I will not, it hurts too much. Add prime Bale in the mix and we'd need health warnings for over stimulation.
Modric has always been 'the pass before the pass' . So the player X who delivers the final ball to the likes of Kane and Son is the one you need to be good.
He really was (and still is) an incredible footballer. That style of creative controlling midfielder seems to be dying and it’s a damn shame, I think at one point the footballing world was treated to the likes of Modric, Iniesta, Xavi, Pirlo, Fabregas, Silva, Kroos, Scholes, Carrick, de Bruyne, Eriksen and Verratti all playing albeit in various stages of their careers. Now even Eriksen and Verratti who are the youngest of them all are 30. Struggling to think of any U23s in their mould. Few decent number 10s in the making, Foden being one but honestly struggle to think of any player capable of controlling the whole football match like those can/ could.
Ever since the box-to-box midfielder became the META for most teams, that's caused the creative central midfielder to evolve into two different types of player: the Modric-type player was pushed forward and became an attacking midfielder (or occasionally a winger, although that's more in response to Angel Di Maria) while the Pirlo-type midfielder has been pushed backwards and become a DM
I rated Jenas. Was a key player under BMJ/Ramos, then during Harry's revival and was magnificent in our run to the last major trophy we won. Tore Arsenal to shreds in both SF legs (he loved a NLD) and then played out of his skin against Chelsea. I see his career as an example of what happens when a player isn't developing as quickly as the team around him. He just got left behind as the team went from occasional UEFA cup contestants to semi regular CL contenders with genuinely world class players all over the pitch (Ledley, Bale Modric and VDV). I think the move to Villa and with it the promise of regular football would have helped his development, but then he suffered that awful injury in late 2011 that ended his season and essentially his Spurs career too. I also think HBIC has made an intriguing tactical observation above: Jenas was at his best as a box to box mid. They were very fashionable in the late noughties but then with the turn of the decade, the vogue was to play one 'holding' midfielder who would sit and sweep ahead of the defence and another 'creative' mid who would get play going from deep. This was the case all the way from Harry's last season through to Poch's last and was the go to for quite a number of PL teams. It does seem as though box to box mids are now coming back in fashion though. Ironically I can see vintage 2009 Jenas doing quite well in the current Spurs set up.
A shout out to Kieran McKenna who was appointed manager at Ipswich a year ago today. They are top of the league and his very impressive record is Played 51, won 28, drawn 14 and lost 9. This guy has a bright future ahead of him.
Kion Etete notched his first league goal for Cardiff yesterday. He still looks a bit lightweight and leggy but has hit some form since returning from injury. He works hard, makes defenders commit and takes the knocks well. He has benefitted from playing alongside Callum Robinson. Cardiff still in trouble mainly due to an absolute sh1te referee yesterday but if Etete and Robinson continue to gel we should start to climb the league.
Sadly even that performance, which was virtuoso, was already few and far between at that stage of his career. He was good in the CL quarter finals, excellent in the game in Amsterdam and superb in that game against Woolwich in the cup and in the win over Chelsea in the league. I honestly struggle to recall more than half a dozen performances that were befitting of a player with his reputation. Off a cliff is an understatement.
Remember that as if it was yesterday. Crazy that it was so long ago. What a talent, sad that it was lost or squandered. That assist from Kane is juicy too.
