Kavanagh was played out of position on Saturday!!!

I've seen so many comments in another thread with people saying Kavanagh and Keane would be too boring, he doesn't do enough work etc. He is not a bloody holding midfielder lads. He only played that role because Keane and Holland were out (every team needs a holding midfielder as England's crap performances show). If Kav partners Keane on Wedensday he will play the position he does for Cardiff and a lot of people will be surpised that its the same player.

No offence but I'd advise a lot of you to find the definition of a holding midfielder/anchorman and Kavanagh is far from one unless needed to do it. I'd be suprised if anyone could show me a team at Euro 2004, other than England, that didn't have one in the team.

So simply, the player you saw on Saturday is far from what Kavanagh is used to.

Well if you're right thats great. It means that the useless donkey that is Kilbane will be dropped and Kav will partner Roy.

If Kerr does drop Kav and not Kilbane after Saturdays performance I will be very disappointed in him as a manager.

he is right- I can't beleive some muppets thought kavanagh was playing to his best position on saturday?

the guy is a rough and ready john sheridan type almost only with tackles. free kicks, passing, disrupt the other team a bit but further up the pitch than where roy will be operating from now on. We can say goodbye to surging runs up the pitch from keano but kav should be able for a few of these.

Interesting point. I hadn't looked at it that way before though I must admit that I know very little about Kavanagh. He looked good when he was at 'boro but then he seemed to disaper. I would not, however, put him in the same class as John Sheridan. Sheridan was a class midfielder who was woefully underutilized by Charlton's Ireland. He could tackle, pass, create space and slow a game down. He also held onto the ball very well. Great player who is underappreciated.

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Originally Posted by Fergie's Son

Interesting point. I hadn't looked at it that way before though I must admit that I know very little about Kavanagh. He looked good when he was at 'boro but then he seemed to disaper. I would not, however, put him in the same class as John Sheridan. Sheridan was a class midfielder who was woefully underutilized by Charlton's Ireland. He could tackle, pass, create space and slow a game down. He also held onto the ball very well. Great player who is underappreciated.

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To be fair my view of sheridan is coloured by the fact that I onl y had the later, slower version to take into acccount, Never saw him in his prime. Sheridan didn't play at the highet level though for a reason. Class is overused in this instance I would suggest he was no more than pretty damn good.

Kavanagh chose to play in the second division for cardiff when he could have stayed at stoke. he saw stoke were and are going nowhere and chose to be a part of Cardiff's renaissance.

Sheridan played in a very good Sheffield Wednesday team at the top level for quite some time. He was at Leeds for 7 years followed by a good 6 year run at Sheffield Wednesday before he droped down a division. He had poise and vision and I would consider him a significantly better player than Kavanagh.

In fairness Kav does a bit of both; the defensive work - he's a handy tackler, he hustles around the midfield well, isn't bad running with the ball and can pass the ball well so he is defo a good back up player. With Stoke he played in front of James O' Connor (what ever happened to him at WBA?) and it seemed he really gave O' Connor confidence. Didn't think O' Connor was half the player after Kav left the Potteries.

Eirebhoy – I think I remember you getting mad last year on the same topic on another forum!

Just cos Kav drops deep for the ball doesn’t mean he’s a holding midfielder.

I think I’m splitting hairs here but I wouldn’t say he was played out of position, just that the emphasis of his role was less attack minded than it is at Cardiff, due to Kilbane playing further up the pitch.

Kavanagh’s style of play has virtually disappeared from English football due to the pace the game is played at. Gary McAllister was a pretty comparable type of player I’d say.

He’s always the first to take a pass from the back and is always there to take a pass further up the field too. It’s further up the pitch that he’s often at his most effective. He’s pretty strong in the tackle, a feature not usually associated with good ball players.

I’m not saying he should be automatic in the Ireland team, but just noting he has a lot to offer. I wanted him to play in Basle last year though I personally think KK will partner Roy tomorrow. Purely down to mobility.

The way he takes his passes is very similar to Keane. He’ll always take a pass from the back with his left foot so he can immediately play it with his right once he’s turned. Keano does this brilliantly though most players would fall over when they try to do it!

His set pieces are usually a strength (Leeds in the FA Cup was his most notable example I suppose) though his efforts for Ireland so far have been very poor.

Fergie’s Son says Sheridan was woefully underused by Charlton. I agree, I thought he was class but Charlton thought ball players were ponces. He played centre halves in midfield and was suspicious of players like Brady and Whelan. I also think Kavanagh was discarded way too prematurely by McCarthy.

I’d expect that this is the type of role that Miller could develop into in time. Alan Quinn seems to have a lot of these attributes too.