. 

3/You need at least one strong but clean tackling midfielder to break up play and allow other more creative midfielders to be effective.

So if anyone can come up with a nippy, hard tackling, strong, box to box midfielder with staying power plus an eye for scoring and creating  goals, but who is in our price bracket, I think the Club would be most interested. Meanwhile we'll just have to plod on with horses for courses and I feel we require a defensive mid as a priority.

Out of the eight attributes you mention in your final paragraph, I reckon that each of our current midfielders might have one or two. Or maybe thr... nah, one or two.

[jaf]

I watched a few Harrogate games last season. 

They have a guy who played in Scotland (for Arbroath st Johnstone and Dunfermline I think) josh fakingham. Absolutely brilliant in that role.  However I guess a promoted and financially strong Harrogate might be paying more than us.