Luka Modric

[Strike 7,474]

i dunno to me even though united were a man down he was working really hard to win the ball back and being a real nuisance(sp?)... i thought he did very well.. could def see him in out pivot and working really well with the likes of mata oscar hazard and de bruyne who seems to be the forgotten man

he can harry around but his ball winning ability isn't great. no doubt he'd walk into our pivot and improve it. just that if we can get someone who operated deeper, we'll get better defensive security

meanwhile de Bruyne has been dire with his defending at Werder this season.

[bluesman2610 1,415]

he can harry around but his ball winning ability isn't great. no doubt he'd walk into our pivot and improve it. just that if we can get someone who operated deeper, we'll get better defensive security

meanwhile de Bruyne has been dire with his defending at Werder this season.

most teams that play double pivot have one true ball winner and one distributor.. now the distributor does add additional benefits if he too can win back possession but that is not his main function.. in respect to luka he is pretty decent ball winner maybe not of the same mold as a moutinho or alonso but would be more than efficient as he has a great engine and can do a lot of pressing...

ppl seem to think that defending is a few players in the team but actually its a unit everyone has a part to play to be a successful defending side we need more two way players like in the mourinho era...

and on de bruyne maybe you misunderstood me i was placing him in the attacking 3 not in the pivot..i too agree with you his defending does need a lot of work if he will work in our pivot if we so choose to play that style.. i still believe we play our best football in a 4-3-3 a la newcastle game beginning of the season...

[Styles 9,790]

most teams that play double pivot have one true ball winner and one distributor.. now the distributor does add additional benefits if he too can win back possession but that is not his main function.. in respect to luka he is pretty decent ball winner maybe not of the same mold as a moutinho or alonso but would be more than efficient as he has a great engine and can do a lot of pressing...

ppl seem to think that defending is a few players in the team but actually its a unit everyone has a part to play to be a successful defending side we need more two way players like in the mourinho era...

and on de bruyne maybe you misunderstood me i was placing him in the attacking 3 not in the pivot..i too agree with you his defending does need a lot of work if he will work in our pivot if we so choose to play that style.. i still believe we play our best football in a 4-3-3 a la newcastle game beginning of the season...

It's why somebody like Mata is such a liability.

[Leif 6,006]

I said it as a half-joke a few months ago, but again and more serious now - why not sign Luka and Alex Song..? Alex Song is overrated for his season last year with Arsenal, but if you really look into his skill-set, I think if we were more flexible with our tactics, those 2 would create the best midfield pairing in the Premier League. I also feel that Mikel would flourish with either Song/Modric beside him, but heh, chances of this happening are slim, aren't they?

I still don't believe Modric was anything near the reported £40m Tottenham wanted from us for him, but if we were to get him now for £25m from Madrid I wouldn't complain.

[Rmpr 8,977]

I said it as a half-joke a few months ago, but again and more serious now - why not sign Luka and Alex Song..? Alex Song is overrated for his season last year with Arsenal, but if you really look into his skill-set, I think if we were more flexible with our tactics, those 2 would create the best midfield pairing in the Premier League. I also feel that Mikel would flourish with either Song/Modric beside him, but heh, chances of this happening are slim, aren't they?

I still don't believe Modric was anything near the reported £40m Tottenham wanted from us for him, but if we were to get him now for £25m from Madrid I wouldn't complain.

Why would Madrid sell Modric for 25m after paying 33m this season? Also, the day Barça sell us a player, the world will be close to ending.

In a dream world, I agree. Get them both....However, it will be much easier to just buy Gonalons/Capoue and Moutinho!

[bluesman2610 1,415]

It's why somebody like Mata is such a liability.

in a sense yes but look at some of the great teams to win champions league milan in particular with players like kaka and pirlo who do not defend but are/were pure class going forward... you can get away with one or two players who are focused on attack first but they too still have a part to play in team defending

[Leif 6,006]

Why would Madrid sell Modric for 25m after paying 33m this season?

