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Russ112112

Hammond took his chance

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Are you being serious?

 

Why shouldn't I be? He's been excellent in the first 4 games. Oh, but because it's Dean Hammond, he's not as 'fashionable' as James, Drinkwater and Cambiasso,so we're more reluctant to actually say "Yeah, wait a minute, he's been one of our best players". Look at it this way, it's highly likely he'll be dropped, surely that is testament to his ability. Also, it's not necessarily about how individually talented a player is (if it was, Knockaert would start every week), it's all about how they compliment the team. For whatever reason, Dean Hammond slots into our set-up easily. 

 

But saying all that, midfield is easily our strongest area, we could start any of the 5 in any combination and expect a very assured performance. 

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Why shouldn't I be? He's been excellent in the first 4 games. Oh, but because it's Dean Hammond, he's not as 'fashionable' as James, Drinkwater and Cambiasso,so we're more reluctant to actually say "Yeah, wait a minute, he's been one of our best players". Look at it this way, it's highly likely he'll be dropped, surely that is testament to his ability. Also, it's not necessarily about how individually talented a player is (if it was, Knockaert would start every week), it's all about how they compliment the team. For whatever reason, Dean Hammond slots into our set-up easily. 

 

But saying all that, midfield is easily our strongest area, we could start any of the 5 in any combination and expect a very assured performance. 

 

He's performed well but he's not one of our best players he knows he's back up so he can't have any qualms about being dropped

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He's performed well but he's not one of our best players he knows he's back up so he can't have any qualms about being dropped

He won't see himself as back up, and he shouldn't. Last season understandably he didn't play much because the pairing of DD and James was immense. However this season he had a chance to try and get a spot in the first XI took the opportunity and has carried on consistently putting in great performances and has proved he can cut it in the Prem against four very tough teams.

So now he probably believes that he shouldn't be dropped, and rightly so. Why should he be dropped? because he's not a fans favourite or a big mame player like DD, James or Cambiasso.

People were saying he should be dropped before the Stoke game, Pearson stuck with him even though Cambiasso and DD were available and fit, Hammond played 90mins and contributed to our victory.

So I can't see why Pearson won't keep him in the team again. And rightly so.

Clearly

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One of the keys things for me is that Hammond makes sure we never lose our shape, he knows the game and follows instructions.

Players like Schlupp and Mahrez get caught out of position pretty often, Chelsea's first goal was in many ways down to the team being caught out of shape following Schlupp's error. Hammond has a good football brain and protects the back four / fair effectively. Nigel knows he can trust him to do what he can do. No flamboyant moves, he the epitome of a team player.

Clearly, Cambiasso, Drinky and James are technically more skilful players, but Hammond is superb in the role he plays; he could be one of the keys players this season, particularly as we will be doing a fair amount of defending. Last season we were much more on the offensive, hence his particular set of skills were not so much required.

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He isn't the most technically gifted player in the squad but, as he's shown in the first 4 games, he has a lot to offer as a team player. When the onus is on us to defend and break it seems he is a much more effective and useful player than when we are expected to dominate a game. That means he could be more important this season than last as we will be defending for significant periods in most matches. Not my favourite or the most stylish player but definitely a great professional who has taken his chance well. Players like him are needed for the collective to flourish.

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Just watched the game back. He anchored the midfield brilliantly. Would be a travesty if he was dropped next game. 433/451 might just be the way forward for the tougher games in this division.

Well said.  Glad our fans can genuinely acknowledge our players and the quality of the depth of our team.  We have some not very sexy names in our team like Hammond and GTF, but they won't let us down.  

 

This team is not going to win the league, but that wasn't the goal, they will be more than good enough to keep us up and probably to a safe mid table position.

 

Look at the sexy names QPR have and see what happened to them today.  I don't think Man U will do that to us next week!! 

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He won't see himself as back up, and he shouldn't. Last season understandably he didn't play much because the pairing of DD and James was immense. However this season he had a chance to try and get a spot in the first XI took the opportunity and has carried on consistently putting in great performances and has proved he can cut it in the Prem against four very tough teams.

