Luka Modric
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
Ever heard of a lap appy
Yes.
And I still would have thought recovery time would be more than two weeks.
If we want a genuine replacement for Paul Scholes then it absolutely has to be this lad IMO.
Make it happen Fergie. Please.
Make it happen Fergie. Please.
I figure this would fit better in the Football Forum than the Transfer Forum.
A Closer Look At Luka Modrić’s Passing
While Gareth Bale may have won the PFA Player of the Year award and Rafael van der Vaart impressed with his goals and assists, for Tottenham fans it was the diminutive midfield maestro Luka Modrić who deserved the Fan’s Player of the Year award. Sir Alex Ferguson is a known admirer of the Croatian and many Manchester United fans see him as the ideal replacement for Paul Scholes, while Tottenham fans who know how important he is will be desperate to keep him at the club. In this post I take a closer look at his passing in the 2010/11 Premier League season using data gathered from the Guardian Chalkboards.
For this analysis I have considered only matches Modrić played in central midfield. Altogether the sample includes 2418 minutes played in 27 matches. 1338, or 55.3%, of those minutes were played in home matches, meaning his passing numbers may be slightly inflated from what they actually are. On the other hand he couldn’t have faced a more difficult range of teams. In the 27 matches in the sample he faced every team from the top nine in the final league table (excluding Tottenham of course) both home and away. He also faced teams 10-13 and 15 at home and teams 12 and 14 away. The only “easy” matches he played were Blackpool and West Ham at home and Birmingham and Blackpool away.
Modrić was the fourth most active passer in the league; only Danny Murphy, Michael Essien and Barry Ferguson attempted more passes than he did. In the matches he played in central midfield he attempted a total of 1715 passes in open play of which 1483 were successful. Per 90 minutes he completed 55 of 64 passes.
55.5% of his passes were played in the opponent’s half, 44.5% in his own. Of his passes in the opponent’s half 47.1% were forward passes, 34.2% sideways passes and 18.7% backwards passes. Of his passes in his own half 42.7% were forward passes, 38.9% sideways passes and 18.4% backwards passes.
His pass success rates in the opponent’s half for forward, sideways and backwards passes were 77.7%, 91.1% and 95.5% respectively. His pass success rates in his own half for forward, sideways and backwards passes were 75.2%, 96.3% and 97.9% respectively.
The accuracy of his different passes and the total number of successful/attempted passes of each kind are summarised in the following table.
His lower forward pass success rate in his own half compared to the opponent’s half could be explained by the higher proportion of long passes he attempts. In the opponent’s half long passes make up 5.5% of his passes whereas in his own half they make up 8.5%. The long passes in his own half also tend to be more difficult forward passes whereas the long passes in the opponent’s half are slightly easier sideways passes. In the opponent’s half he completed 35/45 long passes, a success rate of 77.8%. In his own half he completed 30/57 long passes, a success rate of 52.6%. Overall he completed 2.42/3.80 long passes per 90 minutes.[1]
In 27 matches he attempted exactly 27 crosses with a success rate of 14.8%. Over the course of the season (including matches he played on the wings) he delivered 31 corners into the box, finding a teammate with 29.0% of them. His total cross success rate (including all crosses and corners) was 22.6%.
Over the course of the season he created 2.06 goal scoring chances per match (source: WhoScored.com) but only 2 of those 64 chances were converted into goals. Possible explanations for this could be that Tottenham need to buy some better strikers, that for some reason the kinds of chances he created weren’t particularly good goal scoring chances or it could just be bad luck. Without more detailed data it’s hard to know what the reason is.
Performance Against Top Sides
To see how he performed against the strongest opposition I looked at the matches he played against Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. He played all five teams both home and away and played the full 90 minutes in each match, and for the most part his numbers are similar to his overall numbers.
On average he completed 51/59 passes of which 51.4% were in the opponent’s half. His ratios of forward, sideways and backwards passes and their corresponding success rates in the opponent’s half were 43.0% (79.2%), 39.1% (89.0%) and 17.9% (96.3%) respectively. The corresponding numbers for his passes in his own half were 37.9% (71.3%), 42.8% (94.3%) and 19.3% (100%). He also completed 2.4/4.4 long passes per 90 minutes.
