Luka Modric / Signs for Real Madrid

De Selby said:
I have no idea why anyone would want a "destroyer" as some call it.
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No one has asked for a destroyer, it is Modric fanboys who keep referring to the need for a Carrick backup as a "destroyer". Carrick ain't no destroyer, he is a very defensively sound well-rounded midfielder, which is all that is being asked for to be on the safe side in case anything happens with Carrick.

Just picture it:

Scholes-Modric
Cleverley-Modric
Cleverley-Scholes
Cleverley-Giggs
Giggs-Scholes
Giggs-Modric

I could go on, but they are all clearly a fecking midfield disaster waiting to happen.

Jones has no positional awareness whatsoever, not to the level required of a midfield lynchpin as Carrick is. He is so gung-ho he always ends up seemingly in some sort of Number 10 role when played in midfield.

Ando is the only one that could make an alternative pairing look somewhat viable but he is always injured.

Fact is, the best pair from a defensive (by that I don't mean destroying but protecting the back four) standpoint is Cleverley-Anderson and it resulted in completely out of control goalfests early last season.

It is not a difficult concept, trust me.
 
antohan said:
No one has asked for a destroyer, it is Modric fanboys who keep referring to the need for a Carrick backup as a "destroyer". Carrick ain't no destroyer, he is a very defensively sound well-rounded midfielder, which is all that is being asked for to be on the safe side in case anything happens with Carrick.

Just picture it:

Scholes-Modric
Cleverley-Modric
Cleverley-Scholes
Cleverley-Giggs
Giggs-Scholes
Giggs-Modric

I could go on, but they are all clearly a fecking midfield disaster waiting to happen.

Jones has no positional awareness whatsoever, not to the level required of a midfield lynchpin as Carrick is. He is so gung-ho he always ends up seemingly in some sort of Number 10 role when played in midfield.

Ando is the only one that could make an alternative pairing look somewhat viable but he is always injured.

Fact is, the best pair from a defensive (by that I don't mean destroying but protecting the back four) standpoint is Cleverley-Anderson and it resulted in completely out of control goalfests early last season.

It is not a difficult concept, trust me.
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No it isn't that difficult if people read what is actually being said in the context it is meant. Great post by the way and sums up my concerns for the coming season if we do not buy 'another Carrick type'.

If i thought SAF was up for spending £50m this summer, i wopuld be quite happy to take Modric as well as the type i believe we need. If it is one or the other though, as i believe it will be, then Modric will only provide certain attributes and leave us sorely lacking in others.
 
Don't know how true this is but there was something from a French journalist (unfortunately for those who don't like the place) on Twitter, saying he spoke to M'Vila last week and he is agonising over whether to choose us or Arsenal.
Could that be the answer?
 
AKDevil said:
Don't know how true this is but there was something from a French journalist (unfortunately for those who don't like the place) on Twitter, saying he spoke to M'Vila last week and he is agonising over whether to choose us or Arsenal.
Could that be the answer?
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It's my ideal realistic transfer for this Summer. Doesn't bode well that only yesterday (or Sunday?) he was quoted going on about the Prem and Arsenal, no mention of us.

I don't think Arsenal need him though, not with the season Song just had and the wealth of all-round CMs they have. It would be insane for Wenger to finally splash out 20M+ on a player when he doesn't need him.
 
AKDevil said:
Don't know how true this is but there was something from a French journalist (unfortunately for those who don't like the place) on Twitter, saying he spoke to M'Vila last week and he is agonising over whether to choose us or Arsenal.
Could that be the answer?
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Possibly, if that same French journalist hadn't announced a short while after that he was on a WUM.
 
De Selby said:
I was referring to the "destroyer" role that some people in here were talking about. Someone like Tiote embodies that.
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Point is, no one did, everyone was banging on about the sort of player the Chief has listed, not a one-dimensional Tiote. We don't want one dimensional players, I doubt anyone disagrees on that.
 
AKDevil said:
Oh did he? I didn't see that, only the retweets of the first bit. Sorry for bringing that up then.
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Anything on twitter needs to be presumed to be untrue until its actually verified by facts.
 
The Neviller said:
Yeah, he posted that M'Vila was hesitating between United and Arsenal, then posted saying it was just a joke, kind of an experiment.
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Fair enough, I'm not on Twitter but during the whole Hazard saga I was very keen on somone on here posting some bull and seeing how quickly it spread. It is more interesting than the boredom of waiting for something to actually happen.
 
antohan said:
Fair enough, I'm not on Twitter but during the whole Hazard saga I was very keen on somone on here posting some bull and seeing how quickly it spread. It is more interesting than the boredom of waiting for something to actually happen.
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I'm not on it either, it was in the twitter thread in here.
 
