Is Tom Huddlestone invisible ? (In Wayne Rooney’s shadow) !

[Ram8]

Rooney played exceptionally well yesterday, and in the previous Stoke match, controlling midfield with flair and authority. 

However, Huddlestone does exactly the same every time he plays, but does he get the praise that Rooney gets ? No .. more than half on this forum point out how slow he is, “turns like an oil tanker”, etc. ..

We are lucky enough to have both of them, and I believe the ‘dream team’ is to play them both together. A Derby team with both, plus Duane Holmes, Chris Martin and some of the promising youngsters would just ooze class, and potentially achieve that play off success that has eluded us thus far. 

[jimbobram]

Lol, calm down Tom. We still rate you too

[SaintRam]

You say its "exactly" the same thing. But the stats tell differently.

Rooney creates 3 times as many chances; succeeds on more long balls. Is in shooting position 3x more often. Tackles more often. Fouls far less often. 

 

I do think Huddlestone is harshly treated by some - he's technically one of our best. But the reason Rooney is getting all this praise is because he's better at almost everything Huddlestone does, can do more and is more mobile. 

[therealhantsram]

I think the dream team is what we have right now. Rooney and Bird. Bird with the energy and running to mop up around Rooney, offer a pass, keep play moving and protect the centre backs. 

You say Huddlestone and Rooney offer exactly the same and that is the problem. You need players that complement each other. Bird compensates for Rooneys weaknesses at 34. You need that blend in a team. 

[TheresOnlyWanChope]

Huddlestone is a quality passer and skilled player. Rooney for me must play. He is simply a cut above in terms of quality. How many matches has he played? I would say Rooney has had one average games and the rest he has definitely had a massive positive affect on the match. Can we say Huddlestone is as good? 
Maybe they could play together, and I do think Hudz gets lots of praise when he plays well. This forum brings out a lot of moaners - apparently Roos is the worst keeper ever, Keogh was the worst defender, Lawrence etc etc so no surprise to focus on negatives people say about him. 

[therealhantsram]

1 minute ago, therealhantsram said:

I think the dream team is what we have right now. Rooney and Bird. Bird with the energy and running to mop up around Rooney, offer a pass, keep play moving and protect the centre backs. 

You say Huddlestone and Rooney offer exactly the same and that is the problem. You need players that complement each other. Bird compensates for Rooneys weaknesses at 34. You need that blend in a team. 

And another thing. I don't know where Bielik fits in now either. Compared to the way Bird is playing, Bielik seems too casual and takes too many touches. 

If Bird can keep this up, Bielik will have to sit on the bench. 

[ramsbottom]

2 minutes ago, therealhantsram said:

And another thing. I don't know where Bielik fits in now either. Compared to the way Bird is playing, Bielik seems too casual and takes too many touches. 

If Bird can keep this up, Bielik will have to sit on the bench. 

If Bird's progresses in the way we hope, I can imagine Bielik will drop back to CB.  He's said himself he prefers playing at the back, so maybe it would mean we don't have to shell out for a replacement when Clarke goes back.

I for one have always rated Huddlestone, but his mobility has gotten worse since Rowett brought him back.  Good option to stick on with 20 to go if someones struggling, but to keep up the work rate & pressing we're employing at the moment would be a stretch for him over a run of games.

[Woodley Ram]

I see it a bit like England RFU playing with 2 fly half’s . It gives a greater range of passing and options. I think both together especially for home games will be a good think.

[Srg]

1 hour ago, Ram8 said:

Rooney played exceptionally well yesterday, and in the previous Stoke match, controlling midfield with flair and authority. 

However, Huddlestone does exactly the same every time he plays, but does he get the praise that Rooney gets ? No .. more than half on this forum point out how slow he is, “turns like an oil tanker”, etc. ..

We are lucky enough to have both of them, and I believe the ‘dream team’ is to play them both together. A Derby team with both, plus Duane Holmes, Chris Martin and some of the promising youngsters would just ooze class, and potentially achieve that play off success that has eluded us thus far. 

Wow. Just no.

[Angry Ram]

1 hour ago, Ram8 said:

Rooney played exceptionally well yesterday, and in the previous Stoke match, controlling midfield with flair and authority. 

However, Huddlestone does exactly the same every time he plays, but does he get the praise that Rooney gets ? No .. more than half on this forum point out how slow he is, “turns like an oil tanker”, etc. ..

We are lucky enough to have both of them, and I believe the ‘dream team’ is to play them both together. A Derby team with both, plus Duane Holmes, Chris Martin and some of the promising youngsters would just ooze class, and potentially achieve that play off success that has eluded us thus far. 

