Indeed Diego and that "flawed" logic works both ways; doesn't it?
I mean; if we overlook his lack of prowess in the tackling department then surely we can do the same for Henderson or whoever.
Or, alternatively if we praise Raul for leading the midfield in assists last season... then surely we should, at least, afford the same luxury to whoever's leading the team, in that particular area this season; no? Wouldn't that be a reasonable?
I pretty much defended Raul, when he was here, (give or take the odd joke about his tackling) as I seen him as a talented footballer. Much as I do with our current crop of new boys.
We've an old saying where I'm from "I didn't come down in the last shower" - I use it often but usually never more than once to someone who doesn't know me.
Ah... you saw the question mark "A MoTD player?"... handy fuckers them punctuation marks, ain't they? Thanks for the reply. I happen to agree.
Don't understand the need of constant irony but yeah, pretty much we don't disagree, and I never implied you said he was a MOTD player - some people in this forum do talk about him as a 'highlights' player though, which I believe to be very unfair to his qualities.
And I would certainly overlook Hendo's tackling if he provided the team with as many goals and assists as Raul did, but he isn't doing that at the moment, so I think we've actually gone backwards in that department - not by a huge margin, but I think Raul did better for us in his only season here. As for Adam, I've always defended him because I think he gets ridiculous stick and is blamed for everything, but I still think Raul is a much more complete player. They have quite different roles in the squad anyway, so it's harder to compare.
And just a bit more of substance to what I called a 'flawed logic'...
Raul Meireles, The Portuguese Pussy - Mins per tackle:
32 (2010/11)
Jordan Henderson, The English Warrior - Mins per tackle:
52 (2011/12)
He does remind me of Hendo.
Has a good touch and movement,
But is often played out of position.
Excellent when played in the hole and so is Hendo.
Both often played out wide and less effectively.
Exactly. I don't compare him to Adam at all, the most obvious and fair comparison would be with Henderson, his "replacement" if I can call him that.
And if Raul "only looks great in highlights", I must say good then, because Hendo doesn't look great not even in highlights. And that is because he isn't great at all. He might very well turn into a great one (and I'm putting faith that he will), but he isn't, not yet. The only attribute in which he excels is his short passing, but in terms of creativity, finishing, dribbling, he still has a lot to improve.
I'm not sure if that's a 'confidence' thing, perhaps more a case of mentality, but Hendo really could do with more adventure to his game. Yes, we all appreciate the pass and movement nature of his game, but there are times in which just the short and safe play isn't the best option. Against Arsenal, he had a chance to have a go for himself in front of the goal, decided to go backwards instead, and passed to Kuyt - awful decision, since the Dutchman was already marked by then and we wasted a great chance. Sometimes he just kills the pace of a counter attack by not playing the ball forwards! It's all nice and good for the young fella to keep the ball rolling, but sometimes a midfielder do have to play a long ball, do the unexpected, and I'm hoping he'll develop this part of his game in the near future.