So now he probably believes that he shouldn't be dropped, and rightly so. Why should he be dropped? because he's not a fans favourite or a big mame player like DD, James or Cambiasso.

People were saying he should be dropped before the Stoke game, Pearson stuck with him even though Cambiasso and DD were available and fit, Hammond played 90mins and contributed to our victory.

So I can't see why Pearson won't keep him in the team again. And rightly so.

Clearly

You are spot on.  Pearson lives in the real world.  He sees what each player does on the training pitch every day and knows what they are capable of and what and how he wants to play.  He will pick his team not based on names.

 

Look I know it is fun thinking of who should play and what I would do etc, but that has very little to do with reality.  No one on this forum knows what goes on in the locker room and what the Gaffer says to the team.

 

We do know that NP will stick with players who are fit and played well and rarely changes a winning team.  So I am betting Hammond is one of the first names on the team sheet if he is fit for the Man U game.

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He isn't the most technically gifted player in the squad but, as he's shown in the first 4 games, he has a lot to offer as a team player. When the onus is on us to defend and break it seems he is a much more effective and useful player than when we are expected to dominate a game. That means he could be more important this season than last as we will be defending for significant periods in most matches. Not my favourite or the most stylish player but definitely a great professional who has taken his chance well. Players like him are needed for the collective to flourish.

Absolutely right. He will be more important to us this season than last because we will be on the back foot a lot more in this division. He's really impressed me, and evidently a lot of other people. Since he hardly featured last season, he is almost like a new signing.

I think having him in the team will bring out the best of our other CMs, as they won't have to focus so much on defending. He may yet prove to be a candidate for the long awaited replacement of Lennon.

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Hammond will look a better player when we are playing under pressure, Hammond does his best work when they have the ball. Our possession stats have been around 40% so far this season, so the other team having more of the ball means Hammond has more opportunity to impress and he does it well. Last season we were controlling most games and under little pressure so he had limited opportunities to shine.

The question Pearson should be considering is that do we want Hammond in games where we want to dictate the play and have more of the ball?

With Hammond in the team we win the ball back better but we can't do as much with it as we could if a better ball player was on the pitch. With DD EC or James on the pitch we can control the game better and so have more of the ball thus not needing Hammond to screen the back four.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him start against United, we may even start with the side that finished against Stoke, especially after watching United destroy QPR we will not dominate the possession and will need Hammond and/ or EC to protect the back four and we may even go for three in the middle. But when we play Palace and Burnley we should be looking to control those games and Hammond will be less effective.

Big call for Nige

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I'm not having anyone that says Dean Hammond is as good as our other central midfielders. Quite frankly it is bullshit. He's done a very good job whilst we have had players out but you only have to look at how the Stoke game changed when Cambiasso and Drinkwater came on, to see the difference in class.

Deano's solid and he hassles and harries the opposition well but he is nowhere near the level of Cambiasso, Drinkwater or James in possession. He's a good option to have in the squad but he's not in our best 2 or 3 man midfield combinations and quite frankly nowhere near. That's not because he's isn't "fashionable" or "popular" but it's down to certain aspects of his game not being up to the level of others above him.

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He's performed well but he's not one of our best players he knows he's back up so he can't have any qualms about being dropped

Hammond has shown hes capable of playing in the Premier League whereas Drinkwater, James and Camiasso havent as of yet so its an easy choice Hammond starts until his form drops

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I'm not having anyone that says Dean Hammond is as good as our other central midfielders. Quite frankly it is bullshit. He's done a very good job whilst we have had players out but you only have to look at how the Stoke game changed when Cambiasso and Drinkwater came on, to see the difference in class.

Deano's solid and he hassles and harries the opposition well but he is nowhere near the level of Cambiasso, Drinkwater or James in possession. He's a good option to have in the squad but he's not in our best 2 or 3 man midfield combinations and quite frankly nowhere near. That's not because he's isn't "fashionable" or "popular" but it's down to certain aspects of his game not being up to the level of others above him.

