Ander Herrera vs N'golo Kanté | Thread has gone well

If both available to the market right now, who would probably fetch more money?
 
Comparing Herrera to Kante is borderline blasphemous.

One is a consecutive premier league title winner the other is an average midfielder who's ability is clouded by his passion and personality.

I will be seriously annoyed and worried if he is still in our strongest 11 come next season. Great option in the team but is nowhere near good enough for our future ambitions.

I actually agree with you but really just not as strongly and more importantly I think there are a few positions needed sorted out before we get to Herrera.
Don't get me wrong and this is where I assume we differ I think Herrera is a good player (and merits being in the squad)but just not good enough if we are going to become the best team in Europe again.
By the way much like TC23 or Blind last year you will get both us burned and crucified for airing this opinion! Herrera has started to get a cult following and I can understand why as he does give his all for the cause more visually than other players.
 
Stats never really paint the full picture and as someone mentioned Kante and Herrera would be an EPL winning midfield duo in the modern game (behind someone like KDB).

Whose better is hard to say but my take on it is as follows:

Both have moments of technical excellence and Herrera has a higher peak in this regard because he is a more imaginative footballer and used to be more of an attacking midfielder but his flaw is consistency on the ball.. he can sometimes lose control or look clumsy whereas Kante in general looks incredibly self assured in possession, serenely calm and almost press resistent .. very nimble precise turns and he has a superior perception of his surroundings whereas Herrera is definitely more head down and prone to brain farts in possession.

In terms of passing, Herrera has better attacking through balls but Kante for me has much more consistent technique in passing a ball. Even if we compare both their conservative passes, with Kante you rarely get the feeling he's going to misplace passes whereas with Herrera he's much more hot and cold in this regard. Now the stats may not bear this out but in terms of the feel I get when I see them on the ball Kante has more consistency.

Ball winning and influence on the game.. for me this is where people say Kante trumps Herrera who is the better footballer but my opinion is the opposite. Herrera for me is a brilliant ball winner and is playing in ill-disciplined and lethargic midfields and still looks exceptional in winnning the ball and he always looks at the hub of Uniteds midfield play whereas Kante looks on the periphery in Chelsea games.

Granted he was a key cog in Leicester and at Chelsea he is more facilitator rather than key component and I guess Herrera would be less influential in a side like that but I do think Herrera has more character and understated leadership. If we had Kante in our midfield I don't think those draws would be turned into wins, positions these lads play that would have no impact on getting ball in back of the net but I do think we need a Herrera more and Chelsea need a Kante more.

Conclusion is that Kante is a more solid footballer and reliable.. his base level is superior to Herrera. Herrera is a more infectious and impactful footballer at his best but he can be painfully average at times and more prone to bad moments. I don't think there is a definitive winner but Kante edges it for me at the moment.
 
This is like the RAWK thread saying Henderson is better than Pogba. We seriously need to stop overhyping our players when we are rotting in sixth place and likely to drop to seventh the way Everton are playing.
 
What's will all the league position mentioned to play down Herrera? Unless Kante would somehow make our attackers finish chances, I dont see what that has to do with anything. Our league position is what it is because our attackers cant score in a brothel, it has feckall to do with Herrera or our CM in general.
 
Brilliant is not exaggeration. What has Herrera got to do with our position? Last I checked we drew 7 games at home, most of which we should have won.

Either you have very low expectation for a brilliant player, or you're very bias. None of our players have been brilliant this season, thus we're 6th. Herrera has been good for the majority of his games played. He's a good squad player. Never in a million years brilliant.
 
Either you have very low expectation for a brilliant player, or you're very bias. None of our players have been brilliant this season, thus we're 6th. Herrera has been good for the majority of his games played. He's a good squad player. Never in a million years brilliant.
What has Herrera got to do with the inability of our attackers to finish chances? Would Kante playing for us make Ibra and co better finishers?
 
Had Kante remained in Leicester this year, he would have fought relegation along with his other team mates. He was not the reason they won PL last year. He is not the reason Chelsea are about to win it this year. He was just a part of the set up. Kante got lucky. It's as simple as that.

Herrera is as good as Kante, if not better. But he is just not a toy outside our reach. He is simply a guy we see in our familiar jersey every week. Where is the romance in that?
 
I've pointed these stats out before to people that ask "what does Herrera offer?". The answer is "literally a bit of everything"

Kante is obviously and deservedly considered the better player but Herrera seems underrated by a lot of people and it's really difficult to fathom why. Our problems this season have been up front, we've dominated just about every football match we've played -thanks mainly to our excellent midfield.
 
