vuc
First Team Serb
Pogue, he hasn't even played a full season in England yet give him a chance. Besides him and Barry are different players, but for ability he far exceeds Barry.
Some players look well suited to the PL but take a while to settle e.g. VidicPogue, he hasn't even played a full season in England yet give him a chance. Besides him and Barry are different players, but for ability he far exceeds Barry.
He is worse than Arteta imo.He's another Arteta, good player, stands out in a non-top-4 team, just short of top class.
He can make it in PL for sure. It's better to bump this next year after he has had a season to settle in.Some players look well suited to the PL but take a while to settle e.g. Vidic
Some players look like they're not suited to the PL from the outset e.g. Modric
Don't get me wrong, I think he's a decent footballer. I just don't think he will ever be seen as one of the best central midfielders in the league.
Go right ahead.He can make it in PL for sure. It's better to bump this next year after he has had a season to settle in.
Hah, now that you've said that I will have to make sure to bump it.Go right ahead.
Somethings tells me this is one thread that will remain un-bumped. Ho hum.
Palacios wasn't that good yesterday, he faded after about 30 mins and in the second half got little change out of Song despite us having 10 men.Surprised? Palacios was just doing what he's been doing at Wigan for two seasons now, not least against United. He was just as impressive at Old Trafford as he was yesterday. Beggars belief that Wenger let this bloke slip through his fingers, he is exactly what Arsenal are missing right now.
He was the best midfielder on the pitch, by a margin.Palacios wasn't that good yesterday, he faded after about 30 mins and in the second half got little change out of Song despite us having 10 men.
Song fecked up the more straightforward chance, I agree. However, forcing a decent save from 25 yards out counts as being closer to scoring than spooning a gimme wide of the post.Song was a lot closer to scoring than Palacios and over the 90 was just as good despite playing mostly with 9 others. I thought yesterday was evidence that Palacios isn't really top 4 material.
I wouldn't put Modric on a par with Arteta or Palacios, both of whom have bossed many a PL midfield in their time. Something Modric has yet to do.Arteta, Modric & Palacios are all good enough to play for top 4 clubs, I reckon, and definitely all good enough to play for Arsenal. Not saying they'd be stars at that level, but they'd fit in alright.
*Ding Ding*The lad can play some football, he seems to want the ball all the time which can only be a plus. He needs to be given more than a season to be judged fairly.
I'd never been that impressed with him though, I thought against us it was just a one-off.I thought he was quite good against Chelsea, but besides that the only times I seen him he was pretty average: City, Liverpool and Arsenal if I'm honest.Surprised? Palacios was just doing what he's been doing at Wigan for two seasons now, not least against United. He was just as impressive at Old Trafford as he was yesterday. Beggars belief that Wenger let this bloke slip through his fingers, he is exactly what Arsenal are missing right now.
As for Modric... meh... nothing special. Will probably develop into one of the better midfielders in the league, nowhere near the best. The likes of Palacios, Arteta and Barry are all much better than him and that's without even getting into midfielders at the "big four" (how much longer before we stop using that phrase altogether?)
Arteta is fecking miles better than Modric right now. Don't see why the situation would completely reverse in a few years time. Arteta's still only 26 years old.I'd never been that impressed with him though, I thought against us it was just a one-off.I thought he was quite good against Chelsea, but besides that the only times I seen him he was pretty average: City, Liverpool and Arsenal if I'm honest.
Don't see all the hype about Arteta, he's just consistently above average and whips a good ball in. I can think of plenty better than him and I fully expect him to be a level above Arteta in a few years.
Because one's still settling in and one's been here for years.Arteta is fecking miles better than Modric right now. Don't see why the situation would completely reverse in a few years time. Arteta's still only 26 years old.
That's bollocks though. So much more to his game than that.Modric has the ability, he has the quality. He is/was just unfortunate to go to spurs at a time when they are at their worst in a long time.
He is better than Arteta. Arteta looks good because he goes to ground easily then whips in the resulting freekick for Everton to score the only way the can.
Agreed, Arteta's massively overhyped for some reason that largely escapes me. Even though Modric has been disappointing so far I'd take him over Arteta any day. Must do a 'most-overrated XI in the PL' sometime.Don't see all the hype about Arteta, he's just consistently above average and whips a good ball in. I can think of plenty better than him and I fully expect him to be a level above Arteta in a few years.
Wow.Modric has the ability, he has the quality. He is/was just unfortunate to go to spurs at a time when they are at their worst in a long time.
He is better than Arteta. Arteta looks good because he goes to ground easily then whips in the resulting freekick for Everton to score the only way the can.
Class, I think.Agreed, Arteta's massively overhyped for some reason that largely escapes me. Even though Modric has been disappointing so far I'd take him over Arteta any day. Must do a 'most-overrated XI in the PL' sometime.
it's obviously still early days in the season, but it's looked that way now for a whileModric hasn't done badly and is undoubtedly really talented. It's just that he came with really sky high expectations. He was supposed to Tottenham's key signing, but honestly he hasn't quite lived up to the hype. Who knows, maybe this is not the right league for him.
reckon Italy would be better for him?it's obviously still early days in the season, but it's looked that way now for a while
Spain or Italy would suit his game far more than England. I'd favour Spain, just because you get a free kick if someone in the crowd sneezes too loud.reckon Italy would be better for him?
Your assessment is way off IMO .... Palacios was very good. Granted you didn't have your first choice CM partnership playing, but Spurs more or less dominated the centre midfield for virtually the whole match, including the 37 mins (?) or so before you were reduced to 10 men, and the performance of Palacios was the key reason for this.Palacios wasn't that good yesterday, he faded after about 30 mins and in the second half got little change out of Song despite us having 10 men.
I still can't understand this obsession with people having DM's in there, with the other centre mid playing further forward.Your assessment is way off IMO .... Palacios was very good. Granted you didn't have your first choice CM partnership playing, but Spurs more or less dominated the centre midfield for virtually the whole match, including the 37 mins (?) or so before you were reduced to 10 men, and the performance of Palacios was the key reason for this.
As for Modric I thought he also played reasonably well on Sunday. It's taken him a while to settle in, not surprisingly, but generally he looks better and better with mostly each game now. However, I agree with those saying that the time to make a proper assessment will be during next season.
I think our strongest midfield line-up, for home games at least, is now as per Sunday's line-up:
----------- Palacios -------
Lennon ---- Jenas ---- Modric
... with Modric playing loosely in LM, but with a licence to roam. Or Huddlestone could play in place of Jenas in that line-up.
I thought Jenas looked like a superstar compared to Denilson. I've seen quite a few Gooners around the web trying to defend Denilson, saying he's much better than people and the media are giving him credit for - well, he certainly didn't show that yesterday.Speaking of bollox, that sums up Jenas' display. He was atrocious.
What you say is true. It's not that Palacios just sits in front of the back 4 (he doesn't) or that Jenas stays ahead of him at all times (he didn't) ... it's just that IMO Palacios will naturally take - and be more suited to - a more defensive role and Jenas a more attacking role, but there are no hard and fast distinctions: both players have great engines and will cover a lot of ground between them.I still can't understand this obsession with people having DM's in there, with the other centre mid playing further forward.
Palacios was all over the place at the weekend, and that's exactly how he plays every match.
He doesn't just sit there and break down play, and Jenas doesn't stay ahead of him at all times and dictate play further forward.
It's this new obsession with moving away from 4-4-2, I reckon, to make the teams less typically English.