As you can see he attempted slightly fewer passes and more of his passes were in his own half, he was slightly more conservative in his passes in terms of forward and sideways pass ratios and he attempted slightly more long passes, but for the most part the numbers stack up well which suggests he doesn’t wilt under pressure and is capable of performing at his usual level even against the best opposition.
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[1] If you compare my long pass numbers to the numbers from for example WhoScored.com you will see they differ quite a lot. I think this can be explained by me being a lot stricter in my definition of a long pass when gathering the data.
A Closer Look At Luka Modric's Passing
A Closer Look At Luka Modrić’s Passing
While Gareth Bale may have won the PFA Player of the Year award and Rafael van der Vaart impressed with his goals and assists, for Tottenham fans it was the diminutive midfield maestro Luka Modrić who deserved the Fan’s Player of the Year award. Sir Alex Ferguson is a known admirer of the Croatian and many Manchester United fans see him as the ideal replacement for Paul Scholes, while Tottenham fans who know how important he is will be desperate to keep him at the club. In this post I take a closer look at his passing in the 2010/11 Premier League season using data gathered from the Guardian Chalkboards.
For this analysis I have considered only matches Modrić played in central midfield. Altogether the sample includes 2418 minutes played in 27 matches. 1338, or 55.3%, of those minutes were played in home matches, meaning his passing numbers may be slightly inflated from what they actually are. On the other hand he couldn’t have faced a more difficult range of teams. In the 27 matches in the sample he faced every team from the top nine in the final league table (excluding Tottenham of course) both home and away. He also faced teams 10-13 and 15 at home and teams 12 and 14 away. The only “easy” matches he played were Blackpool and West Ham at home and Birmingham and Blackpool away.
Modrić was the fourth most active passer in the league; only Danny Murphy, Michael Essien and Barry Ferguson attempted more passes than he did. In the matches he played in central midfield he attempted a total of 1715 passes in open play of which 1483 were successful. Per 90 minutes he completed 55 of 64 passes.
55.5% of his passes were played in the opponent’s half, 44.5% in his own. Of his passes in the opponent’s half 47.1% were forward passes, 34.2% sideways passes and 18.7% backwards passes. Of his passes in his own half 42.7% were forward passes, 38.9% sideways passes and 18.4% backwards passes.
His pass success rates in the opponent’s half for forward, sideways and backwards passes were 77.7%, 91.1% and 95.5% respectively. His pass success rates in his own half for forward, sideways and backwards passes were 75.2%, 96.3% and 97.9% respectively.
The accuracy of his different passes and the total number of successful/attempted passes of each kind are summarised in the following table.
Code:
Opp Half | Frwd Pass | 77.7% | 348/448
Opp Half | Side Pass | 91.1% | 296/325
Opp Half | Back Pass | 95.5% | 170/178
Own Half | Frwd Pass | 75.2% | 245/326
Own Half | Side Pass | 96.3% | 286/297
Own Half | Back Pass | 97.9% | 138/141His lower forward pass success rate in his own half compared to the opponent’s half could be explained by the higher proportion of long passes he attempts. In the opponent’s half long passes make up 5.5% of his passes whereas in his own half they make up 8.5%. The long passes in his own half also tend to be more difficult forward passes whereas the long passes in the opponent’s half are slightly easier sideways passes. In the opponent’s half he completed 35/45 long passes, a success rate of 77.8%. In his own half he completed 30/57 long passes, a success rate of 52.6%. Overall he completed 2.42/3.80 long passes per 90 minutes.[1]
In 27 matches he attempted exactly 27 crosses with a success rate of 14.8%. Over the course of the season (including matches he played on the wings) he delivered 31 corners into the box, finding a teammate with 29.0% of them. His total cross success rate (including all crosses and corners) was 22.6%.
Over the course of the season he created 2.06 goal scoring chances per match (source: WhoScored.com) but only 2 of those 64 chances were converted into goals. Possible explanations for this could be that Tottenham need to buy some better strikers, that for some reason the kinds of chances he created weren’t particularly good goal scoring chances or it could just be bad luck. Without more detailed data it’s hard to know what the reason is.
Performance Against Top Sides
To see how he performed against the strongest opposition I looked at the matches he played against Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. He played all five teams both home and away and played the full 90 minutes in each match, and for the most part his numbers are similar to his overall numbers.
