Are midfield 'destroyers' required anymore?

Badonde

Badonde

Well-known member
I think football is going through a really positive spell.
Rewind just a few years ago and it felt that footie was sometimes like playing pool against someone who 'covered the pockets'.
Safety first with marginal wins.....waiting for the opposition to make a mistake.
Tony Pulis style, dull dull dull.

Now it seems to have lightened up.
Not sure it's just because we have Chris Wilder as Manager or if its a wider 'thing'.
The idea of playing it out from the back seems to have helped change the dynamics in footie.
It used to be that you would need a Cattermole or Boateng or both.
The Leadbitter/Clayton axis was more about a 'solid platform' than creative zeal.

Now we don't even play with a defensive midfielder do we?
If we do I guess it would be said to be Howson who uses intelligence rather rather than brawn in defending.
Funny how fashions change in footie.
First it was 'wingers' given their cards, then 'number 10s', now perhaps the defensive midfielder days are numbered?????
 
Yes, I agree. Managers of yesteryear - Pulis, Southgate, McClaren - would shudder at the thought of our midfield today or last season. It's kind of what Woodgate tried playing Wing in that role, but Howson is much better at it. However, playing with three CBs does negate the need for such a defensive midfield perhaps?
 
I think Wilder understands what he wants from those three centre halves.
In the past the extra centre-back just seemed to get in the way.
Nice to have a system sorted rather than constantly discussing whether to go 4 at the back or 5
 
I think we do need a more defensive midfielder we look really vunerable as we did last season on the counter. as you say howson is playing as the deepest using his experience and nous but I would love an athletic combative player like a boateng. This would free up Johnny to create further up the pitch.
 
I think there's a general improvement in coaching which is seeing possession as a positive thing and using stats more effectively: knowing where you're good at holding the ball and where you're consistent at moving it into attacking positions.

There are a select few clubs who simply consume the top talent within the game, so you can't just shell out and insert Talisman X and have him carry the team: the whole approach has to be transformed.

We've never replaced the strength of Boateng in the years since he played here, but when we have more than one attacking outlet in the Championship, moving forward as a unit, I think there's more chance of outscoring the other team to win the game... And it's a better spectacle than the covering pockets approach as the OP said.
 
I think there is still a place for them especially if they are quality like boateng I think it's more to do with academies focused on playing one way there's a real dearth of them coming through.
 
Glover_elbow said:
I wouldn't mind trying dijksteel as the holder he has all the athletic attributes needed
Click to expand...
Said this a while back but accepted that he was performing well at RCB. I'm warming again to the idea of trying it though, as McNair could play in the RCB position.

Djiksteel is excellent at getting back and making recovery challenges, so think he could be the guy to break up the play when the opposition try to counter and we're being overrun in midfield.
 
Pep still plays them, Klopp basically plays 3. England play with 2, Real Madrid have Casemiro and now Tchouameni.

With a lot of the top teams the full backs are basically wingers, and the most creative players in the team. So you need to stuff your midfield with Hendersons. It’s still five attacking players, five defensive players in most teams, but who the attacking players are is the thing that changes.

I think there’ll always be central defensive-minded midfielders, but the likes of Rodri and Kante and Fabinho and any of the Germans are technically way better than the horrible destroyers of yore.
 
Is'nt Hannibal, the lad we're looking to loan from Man Utd a defensive midfielder? Thats my understanding of him although I don't know too much about him.
 
I think he plays more as a number 10. There is definitely a role for a deeper, more protective midfielder in our side. It's just a more active role, rather than simply "sitting in" and protecting the back three.

Howson has done well there but I still think we'll sign a replacement this summer and his game time will be limited going forward. Looked well off the pace second half against a good championship midfield.
 
I think there is definitely still the need for that role in modern football, especially when you look at how Wilder likes his CBs to venture foward both with the ball and with their movement.

I think the holding midfielder has to be quicker to move possession on; a very good one has a brilliant passing range so that they can quickly transition a team to an attacking stance. Our wingbacks remedy that somewhat because of their movement.
 
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