[quote author=doctor_mac link=topic=44020.msg1277312#msg1277312 date=1296744462]
[quote author=spider-neil link=topic=44020.msg1277295#msg1277295 date=1296743466]
[quote author=doctor_mac link=topic=44020.msg1277293#msg1277293 date=1296743010]
Aurelio has nothing like the passing ability of Adam, or the ability to dictate play.
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I would need to see both over a longer period of time to make that type of call, from the little I've seen of both aurelio's range of passing has been better. I need to see more of adam.
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Spidey, it isn't just passing ability, but the ability to do it in a tough congested midfield. Aurelio had all the action in front of him last night, owing to the way Stoke were set up, and he passed well enough. Finding your team-mates with quality (attacking) passes when the midfield is being contested rather than ceded is a different matter altogether. Adam makes time and space in the most competitive of midfield battles. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that is true of Aurelio. You're admitting you're basing this on very little, and it shows. I like Aurelio, but to suggest he has a better passing range and would be a better midfielder for us than Adam is nonsense.
[/quote]
Nonsense indeed, speculative nonsense at best.
That said, I thought the rest of Neil's original thread post was pretty much spot-on, really good.