On average he completed 51/59 passes of which 51.4% were in the opponent’s half. His ratios of forward, sideways and backwards passes and their corresponding success rates in the opponent’s half were 43.0% (79.2%), 39.1% (89.0%) and 17.9% (96.3%) respectively. The corresponding numbers for his passes in his own half were 37.9% (71.3%), 42.8% (94.3%) and 19.3% (100%). He also completed 2.4/4.4 long passes per 90 minutes.
As you can see he attempted slightly fewer passes and more of his passes were in his own half, he was slightly more conservative in his passes in terms of forward and sideways pass ratios and he attempted slightly more long passes, but for the most part the numbers stack up well which suggests he doesn’t wilt under pressure and is capable of performing at his usual level even against the best opposition.
–
[1] If you compare my long pass numbers to the numbers from for example WhoScored.com you will see they differ quite a lot. I think this can be explained by me being a lot stricter in my definition of a long pass when gathering the data.
A Closer Look At Luka Modric's Passing
^ very insightful information.
Seems he is pretty accurate with his crosses/corners as well and 64 goal scoring chances and only 2 converted, wow! Very tidy little player and he could definitely do a job for us as I see him as almost a perfect (younger combination of Giggs/Scholes) foil for Carrick.
The only problem I've had with the purchase of Sneijder is that he prefers the freedom of a 3 man midfield, whereas Modric has proven that he can do it in a 2 man midfield. Though it is near impossible to get Modric from Spurs, this summer at least, for anything we would deem a "reasonable" fee.
I'd value him along 20-25M, but with the current insanity in the market we would be lucky to get a sniff at anything under or close to 35M (possibly even 40-45M).
I'd rather wait a year.
Seems he is pretty accurate with his crosses/corners as well and 64 goal scoring chances and only 2 converted, wow! Very tidy little player and he could definitely do a job for us as I see him as almost a perfect (younger combination of Giggs/Scholes) foil for Carrick.
The only problem I've had with the purchase of Sneijder is that he prefers the freedom of a 3 man midfield, whereas Modric has proven that he can do it in a 2 man midfield. Though it is near impossible to get Modric from Spurs, this summer at least, for anything we would deem a "reasonable" fee.
I'd value him along 20-25M, but with the current insanity in the market we would be lucky to get a sniff at anything under or close to 35M (possibly even 40-45M).
I'd rather wait a year.
Anyone else think we wont go after Modric or Sneijder?
Me. I reckon they'll both be at their current clubs next season.
Fergie will get 1 of them. Either one are perfect replacements for Scholes.
I think Modric will stay at Spurs but I expect Sneijder to leave Inter, just not for us.
^ I think so aswell.
They're just the 2 most obviously linked, but there is no way in hell we're paying what Spurs will want for Modric (not this season at least) and deep down, I don't think Sneijder is what we really need.
I'd suspect a player who no one suspects and recent history probably suggests we might have a valid point.
They're just the 2 most obviously linked, but there is no way in hell we're paying what Spurs will want for Modric (not this season at least) and deep down, I don't think Sneijder is what we really need.
I'd suspect a player who no one suspects and recent history probably suggests we might have a valid point.
Good Im not on my own so!
Im not at all convinced about Sneijder. I think Modric would be a better fit on alot of levels but again I dont see it happening. Sneijder's fitness would be a concern in the premiership as I dont see us playing 2 other central midfielders so he'll more than likely face a far stiffer challenge in that sense.
Those are some impressive stats. Can people see him being a reasonable target if we don't go for him this year or next year?
My thoughts exactly. Not entirely convinced by Sneijder and don't think there's much chance of getting Modric (who would be a great signing IMO) off that prat, Levy.
he's much better than anything United have. Anderson i still have hope for. Fletcher if he can find his form of the previous season can do a job but you dont have anyone quite like Modric.
Carrick is rubbish.
Carrick is rubbish.
He frustrates the life out of me at times, he annoys me sometimes but he's also a fantastic player on his day as he shown time and time again. Statements like the above are one dimensional unfounded false and sound like someone with an agenda or a secret crush on someone. Have you watched United since he signed for us? Is it all a big flukely coicendence the level of success we achieved with him in the side?
