Quote Originally Posted by jackal2 View Post
I know anticlough doesn't like the references to 'animals' or 'beasts' in midfield, and maybe he's right that it's a lazy description, but I do think we're short of someone with a bit of height who can - to use the football parlance - 'put their foot in' and make a tackle.

That said, I've been surprised this season by how willing Ruben Rodrigues is to put himself about, which makes him a valuable player even on those days when his goal creating and scoring abilities aren't at their most evident. He took his goal brilliantly yesterday, but he also ratted around midfield far more than you might expect for a creative/attacking midfielder. The lad's no lightweight.

I should think the fans of most clubs in this league can see a part of their team that could be stronger, or where they're missing a certain type of player, so this isn't a season breaker. What we need to do most is play in a way that compensates for the areas where we're weakest and makes the most of our best players. I'm not sure we're doing that at present.
I'll be at all games from now on Jackal, but it's good to read that about Rodders because I suspect he'll have to be deployed as an attacking MIDFIELDER to allow us to accommodate other forwards. It seems he's far fitter this year, so will be able to put in defensive work without taking too much away from his attacking....

Yeah, I just want to know exactly want that means when posters just call for monsters, beasts, animals, hard men...
If it means a combative, defensive midfielder with some size then OK but we know that to play in IB's team you have to be able to play on the ball as well. If it's a straight replacement/upgrade on Francis then just say so and name names if you can.

Btw, apart from Ruben breaking his drought, I thought that the highlight of the day yesterday was that Francis can take zero blame for that debacle. In fact he might even have been missed as a steadying influence on the team as he holds his position, gives stability and everyone knows where he'll be on the pitch