Because their board is stupid like ours And we could include someone like Essien in the deal. That, plus the fact that hardly any other clubs will come along with that sort of money for him and he's considered a flop so far in Madrid - so they may want to get rid of him since he won't be starting ahead of Alonso/Ozil like originally considered.

[bluesman2610 1,415]

Why would Madrid sell Modric for 25m after paying 33m this season?

hes not the right fit for that team and you so not spend 33m on a player to sit on the bench..unless you are city madrid chelsea and psg... where as here he as some have put it would walk right into the pivot and would be a pretty damn good replacement for the lengend super frank

[bluesman2610 1,415]

Because their board is stupid like ours And we could include someone like Essien in the deal. That, plus the fact that hardly any other clubs will come along with that sort of money for him and he's considered a flop so far in Madrid - so they may want to get rid of him since he won't be starting ahead of Alonso/Ozil like originally considered.

beat me to my exact point lol

[Rmpr 8,977]

Because their board is stupid like ours And we could include someone like Essien in the deal. That, plus the fact that hardly any other clubs will come along with that sort of money for him and he's considered a flop so far in Madrid - so they may want to get rid of him since he won't be starting ahead of Alonso/Ozil like originally considered.

hes not the right fit for that team and you so not spend 33m on a player to sit on the bench..unless you are city madrid chelsea and psg... where as here he as some have put it would walk right into the pivot and would be a pretty damn good replacement for the lengend super frank

Kaka breaks all your line of thought...

[Styles 9,790]

in a sense yes but look at some of the great teams to win champions league milan in particular with players like kaka and pirlo who do not defend but are/were pure class going forward... you can get away with one or two players who are focused on attack first but they too still have a part to play in team defending

I'm not asking for Mata to be Desailly. But he rarely even attempts to show any effort defensively. He is the ultimate luxury player in that you just hope he does something going forward otherwise he is completely irreleveant to the game.

I look at somebody like Oscar whowill contribute offenesively but will also contribute defensively, mark opponents and make himself involved. We need more players like that in the squad.

[bluesman2610 1,415]

Kaka breaks all your line of thought...

i put that in my post though... that only teams like madrid us city and psg can afford to do that.. kaka was eclipsed by the purchases of ozil and ronaldo ozil is a faster player than kaka and has shown to have just as high a footie IQ... and well what else can you say about ronaldo other than he makes stuff happen

[Leif 6,006]

Kaka breaks all your line of thought...

Kaka is iconic though and still offers decent qualities in league games - he's really picked it up this season (well, lately anyway; not the full season.) He'll always sell kits with his name on the back. I can't say the same for Modric! It's kind of like Torres with us. He cost a lot (like Kaka), sells loads of kits with his name (like Kaka), and can occasionally offer something (like Kaka). He also cost way more than he's worth (like Kaka) so the Real Madrid board don't want to look like idiots by off-loading him (like our board) Even with those points taken into consideration, neither are top footballers anymore - yet they're kept around for those exact reasons (i believe).

[Rmpr 8,977]

i put that in my post though... that only teams like madrid us city and psg can afford to do that.. kaka was eclipsed by the purchases of ozil and ronaldo ozil is a faster player than kaka and has shown to have just as high a footie IQ... and well what else can you say about ronaldo other than he makes stuff happen

What? So you are saying Madrid can afford to keep Kaka on 10mi/year, but they will decide to make money on Modric? LOOOOOOOOOOL

Kaka will leave and Modric will stay. Not counting that Alonso might be leaving...

[bluesman2610 1,415]

I'm not asking for Mata to be Desailly. But he rarely even attempts to show any effort defensively. He is the ultimate luxury player in that you just hope he does something going forward otherwise he is completely irreleveant to the game.

I look at somebody like Oscar whowill contribute offenesively but will also contribute defensively, mark opponents and make himself involved. We need more players like that in the squad.

im not disagreeing with you i completely agree but again some of the great teams do have one or two "luxury" players in order to be successful.. oscar imo was a great buy because we really were only looking at his attacking prowess but he does work really hard defensively too.. which i think luka does as well pretty efficiently