Shelvey

In this day and age in the premier league where players are fit as fiddles and running none stop. Shelvey is a dying breed of old school crap footballers.

We keep saying he can pick a pass from 700 yards but no teams in the top flights of football are playing that kind of football any more.

Is he a lump of **** that we need to get shot of in the modern game?

 

Nah. I think talented footballers will always have a role to play in the game, because there is so much room for diversity in football with tactics. Supremely athletic footballers have been on the rise for the last couple of decades, to the point where ultimately now your ability with the ball can be considered secondary to some degree.

We have morphed from kick-and-rush to this nonsense playing out from the back, which causes the team in possession more problems than the opposition. Players who are good on the ball fit in there, but they have to be flanked by headless chickens that will run themselves ragged pressing.

What I've noticed this year as I watched us and Sheffield United this weekend, is that I think the sitting-back defensive tactic is now the out-dated element in football. Man City had 4 players in a line closing Spurs and forced numerous mistakes. We MUST play like that against Spurs if we want to score goals.

 

But he’s so immobile and with the players we have and tactics Bruce wants to tuck with we don’t have the luxury of a player who runs through treacle.

 

untouchable footballer that does what he wants.

 

He’s ****.

 

He is a **** stain of a human being and not much better at football

 

Were ****ed and I’m beelin’

 

Reminds me of Robbie Savage, limited ability but **** me. I imagine before the game they'd just say "he's half decent, Robbie get him out the game."

he'd ****ing run for 20 years straight and latch onto someone until they were dead in the ground if Mark Hughes told him too

 

Like I always said with Shelvey, guy needs an hour to create an admittedly sublime pass. It's not enough in the prem when you consider he can't defend, tackle or dribble. Looked good with the defensiveness of Diame, is ****ed with our current team. A sub at best.

 

He’s ****

 

Yes

 

Why did we turn down West Ham advances again?

 

I'd want more from him but I think tactically was where we went wrong. There was a more immobile player on the pitch too, his midfield partner Ki.

I see Shelvey as back up and to compete with Longstaff. I have to say I think that is more than good enough for our club of our current standing.

I think Hayden is good enough to be the back up guy to a proper holding midfielder. In the absence of that midfielder (we didn't buy one as I hoped), I think he can do a job for us there. The game passes him by a bit much for my liking but he isn't a right midfielder and he can do a job in there winning the ball for a ball player.

I don't see a role for Ki. I think he is a lazy luxury player. If for that laziness I got loads of goals created and a smattering of goals scored it is easier to justify. All we get from Ki for that laziness is a few tidy sideways passes. People run off him for fun and it causes mayhem having both him and Shelvey in there. They both have the same trait and its not one to have in such a crucial part of the field.

I also see no role for Colback. He just isn't good enough and is another who just passes sideways.

I don't really understand Newcastle but that is nothing new. If we had shifted Ki and Colback, surely we could have bought one holding midfielder. We also have Longstaff Jnr. Perhaps shifting Ki and Colback was the problem though.

Tactically we are crying out for a destructive holding midfielder with quality on the ball. If you want to get the best from Shelvey and less so Longstaff, you need someone doing the hard yards and dirty stuff. I would have tried for a loan for Wanyama. He'd have been ideal if a buy wasn't possible. I've said before I like Maia and Ascaibar but maybe persuading them to come here or affording them could be an issue. In the meantime put Hayden in his proper role and get some balance about us. The knock on effect it will have on Almiron and Joelinton is huge. This disjointed set up we have kicked off with is killing us.

 

Shelvey, due to his lack of athleticism and his passing range, has to play as the deep lying midfield player if we are playing 3 at the back. In the current formation i just don't see another role for him (is this why Rafa didn't use him as much, as he found the right formation for the team and squad but knew Shelvey's skill set just didn't mesh with it?). The only issue is, despite his size, I don't really see a defensive/organisational part to his game.

If we aren't going to change the formation, given the squad we have I don't see much flex to change it, he really doesn't fit it. I wonder with always looking for the hollywood ball, his unique look, he's a big character would the MLS be the obvious move for him?

 

Weren't you ever told that if you can't say something nice then don't say anything?

 

Clearly shelvey wasn't told that

 

Club's top goalscorer at the moment so he's not too bad.

 

Corrected for you.

 

He is a luxury item that needs others around him to pull his share of the weight to look good. Should be used as a sub in a 4-5-1 where you can take of an AM and put Shelvey on to sure up in midfield and dictate tempo if you are winning by 2 goals and you know the other 2 CM's will put their foot in and do the ugly yards for him.

Other than that he doesn't want to bust a gut to get back and help, isn't a destroyer, attacking or box to box type midfielder. He is a passer - master of his trade to be fair - but past the odd Hollywood ball and a goal here and there he doesn't do enough for me.

 

Rafa built a side that doesnt work with shelvey...bruce is now using shelvey at the heart of it.