releasing didi hamann

[Phil236849]

when rafa let didi go, there was a lot of surprise and dissension in the ranks. i wasn't so upset at the time, as I think the game is speeding up, and didi is slowing even more.

 

in hindsight, i'm not so sure.

 

problem is this in my view. we do not have the attacking power of the other 3 of the big 4 - certainly not in terms of consistency. rafa's gameplan is built fairly heavily around clean sheets. our central defence is exposed if there's not someone physical alongside xabi (who has limited skills defensively) breaking play up.

 

momo's fitness is such that he's like 2 men for us. rafa says he can recover from a game within 2 days and so doesnt need to be rested. so when he's out it's like losing 2 players.

 

i think rafa in his planning for the season was planning on having 4 senior players he could play in CM - xabi, momo, stevie, bolo. knowing rafa and his penchant for roles and types, and given what we have seen this season, i think he had xabi and bolo earmarked for the deep-lying playmaker role, and stevie and momo as the marauding dominating characters.

 

the trouble is, stevie likes to attack now, and rafa couldn't be sure he has the discipline. i think rafa winged it and hoped that momo would be generally available.

 

now he's not, stevie simply has to do that role and perform as a proper midfielder. in hindsight, it would have been great to have didi to turn to now. granted, didi and xabi was a pedestrian midfield, but stevie would have had all the more licence to press forward, and we would have been defensively pretty secure

 

really big moment for stevie now. he can either be the hero, or prove wrong all those c***s (there was one on sky the other night) who say rafa's mad not to play stevie in CM and the team should be built around stevie anyway

 

them's my thoughts onn the point anyway

[Andy @ Allerton]

Didi wanted to go and Rafa wanted him to go.

 

Wish the lad well.

[Phil236849]

  Andy said:

Didi wanted to go and Rafa wanted him to go.

 

Wish the lad well.

 

well then the gamble of replacing him with bolo has backfired...

[Rory Fitzgerald]

I didnt want him to go but I respect the reality of the situation was that the lad is getting on and Rafa had him 4th in the pecking order - something had to give. But if Didi was willing to do a Solskjaer and sit on the bench all season then I would have kept him - no doubt

[Andy @ Allerton]

  Phil236849 said:

well then the gamble of replacing him with bolo has backfired...

 

Cobblers. He was MOM the other day

[Phil236849]

cobblers shmobblers.

 

 

you can't put so much weight on a carling cup tie in jan.

 

my point is, we have been strong under rafa when we play stevie g and another guy who can put a foot in in midfield.

 

last year's fa cup tie against man yoo, the CL semi-final against chelsea etc are prime examples of this.

 

we were bullying teams off the park with 3 out of xabi didi stevie and momo

 

with two of those gone, we just dont have the same physical presence in midfield. however well bolo did against nafti et al.

[Maldini]

It'll just be a case of Stevie becoming more disciplined with his forward runs in certain games

[Alonso]

  Maldini said:

It'll just be a case of Stevie becoming more disciplined with his forward runs in certain games

And the press having a go at Rafa for surpressing Stevies attacking threat!

Edited November 10, 2006 by Alonso

[_00_deathscar]

  Phil236849 said:

xabi (who has limited skills defensively) breaking play up.

 

 

B*ll*cks!

 

Xabi has fantastic defensive skills, much like Hamann did ~ infact, he's far closer to Didi than Momo is. What Xabi doesn't have is Momo's athleticism and hence he can't run around like a raging madman snapping at opponent's feet well into their own half.

[Phil236849]

  _00_deathscar said:

B*ll*cks!

 

Xabi has fantastic defensive skills, much like Hamann did ~ infact, he's far closer to Didi than Momo is. What Xabi doesn't have is Momo's athleticism and hence he can't run around like a raging madman snapping at opponent's feet well into their own half.

 

no, he's not bad, but defensively still limited for a deep lying CM in a top team. the comparison for that position is makelele.

[Benitez]

all irrelevent, being as Didi wanted to leave.

[Eskimo]

  Phil236849 said:

well then the gamble of replacing him with bolo has backfired...

 

The way I see it Momo replaced him. Rafa said he (Bolo) could act as cover in the middle IMO cover and replacing are different...

[Phil236849]

fact is, rafa's now hinting we may need to reinforce in jan

[_00_deathscar]

  Phil236849 said:

no, he's not bad, but defensively still limited for a deep lying CM in a top team. the comparison for that position is makelele.

