Neville Kneville
Well-Known Member
He needs to be able to run & sharp enough to get to the ball in front of opponents. When that eventually goes he'll be gone.
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Micah Richards
- Thread starter Daz_Blue
- Start date
He needs to be able to run & sharp enough to get to the ball in front of opponents. When that eventually goes he'll be gone.
jimmygrimblesboots
Well-Known Member
He needs to be able to run & sharp enough to get to the ball in front of opponents. When that eventually goes he'll be gone.
Iniesta is the same type of player and still playing top level at 33 years old , i expect Merlin to be doing the same, he will mature like a fine wine.
He was reliant on strength & athleticism but that's hardly surprising for an English centre half.
We can see tonight how just a percentage of Kompny's ahleticism going, has caused him to make so many wrong decisions faced with a bit of pace.
David Silva will be fairly shit when he slows down 20% and Aguero will have retired.
A lot of them get by just on strength. Micah played as a midfielder, if I'm not wrong and was picked as full back for the first team. He didn't have the game for a midfielder. He moved into the centre and then back out to full back. He was generally poor when he overlapped. Fast and strong to get there but no end product. I just don't think the basic talent was good enough. And that's why his career went downhill quick when he lost his physical edge. He was great for us for a few seasons, mind.
Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
He's a wonderful example of a young player who stood out because he was quicker and stronger than others his age. He nearly turned around a youth cup final against Liverpool single handed when he came back for the second leg having been away with the first team for the first leg at Anfield. While his athleticism held up he was a great defender in a middling team. When his fitness started to decline, he couldn't keep his place in a good team and now he can't get in a crap team. He does illustrate perfectly the gulf between youth team football and the game at the top level. He bridged it but he couldn't stay there because his game was based on his physical prowess. Kyle Walker is a much better footballer with similar attributes of speed and strength but on the left we've been successfully playing two much smaller and slower players.
To me, Stuart Pearce's worst decision. He kept Richards out of the first leg of the youth cup final (played on a Friday night) to play him in a meaningless end of season 0-0 at West Ham on the Saturday and we lost 3-0 at Anfield.
He was immense in the 2nd leg and fuck knows how we only won 2-0..... i truly believe with Richards in the 1st leg we would never have lost 3-0.
To me, Stuart Pearce's worst decision. He kept Richards out of the first leg of the youth cup final (played on a Friday night) to play him in a meaningless end of season 0-0 at West Ham on the Saturday and we lost 3-0 at Anfield.
He was immense in the 2nd leg and fuck knows how we only won 2-0..... i truly believe with Richards in the 1st leg we would never have lost 3-0 and would have won the youth cup for the 2nd time.
Iniesta is the same type of player and still playing top level at 33 years old , i expect Merlin to be doing the same, he will mature like a fine wine.
Iniesta has always been a bit faster than Silva though so his little speed drop is nowhere near as drastic. He's gone to about the same speed as Silva ever was, but that's obviously fine. Silva will still be around at 33, but as Nev said - it will affect him one day. That's the main reason all players retire. Their passing doesn't go, it's their legs. They simply can't get around the pitch quick enough to be useful.
The Colonel
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 10 Jul 2009
- Messages
- 1,914
Not the way I see it. He lost his athleticism and agility when he seemed to put on too much upper body muscle when out injured. He seemed to be unbalanced and not a natural footballers build. As a result he lost his ability to lieterally get his body in the right places and positioning to be a top level defender.He's a wonderful example of a young player who stood out because he was quicker and stronger than others his age. He nearly turned around a youth cup final against Liverpool single handed when he came back for the second leg having been away with the first team for the first leg at Anfield. While his athleticism held up he was a great defender in a middling team. When his fitness started to decline, he couldn't keep his place in a good team and now he can't get in a crap team. He does illustrate perfectly the gulf between youth team football and the game at the top level. He bridged it but he couldn't stay there because his game was based on his physical prowess. Kyle Walker is a much better footballer with similar attributes of speed and strength but on the left we've been successfully playing two much smaller and slower players.
To me, Stuart Pearce's worst decision. He kept Richards out of the first leg of the youth cup final (played on a Friday night) to play him in a meaningless end of season 0-0 at West Ham on the Saturday and we lost 3-0 at Anfield.
He was immense in the 2nd leg and fuck knows how we only won 2-0..... i truly believe with Richards in the 1st leg we would never have lost 3-0.
Don't agree tbh, Valeron only retired last year (at age 41) playing the David Silva way. obviously he was nowhere near as good as when he was young, but he was still able to be effective because his technique and vision allowed him a huge advantage over everyone else. I wouldn't be surprised if Dave did the same thing and was trotting out performances back home for Las Palmas when he's in his mid 30's. If you're as intelligent and technically gifted as that then you can play at some level for as long as you are willing to put in the work.He needs to be able to run & sharp enough to get to the ball in front of opponents. When that eventually goes he'll be gone.
Don't know how long he'll be able to play at our level, but he'll be an effective player for a long time yet
Reply to the Colonel
Pretty easy to drop some bulk, though. Easier than putting it on. He had a problem with his calves and had surgery on them fairly early on. I just don't think his game was that good and his athleticism covered it up. But it hasn't been doing for a few years now.
Pretty easy to drop some bulk, though. Easier than putting it on. He had a problem with his calves and had surgery on them fairly early on. I just don't think his game was that good and his athleticism covered it up. But it hasn't been doing for a few years now.
jimmygrimblesboots
Well-Known Member
Iniesta has always been a bit faster than Silva though so his little speed drop is nowhere near as drastic. He's gone to about the same speed as Silva ever was, but that's obviously fine. Silva will still be around at 33, but as Nev said - it will affect him one day. That's the main reason all players retire. Their passing doesn't go, it's their legs. They simply can't get around the pitch quick enough to be useful.
Yaya being the prime example , but if we get three more good seasons from Merlin , we are truly blessed.
Neville Kneville
Well-Known Member
Don't agree tbh, Valeron only retired last year (at age 41) playing the David Silva way. obviously he was nowhere near as good as when he was young, but he was still able to be effective because his technique and vision allowed him a huge advantage over everyone else. I wouldn't be surprised if Dave did the same thing and was trotting out performances back home for Las Palmas when he's in his mid 30's. If you're as intelligent and technically gifted as that then you can play at some level for as long as you are willing to put in the work.
Don't know how long he'll be able to play at our level, but he'll be an effective player for a long time yet
He might be, but once he loses as much from his movement as Micah has, he'll be gone from City, as they all will.
Athletes or artisis they all have to maintain a certain level of sharpness in the Premier League & even those who don't rely on pace or athleticism become ineffective at their own game, if they lose that much.