Balance

colinwhite · July 04, 2015, 10:14:01 AM

I like Scottie parker ,but he is a box to box midfielder who always did a good steady job for the sides he played for and his main asset as a player was his energy,drive and attitude . He could also be dangerous going forward and chip in with goals (which is why chelsea bought him ).
He is however no "balance" player ,defensive midfielder or holding midfielder ,call it what you will. He neither has the physical attributes or mindset for this role . He was brilliant against derby at home this year ,but in that match he won the ball a lot but actually played more in the role of the player he was in his Charlton days . I am not critising Scott at all just making the point that he is not the player to protect our defence , which ever system we chose to play .
We need a strong tackling ,Physical player to fill this role who thinks cover ,defense , and shape , but also has a decent range and variety of passing . Hyndman is a fantastic player in the making , but like Parker is never the type of player i am talking about. Is macdonald that player ? I hope so . In my view signing the right player in this role is crucial to our season , and although we clearly need to sign at least one centre half and a minimum of one full back , I don't believe we will be able to resolve our defensive frailties be fore we get better "balance" in our side

alexbishop · July 04, 2015, 10:23:27 AM

agree agree agree

fulhamben · July 04, 2015, 10:53:04 AM

parker hasnt been box to box since his charlton days. he holds for us, he held for englqnd, he held for spurs and so on. occassionally running up the pitch to join in attack does not make you box to box. and the poblem with parker attacking, other than lack of pace, is that most of the time he doesnt know what to do with it. look at all the times when he has space, he runs straight towards a defender then turns his back. if he isnt the player to protect our defense, and i dont think he is. then he has no place in our team as we have far better attacking options

PaulJ123 · July 04, 2015, 10:55:48 AM

He's good at winning the ball, its just his lack of mobility in that role can cost him

colinwhite · July 04, 2015, 10:57:08 AM

Not being particularly mobile any more and being a balance player are 2 different things . For england he was one of 2 sitters .

fulhamben · July 04, 2015, 10:59:07 AM

Quote from: colinwhite on July 04, 2015, 10:57:08 AM
Not being particularly mobile any more and being a balance player are 2 different things . For england he was one of 2 sitters .

you said he was b to b in your first post

colinwhite · July 04, 2015, 11:06:42 AM

Sorry , i meant he has never been a defensive holding mid fielder as long as he has a hole where the sun don't shine , and certainly didnt build his reputation in that position . When he played for spurs and england he was 1 of 2 sitters in 4231.
My point was not about scottie who i still think has a lot to offer us , just not as one of our main men and not in that position (balance player ).

fulhamben · July 04, 2015, 11:09:52 AM

Quote from: colinwhite on July 04, 2015, 11:06:42 AM
Sorry , i meant he has never been a defensive holding mid fielder as long as he has a hole where the sun don't shine , and certainly didnt build his reputation in that position . When he played for spurs and england he was 1 of 2 sitters in 4231.
My point was not about scottie who i still think has a lot to offer us , just not as one of our main men and not in that position (balance player ).

fair enough.

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Balance