He makes very few tackles and interceptions with his feet and the long ball game is the exception rather than the standard in English football now.
He averages less completed tackles per game (0.6) than Navas, Nasri, Silva, Kolarov and Yaya (yes, the guy who apparently can't defend manages more tackles than the player who supposedly can ONLY defend and play a simple pass) to name a few. And less completed interceptions (0.9) than Navas, Kolarov, Clichy, Demichelis and others. These are exceptionally poor stats for a pure defensive midfielder who has few other features to his game.
So he isn't really a great midfield destroyer at all. His main attribute is his size and ability to head the ball, but you need much more to be a top defensive midfielder. He's slow and not tenacious at all. Players breeze past him, when it should be him suffocating them with pressing and tackling. One of Palace's players - I forget his name - just waltzed past him with the most ridiculous ease today, not even facing a challenge from Garcia, and that led to a chance.
Also, fewer top clubs are using the Makelele/De Jong type now, with the Fernandinho/Vidal/Busquets type midfielder more effective - those with more versatility and contribution to the team. So to be an old school defensive midfielder you have to do it really well to be worth it. Garcia doesn't do it really well or even close to it.
There are so many midfielders who I think would suit us better, of various profiles. That's for the transfer forum, though.
It's up to Pellegrini. He has to ask himself: "If Fernandinho breaks his leg tomorrow, can we still win the league with Yaya and Garcia as our midfield pair?" (since he appears to favour Garcia over Rodwell). If he answers "Yes", even I, a huge Pellegrini fan, will question his sanity. :)
He averages less completed tackles per game (0.6) than Navas, Nasri, Silva, Kolarov and Yaya (yes, the guy who apparently can't defend manages more tackles than the player who supposedly can ONLY defend and play a simple pass) to name a few. And less completed interceptions (0.9) than Navas, Kolarov, Clichy, Demichelis and others. These are exceptionally poor stats for a pure defensive midfielder who has few other features to his game.
So he isn't really a great midfield destroyer at all. His main attribute is his size and ability to head the ball, but you need much more to be a top defensive midfielder. He's slow and not tenacious at all. Players breeze past him, when it should be him suffocating them with pressing and tackling. One of Palace's players - I forget his name - just waltzed past him with the most ridiculous ease today, not even facing a challenge from Garcia, and that led to a chance.
Also, fewer top clubs are using the Makelele/De Jong type now, with the Fernandinho/Vidal/Busquets type midfielder more effective - those with more versatility and contribution to the team. So to be an old school defensive midfielder you have to do it really well to be worth it. Garcia doesn't do it really well or even close to it.
There are so many midfielders who I think would suit us better, of various profiles. That's for the transfer forum, though.
It's up to Pellegrini. He has to ask himself: "If Fernandinho breaks his leg tomorrow, can we still win the league with Yaya and Garcia as our midfield pair?" (since he appears to favour Garcia over Rodwell). If he answers "Yes", even I, a huge Pellegrini fan, will question his sanity. :)