Connor11 said:
If we cant get de Jongs contract settled ill be so pissed and disappointed at Mancini. He has been an absolute defensive beast for us. Hes our most consistent midfield, and his presence will be missed if he goes to Milan. I hate how Barry has somehow surpassed de Jong in DM department. Barry is good, yes, and a great vetran presence. But de Jong is younger and better. This summer: Hargreaves out, de Jong new contract.
I don't think anyone on here feels any different than you when it comes to Nigel's qualities. Yes he is our best DM, best tackler and so on... but the thing is our team and style of play should not be in need of such a player with a very limited range of skills.
Look at other squads, top teams and others such as Swansea for example, teams who also pass the ball a lot, keeps possession and so on. Our squad is among the best five in the world and we have enough quality to manage without a pure DM such as De Jong.
All other top team use a defence-oriented midfielder, who is not restricted in their capacity to disrupting opponents attacks, but also great at moving the ball from defence to offence in an efficient manner.
So yes I would rather see a player like Alonso, Martinez, De Rossi, Schweinsteiger, Busquets to name a few as our DM.
I think our squad is an under performing side to be honest, in spite of our league position. We should be next to impossible to beat considering the players we have. We should have no need for a tactic where a players such as De jong was a necessity.