03 Jul 2024 23:51:21
Their was a German BM analysis fan host on a podcast talking about MDL and said that in the 22/ 23 season first half MDL was always ordering players around at the back whilst his performances where awful and the fans made their options heard. The 2nd half of the season MDL was World class and unbeatable on his day.
I seen clips of him and he is not afraid to put in a tackle so if he does arrive he will need to quit said tackling as we all well to know a gust of wind knocks over players near or inside the box.
Let's hope him and Martinez become the backbhone of our defence and MDL drastically improves the DL and and we finally start to vision a team.
04 Jul 2024 00:54:57
He can also play further up through the middle for example he started as a 10.
I can potentially see us going 343 which transitions into 541 and 145 when attacking. Similar to how Alonso and Motta set up. I think we're entering a new era of style.
Martinez is capable of pushing up at DM so a Todibo or Branthwaite to stay central and sweep defensively could be the plan.
04 Jul 2024 06:32:50
Good shout Bobbie. Have been wanting us to go to a back 3 for ages. Will suit the squad very well. But it’s not the Dutch way and we have an almost all Dutch coaching setup….
04 Jul 2024 06:38:08
Bobbie, who's your dealer?
04 Jul 2024 08:49:09
When did he play as a 10? He was in ajax 1st team as a 17 yo cb so I assume he was playing cb u 16
Never once had he played a professional match as a 10 or in midfield
Reddevilfan. I love your posts biggest challenge is to always try and work out what your acronyms mean ?.
04 Jul 2024 09:19:11
Eth has already stated that he does not see Martinez as a DM as he “doesn’t have the legs for midfield”
Quite happy with a MDL / Martinez partnership though.
04 Jul 2024 13:35:08
De Ligt's early development in midfield is well documented.
"Until I was 15, I was an attacking midfielder, " he explained to UEFA. com. "I played a lot in midfield, I scored some goals, gave some assists, and then suddenly they said to me it would be better for my career to go one position back, to centre-back. At the beginning, I was thinking: 'I don’t like being a defender, ' but now I’m starting to realise that the way I was brought up like a midfielder is helping me. So I’m really happy that this was the development I had to go through. "
Speaking to Voetbal International, Wim Jonk revealed that playing De Ligt in midfield during his time in the youth teams aided the 20-year-old’s development into one of Europe’s top defenders. He said, “It was clear that he had the most potential as a central defender but we deliberately let Matthijs play in midfield for a long time, so that his technique, handling speed and game insight could improve. “This was not in the interest of the trainer who wanted to win with his youth team, because Matthijs in the back had of course been a rock in the surf. But it was in the interest of Matthijs, because he now distinguishes himself from other defenders with his qualities on the ball, his understanding of the game and his leadership qualities. ”
He has played a handful of games for both Ajax and Bayern in midfield. Not sure about Juve or Holland though.
I'm not suggesting for one second that we should play him there, I'm merely highlighting his potential versatility during transitions.
04 Jul 2024 15:05:21
Every kid in ajax plays in most positions bobbie. It's part of the academy programme
He never played there in his pro career for ajax or bayern according to his stats.
Either way all we can hope is that it works out if we do sign him. Fingers crossed.
04 Jul 2024 19:43:28
I'm not convinced that MDL is the right option personally. Several issues that for me would put me off signing him.
1. I'm not sure he's a good tactical fit along side Martinez. Licha is an aggressive front foot defender who'll jump in and try and win the ball. That means if he doesn't win it then his partner needs to be the sweeper. For that role you want a calm, level headed player who is quick and mobile. Able to keep up with quick and nimble forwards and slow down attacks so others can get back into shape. All the great centre back partnerships have always had one aggressive ball winner, and one calmer, mobile sweeper. MDL is an aggressive ball winning CB. He doesn't quite have the pace or the mobility to be an effective sweeper. While his instincts are to dive in and try and win the ball.
Maguire is also a front foot defender who tries to dive in and win the ball (albeit at a lower level of quality to Licha and MDL) . We have seen how much of a disaster playing Maguire and Licha has been. They don't work well together. Licha's signing and first season coincided with Maguires worst season and him being dropped from the team entirely. While it should not be ignored that Maguires upturn in form this season coincided with Licha being out injured.
While MDL might be a better version of Maguire, being better than him at pretty much everything bar aerial duals. He is very much in the same mould of player, and we have seen that it does not blend well with Licha.
Beyond the poor tactical fit, MDL has a patchy injury record and is on massive wages.
I'm not convinced that signing a big name "brand" player who regularly picks up injuries, would be on massive wages, and is seemingly a poor tactical fit would be a good use of funds this summer.