If a team give Rooney & Hudds room to play, they will pass you to death. Palace gave them room and they were great. I love Hudds but he now needs energy beside him now.  

[Raich Carter]

I’m not a Hudds hater either but Rooney is much much better. His passing is far more creative and some of the through balls are just sublime. If he keeps this form into next year then, assuming we sign a centre half under the age of 35 who is able to pass, then we should be looking good for... survival! ? Seriously, if the youngsters keep developing the we could be pushing for play-offs if Rooney maintains this form. 

[therealhantsram]

1 hour ago, ramsbottom said:

If Bird's progresses in the way we hope, I can imagine Bielik will drop back to CB.  He's said himself he prefers playing at the back, so maybe it would mean we don't have to shell out for a replacement when Clarke goes back.

You may well be right. The one thing that is a challenge for next season though is that Bielik likely won't be back until November.  So what do you do when you recruit? Look for a first choice left CB? Or recruit someone you expect to be back-up for Bielik at left CB?

I am assuming here that it'll be between Wisdom and dutch Mike for the right CB slot.

[Sparkle]

Probably the 2 best passers of a ball in the league 

[Andicis]

Huddlestone is just worse all around than Rooney. You can't really get away with playing them both together, and Hudds can't stay fit at the moment. Rooney is the way forward.

[Millenniumram]

I do think Huddlestone gets a bad rep from certain fans to be fair. I don’t quite get how people don’t rate him. Sure, his lack of pace is a problem, and he’s not as good as he was in his prime, but he’s still a damn good player at this level. His footballing intelligence and vision certainly hasn’t disappeared. He’s still very accurate in retaining possession which is very important for the style we play, and he’s still got that defence splitting pass within him as well. Crucially, I think the work he does when he plays in terms of helping us play out from the back is very much under-appreciated as well. He pretty much always makes himself an option, and he’s very good at playing the switch ball out to the full back, which really relieves the pressure on the centre backs to beat the press. Clearly he lacks defensively nowadays, but in terms of what he does best he’s still more than good enough for where we are at the moment, in the short term at least. Long term we’d hope for a more mobile replacement obviously(Bird May even be starting to establish himself as that now), but I struggle to see how you cant rate Huddlestones natural ability as a footballer.

That said, Rooney is better. Simple as. I mean the bloke was literally world class and one of the greatest English players of all time, so of course he is! He’s the best player in the league in terms of natural technical ability, without a shadow of a doubt. He can do most of what Huddlestone can, but he’s also far more influential going forward too - his passing is much quicker and incisive, he’s got excellent link up play in the opposition half, he’s a goal threat and his touch is so good he can get himself out of even the tightest bits of marking. He’s like two players rolled into one almost, that’s why he gets so much praise, and why he one of the best in the world. He’s a class above Huddlestone, simple as. I also think the future doesn’t lie with both in the same team either as there’s too little mobility there - it lies with Bird imo. He has both the footballing intelligence and the mobility to go with it.

[Yani P]

Agree.. Hudds is great but Rooney is on a different planet.. No comparison.. 

[LazloW]

I agree there are similarities with passing ability, but the big difference for me is the effectiveness of the passing and the movement of the players.  

Tom is tidy, more often than not finds his man and ensures we keep the ball... but he doesn’t create much.  He is also quite static.

Rooney is constantly on the move, picking it up whenever he can (he is always in space... others should be taking note of this) and while he also often keeps it simple, now and again there will be a proper penetrating through ball, clever pass or cross field bullet in which he is attempting to open defences.  Tom doesn’t do - or try - this enough.

Not saying Tom isn’t a decent player, just that I don’t think they are comparable.

[Duracell]

So, to summarise the gist of this thread, Tom Huddlestone's a good player but Wayne Rooney is even better?

The world of football's understood that since about 2005.

[Coneheadjohn]

2 hours ago, therealhantsram said:

And another thing. I don't know where Bielik fits in now either. Compared to the way Bird is playing, Bielik seems too casual and takes too many touches. 

If Bird can keep this up, Bielik will have to sit on the bench. 

Bielik is the player that would benefit most from playing with Rooney?
 

Bird looks a better option at CDM than Bielik,it would be interesting to see how Bielik did alongside Rooney.

[Comrade 86]

29 minutes ago, Andicis said:

Huddlestone is just worse all around than Rooney. You can't really get away with playing them both together, and Hudds can't stay fit at the moment. Rooney is the way forward.

Crystal Palace away?

Horses for courses I'd say.