We've not replaced Elano

[Damocles]

As I alluded to, a while ago, the removal of Elano came at a time he had actually decided to knuckle down and turned in some wonderful and consistent performances.

But, Hughes had had his infamous man management skills tested. His personal war came at the expense of our club. Even having a unpredictable playmaker is better than having none.

Loads of you scream "Get him out!" without the foresight of knowing how short it would leave us, in the 'guile' department! Some of us argued that Ireland could go off the boil, but the Screamers cried we need a hard-working midfield suited to the Prem. We have that, but your not happy.

And now we need a Locksmith... Go figure.

The idiocy is incredible on this board, at times.

If only we were all as clever as you, and had the foresight to agree with you instead of managers like Ferguson or Mourinho, who rarely played with flair players.

We still don't need Elano, we never did. We need a midfielder who can pass the ball on the ground consistently. We don't need a guy behind the strikers, where this myth has come from, I don't know.<br /><br />-- Sun Mar 28, 2010 7:10 pm --<br /><br />

Yes, I dream about City, that doesn't mean I'm sad and have no life.

Although you are anyway ;-)

I think that 10,000 posts is the official "I have no life" mark. I'm not even close to it.

 

[km09]

I think elano was a brilliant player but he was a troublemaker and hughes felt he had to go and we are doing ok without him

 

[Evil Roy Slade]

We certainly miss individual flair. Carlitos, Bellers ok, but we need more individual brilliance supported by industry.

We have flair and industry up front but we need more in the middle.

Take your pick but it aint going to happen before close season.

 

[Bigga]

It's not about being 'clever'. And managers like 'Ferguson or Mourinho' have used playmakers before. What was/ is Joe Cole and or Deco? What was/ is Giggs now? Don't be silly. You're a bit too smart for that.

Passing a ball around doesn't mean too much, cos we have that in Barry, NdJ and Zabs. Well, count Vieira in that too. So now we have four players that 'can pass the ball on the ground consistently'. And only, PK can slide a ball in like a creative midfielder IF he's given the time. And there's not much time in the Prem. Is there?? This is where you think like Hughes.

You need someone who can switch play, when it's not the obvious thing to do. Someone who can reverse a pass into our strikers, when it looks simply not on or impossible. Someone who can ping a ball across field to the feet our speed merchants heading TOWARD goal, not the sideline.

Now Stevie I. could do it... at a push. But, he doesn't think outside the box too often. And, probably, a reason why he's not picked as often as he should be.

For a smart guy, I'm somewhat surprised you think so basic.

 

[Anonymous]

It's not about being 'clever'. And managers like 'Ferguson or Mourinho' have used playmakers before. What was/ is Joe Cole and or Deco? What was/ is Giggs now? Don't be silly. You're a bit too smart for that.

Passing a ball around doesn't mean too much, cos we have that in Barry, NdJ and Zabs. Well, count Vieira in that too. So now we have four players that 'can pass the ball on the ground consistently'. And only, PK can slide a ball in like a creative midfielder IF he's given the time. And there's not much time in the Prem. Is there?? This is where you think like Hughes.

You need someone who can switch play, when it's not the obvious thing to do. Someone who can reverse a pass into our strikers, when it looks simply not on or impossible. Someone who can ping a ball across field to the feet our speed merchants heading TOWARD goal, not the sideline.

Now Stevie I. could do it... at a push. But, he doesn't think outside the box too often. And, probably, a reason why he's not picked as often as he should be.

For a smart guy, I'm somewhat surprised you think so basic.

Surely there's a little more to it than that. Simply having a player in the team with that passing ability alone won't make much difference unless they fit into a system or style of play. If you play with someone in the hole, then largely, you sacrifice a striker to do this. Plus, Carlos likes to operate in the areas that you would normally associate with a player playing in the hole.

If you play a creative player from further back, then they need to have much more in their locker than just the passing ability, which is why players like Elano are considered a bit of a luxury.

Having said all that, we do need to have a player like that in our squad, just as we need a true box to box player. I'm sure all this will get addressed in the summer...

 

[milnrowmeatandpotato]

It's not about being 'clever'. And managers like 'Ferguson or Mourinho' have used playmakers before. What was/ is Joe Cole and or Deco? What was/ is Giggs now? Don't be silly. You're a bit too smart for that.

Passing a ball around doesn't mean too much, cos we have that in Barry, NdJ and Zabs. Well, count Vieira in that too. So now we have four players that 'can pass the ball on the ground consistently'. And only, PK can slide a ball in like a creative midfielder IF he's given the time. And there's not much time in the Prem. Is there?? This is where you think like Hughes.

You need someone who can switch play, when it's not the obvious thing to do. Someone who can reverse a pass into our strikers, when it looks simply not on or impossible. Someone who can ping a ball across field to the feet our speed merchants heading TOWARD goal, not the sideline.