This is largely my point-defensive statistics generally do a poor job of accurately telling the full story, since they are trying to measure a negative action. None of the things I've mentioned are currently tracked, or if they are they aren't available to the public.

Interception success rate would be a very interesting stat to have access to, but right now all we know is interception totals-we don't know if Herrera made more interceptions because he had more chances to (i.e. opposing players were more emboldened to pass in his area) or if he's genuinely better at intercepting. I'm a bit biased so I'd be inclined to think that the former hypothesis is more accurate, but unless someone went back and charted it we can't really know.
Yeah, I am not saying I disagree with you; I just think it is impossible to prove.

It just seems to me that people have made up their minds Kante is a class above Herrera. This season a bunch of stats appear to contradict this view and some people are now trying to argue never mind the measurable metrics, Kante dominates Herrera at all the x-factor intangibles that you cannot measure properly. I think this ridiculous: stats don't tell the whole story but they do tell enough of the story to question the idea Kante is that much better than Herrera.
 
The difference is Kante's team mates are not goal shy otherwise Herrera would be getting the same respect from fans and media. Herrera can win as many tackles as he wants and intercept a thousand times it's going to be useless when everyone besides Zlatan can't score simple goals
 
@MaxiPaxi

People said if you have more interceptions means you can read the game well better (which is true) however can read the game well better doesn't always mean your positioning is better. Positioning have different type and it can be when you are on or off the ball, while reading the game well is about anticipation and good positioning can help you to have good or better anticipation.
I have read this a few times, and it still doesn't make sense.
 
I've pointed these stats out before to people that ask "what does Herrera offer?". The answer is "literally a bit of everything"

Kante is obviously and deservedly considered the better player but Herrera seems underrated by a lot of people and it's really difficult to fathom why. Our problems this season have been up front, we've dominated just about every football match we've played -thanks mainly to our excellent midfield.

Hes a good player, offers a bit of everything yes. But he doesn't excel at anything. Hes not brilliant at any one aspect of the game, which is why a lot of people don't see him as a long term option for us. Jack of all trades, master of none.

I do not see him being a key part of a side that wins the league. Just my personal opinion. Hes a better version of cleverley, but hes spanish, looks like he cares, even though cleverley probably cared an awful lot) and interviews well, which makes people love him.
 
I've pointed these stats out before to people that ask "what does Herrera offer?". The answer is "literally a bit of everything"

Kante is obviously and deservedly considered the better player but Herrera seems underrated by a lot of people and it's really difficult to fathom why. Our problems this season have been up front, we've dominated just about every football match we've played -thanks mainly to our excellent midfield.

But he is not great in the defensive third, attacking third or on the ball.
 
I like Ander a lot and he is having a good season, but it isn't fair to compare him to the best CM in this league.
 
What has Herrera got to do with the inability of our attackers to finish chances? Would Kante playing for us make Ibra and co better finishers?

Where did I say he had?
Kante is a superior player and would improve our team.
 
Clearly, Chelsea and United fans are too biased.

The better way would be to ask the neutral fans who would they rather have in their teams. I'd love to see how many would pick Herrera.
 
What's will all the league position mentioned to play down Herrera? Unless Kante would somehow make our attackers finish chances, I dont see what that has to do with anything. Our league position is what it is because our attackers cant score in a brothel, it has feckall to do with Herrera or our CM in general.
Incredible isn't it? Add in to that Kante winning back to back trophies, like Chelsea couldn't possibly have won the league without him.

Are people really saying if Herrera was at Chelsea and Kante at United we would be winning the league?
 
The irony here is that he actually does Kante's job, in a 2 man midfield, with an ill disciplined midfield partner next to him and 1 less centre back behind him, while having a much better offensive contribution to boot.

I'd like to see Kante do what he does while playing with an attacking CM next to him and only 2 CBs, before I consider him worthy of a comparison with Herrera.

Actually, now that I think about it, didn't Conte try playing Matic further up the pitch early in the season (still 3 CBs) and Kante looked all at sea? Isn't that the reason why they play Kante + Matic instead of Kante + Fabregas?

Here's how I see things. Kante has a very very very particular role. He has great athleticism and he can do that role better than anyone if you remove from him any other responsibility.

Compared to Herrera he has worse vision, worse first touch, worse passing, worse positional awareness, worse link up play, worse stats on pretty much everything. He is the better athlete. But as a footballer, he just isn't on Herrera's level.

Kante would do even better in United's formation. Herrera only has to watch the middle of the park, he has two fullbacks on either side of the CB's and Wide Midfielders which cover the fullbacks. He doesn't have cover wide areas.

