Our midfield

Sympathy vote from the very southern based national press, get a bit of perspective.

 

You can't say THE most consistent. He was ONE OF the most consistent players, but not THE most. He was awesome on a **** side, but so was Charlie Adam, and the one thing they have in common is they both are ****ing over rated!

 

All teams mentioned have had CL cash to assemble.............apart from ManC..so we're doing well to put our lads in same bracket.

 

Tiote was definitely better defensively last season, but I feel that if we want to progress, we'll need a player like Parker, who can defend and also offer us options upfront.

 

Nobody is saying that here, because he hasn't played and made an error or 2 today. In a lot of games last season he would make a mistake and people would ignore it and try and blame somebody else. The same with Colo. I know Parker had bad moments for West Ham, every player does. It's just Parker didn't give it away in and around his own box. He is an intelligent enough player to just get rid of it when under pressure in his own box.

 

With all due respect, you can also over-analyze the mistakes a player makes. I do it too, when Colo makes a great tackle i play it up. At the same time when he makes a defensive error i suddenly start thinking he's back to his ways of 09. I for one think Tiote is a better all-round CM than Parker. Parker won a lot of awards last season because he looked sensational in a relegated side mainly because he wears his heart on his sleeve and gives his all - which is exactly what will stand out in a team not performing. Parker has started well this season but if you cast back to the games that Tiote played well in the stats don't lie. On his day he can be the most influential player on the pitch.

 

Or because he was outstanding in a poor side. He carried the team.

But no you're probably right. They just felt sorry for him, was nothing to do with how well he played

 

Tiote didn't lose the ball a lot around the box, he eventually got the idea that he shouldn't try and hold the ball in his own box. It's not like he never cleared it. He did most of the time, but sometimes he thought he was Messi and tried to skin a player and got punished for it. All part of the learning cycle my friend.

Enrique dribbled around the box a lot, and lost the ball sometimes, but we forgave him because his overall play was awesome. No one is without their faults.

Tiote didn't make frequent errors at all.

He's clearing the ball a lot more than he used to, and plays a valuable part in our defense. He's obviously been bollocked off Pardew and our defenders for doing it.

 

Oh I agree. Because of the way everyone goes on about Tiote I probably look too harshly into his errors. On his day he is outstanding. However I feel Parker is more consistent. Parker is better at putting in a tackle and uses the ball better.

 

We are a top 4 club....at the moment

 

All of that has nout to do with the direct comparison between the two.

"Ohh Parker won an award and he's playing in a top 5 team, so he MUST be better". That's the same kind of crap pundits conjure up in their heads to make their ridiculous predictions and assessments.

Anyway yeah, I genuinely think Cabaye and Tiote could be one of the best CM pairings in the league. It's the genuine ability of both players and their attributes combined in a partnership which will dictate how well they do. Tiote is still far from his best (but improving) and Cabaye is still getting used to the league. They're already superb and they're likely to get a lot better.

Just because it's "just Newcastle", it doesn't mean that it's so far fetched. They're both real bargains who we've bought for a lot less than they're really worth.

Our only midfield downfall is the wingers. Jonas and Obertan are good for a mid-table side, but they're down a few levels compared to Cabaye and Tiote imo. To have a genuine top 5 midfield we would need two barton-esque wingers who can bag an impressive number of assists each.

That seems to be a problem we have to be honest. No wingers who can do their roles properly and actually put in enough crosses or provide assists. I'm hoping Marveaux steps up in that area.

 

I think we really saw for the first time their potential as a partnership against Villa in the second half. They could go on to become one of the best CM pairings in the league. They just need to learn each others game more, Cabaye can let Tiote shield the back four and patrol the middle of the park which he does best, and Cabaye can help when needed but have the primary function of getting the ball, spraying passes about in attack and unleashing that right foot of his. Give it a few more matches and they'll be a match for most.

 

Does anyone think Lille's team last year could have placed top 7 in the prem? I don't think so

I think we have a better team right now (Unless Shola's on) than Lille had when they won L1

 

Defence, midfield and goalie, yes, probably.

Attack? Not a chance. They had Hazard, Sow and Gervinho as an attacking front three. Basically three of the hottest prospects in European football. Gervinho has already slotted into Arsenal's starting 11, and Hazard will eventually be on his way to a top 4 team undoubtedly.

 

I think they'd have managed top 7 to be fair. They have (or rather had) better individuals (Gervinho, Hazard, Cabaye, Rami) but we arguably have a better team now.

 

Parker is better than Tiote. But Tiote is still young and has potential to be better than him.

Also I'm not sure who has the best midfield in the league. Man U have the best wingers (Young Nani) Spurs have the best CM's (Parker Modric) and City have the best attacking mid (Silva). Outside the top 6 I'd say we are up there. But when we go beyond our first choice midfield we have pretty weak backup - Guthrie, Gosling, Smith, Obertan (with everyone fit I wouldn't start him) etc. They're OK players but lots of other teams have better backup.

 

Am I the only one who thinks that Tiote would be better played slightly further upfield but that we just play him more defensively because it's hard to find someone better. It's just he seems confident on the ball and can pick out good passes and then him losing the ball wouldn't matter so much.

 

He is playing in a midfield that contains Gareth Barry, Parker will look like the stand out player.

#justsaying

 

Considering Bale hasn't played in midfield for a while now , I would say our midfield is better than Spurs'.

 

Forgot about modric though.

Maybe theirs is just better.