Some players are better suited to playing a defensive midfield role, and some are more suited to being more attacking. Yaya and Fernandinho are both bad examples as they both have the engine and ability to play both these roles.

Scott Parker, for example, could not do the latter.

Paul Scholes was rubbish at tackling. He was never going to make a convincing DM.

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I agree totally the holding midfielder myth that is spouted on a regular basis is complete and utter tosh. WTF is the player holding.

I think people have gone over the top a bit with it.

You can absolutely play without an out and out holding midfielder. City do it, United do it, and so on.

Don't think it should be rubbished though. If Spurs had played a midfielder vs Arsenal in the FA Cup, who's sole job it was to sit back and protect the back 4, it most likely would of worked a treat.

A good midfield player should be able to tackle, defend, attack and shoot.

In a 3 man midfield its ideal to have one

"A good midfield player should be able to tackle, defend, attack and shoot. "

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Yeah, all 4 are desirable, but, most midfielders can do 2, maybe 3 of those. Scholes couldn't do the first 2, so he had to be matched with a player who was more adept at defending, like Keane.

comment by Wild_ Rover (U5211)
posted 2 minutes ago
A good midfield player should be able to tackle, defend, attack and shoot.
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Vidal

It really depends with formations etc, I do agree. I always thought Arsenal in the past suffered by not having one player set to sit back, because many a time someone had forgot to 'sit'.

However it gets to a stage where teams play too negatively and it genuinely does get to the 'parking the bus' stage.

Wow. 5 goals against Swansea and Palace.

Please play no DMs against City tomorrow and see if it works

Michael Carrick has made a whole career out of being a 'holding midfielder'. Doesn't score goals, doesn't attack, passes no more than 10 metres, usually sideways...criminal

Bit harsh on carrick that, he is one of the better passers of the ball and dictators of the tempo in the league.

So it worked against Palace and Swansea (2 teams in the league who aren't that great) and didn't against Arsenal (the top team in the league). That should be telling you to not use this approach all the time, rather than telling you to use it all the time.

It's a bit of a shortsighted view but I can kind of see where he's coming from. In a 4-4-2, IMO, you need two all-rounders in the centre, who can defend, support and attack according to what the game demands of them.

Move away from that though, and if you're going for a specific shape to do a certain job, e.g 4-1-4-1 (with one DM playing strictly in front of the back 4) then this is where you need these type of players. You could argue you need one in a 4-2-3-1 as well. I t really depends on what the manager is going for

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comment by Wild_ Rover (U5211)
posted 24 minutes ago
Michael Carrick has made a whole career out of being a 'holding midfielder'. Doesn't score goals, doesn't attack, passes no more than 10 metres, usually sideways...criminal
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Nice to see someone thinks the same as I do. I laughed my head off when Utd bought him from us.

There are too many pass sideways or backwards merchants who get plenty of plaudits. Michael Carrick being the commander in chief, Leon Britton is up there too

There are too many pass sideways or backwards merchants who get plenty of plaudits. Michael Carrick being the commander in chief, Leon Britton is up there too
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Barkley is the exception to the rule. Has all the making of top midfield player

comment by kentishspur (U19001)
posted 10 minutes ago
There are too many pass sideways or backwards merchants who get plenty of plaudits. Michael Carrick being the commander in chief, Leon Britton is up there too
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Joe Allen.

This article is one of the best I have read on here in ages. I totally agree about how the role of the 'holding midfielder' is overrated. Players should have enough game intelligence to know when to bomb on, when to press, when to sit and when to tuck in and help out. And I am not talking about just central midfielders.

As a left footer I often found myself playing either left midfield or left back. When I played LM I could guarantee the LB behind me would keep pulling me back to help him out, whereas when I played LB I hated my LM anywhere near me. All that did was encourage the opponents RW and especially their RB to get forward...something I hated. Having this protection just makes players lazy.

The best teams are brave enough to leave one on ones at the back...and back themselves to win the duel or leg race when possesion is lost. That's how Barca do it. One isolated attacker vs an athletic defender with an acre of pitch to run into and my money is on the defender every time. It has to be something very special to score. Put it this way, more goals are conceded in packed penalty areas with spare men all over the place rather than strikers running 50yds, beating a man and calmly slotting it home. Unless you are either of the Ronaldos or Messi it doesn't happen often.

Back to the holding role though, the best in that position in recent years have been Keane and Vieira. And neither were true defensive midfielders. Sure they could tackle, protect and snuff out breaks...but they could also drive forward and make quick, incisive forward passes. And they both could score. It is the drive from that sets these apart from holding midfielders such as a Lee Cattermole or a David Batty. Just sitting in front of the back four is not enough.

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This^

A lot of defences dont have the players skilled enough on the ball to play the perfect pass, especially under pressure. The likes of Carrick take the ball from the struggling CB's and quickly distribute it to the attacking players who you want on the ball. Carrick may not contribute much himself in terms of goals or assists, however he is often there to pass to the player who is most likely to expose the other teams defence and do some damage.

comment by Greatteamswinit4times (U6008)
posted 13 minutes ago
You also have to look at where players like Britton, Carrick and Allen receive the ball. They are often the 'out' ball from the CB's and keepers. That means they're receiving the ball facing their own goal, 30-40 yards from the goal under pressure from a forward of midfielder. Their job is to get the ball and move it. Very rarely will they actually be able to turn with it. You have to look at what that does. They're taking out a forward or midfielder who are coming to press them meaning that there is space somewhere else. It is a difficult skill to have the confidence to get the ball so close to your own goal and keep it. If you lose it, the opposition are almost in on goal.

I really do wonder about whether people actually see the bigger picture in games. For years the public have slaughtered the national team for playing hoof ball. Players that actually keep the ball are called crabs and their positions are questioned.
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This is exactly why England are a rubbish national side though, no one goes past players anymore. The best way to create space is to drive into going past your opponant, not going sideways and backwards! its not rugby ffs.

Possession football is all well and good but Chelsea blew that theory and style right out the window when they won the champions league years ago.

I know it takes all different styles etc to make a team but if you look at Sandro for example at Spurs his job is to win the ball and pass it which he does well BUT he also ventures forward and has scored a few crucial goals. The Carricks of this world are only good when surrounded by good players, I was happy he left. I can't say much on Joe Allen as I have not seen a great deal of him but Leon Britton is in the Carrick mould

If I try to look at it logically I see it like this:

Mourinho: won many trophies in Portugal, England, Italy, and Spain.

Les ferdinand: ...