"At the end of the day, stats are how a player is truly judged"

Dumbest comment of the day, congratulations.

In fairness, it's only 1.00. That leaves 23 hours for some more corkers.

I'm sticking by my statement. I'm guessing you don't rate Zidane either, seeing as he had quite a low assist count during his career?

Zidane was no Downing as far as assists are concerned.

a lot of the build up play comes through Modric.. its pretty simple really.

just as Rooney builds up a lot of our play, he spreads the ball to the wingers and they cross it in and get the assist.

simple logic

Modric is good at holding onto the ball in tight situations hes good at evading players but hes not a player whos going to score goals and create goals

Hes like a Xavi, Arteta keeps the midfield ticking

Stats aren't the only way to judge a player. Apart from his goal today, what else did he do? You could ask that question about him this season. You could also ask if he was on the pitch when spurs played us, arsenal, chelsea, norwich, stoke, etc.

Why would we waste money on a player who just passes to wingers. All the midfielders at the club can do that.

We need someone who can do so much more. He is vastly overrated and is not the solution to our midfield problems.

Sandro on the other hand isa solution. It would free up Carrick and allow him to move further up the pitch and be more involved in the attacking third

Modric is a good player. But for the money he would cost, we could get a better and younger player abroad imo

The more I see of Sandro the more I think he would fit into our midfield nicely. He has a bit about him.

A number of rivals fans made the same argument about Paul Scholes in his late-career, deep-lying role: "I don't see what the fuss is about - he doesn't get as many goals and assists as (Frank Lampard, Tim Cahill)."

The point was that Scholes' supreme touch, control in tight spaces, excellent passing and decision making (meaning playing the simple, patient ball 8 times out of 10) were key to our ability to control games over 90 minutes. Certain other midfielders who played a bit further up the pitch would apply the decisive coup de gras more often the Scholes but have much less impact on the shape of the game. Of course, it's useful to have both types of player (and Scholes was perhaps more like the latter type of midfielder earlier in his career).

Modric is much more like Scholes than Tim Cahill: a player who keeps the ball moving efficiently, passes very well. I'd say he is quite similar to Carrick but more mobile, and I could see the two of them combining well in certain formations.

Whether Modric is the best midfielder (or the one who 'represents best value' we could recruit is another question, but I've always seen him as a player with the quality to improve our options in midfield.

Stats aren't the only way to judge a player. Apart from his goal today, what else did he do?
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I take it you didn't see Adebayor's first goal. We don't have a midfielder who could have played that pass.

I think there's no doubt he's a good player but I don't think he's worth the reported value.

Plus he's not right for us, we need a strong player like Martinez !

Modric averages 2.2 key passes a game. The third highest behind Silva and Mata.

(Key pass is a pass that leads to a goal or a shot on goal)

He has a 90% pass completion rate.

Very_Cleverley_Done

People might have said the same thing about Paul Scholes 15 years ago. Not fast, not athletic, suffers from asthma.

Having said that, Martinez looks as equally accomplished and intelligent footballer and I'd be delighted to see him in a United shirt.

...if SLM's stats are right, that is particularly impressive, given that Modric operates deeper than Mata, Silva and a lot of very decent players who are behind him in the key passes ranks.

We need less bruisers in midfield and more ballerinas. You can't do f all if you don't have the ball, then when you do have it you give it away.

I saw that pass to Adebayor yesterday and it was bloody quality

'We need less bruisers in midfield and more ballerinas'

It needn't be so black-and-white. Power and quality are both useful, and the very best players have both. Keane was a great not on the basis of being nothing more than a bruiser, and Scholes would have been better still if he'd been as powerful as Essien. Martinez, for example, is no 'bruiser' even though he is a good athlete.

So peoples opinions on Modric are changing?

He has always been a quality player but I wouldnt want to pay more than £25mil max.

Arab
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Are you now sold on Modric and the idea of a Modric & Carrick partnership in the PL and Modric, Carrick and Scholes partnership in the CL?

Red
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The last bruiser and ballerina is probably Schweinsteiger.

That breed of player is gone sadly.

Thing is SLM fans like you will get on a players back if they suffer a dip in form, and yesterday was probably Modric's best performance for 3 months. He's not consistent enough and although he done good yesterday, he apparently didn't even stop Reo Coker scoring the equaliser?

He didnt stop the equaliser?

Its a pity he was out there by himself then...

Fans can take dips in form. But when a dip in form lasts 4 years like Anderson. 2 years like Park or 2 years like Evra. That is what is hard to take.

Spot on