 

In that case, aside from Makelele how many other deep lying central midfielders across Europe in top teams have 'adequate' defensive skills?

[AE]

  Phil236849 said:

no, he's not bad, but defensively still limited for a deep lying CM in a top team. the comparison for that position is makelele.

 

Yep, cause Claude is a play maker as well......

 

 

Comparing apples and pears there IMO

[fyds]

The other thing is that rafa's gameplan isn't all about clean sheets. If you look at the players he's bought and the way we've been changing the sysytem this season it's clear to anyone with eyes that a more fluid, attacking system is evolving. No-one loved Didi more than I did, but he would no longer have fitted where we are trying to go. As for not scoring as many as the other top four, we've scored four in a game once and 3 several times, but thanks to the new look defensive approaches being taken to meld this more fluid style together, the odds were we would also leak a few more than usual.

 

Still - won the last five of five, have'nt we?

 

As for Zenden - he has been very good since he came back and his fitness picked up at doing what is asked of him and a bit more besides. Momo was Didi's replacement, Zenden is Momo's cover - we can't be three deep with experienced internationals for every position.

[Guest Anders Honoré]

  AE said:

Yep, cause Claude is a play maker as well......

 

 

Comparing apples and pears there IMO

 

No he isn't. They both play the holding role, and so they have a defensive responsibility. That doesn't become lesser just because you can spray the ball about at will.

 

He is no Pirlo who needs a dedicated minder alongside him, but he is some way from didi's league as well. Didi you could field any kind of midfielder with and you'd know he would keep the midfield safe from being overrun. Xabi doesn't offer that.

[Phil236849]

well i'm obviously on my own on this one, but i'm still unconvinced.

 

looking at the premiership, our bread and butter, xabi i think is defensively weaker than other deep lying CMs inc Silva, Campo, and others. i think it's commonly accepted at least in the media that this is a slight weakness.

 

secondly, i still think rafa values defensive solidity higher than, say, wenger or ferguson.

 

thirdly, i still think that when didi left and was replaced by bolo coming infield, in terms of squad strength, we were a little light of physical power in CM, particularly given how rafa likes his team to boss that area.

[Guest Anders Honoré]

  Phil236849 said:

when rafa let didi go, there was a lot of surprise and dissension in the ranks. i wasn't so upset at the time, as I think the game is speeding up, and didi is slowing even more.

 

in hindsight, i'm not so sure.

 

It didn't take hindsight to see that Didi would be a far better option to have than Zenden.

 

If he wanted to go, he wanted to go though.

[Phil236849]

  Anders Honoré said:

No he isn't. They both play the holding role, and so they have a defensive responsibility. That doesn't become lesser just because you can spray the ball about at will.

 

He is no Pirlo who needs a dedicated minder alongside him, but he is some way from didi's league as well. Didi you could field any kind of midfielder with and you'd know he would keep the midfield safe from being overrun. Xabi doesn't offer that.

 

well andre someone sees things like i do!

[Guest Anders Honoré]

  _00_deathscar said:

In that case, aside from Makelele how many other deep lying central midfielders across Europe in top teams have 'adequate' defensive skills?

 

Marquez, Silva, Viera, Diarra, Poulsen, Albelda.

[_00_deathscar]

  Phil236849 said:

 

 

looking at the premiership, our bread and butter, xabi i think is defensively weaker than other deep lying CMs inc Silva, Campo, and others. i think it's commonly accepted at least in the media that this is a slight weakness.

 

 

That's me convinced then....

[johngibo YPC]

Hasn't Didi been injured most of the year anyway?

An injured player is as much use as, er, Michael Owen

[Eskimo]

  Phil236849 said:

looking at the premiership, our bread and butter, xabi i think is defensively weaker than other deep lying CMs inc Silva, Campo, and others. i think it's commonly accepted at least in the media that this is a slight weakness.

 

I sort of agree...Obviously I'm no expert but for me the balance, both defensively and offensively, isn't quite right and IMO Momo should be the deeper lying CM that would allow Xabi to get further up the field and do what he does best picking out passes. I also think a diamond formation with Momo as anchor would work..

[Nebraska Red]

20/20 hindsight again.

 

Hamman was getting older and slower and never likely to get a game unless we had an injury crisis.

 

Sissoko out for 3 months is a blow, but not a crisis. We have options in a big squad to cope with the loss of ONE player.

 

Many on here have been wanting to see Gerrard play in the middle of the park on a regular basis, now he can.