Oink
04/12/2008, 12:05 PM
The role of the playmaker in the modern game is an interesting one. There are very few in the EPL as the nature of the game there is more suited to more physical and athletic midfielders. Fabregas, Alonso, Carrick and Modric are among only a few who play regularly. Stephen Ireland too I guess.
That's more than there used to be a few years ago I suspect so it looks like maybe the playmaker is coming back into vogue again.
In our case we've often had good playmaking types. I used to really like Stephen McPhail, but O'Leary said there was no role for his type of player in the modern game.
There are various types of playmaker too. There's the Zidane-like "number 10" who is an advanced playmaker, the deeper-lying Pirlo or Xavi Alonso type, or the all singing / all dancing playmaker like Fabregas.
In the case of Fabregas even Aragones didn't see fit to include him in Spain's starting XIs during the summer so the merits of having a playmaker in a winning team at international level are often trumped by pragmatism.
In Ireland's case, I don't see why a playmaking type should be inconsistent with defensive solidity as I'm not convinced that two out and out wide players is the best use of our resources. Of the so-called playmakers we have available, I'd say all are advanced "number 10" types who could be deplyed effectively in a range of shapes (4-3-1-2, 4-2-3-1...) as I'm sure Paul O'Shea would love to discuss.
None of our current playmakers can even touch some of those we've had in the past.
WTF is "Red" anyway?
Excellent post.
As far as I can see, in the modern game out wide players are becoming a thing of the past. Very few goals these days come from players running the touchline and whipping the ball in, instead we see a lot of central midfielders or wingers with a tendancy to cut inside in the top scorer lists. The majority of top clubs rely on a central midfielder who scores goals... and when this player isn't scoring the team isn't doing too well, case in point Fabregas.
It's a pity our best asset in this department and one who is very very effective in the role is a complete ****.
That's more than there used to be a few years ago I suspect so it looks like maybe the playmaker is coming back into vogue again.
In our case we've often had good playmaking types. I used to really like Stephen McPhail, but O'Leary said there was no role for his type of player in the modern game.
There are various types of playmaker too. There's the Zidane-like "number 10" who is an advanced playmaker, the deeper-lying Pirlo or Xavi Alonso type, or the all singing / all dancing playmaker like Fabregas.
In the case of Fabregas even Aragones didn't see fit to include him in Spain's starting XIs during the summer so the merits of having a playmaker in a winning team at international level are often trumped by pragmatism.
In Ireland's case, I don't see why a playmaking type should be inconsistent with defensive solidity as I'm not convinced that two out and out wide players is the best use of our resources. Of the so-called playmakers we have available, I'd say all are advanced "number 10" types who could be deplyed effectively in a range of shapes (4-3-1-2, 4-2-3-1...) as I'm sure Paul O'Shea would love to discuss.
None of our current playmakers can even touch some of those we've had in the past.
WTF is "Red" anyway?
Excellent post.
As far as I can see, in the modern game out wide players are becoming a thing of the past. Very few goals these days come from players running the touchline and whipping the ball in, instead we see a lot of central midfielders or wingers with a tendancy to cut inside in the top scorer lists. The majority of top clubs rely on a central midfielder who scores goals... and when this player isn't scoring the team isn't doing too well, case in point Fabregas.
It's a pity our best asset in this department and one who is very very effective in the role is a complete ****.