Don't get me wrong Roo, I'd hate to see Parker's nose out of joint but as age creeps up on him - and with Sandro probably out a while - M'Vila for £8 million would be a cracking deal. Plus M'Vila also has youth on his side, and sell-on-ability, if it doesn't work out, which is the sort of deal DL is fond of.
Anyone watching Negredo on skysports by the way? Movement looks good, and he's very much the focal point of the attacks, so would undoubtedly be able to do a job in a four-three-three
I've tried to say this a dozen times, not nearly as well. M'Vila looks like a very good idea, and if not him, then another good DM. I wonder what would happen if we tried a Dembele/Carroll midfield at home/against weaker teams. I've been very impressed with Carroll so far.
Carroll & Dembele are (to my mind only perhaps) too forward looking as central midfielders, putting them together would be about as successful as a Sandro/Parker pairing, which we have tried before and doesn't seem to work at all well. My opinion only but we need a central midfield tackler/blocker/shield paired with a creative/box to box/playmaker type.
It would definitely have to be a weaker team. I'm influenced by having seen AVB try a Carroll/Huddlestone pairing in pre-season, and, I think, in another game or two, which to me is considerably less defensive-minded.
The immobility of Thudd could be part and parcel of that, mind! He's more likely to sit deep and try and spray the ball out QB style whilst Carroll is forward, where Dembele and Carroll are more likely to operate further upfield and as a result leave exploitable gaps (even for the weaker teams!) But hey, it may be an option as long as one of the two (prob Dembele) is disciplined enough to rein himself back hmmm, just a thought, but with Sandro out and Ade off at ACON, a possibility (not against Man U mind) could be a formation like this Lloris Walker - Dawson/Caulker - Vertonghen - Benny/Naughton Parker - Huddlestone Dembele Lennon/Dempsey - Defoe - Bale/Siggy what do people think? oh... and before its said, I know that thats not January transfer window related but it follows on from what I've said, after a fashion!!
Huddlestone's a good player, but Villas-Boas likes his midfielders to close down quickly and harry the opposition, so he's just not the right fit for the manager. I'd expect Dempsey to come in for Adebayor and Parker for Sandro, with the possibility of Assou-Ekotto starting, but no other changes.
If Hudd had someone to do all the running for him, all the shooting for him, all the tackling for him then he would be a world class player, as he could just stand in the circle, comb his afro and spray a 40-50 yard pass every now and then.
Yeah, that's how I see Hudd as well this year, but he really is a very good passer, and has been the best corner taker this year IMO, nosing out Gylfi. He could have been a good choice against QPR last time, or anyone who doesn't offer a lot going forward but is hard to break down. But I think he'd just be watching players go by against Man U.
