He's average, not bad, occasionally plays sh*te, occasionally plays really well, most of the time he's doing very little with the ball. If he gave me some of those 5 yard balls straight back to me I'd hoof that ball at him in training, they simply invite pressure and it's his most commonly played pass. They're completely counter productive. I could understand if he gave it back and moved but he gives it back and stands there staring, but he's a nice lad and as honest a pro as you'd ever meet so let's all ignore his weaknesses.
Imagine our current team with a Gerrard at peak form, Hamman, Mascherano, Alonso, you know real central midfield players.
You can bloody add Lucas to that list imo. Still gutted he was sold and not replaced, and yes, I am still salty about that. He was our best ball player and DM imo (still had a few more miles in him as shown last season and pre season imo), had a lot of beastly games (even last season) where he controlled the middle with his ball shifting and defensive awareness, and how many times did he initiate the attack with his passes from deep?! Something Hendo really needs to learn, but I don't think he will ever be as good as Lucas in those areas
oh, and does Lucas ever lose an aerial battle?!?!?!
Anyway, not that Hendo is a bad #6, and I think he has been doing a decent job there, but the sooner we buy a proper DM (doesn't even have to be exceptional or world class) the better. I reckon we will see a significant difference in the middle if that happens.
Logged