The not confirmed, it's really only a rumour transfer thread ;Summer 2012
- Thread starter the count
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Status
He certainly is alright. He'd be an excellent buy for us to play anywhere up front.
He's a tad bit selfish though - not sure how he would work around the 'target man' ... But I guess if he can fix Sinclair, why not Sturridge?
Henderson is good at one thing and that is getting the ball and moving it on, this should suit Brendan Rodgers' tictactoe or whatever it is called approach. As for Allen, do we need him as we have Lucas, Siggurson id love for 7m, then focus on the wings please. Oh and sell Adam.
Interceptions
Rangel 97
Williams 89
Allen 76
Rangel dominates the interceptions chart, picking off lazy passes and over ambitious crosses all season long (along with a lot of quality passes and perfectly weighted crosses, too). Joe Allen makes another strong show in a defensive category, and has proven this season that although he might be slight of stature, he is a legitimate box-to-box midfielder. The willingness of Swansea's players to make a pitch-wide effort in attack and defence is reflected in the small number of defensive errors (leading to a shot or goal against) the side has committed, as all that extra cover stops the back four from being over-stretched:
Pass Completion %
Britton 93%
Allen 91%
Monk 89%
'Little' Britton has been compared all season long to Barcelona's similarly diminutive playmakers Andrés Iniesta and Xavi, and rightfully so; Britton's pass completion ratio has actually been among the highest in all of European football this season, better even than the Barca men.
Living slightly in the shadow of Britton's fantastic accomplishment is the emergent Joe Allen, unexpected star of my last blog on defence. Allen's own 91% rate puts him in the same class as Britton, Iniesta et al., and is further demonstration of Allen's legitimacy as a first rate all-round midfielder.
Coming in third is Swans stalwart Garry Monk, who narrowly edges out Jazz Richards, Alan Tate and Stephen Caulker (all 87%) for the best pass completion rate among the back four (Williams and Rangel hit 85% and 84% respectively).
Next to passing, perhaps the most important stat for midfield is tackling, as epitomised by the 'ball-winning midfielder' stereotype. We've already looked at tackling in the last blog about defence, so I'll put another spin on it this time and discount the Swans defenders from the tackle stats to see what we're left with :
Tackles Attempted (excluding defenders)
Allen 110
Britton 62
Dyer 62
Just like the last time we looked at this category, Joe Allen tops the table. Unsurprisingly, ball-thief Leon Britton is second and equally unsurprisingly if you've spent any time watching the Swans, Nathan Dyer is next. Dyer has previously won my 'defender in disguise' award for his willingness in the tackle. Of course, as with passing, willingness is one thing, success another.
Excluding defenders once again (and based on players making 20 attempted tackles or more), the tackle % chart looks like this :
Tackles Won
Routledge 86%
Allen 75%
Dyer 73%
Dyer makes the cut, as does Allen, but the big surprise is that enigmatic winger Wayne Routledge is top of the chart. Routledge just scraped in to the reckoning having attempted 21 tackles this season. If you'd rather disregard Routledge's effort on the grounds of too few attempts, then the next best after Dyer was Sigurdsson, who won 71% of 28 attempted tackles (actually 71.43%, maths fans) having played slightly more minutes than Routledge despite only joining the team mid way through the season.
Cross Completion
Gower 37%
Allen 31%
Taylor 27%
Gower's 37% is very impressive, especially considering the number of crosses he made during the season; these aren't lucky numbers based on a small sampling. In fact, all three of the players on this list (and several just short of making the list) boasted figures better than any of the wingers selected to join England in the European Championships this year. Not bad for a team that generally keeps the ball on the ground.
Chances
Sigurdsson 47
Allen 44
Dyer 41
Lacombe then commented on the situation of Algeria international Ryad Boudebouz, who recently revealed that he is on Liverpool's wishlist.
"If a suitable offer for Ryad arrives, we will honour our word and he will go," he told reporters.
is he any good? or is he another el zhar?
No, not even close. I consider him more of a "poor man's" Belhanda.
Boudebouz is a talented player, but he's wrongly used on the wings. He'd be better in a central role, but the fact that he's made whatever name he has with Sochaux as a winger doesn't bode well for how he'll be used in the future. There's a tendency to pigeon-hole players in positions without putting much thought behind it, and it's something that needs to be avoided with this kid.
Suarez and boudebouz buzzing around carroll. Pow.
i keep hearing a lot about belhanda which excites me, although I have not seen him play (apart from obligatory youtube clips).
T
the_khl
Guest
According to Gazzetta dello Sport Man United are ready with an offer in the £9M-bracket for 17-year-old Viktor Fischer from Ajax.
Bayern and AC Milan are reportedly interested as well.
We have apparently shrewdly managed to keep our interest well hidden, why we've not been mentioned in the piece.
Yeah, that must be it.
Bayern and AC Milan are reportedly interested as well.
We have apparently shrewdly managed to keep our interest well hidden, why we've not been mentioned in the piece.
Yeah, that must be it.
Manure are going to be spending a lot it seems - how are they doing this if their financials are so bleak?
You've made me want this kid, now he's gonna be scummy. NOOOOOOO!!!!!
We can't buy him unfortunately due to Rodgers agreement with Swansea about not going back to take their players.
Allen does seem to be a big talent. Classy on the ball.
New Liverpool boss Brendan Rogers is preparing a £10 million bid for Wigan’s Victor Moses as his Anfield revolution gets underway.
Moses, 21, enjoyed an impressive season, starting 35 League games and scoring 6 times, as the Latics rallied to finish 15th in the Premier League.
The Nigerian winger has admitted he is open to a move to greener pastures this summer but it is understood he will not force his way out of the DW Stadium.
Rogers wants to add creativity to his midfield and also hopes to hijack Swansea’s bid for Icelandic playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson.
The 39-year-old Northern Irishman was impressed as Wigan passed their way to safety last season and wants Moses to provide options from the flanks and centrally. Rogers has also vetoed the Anfield hierarchy’s plans to move on controversial forward Luis Suarez, as he looks to bring Champions League football back to the red half of Liverpool.
The Reds may face competition from Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa for Moses’ signature
T
the_khl
Guest
I wouldn't mind Moses at all. But is he really a winger?
- Status
Similar threads
-
- Locked
- Locked
