by wizzballs » 2010 Jul 22, 16:57
having made a point of watching him a few times last year, and very closely in the w/c, his passing stands out by a mile. I agree with comments others have made about his LPA/LPS... I wanted to say that I am particularly impressed by his short passing.
he always placed exactly the right amount of weight on the ball, he got away with quite a few 'risky' passes by putting enough speed on the ball to ensure the opponent never got close. there were no issues with the direction of the pass either. and of course his vision is superb, in advanced positions he picked out passes that only the better players can see, often from odd angles, always perfectly into feet.
So I would have him at 80 spa and 81 sps. I guess it makes sense to wait and see how he translates these skills to the Premier League.
I'd ask why only 78 tech, his control of the ball is totally reliable and very efficient.... but I always find myself arguing that defenders need better tech scores. I think that's an area where I am in disagreement with the ladders.
there is something about his defending however. his positioning is good but he seems to react a little slowly. he didn't cut out enough crosses, and is sometimes beaten by quick feet, conceding the foul. he got away with several late challenges that I think were genuine, but slow, attempts to win the ball. normally the opponent didn't get past him because he was in the right position and had the right body shape. I reckon a higher def (82) and a lower response (79) would suit him.