Apparently one of his team-mates saying he's going to La Liga, or rather more like he has indicated interest to play there. Abit absurd as i can't see Madrid and Barcelona paying 30m, and the likes of Valencia and Alt Madrid certainly can't afford him
 
SATA said:
Apparently one of his team-mates saying he's going to La Liga, or rather more like he has indicated interest to play there. Abit absurd as i can't see Madrid and Barcelona paying 30m, and the likes of Valencia and Alt Madrid certainly can't afford him
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There's absolutely zero interest from Spain, it's all agent-induced media bollocks.
 
De Selby said:
Point is, I'm right and that's all that matters.
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Maybe, but imo Makelele is more of an embodiment of that classic destroyer type. He did little else other than destroy and mop up in front of the back 4.
Tiote at least gets forward and has a shot or 2.

Makelele was good at what he did though, no question,. but that is definitely not what i believe we need. But there are still plenty about who can do some of what he did, while offering much more besides.

Carrick, Alonso, Sahin, Banega, Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Van Bommel, Busquets and De Rossi to name a few. That's what i feel we need personally, but how SAF defines that type of player is another matter.
 
apotheosis said:
Maybe, but imo Makelele is more of an embodiment of that classic destroyer type. He did little else other than destroy and mop up in front of the back 4.
Tiote at least gets forward and has a shot or 2.

Makelele was good at what he did though, no question,. but that is definitely not what i believe we need. But there are still plenty about who can do some of what he did, while offering much more besides.

Carrick, Alonso, Sahin, Banega, Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Van Bommel, Busquets and De Rossi to name a few. That's what i feel we need personally, but how SAF defines that type of player is another matter.
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I'm not sure you really know what u think we need. So you would have Schweinsteiger, De Ross andi Alonso but not Modric?

I just don't get it sorry.
 
Dunno about schweinsteiger as I haven't seen much of him but De Rossi and Alonso are far more competent defensive players in the middle as well as having the talents to contribute to the attack. Modric has more to offer to the attack but a lot less to offer defensively and defensively is where we're lacking. Presuming we're not overhauling our midfield but rather giving clev/ando another chance to stay fit then we have those two, scholes and giggs who can provide the attacking thrust to the middle and only Carrick who can play the other role in the middle, with Fletcher being such a doubt.

The way I saw it our problems last season stemmed from 2 issues.

1: Having too many injury prone players. Ando/Clev have questionnable injury records and Fletcher was a massive gamble, as they got injured we were left seriously light in the middle

2: Lack of another defensive player. With Fletcher out only Carrick offered any real protection in the middle. When he wasn't available we were exposed and even when scholes came in to it, his lack of legs meant that he couldn't give us that much there in the tougher games.

Signing a midfielder, any midfielder would help us in terms of numbers, injury prone players and older players left us exposed in the middle. That's why we have to sign a midfielder imo.

As to who we sign as mentioned, Modric would be perfect but he doesn't solve the main issues from last season that I think we had in the middle which was that it wasn't very solid. Yes he will help to keep the ball but we can't always have it. Most other big teams play with 2 solid midfielders. Modric at his own club and internationally usually plays with 2 solid midfielders. I don't see why that will change if he joins us.

And really unless we are planning to let an ando/clev go it doesn't make sense to sign Modric as he'll go in to competition with them rather than Carrick. We'd still have the issue that if Carrick gets injured, bar Fletcher no one can be an effective replacement, and given their fitness issues can't even be relied on to be around.

As said if we can sign Modric and another midfielder than great. That's Fergie's issue how he's gonna keep everyone happy. But if we can only sign one than a defensively solid player, not a destroyer just someone who can give us protection in the middle is much more important than Modric.
 
I thought the common complaint on the forum last year after the lesson from Barca was that we needed more Barca type possession midfielders. Modric is the best of that style in England. He would improve the first team and go straight in as a first choice. What's not to like about it?
 
surf said:
I thought the common complaint on the forum last year after the lesson from Barca was that we needed more Barca type possession midfielders. Modric is the best of that style in England. He would improve the first team and go straight in as a first choice. What's not to like about it?
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But Barca have possession players but also defensively excellent players. They have busquets and Xavi offering the main protection, both strong defensively. They have Khedira who can come in and have mascherano. Sure they've been experimenting but they still have two players who are solid in the middle and back up.

Real have Alonso and Khedira in their first 11, again two defensively sound players and they have back up in Diarra and Sahin.

We have Carrick and Fletcher and that's it. Clev and Ando have energy but lack understanding of defending in a two, where you have to be more positionally aware than a 3. Scholes and Giggs lack legs. Modric isn't lazy but defensive work isn't his strong point. He can aid someone else in the middle but he's not gonna be able to take over for Carrick if he got injured.

And without that safety net, that player who will cover for these players then the likes of xavi, iniesta, silva, modric, scholes etc aren't going to be as effective. We have enough attacking options and enough attacking midfield options to provide the attacking quality we need. Modric would no doubt add to that but without a Carrick giving him something to work on then he can't show his talents fully, none of our midfielders or attackers can.

