Would you sell Huddlestone...?

[Krafty]

No offence intended, but I don't agree with any of this. I think the sale of Carrick set us back a couple of years, if not more. The team was built around him, but we had no choice but to sell him. But for lasagnagate we would most likely have finished top 4.

We played a much less attacking football in those days. Carrick was superb both defensively and offensively. His positioning and anticipation meant that he was rarely forced to commit to a tackle where he didn't win the ball. Once on the ball, his composure and technique allowed him to create the space to move the ball out of our third and start an attack. He was the pivot of our team.

Huddlestone is an excellent player, but I don't believe he is anywhere the level Carrick was in the 2 years before he left for Manchester United. I don't understand the adulation he receives from some fans. He is good but he can be replaced, possibly even by Sandro.

His main problem is his upper body weight. Modric isn't blessed with pace, but look at the way he can create space for himself by shifting body weight very slightly and quickly, fooling the opposing player. Huddlestone will never be able to do that. Opposition players can anticipate him too easily. At the same time this gives him a disadvantage when defending. If Modric were playing against him, he would run rings around him.

I dont mind other people having a different view - I know a lot do on the Carrick/Huddlestone debate. I just think Carrick shone when next to Jenas, who was rarely pushed forward and held his position too much, and with Davids on the left basically being a third central midfielder, giving bite and aggression to the midfield.

Carrick might have been a deep lying playmaker, but he didnt get enough assists or goals for me, given his ability, and its the same at Utd. Huddlestone can play balls over the top, through defences, whereas Carrick was more often than not too deep to do this. Just because he could pass the ball better than our other midfielders at the time doesnt impress me too much, and I also remember him getting caught in possession too much for my liking.

I think our defensive record at the time was due to Stalteri being a very defensive fullback, and Davids tucking in drastically. YPL patrolled the wing on his own, and offensively the strikers pretty much did it all. I dont think he was good enough either defensively or offensively, and he hasnt shown anything to convince me otherwise for Utd or England.

Huddlestone has superior passing ability for me, I think he is slightly more aggresive, and with a little more encouragement Hudd will deliver a lot more goals. Carrick is better defensively but still not good enough - both men need someone behind them to really shield the defence, but I think Huddlestone can offer more going forward.

 

[ginol@14]

would not sell the best passer in the team
we have plenty of dead wood midfielders to sell so why would we sell our best CM?

 

[3Dnata]

I would never have said that Alonso was taller than Hudd?

Weiner is 10cm out on Hudd in that quote.

 

[sim0n]

would not sell the best passer in the team
we have plenty of dead wood midfielders to sell so why would we sell our best CM?

Totally agree -- THudd is stone cold money

 

[Wiener]

Weiner is 10cm out on Hudd in that quote.

He is 180cm on the Telegraph website.
http://telegraph.jumpmediagroup.com/PlayerStat.aspx

His height is not shown on the official site.

Wikipedia shows his as 190cm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Huddlestone

The FA says 6ft 2 inches - 188cm
http://www.thefa.com/England/All-Teams/Players/H/Tom-Huddlestone

Hands up for not doing my research properly.

Despite that, I stand by my assertion that he has too much upper body weight to ever be very agile.

 

[SpurSince57]

No offence intended, but I don't agree with any of this. I think the sale of Carrick set us back a couple of years, if not more. The team was built around him, but we had no choice but to sell him. But for lasagnagate we would most likely have finished top 4.

We played a much less attacking football in those days. Carrick was superb both defensively and offensively. His positioning and anticipation meant that he was rarely forced to commit to a tackle where he didn't win the ball. Once on the ball, his composure and technique allowed him to create the space to move the ball out of our third and start an attack. He was the pivot of our team.

Huddlestone is an excellent player, but I don't believe he is anywhere the level Carrick was in the 2 years before he left for Manchester United. I don't understand the adulation he receives from some fans. He is good but he can be replaced, possibly even by Sandro.

His main problem is his upper body weight. Modric isn't blessed with pace, but look at the way he can create space for himself by shifting body weight very slightly and quickly, fooling the opposing player. Huddlestone will never be able to do that. Opposition players can anticipate him too easily. At the same time this gives him a disadvantage when defending. If Modric were playing against him, he would run rings around him.

Indeed, and the reason was we simply didn't have the creative players; once the rest of the EPL worked out that all they had to do was isolate Carrick, our sole remaining option was for Robbo to attempt to park the ball on Mido's bonce.

You're forgetting, surely, that Carrick had made 30-odd appearances for the Hammeroids in the four seasons before he joined us, at which point he was 23; Huddlestone was 23 last December.

You make valid points regarding Huddlestone's agility (and it's agility, rather than mobility, that's the problem, although 'mobility' seems to get equated with 'pace', although they aren't the same thing at all). As far as pace is concerned, once he builds up a head of steam he's not as slow asmany seem to think.

 

[StartingPrice]

funny how united want to buy all our players just before we play them :lol:

:think:
In the last season and a half the journo scumbags have 'reported' that United ate 'going to take' or 'preparing a bid' for Lennon, Modric, Bale and Thudd (and I think VDV has been mentioned as well).

In another move clearly orchestrated by Red Nose and 'reported' by complicitous journos, they were also gonna use Carrick and Park as makeweights - and conveniently enough gave them both starts (when neither has been a regular starter), and they were (clearly having heard the reports) two of their better players on the day (Park, in particular, clearly felt like he had a point to prove).
:evil: