Scholes will and can't be replaced like-for-like, just like Keano wasn't, Cantona wasn't etc etc.
Wesley Sneijder
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I perhaps phrased it badly, the main point I was trying to make is that he's not quite the position we should be looking to target. We need someone to control the midfield and dictate the tempo, rather than a Sneijder, who cracking player though he is, essentially plays his best football in Rooney's current position. Our need for someone like a Modric or a Thiago is much greater than our need for a Sneijder.
I wouldn't be that against signing Sneijder, but if we're signing him as a CAM, we then lose Rooney in his best position, and if we're signing him as a CM, we lose Sneijder in his best position. He's never looked a £35m footballer playing as a strict CM.
How do you see Sneijder, Rooney and Hernández fitting into a cohesive formation?
And how exactly does point b) rule out Modric?
We don't have to start Rooney and Chicharito upfront in every game, Rooney did very well as a second striker last season, but he is also exceptional as a lone striker, as he showed in 2009/10. Saying that, in most of our games next season we will be facing teams who we are substantially superior to, so we can afford to play with just Carrick or Fletcher in a defensive role with Sniejder allowed to attack, along with two strikers. In games where we're going to be facing teams with very strong midfields, I wouldn't want us to be playing 4-4-2 anyway, Chicharito often ends up being isolated and ineffectual in games like that.
Sounds like he's signing for City then!
True.
And Carrick need someone with legs next to him, someone who can put pressure on the the opposition when we're not in possession.
We were still pretty shocking away from home ... What is needed is a Modric, Sahin Wilshere type of midfielder. Not Ganso or Sneijder ...
Who is the player who plays those long range passes without Scholes, the answer is always Michael Carrick. Carrick works at his best alongside a Fletcher, Anderson or (to a lessening extent) Giggs, basically players with an engine. Sneijder wouldn't fit with that, so let's say that we are dropping Sneijder deeper as that's what everyone seems to want, to take him out of his by far best position and into one where he's never really fit (
). He'd be playing alongside who?You may sat Carrick again but look at it, Sneijder would be pushing up constantly and leaving Carrick isolated when we lose the ball, as well as both playing in a system that doesn't really suit them. Now let's look at others, Fletcher for instance. This one may seem perfect in theory but look at it in realistic terms, since Fletcher enjoys running forward when the opportunity presents itself Sneijder would have to play deeper, making him even further from his comfort zone and making us even lighter once we've lost the ball.
Anderson and Giggs is much the same as Fletcher. So how would he fit?
Well I'd disagree on one point there, Ganso seems to have it all to play in a deep role, although for some reason he never plays there.
Who is the player who plays those long range passes without Scholes, the answer is always Michael Carrick. Carrick works at his best alongside a Fletcher, Anderson or (to a lessening extent) Giggs, basically players with an engine. Sneijder wouldn't fit with that, so let's say that we are dropping Sneijder deeper as that's what everyone seems to want, to take him out of his by far best position and into one where he's never really fit (
You may sat Carrick again but look at it, Sneijder would be pushing up constantly and leaving Carrick isolated when we lose the ball, as well as both playing in a system that doesn't really suit them. Now let's look at others, Fletcher for instance. This one may seem perfect in theory but look at it in realistic terms, since Fletcher enjoys running forward when the opportunity presents itself Sneijder would have to play deeper, making him even further from his comfort zone and making us even lighter once we've lost the ball.
Anderson and Giggs is much the same as Fletcher. So how would he fit?
I think you do Sneijder a disservice here. He's a professional player who's used to getting tactical instructions. If Fergie tells him not to push up constantly - something Giggs does and to good effect - then he won't.
Besides, Carrick's best season was 06/07 in my opinion, when he played alongside a creative player with excellent ball retention skills. And that player didn't have even Sneijder's engine.
Maybe, but we need someone who can be competitive straight away. Ganso will need time to adapt to the PL.
The most important thing is,
Can he hack it on a windy cold rainy night up at Stoke?
Can he hack it on a windy cold rainy night up at Stoke?
And yet last season most fans were crying out for a player that could unlock doors and find that crutial goal for us in tight games. A lot of games away from home last season were 0-0 or 1-1 draws aswell, they weren't all 3-3 thrillers that required a defensive minded midfielder.
His best season by far was 09/10, the season the team was set around "give it to Wes and he'll do something", he hardly played tactically at all.
I'd say 07/08 was his best by quite some way tbh.
Well, we didn't retrieve the ball early enough in most of our away games, thus allowing the opposition to put the defence under huge pressure. A creative midfielder like Sneijder won't help that, sure.
But I think that if we have a midfield that is still capable of doing well when being pressed by the opposition we'll go a long way towards actually controlling games away from home. We might not give the ball away as cheaply as we often seemed to do or will not have to resort to hoofing it forward in sheer desperation. Sneijder is mobile, skilful, good under pressure, has a great range of passing - he would definitely help but I still don't think we'll get him.
Modric, Sahin or Wilshere are not defensive midfielders, they can attack and track back. Sneijder is too attacking.
I think Nasri would fit better too. Perhaps we haven't given up hope on that one yet.
Inter are interested in center midfielder Casemiro
Ronaldo doesn't track back, but I would still have him. Van Nistelrooy never ever tracked back, but I would still have him. Cantona would never track back...
Sneijder's not all that good, that's why Inter seem willing to sell. I'd rather give Cleverley a chance and wait for a year than get Sneijder.
I could probably find a clip of Heskey successfully doing a step-over on YouTube....
You probably could aye. I just wanted an excuse to post that.
Nah, we need people who can keep possession. Like Scholes, funnily enough.
I've said it before, my first choice and ideal signing would be Modric but it seems he's either not for sale or Chelsea bound.
My next bet/option would definitely be Sneijder. I'm sure with squad rotation, formation and tactical changes we can easily mix and match to get the very best out of both Rooney and Sneijder. Theyre both intelligent footballers.
Still not too convinced we're actually in for him though.
My next bet/option would definitely be Sneijder. I'm sure with squad rotation, formation and tactical changes we can easily mix and match to get the very best out of both Rooney and Sneijder. Theyre both intelligent footballers.
Still not too convinced we're actually in for him though.
Personally my first choice would be Schweinstieger, followed by Modric, Sniejder then Nasri.
I think Sneijder is a world class player but I am concerned that he isn't, as some people suggest, a Scholes type replacement. Paul Scholes got through so much work in his prime, he wasn't quite box to box like Keane but still, he had more energy to his play than Sneijder does. Sneijder is a player that floats around, gives short sharp periods of creative play and then waits until his next involvement. He doesn't go looking for the ball in the way that Scholes would. However, I'm sure that he would adapt to a deeper role and that's something that many great attacking players do as they get older. Sneijder is currently in his peak years, but it woud not be a suprise to see him develop into a Pirlo type midfielder in the future.
My ideal signings Sneijder AND Nasri.
Carrick
Sneijder
Valencia Nasri Nani
Rooney
Sneijder
Valencia Nasri Nani
Rooney
Options avalible:
Nasri > Rooney, Anderson or Sneijder
Sneijder > Anderson
Rooney > Hernandez
Nani > Young
Valencia > Nani
Carrick > Fletcher
We'd piss over the Premier League with that and have a crack at Europe too.
Awesome strikers, wingers, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers.
What a sqaud that would be
I would prefer to sign a player like Schweinsteiger (or ideally Schweinsteiger ) but I have a feeling if SAF really does want Sneijder and is able to sign him then he will be a big success in the next few seasons
) but I have a feeling if SAF really does want Sneijder and is able to sign him then he will be a big success in the next few seasonsSneijder is really just not what's *really* needed at the cost for the midfield.
I would prefer to sign a player like Schweinsteiger (or ideally Schweinsteiger
You really want him don't you.
I would prefer to sign a player like Schweinsteiger (or ideally Schweinsteiger
I understood what he meant at least. Had to read it twice though.Aren't both Sneijder and Carrick better when paired with 'runners'. I don't think the two of them in midfield would work
Nah, we need somebody to win the midfield battle to enable the likes of Sneijder, Scholes etc to do what they do best.
There is little value in having somebody with the talent of Scholes or Sneijder inside their own half trying to win the ball back. they should be employed in the opponents half where they can use their skills to more devastating effect.
This is the idea of midfield partnerships. One should cover different attributes than the other. Our problem is we are not winning the initial midfield battle, therefore the likes of Scholes or Giggs spend too much time trying to get possession and not enough time in possession.
A fit Hargreaves would have been ideal. More energy and determination than Carrick, more technically gifted than Fletcher, more pace than Gibson.
We don't have a player like that unfortunately, and it is most evident away from home, in more keenly contested midfield scraps.
I agree it wouldn't. Might be ok at OT where teams sit back more, but away from home they would be run ragged.
Nah, we need players who can keep possession, otherwise we're doing well as we are. Good you've got a player who can can break up play, but you still need players to be able to keep ball. I think it's a bit archaic to think we need energy and determination - we've got that in spades. What we lack is class on the ball in the centre of the pitch.
Carrick doesn't need to be paired with a runner, just someone who's a bit more likely to create/score goals. Which is why we often struggle to score when he's paired with Fletcher yet Carrick's best season ever came alongside Scholes (who isn't a "runner" by any definition)
And I suspect Fergie's interest in Nasri and Sneijder means he feels the same way too.
Carrick worked well with Scholes, but I do think mobile players in midfield is becoming a requirement now as other teams have plenty of them. Sneijder plays in front of two midfielders that do the donkey work at inter, but we don't really have the same options in midfield.
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