Now Stevie I. could do it... at a push. But, he doesn't think outside the box too often. And, probably, a reason why he's not picked as often as he should be.

For a smart guy, I'm somewhat surprised you think so basic.

Agree with all the above. Except the assumption that you think Elano could do the above. I don't. In fact i thought he was the most overrated player to ever play for us. Couldn't do with the big head to be honest with you. Yes, yes the odd half decent game but FAR too many where he went missing and didn't raise a sweat. Ireland a much better player until his recent worrying loss of form (don't know what is going on there but its a worry)

 

[Bigga]

It's not about being 'clever'. And managers like 'Ferguson or Mourinho' have used playmakers before. What was/ is Joe Cole and or Deco? What was/ is Giggs now? Don't be silly. You're a bit too smart for that.

Passing a ball around doesn't mean too much, cos we have that in Barry, NdJ and Zabs. Well, count Vieira in that too. So now we have four players that 'can pass the ball on the ground consistently'. And only, PK can slide a ball in like a creative midfielder IF he's given the time. And there's not much time in the Prem. Is there?? This is where you think like Hughes.

You need someone who can switch play, when it's not the obvious thing to do. Someone who can reverse a pass into our strikers, when it looks simply not on or impossible. Someone who can ping a ball across field to the feet our speed merchants heading TOWARD goal, not the sideline.

Now Stevie I. could do it... at a push. But, he doesn't think outside the box too often. And, probably, a reason why he's not picked as often as he should be.

For a smart guy, I'm somewhat surprised you think so basic.

Surely there's a little more to it than that. Simply having a player in the team with that passing ability alone won't make much difference unless they fit into a system or style of play. If you play with someone in the hole, then largely, you sacrifice a striker to do this. Plus, Carlos likes to operate in the areas that you would normally associate with a player playing in the hole.

If you play a creative player from further back, then they need to have much more in their locker than just the passing ability, which is why players like Elano are considered a bit of a luxury.

Having said all that, we do need to have a player like that in our squad, just as we need a true box to box player. I'm sure all this will get addressed in the summer...

Yes, I will agree that you need more in your locker than just passing ability. It seems everybody forgets how good Elano was at supporting the striker and was a heck of a lot more accurate than Ireland, when in those positions. So the thing about dropping a striker isn't relevant, when you think about that.

I will say that he was never much of a tackler, but had the quickest brain and the best vision, in the entire squad.

Agree with all the above. Except the assumption that you think Elano could do the above. I don't. In fact i thought he was the most overrated player to ever play for us. Couldn't do with the big head to be honest with you. Yes, yes the odd half decent game but FAR too many where he went missing and didn't raise a sweat. Ireland a much better player until his recent worrying loss of form (don't know what is going on there but its a worry)

You don't agree that after his almost virtuoso performance in the Waffa quarters, he started to commit to the team(and Hughes) and we were seeing the player we wanted??

Interesting.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, I will agree that you need more in your locker than just passing ability. It seems everybody forgets how good Elano was at supporting the striker and was a heck of a lot more accurate than Ireland, when in those positions. So the thing about dropping a striker isn't relevant, when you think about that.

I will say that he was never much of a tackler, but had the quickest brain and the best vision, in the entire squad.

I take your point about his passing and his vision, but to be honest, I just don't see how him and Tevez could play in the same team.

Anyway, we've made a huge amount of progress in 12 months, and I said somewhere else on the board recently, I imagine we'll make a similar amount of progress in the next 12 months. Whether we finish 4th or not, this team and squad is only going to get better in the coming seasons...

 

[Bigga]

Agreed, Mr. Shears.

 

[Damocles]

It's not about being 'clever'. And managers like 'Ferguson or Mourinho' have used playmakers before. What was/ is Joe Cole and or Deco? What was/ is Giggs now? Don't be silly. You're a bit too smart for that.

Passing a ball around doesn't mean too much, cos we have that in Barry, NdJ and Zabs. Well, count Vieira in that too. So now we have four players that 'can pass the ball on the ground consistently'. And only, PK can slide a ball in like a creative midfielder IF he's given the time. And there's not much time in the Prem. Is there?? This is where you think like Hughes.

You need someone who can switch play, when it's not the obvious thing to do. Someone who can reverse a pass into our strikers, when it looks simply not on or impossible. Someone who can ping a ball across field to the feet our speed merchants heading TOWARD goal, not the sideline.

Now Stevie I. could do it... at a push. But, he doesn't think outside the box too often. And, probably, a reason why he's not picked as often as he should be.

For a smart guy, I'm somewhat surprised you think so basic.

Ignore me, I'm having a bad and busy day, and I wanted to mention about Deco/Veron/that type of midfielder tending towards crapness, but it came out as a snarky post. I did have a point, I just can't recall what it was now, which means that it was probably bullshit.