Yeah Deano must have been gutted to see how much we improved from his sad little vantage point of...central midfield. What a body blow it must have been for him.

Look, you've seen how Nigel played things last season and the same will apply this-if we're playing well, he won't drop people. If we play different systems then that's a different question, but James won't start until Hammond shows he's not up to it. The team that started against Everton gave people on here kittens: it was, Ulloa aside, a weaker team than we'd fielded in the Championship all year, but King and Hammond in particular were golden. Why reward those performances with the bench? It's a bad message for them; and a bad one for James-basically the message being you're only going to play if players are unfit or out of form. Why try harder?

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Yeah Deano must have been gutted to see how much we improved from his sad little vantage point of...central midfield. What a body blow it must have been for him.

Look, you've seen how Nigel played things last season and the same will apply this-if we're playing well, he won't drop people. If we play different systems then that's a different question, but James won't start until Hammond shows he's not up to it. The team that started against Everton gave people on here kittens: it was, Ulloa aside, a weaker team than we'd fielded in the Championship all year, but King and Hammond in particular were golden. Why reward those performances with the bench? It's a bad message for them; and a bad one for James-basically the message being you're only going to play if players are unfit or out of form. Why try harder?

 

Why wait? Why wait until someone plays badly before making a change. Especially when we have players on the bench that could be an improvement on him.

 

This is not a criticism of Hammond, but of this philosophy, there will be games that don't suit him (or any other player) and they will play badly. Why should we wait until then to make a change.

 

We have a large squad with a number of options and abilities, particularly in midfield and up front. I was disappointed to see the same side against Stoke, and not surprised we started badly, what works for Arsenal at home doesn't mean it will work for Stoke away. With Hammond and King in the side we have a good screen in front of the back four but we lose a lot of creativity and drive. Hammond and King could continue to play really well, but it won't change the fact that Drinkwater offers a lot more going forwards and creating chances. 

 

For your last point I think the current approach sends out the wrong message, Moore and Dyer lost their place last season through injury and Konchesky lost his place to Schlupp because of suspension. I would be very frustrated if I wasn't the current first choice at Leicester, because I would have no idea when I would get my chance and have to wait for someone in the team to play badly or get injured, I don't think it is healthy to be wanting that to happen.

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He's really surprised me so far. It took him a while to find his place within the squad and not a few had some doubts over his footballing ability when he came aboard, me included.

It just felt a bit of a waste, but he's developed into a reliable pillar in midfield.

 

He does his job tremendously well, even though he's just so unspectacular. But maybe it's his recipe for success, he's not the kind of guy to go for something flashy - I guess he lacks that technical ability. Still, that's what I like about his style of play, it's a no-nonsense approach.

Think of him as another vacuum sucking up the pressure in midfield and canceling out bursts through the middle. He also has quite the stamina for a player his age. His dedication is also noteworthy - remember his cramp against Chelsea and how he wanted to play on?

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He's really surprised me so far. It took him a while to find his place within the squad and not a few had some doubts over his footballing ability when he came aboard, me included.

It just felt a bit of a waste, but he's developed into a reliable pillar in midfield.

 

He does his job tremendously well, even though he's just so unspectacular. But maybe it's his recipe for success, he's not the kind of guy to go for something flashy - I guess he lacks that technical ability. Still, that's what I like about his style of play, it's a no-nonsense approach.

Think of him as another vacuum sucking up the pressure in midfield and canceling out bursts through the middle. He also has quite the stamina for a player his age. His dedication is also noteworthy - remember his cramp against Chelsea and how he wanted to play on?

 

Compare that to Ozil rolling around on the touchline wanting to be subbed for Arsenal. Was a real shame they had used all their subs at that point and he to get back up and run around for his £100,000 per week or whatever he is on.

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Really? He's had a good start to the season, but of what we've seen of the two in city shirts - James is the better player: certainly if both are fit we should be playing James - if Dean can't handle that he isn't first choice in the premiership (when he wasn't in the championship); and I highly doubt that would be the case, then that's his problem

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