My name is Sam Cooper and I am currently 16 years of age. I have started this blog as I am aiming to become a football journalist and see this as a great way to get started.
For many years I have been a huge admirer of FC Barcelona, from the way they have created a new style of football to their impressive off-the-field conduct. My blog will cover all of the big stories coming from Barça in the last week.
I will be giving my views and thoughts but will also be asking for your feedback! So please if you have any thoughts or comments, feel free to email me at samcooper07@gmail.com.
Hope you enjoy,
Sam Cooper
Sam,
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your new blog.
As a Barcelona fan, you will no doubt follow the party line that they have the best club midfield in the world.
My view is that the Tottenham midfield - Bale, Modric, Parker, Van der Vaart - is a match for Iniesta, Xavi, Febregas and Busquets or any other Barca combination.
I am not a Tottenham supporter (Gillingham actuallY0 so mine is an impartial view.
Your thoughts?
David, Parracombe
It is a good point that you raise. I do think Tottenham have the best midfield in the Premier League. Even with David Silva I don't believe City have the all round strength and pace that Tottenham have, while Manchester United's midfield has been lacking a midfield general for a good few years now.
ReplyDeleteMy view is that Tottenham's and Barcelona's midfield have been designed for two different purposes. Spurs tend to play a 4-5-1 formation to accommodate with their lone striker. I believe this is because Redknapp doesn't see a huge amount of quality in his striking options. With Adebayor on loan, a hit and miss Defoe and a want-away Pavlyuchenko, Redknapp sees flooding the midfield as a way of creating more goal scoring opportunities, but this can lead to a defensive fragility.
Barcelona's midfield does not have to cope with a lone striker as they have attackers who are willing to dip into midfield so are able to play with a front three. Especially with the likes of Cesc and Messi who are talented at dropping into midfield to increase the tempo of the play and lead to more goal scoring opportunities.
This then allows some midfield players to drop back into defence while the team still controls the midfield area, an example being Busquets or Mascherano.
Another point is Barça's midfield has been crafted over a number of years because of their youth academy. Even when a player such as Fabregas leaves for years he can come back and still fit into the team because of his La Maisa roots. This gives the team an unrivalled chemistry that many teams have tried to buy but failed.
My final point is no matter how well Tottenham do this season they are not a club on the same level as Barcelona. Therefore they will not have the same perks that Barça do and will always struggle to keep their star players. If it wasn't for a stubborn Daniel Levy that midfield wouldn't be the same. So no matter how good Tottenham's midfield is now, change will come and will unrattle Spurs. Where as a team like Barça can keep hold of their players and will keep their chemistry and the good form will follow.