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Tom Huddlestone


Oldben

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Just now, TuffLuff said:

For his passing he’d be in my 11 no doubt, but it’s more of his game tempo is be concerned with. If you could guarantee that he could be this side’s Eustace then that’s fine by me. Maybe I’m just not convinced he will be, but happy to be proven wrong on this one. 

So would I pal. It's all opinions. Just win, or at least entertain me...I'll be happy.

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Huddz is precisely what was missing against Reading IMO. Collect the ball from our CBs and find the willing runners with those laser-guided passes of his. A definite 'no' from me. Quite simply, the best passer of a ball at the club. Invaluable against teams that want to press high too given his innate ability to find time and space with the ball at his feet.

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Thing is - if Frankie is the footballing genius we think he is, he'll have realised that Huddlestone is a class act but also that some games just won't suit him.

If Tom plays every 90 minutes then two things will happen. 1) he'll start to look tired in the last 3rd of the season and 2) other teams will increasingly cotton on to how to nullify him and he'll become less and less effective

So far better to use him judiciously in the games that we think he'll be most useful

I'd keep him

 

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12 minutes ago, Edtheram said:

people seem to forget what makes a good CDM. key phrase being DEFENSIVE. Huddlestone never uses his frame to challenge in 50/50s, hes tall but is always beaten in the air, he hardly makes tackles and i have never seen him make a slide tackle and his speed is horrible to watch, yes His passing is second to none however there is more to a Defensive midfielder than just passing the ball and keeping the play tidy, you need that player to shield the defence. Does Huddlestone do that i dont think so. 

I think there’s something interesting in this and the last batch of players we’ve seen come (and only some of them go). Huddlestone left Derby as a young, gifted player but with still a lot to learn. Looking at him now he’s still excellent at passing but his weaknesses are still somewhat still obvious. Im possibly being flippant with this but it makes me ponder how much managers, academies and even the player himself look to focus and improve their weaknesses or just try and cover them up. Lots of players we can look at who are still at Derby are superb in one aspect but are completely weak in others. Mentioned this already today but players who have worked with Lampard have said he never looked the best player in his youth but he worked at his weaknesses and that helped improve. There’s maybe a lesson in that. 

Im not meaning this as a slight on just Huddlestone btw, but a general comment on a problem in football

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19 minutes ago, TuffLuff said:

Yeah I’d dare say Pirlo being a consistently top class player had the ability to position himself in which to hide his weaknesses. It’s hard to say if Huddlestone has the same when he’s been in with two DM’s rather than by himself..

And at Championship level/ lower Prem, Huddlestone is quality......plus hes played a lot as a sole DM

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8 minutes ago, 86 points said:

Huddz is precisely what was missing against Reading IMO. Collect the ball from our CBs and find the willing runners with those laser-guided passes of his. A definite 'no' from me. Quite simply, the best passer of a ball at the club. Invaluable against teams that want to press high too given his innate ability to find time and space with the ball at his feet.

We missed his calmness and passing from defence and through midfield without question, if we were to sell it would need to be for £5 million plus to contemplate it - we would also miss his height in defensive set pieces 

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Im a Huddlestone fan and appreciate what he brings to the team. He gives the team control and is a fantastic passer of the ball. I would have no worries him playing in the role when we have possession of the ball. However, having watched the game on Friday and seeing how we will be setting up though, I don't think him or Ledley are the answer. Mount and Bryson are both attack minded midfield players who will go beyond the ball to get themselves into attacking areas. This will leave gaps and as we saw on Friday, Ledley didnt have the pace to cover these gaps and was left isolated and struggle as a result. Huddlestone obviously lacks mobility as well and I think out of possession we would really struggle with him in there as a team. Im hoping Evans has some pace, however if not think its an area we will struggle this season.

If selling Huddlestone allows Lampard funds to further improve the team then I think we have to consider. We obviously don't have many saleable assets, as we are struggling to offload players, so to continue to build there has to be some significant outgoings. Ive got full trust in Lampard and Morris and the vision of how they want us to play is exciting times ahead.

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6 minutes ago, brankostrupar said:

And at Championship level/ lower Prem, Huddlestone is quality......plus hes played a lot as a sole DM

Being ‘quality’ doesn’t mean much in the Champ though when a team plays in a way that doesn’t suit you. There’s a lot of  champ/lower prem quality in the champ. Some are in teams that make them look like world beaters and some are struggling to make the bench because they don’t quite fit.

Its just a question whether Huddlestone game can suit it. I’m not saying he can’t and I’m right, but there’s a question there and if he gets a decent offer then it’s not like we haven’t got the players to cover?

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13 minutes ago, TuffLuff said:

Being ‘quality’ doesn’t mean much in the Champ though when a team plays in a way that doesn’t suit you. There’s a lot of  champ/lower prem quality in the champ. Some are in teams that make them look like world beaters and some are struggling to make the bench because they don’t quite fit.

Its just a question whether Huddlestone game can suit it. I’m not saying he can’t and I’m right, but there’s a question there and if he gets a decent offer then it’s not like we haven’t got the players to cover?

We haven't got an effective DM if Huddlestone goes,  not sure about that Evans lad so would be unfair to comment

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8 minutes ago, brankostrupar said:

We haven't got an effective DM if Huddlestone goes,  not sure about that Evans lad so would be unfair to comment

Well that’s not really true, you arent backing up anything that you are saying and not sure you are taking in what I’m saying. Therefore it’s maybe not he most interesting thing to read. You like Huddlestone, that’s fine but saying he’s most effective in a system/style we haven’t seen him in maybe isn’t the strongest argument

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Personally I think it will make sense to let Tom go,  as good a footballer as he is - he just isn't mobile enough to play in a high tempo style that we look like playing.  Add to that we obviously need to shrink the squad and Tom must be a BIG earner!

I would want at the very very least what we paid for him though!  Cardiff are desperate for players - make them pay up!

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9 minutes ago, TuffLuff said:

Well that’s not really true, you arent backing up anything that you are saying and not sure you are taking in what I’m saying. Therefore it’s maybe not he most interesting thing to read. You like Huddlestone, that’s fine but saying he’s most effective in a system/style we haven’t seen him in maybe isn’t the strongest argument

I tell you what i'll type stuff and you make up your own opinion of that.......

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Just now, brankostrupar said:

I tell you what i'll type stuff and you make up your own opinion of that.......

Hehe! You tell me Huddlestone’s the most effective DM we have but don’t back it up. If you want to debate it then fine, but if you put up a questionable blank statement then expect it to be challenged.

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2 minutes ago, TuffLuff said:

Hehe! You tell me Huddlestone’s the most effective DM we have but don’t back it up. If you want to debate it then fine, but if you put up a questionable blank statement then expect it to be challenged.

OK Johnson cant play as a DM, Ledley cant play in a 1 in my opinion was poor against reading,  Evans I have no idea about.....Thorne as much as I love him is no where near the player he was, therefore TH is the best DM we have.....hope that helps x

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