I think it's important though that I make the distinction that I'm not, nor I think others, saying we shouldn't sign Modric but rather that another defensively competent midfielder is a much more urgent requirement and if we can only sign one it should be that sort of player.
 
Ash_G said:
But Barca have possession players but also defensively excellent players. They have busquets and Xavi offering the main protection, both strong defensively. They have Khedira who can come in and have mascherano. Sure they've been experimenting but they still have two players who are solid in the middle and back up.

Real have Alonso and Khedira in their first 11, again two defensively sound players and they have back up in Diarra and Sahin.

We have Carrick and Fletcher and that's it. Clev and Ando have energy but lack understanding of defending in a two, where you have to be more positionally aware than a 3. Scholes and Giggs lack legs. Modric isn't lazy but defensive work isn't his strong point. He can aid someone else in the middle but he's not gonna be able to take over for Carrick if he got injured.

And without that safety net, that player who will cover for these players then the likes of xavi, iniesta, silva, modric, scholes etc aren't going to be as effective. We have enough attacking options and enough attacking midfield options to provide the attacking quality we need. Modric would no doubt add to that but without a Carrick giving him something to work on then he can't show his talents fully, none of our midfielders or attackers can.

I think it's important though that I make the distinction that I'm not, nor I think others, saying we shouldn't sign Modric but rather that another defensively competent midfielder is a much more urgent requirement and if we can only sign one it should be that sort of player.
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Well, I prefer someone who will come in and be our best midfielder over someone whose role will be to take over from Carrick when he is not playing.
The 25 man squad rule places increased importance on key players who are going to play a lot of games for you. Carrick and Modric is at least two thirds of a strong midfield, and both are in their prime.
 
Levy probably pushed the Spanish interest rumors to drive up interest from United, Chelsea, or whoever is in for him. Where would he play at either of the big two?
 
Sir Matt said:
Levy probably pushed the Spanish interest rumors to drive up interest from United, Chelsea, or whoever is in for him. ...
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Yeah, I'm sure Levy is desperate to sell and feels a burning need to "drive up interest".
 
surf said:
Well, I prefer someone who will come in and be our best midfielder over someone whose role will be to take over from Carrick when he is not playing.
The 25 man squad rule places increased importance on key players who are going to play a lot of games for you. Carrick and Modric is at least two thirds of a strong midfield, and both are in their prime.
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Ok well if you get the right player they could easily come in alongside Carrick and give us a stability and ideally if you were to find another Alonso/Carrick type the could help our build up play. Not to mention having a partner who can actually cover for Carrick might allow him to get forward more where he has the talents and now hopefully confidence to give us a lot there.

I would prefer to have a midfielder who can actually help us to keep winning both in games where we're missing other key players or need more stability then someone who will only really help us further dominate games we would already be dominating.
 
Walrus said:
Its a very English (and outdated) attitude that you have to have defensive midfielders in a team. The whole "DM and AM" classification is massively overstated at the moment. Obviously you have players who fit into one of those two profiles - players like Sneijder or Kagawa are in the AM category, whilst you have players like Martinez or Mascherano as pure DMs.
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I'm always shocked that United fans are still calling for a DM. We've never had one. Carrick is not a DM. He is actually a creative midfield player with a range of expansive first time passing - a rolls royce of a midfield player. however the job he is being asked to do is to anchor the midfield and keep it moving. That is not defensive! Even SAF has said that we don't do DMS. Why should we when we have over 65% possession in most games?

Makes me laugh when people call Javi Martinez a defensive midfield player.

Have a look at this:
 
antohan said:
Modric will not go to a Spanish club this Summer ...
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Maybe, maybe not.

Or maybe he won't be going anywhere this summer. Those assuming that he's bound to be sold, which seems to be almost everyone on here, could be in for a disappointment.
 
I've not asked for a dm and I don't think many have. Carrick is a midfielder who is excellent defensively as well as having skills to offer in attack. As is Alonso, Pirlo, Busquets, Rossi, Martinez. Fletcher, Song, Essien, Toure are also midfielders who are strong defensively but again have skills to offer in attack. None of these players are "destroyers". They can do that role as they can play as defensive midfielders or just normal midfielders. That skill set is still there.

That's all I want, another midfielder who can contribute defensively as well as having some quality to add going forward. Keane may not have been a destroyer but he was excellent defensively. And when he was around we had the likes of Butt and Neville who could provide cover and also could come in alongside him when we wanted to be more solid.

From our current choices in midfield the only players we have with these skill sets are Carrick and Fletcher, one of whom is a massive doubt to play reguarly, let alone reach his top level. Unless that's addressed you're leaving yourself a massive issue if Carrick is injured and limiting your options as you lack someone who can come in with him and give extra stability.

If the issue with Fletcher wasn't there then I'd love Modric, I still would, provided we got someone else too, but in terms of what we need then it's more important to get that other option than to add another attacking player.
 
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