look anyone named after a prime minister "harold wilson" can't be that good... typical welsh though, naming a kid after a labour guy that dies in 1995... 1995+16 = 2011. i wonder if his parents were that cut up about the guys passing that they deicded to name thier next child after him.
I also note the club website is now in overdrive publicsing the kid. rodgers needs to stamp that out quick and draw the curtains on him. No more than any other u18 please, certainly no more website... see wilson play stuff ala pacheco.
CM options for me... Fredy Guarin ( Colombian) Fredy Alejandro GuarÃn Vásquez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈfɾeði ɣwaˈɾin]; born 30 June 1986) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays for Internazionale in Italy. A versatile player, he is comfortable in the central or right side of midfield. Capable of efficiently shooting from long-range with both feet and also being able to act as a playmaker,[1][2] he started his career with Envigado, then had a short spell in Argentina and played two years in France with Saint-Ãtienne. GuarÃn made a name for himself with F.C. Porto in Portugal, where he spent four seasons winning ten major titles, namely three national championships and the 2011 Europa League. Maxime Gonalons ( CDM) French international footballer who currently plays for Lyon. A graduate of the Olympique Lyonnais youth academy, he plays as a defensive midfielder.
nah give me spanish.. oliver torres, muniain, koke... or steal Thiago out of bayern on loan even. get them young get them now.
One thing is certain, is that we need a new central midfield pairing if we want this new formation to work. He's pretty much abandoned his possession philosophy because he knows that we don't have the personnel in the middle of the park to play the way he wants (or he overestimated how good they were). Rodgers is actively looking for a DM in January.
we'll see I'd rather a xavi alonso than a mascherano here. A player ought to be able to do it all... not half the job. still my opinion.
Badly need a 'Mascherano' type more than Xabi but both are needed. Banega, Gonalons, M'Vila, Matic, Reges
I don't necessarily agree given the fact that every stat i saw stated that alonso ran further than mascherano and did more with the ball and without. not to mention the tally of red cards mascherano got for us. alonso's work rate was, just in my opinion grossly under rated. he.. again just my opinion could do it all.... which is why fat frnak was sent out by mourinho to break his ankle. If I couldn't have an alonso a mascherano would do... however henderson can run like him and lucas can foul like him so... what else is there i'm missing?
Disagree MITO - Mascherano was (possibly still is) one of the best defensive midfielders in the game and his impact of winning the ball and bullying the midfield is far greater than Alonso's (Despite what the stats say). Alonso was no slouch, and is renowned for his technical ability - I do agree that his defensive ability is underrated, and it certainly helped making him and Mash one of the best midfield partnerships of our generation. I will always use these two as our benchmark, and it's why I do not rate Gerrard and Lucas. People will continue to say 'Gerrard can still ping the ball across the field' - Alonso used to do that for fun and still had the defensive mindset to occupy the space and battle in the midfield.
As you're probably aware by now, I pay little attention to stats Mascherano offered a unique quality. The opposition knew there will be no space inbetween the defence and midfield when he played, they also knew that if our FBs went forward, it was unlikely for them to exploit the space they left because Javier was superb at covering that area. He always was a lot quicker than people give him credit for (especially Fifa ). Sure, Alonso was better on the ball and perhaps better tactically in defensive situations too (he rarely chased the ball as he was usually in the right position) but Lucas and Gerrard are capable of doing that, we lack that aggressive bite, a batard if you will
Mascherano was very good and one scary bastard in the midfield who you know wouldn't think twice about breaking someone's ankle if it meant getting the ball afterwards. If he was running full steam towards you, you got rid of it fast. Keane was another of that type when United had a good midfield. We don't have that player. Lucas is good, but trades in that aggressiveness and tackling for better passing. I'm happy for Lucas to be our holding midfielder for the next few years, but I'm not as happy with Gerrard filling the Alonso role. He still has enough talent to warrant being on the pitch, but Alonso was exceptional (in his last two seasons) and we've not replaced that midfield controller. Edit- and no, Joe ****ing Allen isn't that player either. He's garbage.
Lucas is a very good DM in my opinion when operating as 1, and not as a pair. That formation suits him. He's a 'modern day' DM in that he reads the game well and nicks the ball, rather than go lunging in. Similar to Busquets. Again, this style is very good in the right formation and right philosophy. At the moment, he has Gerrard alongside him who should be doing his job defensively. Problem is, he's not and is easily beaten, thus Lucas has to cover for him as well. Gerrard is not a central midfielder - his best years of his career are up the field as AM or even RW. Rafa did not trust Gerrard as the CM and we can see why. Either play him up the field, buy a proper CM, even give Allen a chance or give Gerrard 30 mins so he can give us a full blooded action packed cameo. EDIT: Following from Two Girls's comments - we had a fear factor with Mascherano and Alonso. Both were physical players and the opposition knew that Mascherano would hurt them physically, whereas Alonso would hurt them technically by starting attacks.
Earth, Wind and Fire are on Strictly Come Dancing this coming Sunday. I don't normally watch that ****e, but I will to see them again, after the performance I witnessed last Sunday #derail
I agree about the Gerrard bit. If we play the 4231 system then I'd prefer to see Henderson alongside Lucas with Gerrard in front. Sure, that means Coutinho playing from a wider position but he is more than capable of doing that. However, since BR has said he wants ford in the No.10 role and he is insisting and having Suarez and Sturridge up front as a pair, it gives us very little options when it comes to the system. This is why I think the 4312 formation would be best. Put Henderson and Lucas alongside Gerrard to allow our Stevie that bit of freedom to go and play the game. That gives us four attacking players with two attacking FBs providing width, that should be ample IMO. Plus, Suarez and Sturridge both like to drift wide too so we wouldn't be too narrow