Kante has a defence which often resorts to a back five with no protection for the wingbacks. He and matic have to work the entire strip of the field in front of the defence.

Since Chelsea switched to a back 3 Kante has been as dominant as he was last season. It was when he was told to stand in front og the back 4 on a leash that he had real lacklustre games.

Also, Kante's positional awareness is insane, its why he can pressure the opposition wherever they are on the pitch and force mistakes.
 
Kante seems to be a bit faster than Herrera so that's in his favour. But, I think that Herrera would be more highly rated if he had better players around him, like Kante.
 
This is like the RAWK thread saying Henderson is better than Pogba. We seriously need to stop overhyping our players when we are rotting in sixth place and likely to drop to seventh the way Everton are playing.
This. The caf is a great forum but it is prone to some Rawkisms every once in a while.

Reminds me of when many posters said Nani was better than Bale and Silva.

I think it's telling that pretty much all the neutrals have said Kante. I really like Herrera and he has impressed this season but I still believe he is behind the likes of Kante, Dembele, Fernandinho and Wanyama in that position. They play with a lot more maturity and understanding of the role but it's to be expected as Herrera just started playing there this season.
 
Kante would do even better in United's formation. Herrera only has to watch the middle of the park, he has two fullbacks on either side of the CB's and Wide Midfielders which cover the fullbacks. He doesn't have cover wide areas.

Kante has a defence which often resorts to a back five with no protection for the wingbacks. He and matic have to work the entire strip of the field in front of the defence.

Since Chelsea switched to a back 3 Kante has been as dominant as he was last season. It was when he was told to stand in front og the back 4 on a leash that he had real lacklustre games.

Also, Kante's positional awareness is insane, its why he can pressure the opposition wherever they are on the pitch and force mistakes.
So having three centrebacks, an additional defensive midfielder and 2 wing backs makes his job harder? That's some strange logic there. Ignoring Valencia basically playing as a winger and Mata and Martial on the wings providing minimal protection of course.

@MadMike already pointed out Kante struggled in the same formation Herrera is playing in at the moment earlier on in the season and you come to the conclusion he would improve playing in it?
 
Kante would do even better in United's formation. Herrera only has to watch the middle of the park, he has two fullbacks on either side of the CB's and Wide Midfielders which cover the fullbacks. He doesn't have cover wide areas.

Kante has a defence which often resorts to a back five with no protection for the wingbacks. He and matic have to work the entire strip of the field in front of the defence.

Since Chelsea switched to a back 3 Kante has been as dominant as he was last season. It was when he was told to stand in front og the back 4 on a leash that he had real lacklustre games.

Also, Kante's positional awareness is insane, its why he can pressure the opposition wherever they are on the pitch and force mistakes.

Please. Herrera covers the entire right flank when Valencia goes marauding. He has ended up at RM and RB positions many many times. He doesn't just cover the middle.
 
3-1 at Man City?
4-0 vs Man United?
2-1 vs Spurs?
3-1 vs Arsenal?
5-0 vs Everton?
1-1 at Liverpool despite missing a penalty?

These aren't impressive results?

Hilarious that Jose is calling Conte a defensive coach despite Chelsea scoring 18 more goals than United this season. It's also funny you should mention Hazard being allowed to express himself, since it really is in stark contrast to his previous manager, one Jose Mourinho, who insisted on him hugging the left touchline and tracking back, not expressing himself at all. Really a stark contrast to this season. Interesting also that you omitted Pedro, who has been a different player this season, probably the best right winger in the league because he's been allowed to express himself and play further up the pitch and centrally.

But you're right, maybe if Conte had agreed to be Jose's assistant for this season he could have learned how to set up a team to allow his creative players to express themselves more yet have his team score 46% fewer goals.

That was obviously a dangle and you took the bait :lol: Mourinho hasnt got a leg to stand on. It doesn't matter about the difference between Chelsea's goals and United's. United can have been as Uber critical in finishing as possible, but Chelsea would still have won if the best goal tallys in the league. Only one behind Liverpool i heard?

Also 'Wingbacks are pushed all the way up' - oops, bit of a slip of narrative there? Cowering defensive coach Conte 'tactically positions' 5 players in attacking phases? Oh right, i guess it's the fact that attacking plays are coached with specific positions that means its defensive? :angel::confused:
 
Or maybe Jose has a point and Conte is fundamentally a conservative and defensive coach who is benching one of the most creative players in the league because he lacks the courage to approach games positively? He asks his wing backs to push all the way up but it's based on tactical positioning and drills. He has not allowed any of their players the freedom to express themselves except Hazard. Everyone else sticks strictly to his playbook. I can see how that might work against weaker teams but it's no wonder that he hasn't been very impressive in head to head match ups with better teams. If he doesn't take off the shackles they won't be going very far in the CL.

