Huddlestone swap for Adam Johnson

[van_Pommel]

But what do you want him to be mobile enough to do?

Our most mobile player is Zokora and compare the amount of tackles they make, interceptions they make, passes the make, clearances etc.

I think Zokora is possibly the most athletic CM in Europe, so you'd think given his ability to get around the pitch he'd make more tackles than anyone and given his position he'd pass and recieve the ball more than anyone. Yet the Hudd has made 79 tackles compared to Zokora's 68. He's done this when playing just 1895 mins of Prem football compared to Zokora's 2164. As for passes he's made 1130 compared to 1137, which when you consider he has played 2.5 games less, it shows how much more he gets on the ball. When you add to that his 7 assists and 3 goals, compared to Zokora's zero goals and assists, it again shows he's doing quite alot more good than more mobile players.

I think that people are so aware of the Hudd's lack of mobility that they sub conciously look out for evidence of it. Everytime they see it being evident they make a mental note of it, but by doing this naturally fail to compare how his lack of mobility is effecting his performance compared to his peers. I don't think just fans do this, but also the coaching staff. i really think the mobility issue has clouded everyone's judgement of the Hudd. Look how poor we were when he went off on Saturday. The more mobile players just weren't there to pass and move the ball around with the efficiency and the quality of the Hudd. In the end Reading got a foot hold inthe game and we could have easily thrown 2 pts away. I personally think fans, coach's and the media really over play the lack of mobility card. I'm not saying it isn't an issue or that it doesn't effect his game, but that he is still getting through the worh of many more mobile players.

Good post. I've always been a Hudd fan, players with his vision are rare these days.

The only thing that frustrates me about him is that he makes himself look imobile by not running alot. How many times have you seen him really sprinting, busting a gut to get to a ball? He seems to jog around the pitch alot, never really exerting himself.

 

[Blurgh]

whos Johnson? Hudds the real deal!

 

[walworthyid]

Sounds to me like you are beginning to warm to the Hudd. You're now picking him 1 out of 9 games and saying he has some excellent one's, yet just a few months ago, you were nowhere near this kind:

http://www.spurscommunity.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=23934

By the end of next season he'll probably be the first name on your team sheet :wink:.

Yes I remember the thread well, it was the one where A&C bullied me for daring to answer him back! In the 3 years up until that point I had made more than 2000 posts, in the time since that thread I have made about 20, wonder why?

Anyway, back to the Hudd. How much has changed since that post?

He still can't head the ball, can't run. can't position himself properly, doesn't hold on to the ball when under pressure, can't get a regular place in the team etc etc.

Ramos has made him a bit fitter, he can now run a little and seems a bit hungrier when he comes on, but I am still not convinced and I don't think he could command a regular place this side of League
1.

 

[Flatters]

I'd just let Ramos make the call on that one and have no real opinion myself as I've not really seen Adam Johnson. I rate Huddlestone very highly and I think we'd be silly to let him go, but if Ramos think this would be a good deal, then I'd be confident that it would be.

 

[paulspursman]

would much rather keep Huddlestone for now at least

 

[Dan Ashcroft]

Huddlestone is still 4 years younger than Carrick was before Carrick became good and the inconsistency started to disappear from his game.

I really hope we hold onto him. Ramos utilising him as an attacking substitution has worked very well on a number of occasions.

 

[joey55]

Huddlestone is still 4 years younger than Carrick was before Carrick became good and the inconsistency started to disappear from his game.

I really hope we hold onto him. Ramos utilising him as an attacking substitution has worked very well on a number of occasions.

Not to mention Tugay, who I think is the master of slow midfileders. Who had even heard of him until he was close to 30. These types of players mature late. It's only to be expected given they have to use their brains more and can't use pace to get out of trouble. People forget the Hudd is only 21.

 

[walworthyid]

Huddlestone is still 4 years younger than Carrick was before Carrick became good and the inconsistency started to disappear from his game.

I really hope we hold onto him. Ramos utilising him as an attacking substitution has worked very well on a number of occasions.

I am not saying that we should get rid of him, he may yet come good. But Carrick was better than him and had been in England squads, at a similar age.

One of the differences between Hudd and Carrick is that Carrick was always known for his defensive abilities in that if all else failed he could at least defend and get stuck in. He is also a better athlete and is better in the air.

Also if you remember him at Spurs, and at Man u until very recently, he was always inconsistent and still is. He would dissappear for weeks on end a for us and does so at Man u, in fact he does so to such an extent that he has not even made the bench for England.

 

[wizgell]

I don't think we should be looking to get rid of Tommy Huddlestone at all. With a more mobile attacking minded midfielder (ala Modric or JJ) alongside him we could look to build the team around him.

