Benarbia said:
Nani and Valencia are considerably quicker than anyone on our team
I'll give you Chelsea but they are a different kettle of fish to us
Barcelona have Pedro and Messi
Spuds have Bale & Lennon
Pedro and Messi are quick? Messi's not slow by any means, but I wouldn't say he's lightning either. Pedro's never looked quick at all I don't think. I think they use Alves and Villa as injections of pace off the ball but no-one else in particular.
Pace has always been exaggerated in the English game in my view, partly because of people like Alan Hansen talking about how much it scares defenders and then everyone under the sun repeating that line over and over again with no context or appreciation for why, but it's far from the difference maker between the best and the very good teams.
When we won the double we had Ronaldo and Evra as the two players who frequently used their pace as a weapon, and it was an important part of our attacking play, but I don't think it was the defining feature by any stretch.
A recurring theme is to have pace come from the fullback areas now anyway, with the frequency of which they are asked to get forward and the amount of space they have to attack, and presumably that's where Kolarov will come in and make a difference. Then you've got Ballotelli eventually to add that direct, attacking threat with pace that you see in Villa, Drogba, Torres, Ronaldo etc., but it might well be from the wing. Thinking about it, if they both settle into the team well and Ballotelli plays from the left that's a very difficult proposition for opposing right sides.
Some people expect so much so fast.