Carrick only looks rubbish against Barca... Who wouldn't ?
The reason why is that he'll look slow... Feck me, Iniesta Xavi and Messi can all dribble, something that Carrick can't do.
The reason why is that he'll look slow... Feck me, Iniesta Xavi and Messi can all dribble, something that Carrick can't do.
Carrick's frustrated me a lot too but it's no coincidence that almost all our best team performances over the last 4 incredibly successful seasons have featured a top class performance from Carrick in the middle of the park.
This was particularly notable in the closing weeks of the season just gone, which makes the "rubbish" comment even more retarded.
I'd still like to see him go a whole season without the longish dips in form we've seen from him but Carrick is a class act regardless.
Come on lads, you know how much FV adores Messi and is a Barca fan...
He'll call any player rubbish as long as they look slow or stupid.
He'll call any player rubbish as long as they look slow or stupid.
Moving back on topic, I think Modric would be the perfect partner for Carrick, frustratingly enough.
But he isn't though is he, not even remotely. You can question consistency and performances, but he is by no means a rubbish player.
Impressive stats, not surprising either. He rarely loses the ball, and that's what makes him so much like Scholes for me. He would undoubtably improve the United midfield.
Carrick has been largely poor for about two seasons now. The question is how much of that is attributable to his own lack of form and how much is down to not having a suitable partner. For example, against Barca he got some stick on here but was set an impossible task, up against 3 in CM and partnered by Giggs and then Park
Players we won't be signing:
Modric
Sniejder
Sanchez
Modric
Sniejder
Sanchez
Yep.
Modric, to sum up in my own words, is like a love child of Scholes and Giggs in centre mid, nearing the prime of his career! (excuse the reference of love children with Giggs).
Agile, can dribble, pick a pass and put his foot in. We've seen Carrick excel when he was paired with a more creative force next to him, yet who doesn't leave him too exposed in the middle.
But as you mentioned, I doubt there's a hope in hell that we will get Modric unless we offer stupid money! (40M + IMO).
Well there was a time when they viewed a partnership of him and Scholes as brilliant, which coincided with Scholes being in fantastic form. Then there was a time when him and Fletcher hadn't lost a game when partnered, which was during Fletchers best ever form for the club.
In short it's all about who partners him, if they are on top form then Carrick recieves undue praise.
If a player has bad form for the best part of 2 entire years they're either A: Past their prime or B: a bit shit.
i'd go with B for Carrick based on a number of factors. He hasnt performed in europe ever (Roma!!! OMG) and he has never been consistent. He needs too much time on the ball. His best attributes are supposed to be his passing yet he never plays a killer ball. His best attribute is actually his positioning, defensive positioning.
Modric would be such an upgrade it's unreal.
Inter away, he was magnificent.
ah yes, i forgot about that. His one stand out performance. He might have really made it in Italy. The time on the ball he was allowed really suited him.
What, fecking what?
i was wrong, he's performed against Italian sides. They play at his pace, it really suits him.
Which is a shame as they are both excellent and would make us so much better. I understand Sneijder's case, I wouldn't move either if I was him because he had already a bad experience in Madrid. I can understand why Spurs don't want to sell, they don't need the money. However, I don't understand Modric's agent. Doesn't his client feel like winning something? Surely you don't say 'no thanks' to Manchester United when they want you?
Schalke (A)
Chelsea (A)
Chelsea (H)
Rangers (A)
Bursaspor (A)
All European games this year where he was close to, or was, the MotM. Most of the rest he was decent/good as well. Need I go on to previous years? You're talking through your hoop, in fact it's arguable that he's more consistent in Europe than he is domestically.
if not rating Carrick is a crime then i'm guilty but i'm certainly not alone.
I really want to see Modric at United, he'd be a great fit.
I really want to see Modric at United, he'd be a great fit.
Modric is a vastly superior player to Carrick.
I take it you didn't watch Carrick against Chelsea, or somehow watched him against Chelsea and missed that ball to Giggs...yes, he can't pass.
His best performances of the season were against Chelsea.
Modric's a completely different player, there's little point in making a comparison.
he cant even get a game ahead of Gareth Barry for england, that's his level, Gareth Barry.
Flawless logic.