Ledley to Stoke next week?

[kingdeano]

you definatly aint been going stoke matches then have you? whelan passes bck to faye when in possession??? you being real?? whelan as been the only one trying create.

[sportsman]

Well tell him to 'try' harder then, and yes i have been going home and away. Did you see his 13 corners not lift off the turf at Ewood.
Heaven forbid Pericard or Griffin do something as poor and consistently bad as that, they'd be hung!

[MrMagic]

Whelan is the latest boo boy / cause celebre for the pro and anti brigades. One of the reasons he has to pass back so often is because we play so deep. This has been confirmed by Dom Matteo twice on R Stoke in recent weeks. His corners have been poor, but then so has the movement of his team mates.

Case of swings and roundabouts here for me.

[sportsman]

So what you're saying is, because the movement of his team mates in the box off a corner, this is why he constantly can't lift the ball in the air?

I don't think Whelan is a boo boy. In fact there seem's only to be me and one or two others that even question him. The fact i question him at the moment is more to ask, why he doesn't get it when not offering very much at all, and the usuall suspects (easy targets) come in for it.

[TheWiseMaster]

Son of Cresswell?

To be fair he was only 19 at the time

Scouting Report: Joe Ledley, Cardiff City
Steve Claridge The Guardian, Tuesday 24 October 2006 Article

This may shock a lot of people but Joe Ledley has no real strengths apart from his team-play. He's the type of player who, if I hadn't gone specifically to watch him, I wouldn't have noticed playing.

Cardiff are the surprise package of the season and they're the type of side in which everyone has to play their part and be capable of doing what's asked of them. This is certainly the case with Ledley.

He is a product of Cardiff's academy and broke into the first team in 2004 aged 17. He has benefitted from a year under Dave Jones, a very astute manager, and I don't think I have ever seen a player, and certainly not a winger, more prepared to do a job for the cause.

He is the archetypal old-fashioned up-and-downer, extremely uncomplicated in his play, always taking the safety and percentage option, which means he is not an obvious crowd-pleaser.

I have to be careful here, because it's far easier for me to write about the negative side than the positive. He has nothing that makes him stand out; no wow factor in his game. But he's a dream for his full-back as he does everything and more asked of him defensively. At times he does too much.

Against Southampton last week he was marked tightly and occasionally pushed too far back, receiving the ball too deep. But he showed the experience he's gained by not trying to do too much in the wrong areas and rarely lost the ball. His positional play is exceptional, tucking himself in when the opposition had the ball to make a strong four in midfield without leaving too much space between him and the left-central midfielder, but also giving width when his side had possession, although, as I said, it was a little deep at times.

This also meant that he couldn't get into what we call the "po-mo" - the position of maximum opportunity - which for him is coming in at the far post when the ball is crossed from the right. He prefers to hang back to sweep up and allow the central midfielder the chance to get into the box.

It is surprising, therefore, that he's already managed to score as many league goals this season as he did in the whole of last (three). His fitness levels are exceptional, which is vital for someone who plays the game as he does. And he found it easier to beat his man in tight situations rather than when he had the chance to run at the right-back with no real trick other than knocking the ball one side and running round the other. Unfortunately he doesn't possess blinding pace, so that was also a bit hit and miss in its effectiveness.

His quality was fine, as with most left-footers, and before people think that I've been a bit harsh - I haven't forgotten that at the age of 19 there will still be huge amount of improvement left in his game - all I can say is he played 42 league games last season and hasn't missed one this time round. His value to the side is such that it would be no surprise to me if he was the first name on the team-sheet for many years to come.

Age 19

Born Cardiff

Position Winger

From Trainee

Honours 8 Wales caps

Height 6ft

Weight 11st 7lb

Awareness 8/10

Heading 7/10

Attitude 8/10

Tackling 7/10

Passing 7/10

Team responsibility 10/10

Valuation

£500,000-600,000

[lordb]

Whelan to me is an OK player - his passing is at least acceptable.
however dont forget we could have Hudson in his pomp & TP would still be ordering him to not venture too far from his own CB's.

TP imho MAY allow a winger to bomb forward,at least at home,but really he wants 4 midfelders who will work arrd,stay in position & not give much away.Ledley fits this to a tee.

[MrMagic]

Jan 4, 2009 14:28:17 GMT sportsman said:

So what you're saying is, because the movement of his team mates in the box off a corner, this is why he constantly can't lift the ball in the air?

I don't think Whelan is a boo boy. In fact there seem's only to be me and one or two others that even question him. The fact i question him at the moment is more to ask, why he doesn't get it when not offering very much at all, and the usuall suspects (easy targets) come in for it.

