I certainly agree with the point regarding howson not getting a huge amount of praise despite contributing an awful lot since his return. I do see him as a key player who is still developing into a very decent top level midfielder. If I could only keep one of our current cm's then it would be howson.
At the risk of sounding utterly ridiculous (I know that's not unusual...), Howson reminds me of the old quote from Del Bosque about Busquets: "You watch the game, you don't see Busquets. You watch Busquets, you see the whole game". Obviously they're not the same calibre, or play the same role, but I think it still rings true to some degree. You can watch a game and go half an hour without particularly noticing what Howson is contributing. But if you take the time to watch Howson specifically, he's always involved in making us tick going forwards, he uses the ball intelligently, and it's rare that he loses the ball or makes a crucial mistake.
Rusty (and pleasingly Wes) are starting in the RoI - Scotland game, Whittaker is on the bench. Supposed target Brady continues at LB for Ireland.
Agree with this. Naturally from his position and style of play he gets more involved than Busquets, but he exudes that calm controlled style that you want in a midfielder. He's not flashy and doesn't pull off all the fancy tricks, but he passes accurately and quickly and will always gets into positions for his team mates to find him. I see him as a perfect link man between defence and attack.
It pleases me to see Howson getting the credit he deserves because it's easy to miss just how much he contributes in a game. He will be a vital player for us this year.
There was a time when I thought Howson would not only go on to captain City but also the National side. Now that we're back in the Prem and if he performs to the best of his abilities, you never know he just might get that call from Woy.
Not a chance. Midfielders will always be selected from the top clubs, no matter how good others seem to be. I actually had Howson as my second choice in POTS.
Delph has made recent England squads, although I agree with you otherwise. When England play 4-3-3, Howson would probably have to take Henderson's role, which is quite a challenge.
