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New midfielder?

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StevieM said:
Again, I'll defer to your greater knowledge - as I've never seen him play.

However - I fancy that there's a world of difference between showing it at youth & reserve level and actually performing that roll consistently at the highest level against top quality teams.

I've been struggling to think of a player under the age of, say 22, that come in to a top team and nailed the particular position Gerrard is now occupying.
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Well you would have to be an exceptional youngster to get in a top side in a defensively crucial position, which is basically what you're saying. And basically what I'm saying is that Rossiter is exceptional, and particularly exceptional in terms of the qualities that young players tend to lack.

Of course, playing him there is going to be a bit of a risk for the first six months. But then so is playing Gerrard, or Can, who's new to the league and still just 20, or Allen who's not much suited to the role, or Lucas, who's shit.

IMO and as long as he does well for the next 18 months or so, it's a risk worth taking. Maybe if we sign a cheap veteran at the same time as insurance, perhaps.
 
Rossiter is going to be great, he's one of those players who just looks like he's got grace and footballing intelligence beyond his years. No fuss, INCREDIBLY composed and clever.
 
cloggypop said:
How is Chirivella doing, Peter?
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Not seen that much of him tbh. He's injured at the moment.

I saw him make his u21 debut last season and he did well with the step up so it's all good I suppose. You might want to ask the question of the others in the youth thread.
 
doctor_mac said:
According to that legendary thread in which Spider Neil chased his tail in describing the best physical shape for a holding midfielder it was decided that a slight frame was actually appropriate to the position. As Brendan articulated at the time, "C-3PO has certainly got the right slender build for a holding player, he's like a camp, gold Didi Hamann".

In other words, Rossiter is ready.
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Happy days
 
Why would we sacrifice squad depth in a key position where alternatives are either untried or ill suited, for a pointless loan, unless we had already lined up a suitable replacement?
 
How come we are foolish enough to eend our players on loan to Italy again? When has that ever worked in out favour?
 
if lucas does indeed move on then i find it a little strange unless he asked for it or we have a replacement in mind . Cause considering we had no real injury concerns why would rodgers start him last week if he didn't think he offered something to the first team ?
 
StevieM said:
Again, I'll defer to your greater knowledge - as I've never seen him play.

However - I fancy that there's a world of difference between showing it at youth & reserve level and actually performing that roll consistently at the highest level against top quality teams.

I've been struggling to think of a player under the age of, say 22, that come in to a top team and nailed the particular position Gerrard is now occupying.
Click to expand...

Busquets

Verratti?

Gago was given a go at Real but that didn't work out ultimately.
 
I really don't think we should be buying any more players.

It would be prudent just to focus on finding a deal for players who are surplus at the moment.

Agger, Lucas, Johnson and Borini along with a couple of others. This is essential so we don't find our hands tied if we are looking to strengthen in January. Which probably would be going in to the market to address any specific issue.

I really like Agger, but he is no good to us injured. It's time to let go.
 
kingjulian said:
I really don't think we should be buying any more players.

It would be prudent just to focus on finding a deal for players who are surplus at the moment.

Agger, Lucas, Johnson and Borini along with a couple of others. This is essential so we don't find our hands tied if we are looking to strengthen in January. Which probably would be going in to the market to address any specific issue.

I really like Agger, but he is no good to us injured. It's time to let go.
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It's a bloody good situation to be in when you start talking about Agger and Johnson being surplus to requirements, in a team with CL football. Who would've thought?
 
keniget said:
Busquets

Verratti?

Gago was given a go at Real but that didn't work out ultimately.
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Is Busquets really a playmaker though?

I'm not taking about the Makalele type player who just sits in front of the defence and cleans up (Mascherano is that type).

I'm talking about someone who range of oassing can also open up defences - Alonso & Pirlo would be the more modern type - but get seemed to bloom late.
 
StevieM said:
Is Busquets really a playmaker though?

I'm not taking about the Makalele type player who just sits in front of the defence and cleans up (Mascherano is that type).

I'm talking about someone who range of oassing can also open up defences - Alonso & Pirlo would be the more modern type - but get seemed to bloom late.
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To be honest, I don't really regard Gerrard as our playmaker. He picks the ball up from deep and has a great range of passing but it's not like everything is set up to go through him.

At Barca Xavi is / was the main playmaker in the side but Busquets has won out over the likes of Maschareno because of his ability on the ball and range of passing (and being a local lad too perhaps). Feels like the same sort of job Gerrard performs for us.

To touch on a point re: Alonso and maturing later on - he captained his hometown club and then led them within 2pts of the title at the age of 21(ish). I know Sociedad aren't a top club but he helped put them in the mix and helped us overachieve a couple years later.

I think the point ultimately is that if you're a special player and are lucky enough to find yourself in the right environment, it's possible to succeed in any position at a young age.
 
StevieM said:
Is Busquets really a playmaker though?

I'm not taking about the Makalele type player who just sits in front of the defence and cleans up (Mascherano is that type).

I'm talking about someone who range of oassing can also open up defences - Alonso & Pirlo would be the more modern type - but get seemed to bloom late.
Click to expand...
I think Alonso was 23 when he joined us, and he was captain of that Sociedad team at 21.

Pirlo was also starting in that Milan team at age 22.

Verratti and Badelj are more current examples. Even Gundogan, Sahin and Strootman to an extent.

So I don't think it's an age or experience thing. It's just that that type of player rarely gets bred these days - there's an increasing trend of encouraging midfielders to be all-round players rather than specialists at one particular thing.

If Rossiter however has been bred in that position, and is genuinely good, I don't think playing there in the first team will overwhelm him.
 
Yeah good - I hope in Rossiter we have someone who can be listed in the same bracket as the players listed above - then we have a truly world class player.

To bring the discussion full circle, my original point was that 17 yr old Jordan Rossiter is probably about 4 years away from being that player.

Gerrard hasn't got that long left & if Lucas goes - we're short in that area.
 
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