- Jan 24, 2016
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Sorry, but I really think this is inaccurate. In fact, when watching Winks, I think the complete opposite - he's very capable of accelerating/bursting through the midfield. He's quite quick for a CM.
You're confusing powerful running with nimble acceleration. Some players are light on their feet and can manoeuvre in tight spaces with players at their back (Ericksen, Alli, Son), and some are built for powerful bursts over distance. Onomah is an example of a players that excels at powerful running but looks like a bambi on ice when playing in tight areas of the pitch without the space to charge into. Its not to say that Winks has slow feet or that he's a cart horse but I just don't see him as having the agility, hip movement, jinks, twists and turns of a player that's strengths will be accentuated playing higher up the pitch. There's also an element of flair that comes into it. A player needs to be able to use a piece of skill to throw a defender off balance and I just don't see Winks as that kind of player. He's a very good metronome (a phrase I realise I use a lot - but as an attribute its highly underrated) playing in the centre of the pitch with maximum angles to pass/burst into. The more crowded the area, with the less pitch to play into you move Winks into the more you limit his game.