 

[remember91]

Huddlestone seems to have enough potential to his game to make it certainly worth keeping him. If there are some faults he's still young enought to have the chance to iron them out. About Michael Johnson,its not going to happen, from what I gather our first priorities at the moment seem to be a gk and an experienced holding midfielder. I don't think that johnson completely fulfils either of those criteria. Got the feeling that the media think we are chelsea with next to infinate money, so we get linked with pretty much every player who might have a transfer in the summer. The bad thing is, once the season ends, and there is no foootball per se to talk about (other than the euros), more of these articles are going to come to thefore in order to fill out the sports pages.

 

[Bonjour]

Adam Johnson. Doesn't he have A....

Never mind.

 

[Dan Ashcroft]

I am not saying that we should get rid of him, he may yet come good. But Carrick was better than him and had been in England squads, at a similar age.

One of the differences between Hudd and Carrick is that Carrick was always known for his defensive abilities in that if all else failed he could at least defend and get stuck in. He is also a better athlete and is better in the air.

Also if you remember him at Spurs, and at Man u until very recently, he was always inconsistent and still is. He would dissappear for weeks on end a for us and does so at Man u, in fact he does so to such an extent that he has not even made the bench for England.

IIRC, Carrick got called up for England once as a 20 year old, and then not again for another 4 or 5 years.

Huddlestone has very nearly made two (larger) senior squads in the past couple of years.

I disagree that Huddlestone and Modric could play together though, certainly not in CM. They would be devastating going forward but there's not a defensive bone between the pair of them and their collective workrate would be shocking. Both are essentially playmakers. Huddlestone will learn a lot from Modric though IMO.

 

[C0YS]

IIRC, Carrick got called up for England once as a 20 year old, and then not again for another 4 or 5 years.

Huddlestone has very nearly made two (larger) senior squads in the past couple of years.

I disagree that Huddlestone and Modric could play together though, certainly not in CM. They would be devastating going forward but there's not a defensive bone between the pair of them and their collective workrate would be shocking. Both are essentially playmakers. Huddlestone will learn a lot from Modric though IMO.

From what Ive seen Modric has a fantastic workrate, however it would be entirely stupid to swap the player in are team with the most potential. I can just see him becoming a legend for another team if we sell him. We want to keep players like him

 

[longdistancespursfan]

would be a ridiculous swap for me, i think huddlestones value would be a lot more than johnsons and i thought we were trying to improve the squad.

i suggested we buy johnosn some time back when it was rumoured boro would accept 1.5mill for him, but since then we have danny rose as a young left winger with potential. i think johnson would hindder his progree and after seeing rose play a couple of games i think rose might be the better long term prospect.

if we were to have another youngster as an option and its johnson i would offer boro one of wipey, gardner or ghaly in exchange, no way hudd.

 

[Dan Ashcroft]

From what Ive seen Modric has a fantastic workrate, however it would be entirely stupid to swap the player in are team with the most potential. I can just see him becoming a legend for another team if we sell him. We want to keep players like him

Yeah sorry, workrate per se wasn't the exact word I meant. More just physical competitiveness. Huddlestone and Modric together would just get overrun by high-tempo physical teams like Portsmouth, Bolton and Arsenal.

 

[C0YS]

Yeah sorry, workrate per se wasn't the exact word I meant. More just physical competitiveness. Huddlestone and Modric together would just get overrun by high-tempo physical teams like Portsmouth, Bolton and Arsenal.

you are right. They are also althogh different bouth playmakers. It will be a dreadfull combo. Jenas/modric Jenas/Hudd will work better

 

[Black]

Selling the best passer in the team Hmmm. Not good business IMO

Would be extremely disappointed if he was sold

 

[Kendall]

it is strange that Huddlestone is a pretty competent CB when called upon, but a woefully defensive midfielder.

I still think he's one of the most naturally talented players we've had at the lane for some time and in his position you rarely get anything like the consistency required to be a top midfielder until you're around mid 20s. As people have said there are a few exceptions, but even Fibreglass didn't look the same player after the new year.

 

[C0YS]

it is strange that Huddlestone is a pretty competent CB when called upon, but a woefully defensive midfielder.

I still think he's one of the most naturally talented players we've had at the lane for some time and in his position you rarely get anything like the consistency required to be a top midfielder until you're around mid 20s. As people have said there are a few exceptions, but even Fibreglass didn't look the same player after the new year.

well the thing is hes more of an AM then DM its only we bought him has a DM. But really is a CM but in defence althogh hes not a great tackeler he has more space to pass it around. The prob is in CB we have to play a far too deep line

 

[Dan Ashcroft]

it is strange that Huddlestone is a pretty competent CB when called upon, but a woefully defensive midfielder.

I still think he's one of the most naturally talented players we've had at the lane for some time and in his position you rarely get anything like the consistency required to be a top midfielder until you're around mid 20s. As people have said there are a few exceptions, but even Fibreglass didn't look the same player after the new year.

I watched Huddlestone for Derby quite a lot (I had use of a season ticket for his last year there) and tbh he was a crock of shit CB when he played there during an injury crisis. I reckon at best he's had a couple of lucky escapes there for us. He really can't defend to save his life. Then nor could Hoddle or most playmakers. What handicaps Huddlestone is simply that he looks like a CB.