The fact were 2nd in the top mini league renders your statement as BS. On top of that if were so defensive im not sure why were the second highest scorers in the league, the fact that you have scored one more goal than west ham this year says something about your statement.
 
Sorry, I love Ander like most of us do

But Kante is about to win back to back PL titles, and Ander can barely get back to back Spain call-ups.

His passion and love for United means most fans will show a bias for him, but Kante is much better.
 
Kante seems to be a bit faster than Herrera so that's in his favour. But, I think that Herrera would be more highly rated if he had better players around him, like Kante.
Did Kante have higher rated players with him at Leicester?
 
Clearly, Chelsea and United fans are too biased.

The better way would be to ask the neutral fans who would they rather have in their teams. I'd love to see how many would pick Herrera.
Don't know; it isn't as if neutrals are without bias. The notion of Kante as world class is now pervasive. It is like Chuck Norris: only aliens can question his invincibility!
 
Sorry, I love Ander like most of us do

But Kante is about to win back to back PL titles, and Ander can barely get back to back Spain call-ups.

His passion and love for United means most fans will show a bias for him, but Kante is much better.
So if Chelsea had Herrera instead of Kante they wouldn't be top of the league this year?
 
Theres no comparison between the 2, Kante is a far superior holding/ball winning midfielder. Hererra is better on the ball but as for whose a superior player its Kante by a country mile.

Only thing Kante is better at than Herrera is winning the ball, and I don't think that necessarily makes him better than Herrera let alone by a country mile
 
Using league position to tell which player is superior is not correct. ManUtd won the league with players like Cleverley in the midfield. Cahill is winning 2nd league title in 3 years, same as Matic. Does that mean Cahill is better than Alderweireld?
 
Kante's stock is higher as he will be arguably the most important cog in two league winning sides

Herrera has really improved this season - I still am not sure who is the better player though - I'd call it even in terms of stats

I wonder had our attacking players produced this season and we would be within 3/4 points of Chelsea would we hear more about Ander's performances?
 
Chelsea are going to win the league and we're sixth. That is how these things usually work out, individual performances are usually balanced in terms of how they are critiqued with the performance of the team as a whole.

Saying that Kante has been better this season, but not by much.
 
So having three centrebacks, an additional defensive midfielder and 2 wing backs makes his job harder? That's some strange logic there. Ignoring Valencia basically playing as a winger and Mata and Martial on the wings providing minimal protection of course.

@MadMike already pointed out Kante struggled in the same formation Herrera is playing in at the moment earlier on in the season and you come to the conclusion he would improve playing in it?

I dont think you have even touched my point. Kante has 5 players in a line behind him, that may offer protection if he makes a mistake but it doesn't help him a bit in actually doing his job of protecting them. Afterall, this is the bone we are contendig - How good Kante and Herrera are defensively.

Herrera has a team where the wide areas are covered better and more importantly higher up the pitch. Chelsea surrender more space and sit deep, Kante has to cover, along with matic or Fabregas, all of the space in front if the defence on order for them to keep their shape.

So having essentially 5 defenders and just one other midfielder makes his job harder.

You also seem clueless as to the position Kante actually played before the switch to 343. For all intents and purposes he was the 3rd of centre back, at least positionally wise. Thats the most important point, his restraint from moving away from the cbs. But other obvious disanalogies are available. Kante was the DM in a 3 man midfield with Oscar and Matic is another which show there were far more differences between the position Kante played in earlier on in the season to make any meaningful comparisons with Herrera's positions this season. Sorry to say you are entirely mistaken.
 
Interception success rate would be a very interesting stat to have access to, but right now all we know is interception totals-we don't know if Herrera made more interceptions because he had more chances to (i.e. opposing players were more emboldened to pass in his area) or if he's genuinely better at intercepting. I'm a bit biased so I'd be inclined to think that the former hypothesis is more accurate, but unless someone went back and charted it we can't really know.

That's it.

Anyone remember Kante made 14 tackles alone at Anfield in a game Liverpool really pushing us?

United are playing wide football. A lot of pace and room for going forward but also a lot of pace and room for opponents attacking you. When you are under the threat, you tend to make more tackle and interception.

On the other hand, Chelsea this season is super organized and solid defensively. It is the controlling team in most of the games. When things are in control, you don't have to do much stuff of interception or tackle.

Edit: But I repeat, the battle will be on Monday's night.
 
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