I have absolute respect for Huddlestone and his abilities, but the team have moved the ball much faster, been more positive going forward and have generally looked like the shackles have been taken off since his absence. I'm a bit worried about this fluency being lost when Hudd comes back because he tends to operate too deep and often restricts play to his own lumbering pace. Maybe Huddlestone should be used in games where we need to park the bus and tactically off the bench when midfield/ defence needs an anchor.
I agree, he can be very useful in games against the big teams, because both him and Livermore are excellent positionally - and they are both technically gifted to the point where they can still do what they do against most opposition. The problem is, that the role he has been playing is effectively the job a CB could and should be doing. He sits in the back line and passes it out to the wing. Hudd is obviously capable of a great long ball every now and then - but he doesn't get in the middle of it, get involved in moves, run forward with the ball etc... Meyler, Quinn and Ramirez have all shown that they are very capable of being real positive benefits to the team, in the way of creating chances and moving forward with the ball. Huddlestone may very well be technically better - but when it comes to winning games, i'd far rather have Meyler occasionally missing a pass, but also getting his head up and playing balls into the area, running forward with the ball, diving into tackles etc... Basically, choose one of Livermore and Huddlestone - maybe unless you are playing Man City - but then again, why not have a go?
The thing with Huddlestone is he has been playing deep or in that anchor role, the problem is not only is he wasted there but he's also not very good at it. If you have an anchor man then in my opionion he is someone who makes a tackle and breaks up play. Huddlestone doesn't do this his main attribute is his passing ability unfortunately whilst he's sat in front of the back 3/4 this ability is wasted as his passes don't hurt the apposing team. What we need is a midfielder that can play that deep/anchor role so that thudd can play further forward and hurt teams and livermore can also get forward more.
Agreed, I'm concerned that Thudd will simply be allowed to walk back into the first eleven. It's decisions like these when Brucey earns his money, I'm hoping that he makes the right decision for the right reason. It would be interesting to see our win/loss ratio with and without Thudd, I would wager that our win ratio, as a %, would be much greater without him in the team. And if we're talking about "Hudd is obviously capable of a great long ball every now and then", has he ever hit one to equal THAT pass from Brady to Hernandez in the dying minutes of the Everton game? Pure quality from the wee Irishman!
I keep rolling this stat out but people keep going with this myth that Tom can't defend. He made more tackles than any other City player last season. He also makes a lot of interceptions. To say he's just a ball-playing midfielder and nothing more isn't fair. We really missed him against Swansea, and since then we've done alright but I don't think Meyler has been good enough this season overall to keep Tom out of the team for long, and I'm sure he won't.
Hudd does train with the rest of the team, they'll play practice matches and he will be aware of the level we're playing at at the moment, it's not like while they're suspended they disappear of the face of the Earth. He's easily our best passer of the ball, so slotting him in would be great, but it'd be very harsh on Meyler and Livermore. A good performance against Arsenal might see him come back in for the WBA game. His passing range more than makes up for his lack of pace and he's more of a benefit than a hinderance.
It's easy to say he isn't needed in the team after a great win, but if we don't get much from West Brom and West Ham people will be wanting to see him back in the side. Say what you like but he's our best and most gifted player, you can't play people like Meyler every game. He may have done very well against Everton, but you only get a performance like that from him once every 3 games. I think the criticism Huddlestone has received is unfair, he's a holding midfielder and does bits that a lot of people don't notice.
I think Brucey has told Meyler to keep the ball a lot more and play the little short passes, the same with Quinn. Meyler looked a better player when he got booked, stayed on his feet and broke up play very well. We have players to do Thud's game, maybe we should try him in a Ramirez role or a more attacking role playing riskier balls, but further up the pitch. I do think Huddlestone is essential against the lower teams, if he is playing well. The centre half is interesting because I see Dawson's range of passing as good as Huddlestone's.
I don't think he will walk back into the team, he shouldn't due to other player's form at the moment, but for me he remains one of our best 11 players and should regain his starting spot over time if he performs well.
The other thing Meyler stank the place our against Leciester, although I do rate him. Him and Elmo where fantastic signings for the price we paid.
I think he should be in the team, just in a different role. Slightly further forward so his passes can hurt the opponents
This is key. For a much as people don't think he has been up to scratch, he is still better than Meyler.
Agreed, I sometimes wonder what games people are watching or if they just make their assessments on MOTD highlights. If you watch us regularly you don't need to see a stat written down to know he's always getting stuck in and breaking up play. And to say that he slows us down... What complete and utter nonsense.
Theres no doubt Hudd is a huge talent, superb passer etc but. Yesterday you saw two very mobile CM's working in tandem hunting the ball down further up the pitch. This put a lot more pressure on Everton. Hudds a victim of his own success, his performances this season are nowhere near as good as last year.
Huddlestone is obviously a very good defensive midfielder with great passing ability, but for whatever reason he slows momentum down. Other players constantly use him as the safe option instead of being more positive and unfortunately most of his passes are now sideways or backward. The end result is the team are slow, predictable and often defensive.
He`ll be in for the Arsenal cup match, how he performs there will determine if Bruce will be prepared to change the heart of the team to accommodate him. I suspect that unless he plays well then he`ll be on the bench for the West Brom game.
Bang on the money with this, and anyone that hasn't noticed it must be partially sighted. Leave Livermore and Meyler in the CM for me, Thudd can always be utilised as a sub if needed.
Not saying you're wrong, but people always say that, yet in the second half of last season it was often said that he wasn't playing as well since his haircut goal against Fulham, and before then everyone was saying he hadn't been as good as his first few games. Seems like almost the whole time he's been here, people have said he was playing better before. I think a lot of it is that people expect more from him. I have to admit when we signed him I thought he'd be a goal/assist machine and it turns out he's not that kind of player really. He does play very deep and we're a bit negative at times which maybe holds him back. Despite all that, he and Jake are definitely the best we've got defensively, and best on the ball too.