No mate - my point was badly worded. His corners have been poor. However, when he is in the middle of the park, there have been many occasions where he has shaped to make a pass and no-one has made a run for him, so he's ended up having to play it back or square.

Whilst it is exasperating as to why his free kicks look so good, yet he cannot take a decent corner, I don't think it is fair to blame him for the fact that we don't push men forward, or that some of his colleagues are too thick to read the game.

[lordb]

it doesnt really matter who is playing though as the only forward pass available far too often is to
the lone striker & the one behind

[TheWiseMaster]

One would hope that with better players the options would increase

Ledley however appears to offer more of the same

I guess Pulis that would also be looking for a pacey winger to play late in the game when required

[ohcityweloveyou]

imo i would much prefer Stephen Hunt from reading for around 5 mil with only competition from wigan, than a ridicules 7 mil for ledley who has no premiership experience!

[Paul Spencer]

sportsman50 you said with regard to Whelan:

In fact there seem's only to be me and one or two others that even question him.

If you read through your posting history mate, it goes well beyond questioning the fella.

You pop up on threads that haven't even mentioned him, with an almost pathological determination to destroy the lad.

He might not be up there with Gerrard and Lampard, but FFS, even you yourself admit that very few Stokies find that much reason to criticise him, whilst you yourself, seem determined to burn the kid at the stake.

[sportsman]

No, i say that most people are blinkered in the thinking that he's good on the ball and all that crap. Someone else pointed out the other day that they are still in the thinking of the player that he was supposed to be. They 'think' he's a passer, and because we haven't got many of them they think he's a midfield maestro in the making.
I am not one that goes to games and is critical of any player out loud, i'll even back pericard when out on the pitch, but away from the game i have my opinion.
That opinion is that i'm not saying Whelan is crap and i hate him, i'm saying that he isn't premiership quality, simple as that. If he proves me wrong and a big club come in for him in the next couple of weeks and he ends up playing well in the prem i'll say i got it wrong. Don't think i'll be doing it though.

I said people are quick to be critical of the usuall scapegoats on here. I've just reponded in someone that always get's the 'Whelan' when scuffing yet another corner along the turf.

Hope i'm wrong and he ends up playing a blinder for the rest of the season. Don't see though, that's all.

[potterspride88]

i thought this was ledleys thread

[coggy]

Jan 4, 2009 17:10:17 GMT @potterspride88 said:

i thought this was ledleys thread

Who are them in your picture

[RAF]

and the usuall suspects (easy targets) come in for it.

That's because the 'usual suspects' as you call them ie - Pericard are absolute fucking wank.

Whelan, whatever you think of him is not fucking wank!

H

[Paul Spencer]

No, i say that most people are blinkered in the thinking that he's good on the ball and all that crap. Someone else pointed out the other day that they are still in the thinking of the player that he was supposed to be. They 'think' he's a passer, and because we haven't got many of them they think he's a midfield maestro in the making.
I am not one that goes to games and is critical of any player out loud, i'll even back pericard when out on the pitch, but away from the game i have my opinion.
That opinion is that i'm not saying Whelan is crap and i hate him, i'm saying that he isn't premiership quality, simple as that. If he proves me wrong and a big club come in for him in the next couple of weeks and he ends up playing well in the prem i'll say i got it wrong. Don't think i'll be doing it though.

I said people are quick to be critical of the usuall scapegoats on here. I've just reponded in someone that always get's the 'Whelan' when scuffing yet another corner along the turf.

Hope i'm wrong and he ends up playing a blinder for the rest of the season. Don't see though, that's all.

To tell you the truth, I'd kinda got the impression that you'd adopted an (negative) opinion about the lad without seeing him that much, and were determined to stick by it, no matter what he did on the pitch.

I now realise I was wrong, thanks for clearing that up for me.

[MrMagic]

sportsman50. Any other observations beyond the "scuffing another corner" one? What are your views of my comments on my last post on this thread re his colleagues and people not making runs?

[potterspride88]

They are Lucy Pinder and Lindsey Strutt

[serpico]

Jan 4, 2009 14:30:24 GMT TheWiseMaster said:

He is the archetypal old-fashioned up-and-downer, extremely uncomplicated in his play, always taking the safety and percentage option, which means he is not an obvious crowd-pleaser.

I have to be careful here, because it's far easier for me to write about the negative side than the positive. He has nothing that makes him stand out; no wow factor in his game. But he's a dream for his full-back as he does everything and more asked of him defensively. At times he does too much.

Good lord, this could prove to be Pulis' biggest mistakes of his career if he ends up paying 7m for a run of the mil plodder.