In defence of Hibbert and Jags

Comments (3)

I'd just like to respond to the comments I've been hearing on the radio, in the pub and on a few sites.

It's nice to see Hibbo get some positive feedback regarding the Boro game. We all know about his limited distribution skills, but recently, his ability as a right back has been called into question.

In Arteta's absence we have had the likes of Osman in front of him and even nobody at all. Teams would easily be able to double-up against him because Osman would rarely track back, often caught drifting infield to get the ball. (In my opinion, Ossie is best deployed in the centre anyway.) This would leave Hibbo exposed and made to look like he was chasing shadows as the attackers would outnumber and overwhelm him as he tried to defend against two or three players.

With Arteta's return, the Spanish wizard was more than happy to come back and help Hibbert out, so Hibbo could easily put Downing in his back pocket while Arteta mopped up and took the ball from any other players that tried to be involved.

In Jagielka's case, I have heard him described as "useless" and "anonymous". I have to agree with that, but I insist there is every reason he was and it was through no fault of his own. He was made to look anonymous against Boro for a few reasons. Firstly, I believe that he is primarily a defender and seems to clearly feel more at home around our own area (with the occasional dart forward into the opposing box, that is!). That area is usually where Phil Neville likes to stomp around. This means the two players' positions clash, and with Neville being more imposing on the game (running around, barking orders and passing to the opposition), Jagielka doesn't seem to know what to do with himself and seems to wander around aimlessly, often looking fairly surprised when the ball is near him.

I can back this up by the difference shown in Jagielka's play when he is central midfield and Neville is at right back, with Jags' midfield performance being nothing short of dominant as he was allowed to express himself properly.

We are currently quite stretched for central midfielders and I say that because Carsley, Neville and Jagielka are all similar types of player and it is shown time and time again in football that two similar players playing next to each other (Lampard and Gerrard for England is an obvious example) simply does not work. With those two players shoehorned together, we will always look inneffective and unbalanced. The sooner the Cahills and the Gravesens of the world are back, the better, and with one of those playing next to Jagielka, we'll see what the boy can properly do.
Mike Dillon, Liverpool     Posted 01/10/2007 at 07:29:06

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