I can agree with most of that. I do think that when Cesc was fresher in the first half of the season he was indeed a "all around" midfielder but as the matches piled up and fatigue from playing non-stop kicked in he's dropped off a bit.
I agree to some extent. The reason we don't see as many of those passes is because he plays further forward therefore the range of passing is limited and it generally has to be short, incisive passess. You don't really see him as often as Carrick/Scholes where they literally take the ball of the CB's feet and then have the whole game infront of them, from this position a longer defence splitting ball is more natural. Herrera mainly receives the ball in the opponent's half with his back to goal which make it more difficult to show his expansive passing game if it does exist.
Ander is an attacking player with some defensive skills. Schneiderlin is a defensive player with some attacking skills.
So they would actually be a good pairing. Each covers the others deficiencies.
They'd be a fantastic duo, but I expect we'll have 3 in midfield anyway due to LVG preferring 4-3-3 and this being his 2nd summer + Memphis. We surely wont be going into another season without LVG's favourite system and players hes confident will be able to do it... Especially with all the money we're throwing around. But yes, those 2 being a really good combination can only do wonders for the 3rd midfielder in the 3. We'd probably be fine if that player was Carrick/Blind... And I suspect if Schneiderlin was at the base of the midfield, we could probably get away with Di Maria in left centre midfield again as he'd have the legs and combative nature to fill in all the holes Di Maria leaves defensively
Not to be nitpicky, but no way will Henderson or Mason get hyped up on here, especially with their limited skill set and approach. Mason, especially, would have been strongly attacked by our fans, for sure, given how limited he is in his game.
This is most definitely his style of play for much of his career, but I wouldn't say that he lacks the confidence to play the final ball. Mata's first goal against Liverpool away is an excellent example of his great final ball, but with Fellaini being the most attacking midfielder out of the 3, Herrera is most likely playing a more reserved role, particularly as Mata isn't a proper winger and cuts inside quite often. This setup is quite similar to how he set up Bayern in their first season where Robben and Ribery created all of the chances (Young and Mata), Muller was more of a goalscoring player behind the striker (Fellaini), and Schweini was more reserved than his time as a left wide attacking midfielder (Herrera).
The longer passing isn't a part of his game as well. Under Bilbao, especially under Bielsa, he would always have short-passing options around, and the team's attacking, dynamic approach meant that long passing wasn't really necessary from Herrera, particularly when he had Martinez/Benat/San Jose/Iturraspe doing it. However, under van Gaal, I do believe that he'll add the long passing to his game, and he's already attempted some long passes in the last few matches.
Cazorla's definitely a better playmaker than Ander, but he's definitely not as complete. Ander's defensive awareness and contribution is much better than Cazorla's, but even then, Cazorla is still an amazing midfielder because of his vision, passing range, and world class technique. As an attacking midfielder, he was a big goalscoring threat as well, though playing him deeper allows him to take a greater control of the match.
Barcelona too come next year.I disagree with the last line. Ander's defensive abilities are seriously undermined by that statement. Also, Schneiderlin is not even close to Herrera's class in ball control, dribbling and ability to play a defense splitting ball.
Neither is Ander even close to Schneiderlin's tackling, positioning, physicality, etc. As I said, they dont have a lot of overlapping strengths but there are just as many defensive skills that Schneiderlin is miles better than Ander in, just as many as Ander's attacking skills that hes miles better than Schneiderlin in. People tend to only look at attacking/on the ball skills though
He would be the perfect partner for Ander in midfield.
Oliver Torres? Wouldn't mind him next year. I obviously watched Atletico vs Barca on Sunday, but it was hard to judge Koke as Atletico didn't have much of the ball.
hands off. Go for Koke or Oliver!
There are already rumours they have an eye on him...
Yeah they were supposedly keen on him to replace Xavi, but yeah, he's been on their radar for a while. Hopefully Rafinha steps up and there's no need
Not sure if Koke will be a good fit for Barca, great player he is. He's probably a little too direct/physical for Barca's style but from the little I've seen of Torres, he seems a good fit to your style. Him and Verratti would be superb. I'd cream myself if we signed Verratti. I'd prefer him over Pogba to boot.
Yeah, have to agree. Was thinking that myself.
He's 6 feet tall...not as little as he seems to be
I feel the same about Herrera, and want to him played as a 10 with a better passer behind him in central midfield. Or, if we continue with this 433, then I would like him to take up Fellaini's position and be more in and around the box.
We'd need a better CDM first to play him in a more attacking role though.
What do you mean better?
Than Blind. Herrera could be a lot more attacking but it was like he was helping out Blind in some games.
Well if he's a number 10, he will be someone who can defend much better than a typical number 10 so it can reduce the workload on the defensive midfield guys
Its actually not inconsistant at all.
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That was my first thought to. How they leave out Herrera, Mata and Thiago is unreal really.
