It's not 'a myth' it's what I've observed! Maybe you disagree but I believe Hammond is much better in a physical contest.
Hammond, cork and schneiderlein are all great. I will be disappointed if we don't win on Tuesday. I think we are a much better side than West Ham.
Davis Richardson - Fonte - Hooiveld - Fox Puncheon - Hammond - Cork - Lallana Sharp - Lambert Bart, Morgan, Lee, Guly, Harding JP - So west ham know what they missed out on.
you're observations are clearly wrong. Schneiderlin's technique in the tackle is far superior to Hammond's.
Schneiderlin is stornger in the tackle, flies in for more and wins more but Hammond is a safer option. Shorter passes, physically strong on the ball and so harder to tackle. No need to change it though as the midfield was excellent on Saturday. Schneiderlin's mobility and presence allowed Cork to get forward a bit more and play a couple of delightful balls over the top for Sharp. No need to change. On the Nolan aspect, I've heard from Hammers fans that Noble has been the one running the games for them. Nolan will be a miss though make no mistake. He gives them goals that Noble doesn't (except from the spot) and often gets on the end of Cole's knockdowns just as he did with Carroll at Ncastle. It's good for us that he's out but not a gamechanger.
Well that's your opinion but the disrespect is not necessary. I don't disagree that Schneiderlin's technique is better, but Hammond is more consistent, stronger, and seems to cover the pitch better. I'm not saying he's a better player, I'm saying I think he will play for these reasons.
I agree. Schneiderlin talents lie elsewhere. He is good when given time to play and is a fine passer but he is slow to close the opposition down and make himself available. I've yet to see the "superior technique" when it comes to tackling, if anything he seems reluctant to put his foot in as they say.
This is exactly what i'm on about! Morgan is consistently better than Hammond, stronger and gets around the pitch a lot more. For some reason saints fans can't see it, it's similar to those who say Guly doesn't work hard or chase back.
The allocated Referee is Lee Probert, he is getting mixed ratings, but is usually strong on shirt tugging in the Penalty area, perhaps Lambo might get some support for once.
That's not been the case in the games I've watched, so no, in my opinion he is not consistently better. He may be a better player but he has had his off-days. Whether one player or another has a better game is somewhat subjective so perhaps you should consider that other people might see different things to you and not be so confident that your opinion is the one true opinion and everyone else is just flat wrong.
Not wanting to stir things up. But I'd be inclined to believe with Joey B. Schneiderlin often seems to be our most combative midfielder. I think maybe he looks a bit wet in the tackle from stands because he is always so relaxed in his style. But he definitely goes in hard. Players often get stereotyped: Morgan - good passer and technical therefore he can't tackle, despite being our most physical midfielder. I think people are confusing his role with the 'box to box' midfielder. He shouldn't be 'driving the team forward' and pressing from the front, that's Cork's job... and the pair of them do this effectively between them. Guly - Brazilian and technical therefore lazy and not physical (although away from home he can be) - despite being a much harder worker defensively than Lambert and Lallana (given that this could be tactical more than anything)
I agree with pretty much all of what you've said here, this post in particular. Morgan and Cork are easily our two best CMs. Brilliant players and they're both young as well, will keep getting better. Only reason people think Hammond defends better is because he throws himself in, a lot of the time successfully. It's been said for a long time that the best defenders don't need to slide, Morgan is in positions where he doesn't need to throw himself around.
You guys have all done a good job defeating points that I didn't make, so well done there. I know Morgan gets stuck in, he gets enough yellow cards to suggest that, then again that also suggests that his technique in the tackle is not quite as good as you all think. I don't think Hammond is better than either Cork or Schneiderlin, but it's horses for courses, he's an effective player who does a lot of unseen donkeywork, and sometimes that's the kind of player you need.
You'll notice I wasn't responding to you, instead making my own judgement on our best CM pairing. Talk about defending unmade points...
At the end of the day it's Nigel's call and so far he has called it right more often than wrong! As he keep's saying you don't win trophies with just your best 11 you need a squad.
I would prefer we started with an attacking team of 4-3-3 or at least 4-4-2. I wouldn't go for a 4-5-1 purely for the fact that a draw would be a better result for WHU and this new (pointless, ****ing bullshit) 5 sub rule restricts the attacking options you can have on the bench. It's better to make subs to protect the lead the lead than to chase the game, I reckon!
