- Oct 19, 2004
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Very interesting read, not least because a lot of it is typical football journalistic bollocks:
Modric had had a poor start under Ramos, partly because he was played too deep in midfield or peripherally on the left wing.
At Dinamo he had played on the left on occasion but was best used in the hole. Redknapp saw that Modric’s talent was being wasted and initially played him off a lone striker before this season switching him to playing orthodox central midfield.
Modric definitely took time to settle into the fast paced EPL, new country, new league etc, but he was played centrally once by Ramos, in the hole once I think and and wide left every other game.
Redknapp then played him wide left for a year and a half, until injuries forced him to put him in central midfield against Stoke away in March 2010 with Kaboul.
To my knowledge Redknapp has played Modric once in the hole behind a lone striker, against ManU in the CC final, where he was superb, which made it all the more strange that Redknapp didn't use him there more often subsequently.
As far as pressing the ball higher up the pitch, if this is Redknapp's intention, he is singularly failing miserably to get this tactic across to his players, including Modric.