I wonder does that ("you do what he says or you dont play") apply to Coleman, who appears to have a 'free to roam' pass in his back pocket?
He does end up in some strange positions, veering into CM and even over to the left side of CM.
A CM of Coleman and Hunt would be 'interesting'.
It would be like our current CM, a void, non-existent, etc etc - but for different reasons obviously.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
I see Whelan was muscled off the ball in midfield in the lead-up to the Newcastle goal tonight, though Begovic will take the flak for his non-save.
He was played into a bit of a tight spot, there was a player to the left of him who should have been an
outlet but unfortunately he ran to a position where he was unavailable hence there was no much on for him
and he got caught on the ball, he could have done better though perhaps.
Still 3 points for Stoke and he was got a decent rating on Sky sports.
"All-round good display some excellent passing".
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
He is actually one of our highest placed players in the stats, and the highest in his position.
I looked at the number of dispossessions per game and his was 0.5 where as for McCarthy it was 0.9.
So it's a pretty rare event for him.
Yeah just like in my favorite movie, Titanic, when Leo says when you got nothin you got nothing to lose? Oh Leo is so dreamy.
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
But??????
Assuming it comes down to a choice as to who is to play beside McCarthy (ignoring the Trap won't change clamour), Whelan or Andrews? In the past I would have opted for Andrews but Whelan is playing regularly in the Premiership and will perform better with a more skilful player beside him. Whelan for me.
Forget about the performance or entertainment. It's only the result that matters.
I'd pick Gibson beside McCarthy, if available. I'm genuinely sick of the sight of Whelan in a green shirt. He offers absolutely nothing, and it's astounding that he's been playing regular EPL football for so long. If anything, it serves to show how little technique you need to play in midfield in that league. When Whelan receives the ball, his first instinct is to either pass it back in the direction it came, pass it back to the goalkeeper, or lump it up the field into 'the channels'. He never knows what to do before he gets the ball, and lacks the composure and vision to turn, pick a pass, and execute it with any accuracy, and change the focus of the attack - something which seems to come naturally to even a developing Wigan player like McCarthy. If Whelan was a rugby player, he'd be Tomas O'Leary.
He's nominally there as a 'holding' or defensive midfielder, but even if he was an impressive reader of the game, and good at breaking up play (which he isn't), the trend in European football is not for Carsley-type anchormen these days, but for Carrick/Busquets/Alonso/Pirlo-type deep-lying playmakers who can combine decent athleticism with intelligent, measured passing. Whelan does not fit in this mould, and neither does Meyler, for that matter, on recent evidence. Gibson is the best suited to that deep-lying role from our scant resources, and a McCarthy-Gibson partnership would at least give us a bit of technical savvy in the middle without compromising on athleticism.
Edit - and if the above sounds a bit harsh, let's not forget that Whelan is closing in on 50 caps. We've had plenty of limited midfielders before, but the likes of Holland, Kinsella, Carsley and McLoughlin could all put in effective performances on their day. Even Kilbane had a few good days in his ill-fated central-midfield run. I just don't see what Whelan offers.
Last edited by Supreme feet; 29/11/2012 at 10:21 PM.
I'd agree Whelan is hardly the most inspiring player on the pitch nothing, his game seems to focus on safety,
on that occasion he would have done better to be even more negative and kick the ball into touch!!
Glenn Whelan could well face legal trouble over a horror challenge on Javi Garcia right at the start of the second half in today's match against Manchester City. I've just watched it myself, and it was a two footed long jump kind of "tackle" that was clearly meant to break Garcia's leg. Howard Webb was three yards away and didn't give a card, probably because Zabaleta fouled Whelan immediately after.
Yeah I think he's facing a couple of years in prison for that one.
Bookmarks