Nigel De Long ball across the midfield

[brooklandsblue2.0]

He offers no threat going forward, he is a 'water carrier' who wins he ball and plays it nice and easy, he keeps the rhythm going, IF our other midfielders did their jobs then it would be fine, all good teams have a player like this.

Basically, they do, but all good teams have players who do this but can also do that little bit of unnoticed extra like shift it quickly to a ball-player and not ponder with it until the opponents are all back in place.

Point taken about the other midfielders but knowing that we don't have those midfielders (and to make De Jong beneficial you need TWO marauding central midfielders - and we haven't got one) then he is not the answer.

The manager knows the players that we have available and, quite simply, with the players we have got, a player who can occasionally (and I mean occasionally) break up play is no use to us.

Does anyone think this guy would get into United, Chelsea or even Liverpool's team? The answer is clearly no. Fletcher, Essien and Mascherano are on another wavelength completely. The thought of De Jong replacing any of those is laughable in the extreme.

I would have to point to Claude Makalele? He was so well thought of at CHelsea and Real Madrid and integral to their success?

 

[DD]

Basically, they do, but all good teams have players who do this but can also do that little bit of unnoticed extra like shift it quickly to a ball-player and not ponder with it until the opponents are all back in place.

Point taken about the other midfielders but knowing that we don't have those midfielders (and to make De Jong beneficial you need TWO marauding central midfielders - and we haven't got one) then he is not the answer.

The manager knows the players that we have available and, quite simply, with the players we have got, a player who can occasionally (and I mean occasionally) break up play is no use to us.

Does anyone think this guy would get into United, Chelsea or even Liverpool's team? The answer is clearly no. Fletcher, Essien and Mascherano are on another wavelength completely. The thought of De Jong replacing any of those is laughable in the extreme.

I would have to point to Claude Makalele? He was so well thought of at CHelsea and Real Madrid and integral to their success?

But Makalele had the nouse to shift the ball quickly and incisively once he had won the ball. He also had the positional nouse to make his job look comfortable and didn't have to come flying in from all over the pitch to make himself look impressive. His comfortable assurity gave time and space to his fellow midfielders.