Sunday, 6 February 2011

#3 King Kenny, Chelsea and Wilshire as a Defensive Midfielder?

I'll start with my growing respect for King Kenny who ever since he has returned to manage Liverpool he has handled the club the way a club like Liverpool should be handled! Something I never ever liked about the way Rafa Benitez handled his press conferences, interviews and how he never acknowledged a mistake by him or his players. Kenny ever since he has returned has made his return about one thing, Liverpool Football Club!

The way he has handled the Fernando Torres saga is a classic example about how you handle a transfer when a player leaves, he's left and if you bring in one, or in this case two players to replace him you concentrate on them and what they bring to the club! Jamie Carragher mentioned this as well, Torres is not the first player to leave Liverpool he won't be the last, star players such as Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen have all left and returned with other clubs but the club and the fans will never leave - which proves the meaning of YNWA!

Next point is Chelsea, they were poor against Liverpool, Essien and Lampard were no where to be seen and I don't think John Obi Mikel is in the category of World Class when it comes to defensive midfielder players! That is one area I think they need to improve in the summer, the pressure needs to be taken off Lampard and I believe Essien is better suited to being a defensive midfielder where he can break up the play rather than dictate the tempo of the game.

In The Observer I read something quoted by Fabio Capello regarding Jack Wilshire and playing him as a defensive midfielder.... and I won't lie, it horrifies me! Because this too me, means Jack Wilshire is going to be playing a 4-4-2 formation alongside with Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, neither who are playing well at the moment! Personally, this shows me Fabio Capello does not have a clue how to move this England team forward, but knows Jack Wilshire needs to be a central figure in his preparation for the European Championships.

What Wilshire will give England is the ability to unlock a defense, but the old expression 'you're only as good as the players you play with' comes to mind with this England team, where good players often disappoint after so much expectation! Jack Wilshire plays along side technically brilliant footballers such as Cesc Fabregas and Samri Nasri in his Arsenal team where keeping the ball and short passes in compact areas are what they do in there sleep. This is not how England play but it is how they need to play if they are ever to compete with the European giants and if they are do that, Jack Wilshire cannot be employed as a defensive midfielder!

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