bagrunnell
Registered User
Just so you know guys, it not 'player', but 'players'. Its a comparison.
Complete player editing
- Thread starter bagrunnell
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bagrunnell
Registered User
I particularly wanted to do these two players in a comparison for two reasons. Firstly, because I had numerous requests for the both of them, and secondly because they both play the same position at the moment, but there are definite differences between the two players.
Defensive midfielders? - The first thing to be said of these two players, is that they are being employed as defensive midfielders by their respective teams. But is that where they should be played? Firstly Michael Carrick. He plays this role well there is no doubt about that, but is it where he would NATURALLY want to be played, and where his best qualities are being displayed. I would say no, and this is for several reasons. Firstly, I think he lacks the pace to play this role as efficiently as a player like Claude Makelele. Acting as a 'defensive shield' requires great stamina, which he has, but I dont think he quite has the pace to cover as much ground as he needs to, a factor which teams have begun to exploit. So he doesnt have the pace, but does he need it when he has passing of his quality? This raises the second point as to why I believe Michael's best position is NOT defensive midfield. As great as his passing is over both short and long distance, he does not have the same defensive sense and awareness as great defensive midfielders. This leads him to make occasional poor decisions that often are costly mistakes. Take his mistake that led to Shaun Wright Phillips goal. As good as the pass may have been, Michael failed to recognise that he was putting his defence under great pressure by executing it, and he gave the ball away. He wasnt fully AWARE of what was around him, he didnt register Wright Phillips position and he payed the price.:unsure: To have full awareness as to players positioning is KEY to this role, and Michael lacks it at this early stage in his career, something he can hopefully improve on. What about Alan Smith? Well we all kniow that he is a forward, who has undergone this transition into a defensive midfielder. I dont feel though he is a suitable man for the job, as he cannot simply bannish his INSTINCTS, and his will to attack. In other words, I would say he lacks the discipline required to complete the role. Sure he may have simply fantastic games, like his one against Chelsea, but like I said he cant consistently play in that role, because of his instincts! In comparison to Michael, Smithy is faster and that benefits him. He also has a better awareness than Michael, which is quite surprising given that he was a forward. Also benefits from having great slide tackles, earning him the sliding star. But despite these attributes I still feel that his downfall is he has natural instincts, which you cannot just ask a player to silence. So where would I play these players? I would play in Carrick in a more advanced role than defensive midfielder, as a centre midfielder. This would really allow him to use his great passing to its full potential. We know he can feed great balls into strikers IF he gets into those advanced positons, so play him there in the first place! As for Alan, I still believe that he should be played as a striker, regardless of what midfield problems United have. Although his desire and heart are in the position, he does leave them exposed which you cannot do in a key position such as defensive midfield.
Mentality and Stamina - Although both players have great stamina, Alan has a 90 for stamina. He is truly a work machine. He was undoubtedly drilled with excercises at Leeds United, and I can see why thid attribute would encourage him to be played as a defensive midfielder. He has fantastic mentality as well, with 91 and is ALWAYS sprinting and giving his all for the team. Carrick has great stamina at 85 and good mentality at 80 which benefit him greatly in the position. It would seem though, that these are two attributes which contribute to Alan Smith being deployed as a defensive midfielder. He has a fantastic work ethic, and that is always something you want in a player who players in this position.
Team Work - A very interesting point regarding Alan Smith. He has 80 for team work, but this is due to his great positioning and general ability to link play well when playing as a striker. When he plays as a Defensive midfielder, his value as a TEAM player goes down. Sure, he makes great tackles
, but that is about it really. Once he gets the ball, he doesnt have the ability to play those neat little through balls that Carrick does. He will often look to just distribute the ball back to the defence. He really just acts as a mop up, whereas Carrick acts as the distributer. Carrick has very high team work of 87 to represent his great ability to play those lovely passes and pick out players movement. So they both have high team work values (Admittedly one is VERY high), but they have them for two different reasons.Goal threat - Probably the ultimate sacrifice for playing Alan as the defensive midfielder, is that when he is a striker he is a goal threat, particularly in the air. Excellent leap of 88 and a header of 82 mean he is great in the air. Of course these features aid him playing as a defensive midfielder, but they would be of more use in the opposition penalty area. Alan has better shooting as well, especially regarding accuracy and technique, so these are somewhat sacrificed playing him deep. BUT, like I said he has the instinct to go up and use these great features and this leaves the defence exposed. So physcologically, its a disadvantage as a defensive midfielder to even HAVE great shooting because you have that urge to go up and try, leaving the team defensively weakened. Carrick know he isnt going to score many from 25 yards with a shot accuracy of 69, so he doesnt go up there and try it.
Positioning and instincts - As I said before, it is evident that Alan Smith still has the instincts of a striker, although admittedly toned down a little bit as best he can. This most evident when we compare the two aggression values. Alan has a value of 73 in comparison to Michael's value of 63. This demonstrates perfectly how Alan is more inclined to go up, something which a defensive midfielder DOES NOT want to do. Michael on the other hand has the discipline, and with a value of 63 will sit deeper like he does in real life. Finally, look at the balance between attack and defence for these two players. This has a substantial effect on players positioning, and we can see that there is a difference in the balance. Carrick's values are virtually identical so he has that discipline, and the ability to help both defensively and attacking. Alan on the other hand, has much higher attack than defence, so is going to be more inclined to get forward and help out, when really he should be back and giving a bit of protection to the defence.
I hope this has been of use to everyone, I feel like there are some great points made in this analysis. And this is a celebration of 500 posts, so well done to everyone!
bagrunnell
Registered User
Dont worry guys, just finishing off the appearances, very pleased with them. Will add the appearances as soon as possible.