Richie Wellens

[marbelladave]

Busy most of today, bur have a few minutes to put one or two of you straight...

Sorry mate but that's complete bollocks. Why are people so desperate for Abe to do well more than anyone else? Is it because he played at the World Cup? (without particularly making an impact). Is it because he's foreign? How can you say after about 2 full games that he is ''technically' a far better player than Wellens in all respects'? It is becoming very obvious that everybody wants Abe to do well and dislikes Wellens - there is some obvious bias going on here as actual performances are being ignored.

Wellens played most games last season so saying he's 'not good enough for a team with aspirations of a promotion push' is utter crap. Were we not in a promotion push last season?

Abe has done some decent things but he's also given the ball away a lot - something people seem to claim Wellens does.

Like I've said before, if King scored the amount of goals Wellens did, you'd realise that Wellens is a far better all round player. It's only because he doesn't shoot or score enough that you judge him as not good enough. Try not being so narrow minded. There is more to football than being quick and scoring goals. Wellens is great at spreading the play and picking the right pass. It's no good releasing the ball quickly if it's to the opposition.

All this Abe love is nothing but self-indulgent bullshit.

On his limited outings so far it is clear that Abe has better control, is more comfortable on the ball and reads the game better than Wellens, and most of the rest of our team come to that. I come to that view by watching him play, It is an opinion and one that for the moment I stand by. However Abe has not yet proved that he can make this superiority tell in the 'hurley burley' of the championship, that incidentally is a fact.

We managed a promotion push last season despite our issues in midfield. It misfired often and was overwhelmed on occasion, NFP realised this, hence deploying Oakley in the bizarre narrow right position then slipping into 4-5-1 under the pretence that we were playing 4-3-3. A big part of the problem was Wellens.

There is far more to King than his goals, generally he is neat and tidy in midfield, neither impressive nor particularly creative, but OK. Where he is truly outstanding his is ability to 'get things done' in the box, be it ours or theirs.

Agreed withe every single word Kitchandro has said.

Plus, King and Abe as CM pairing?

No where near strong enough for the Championship, King is a great talent but he bottles challenges week in, week out. And as for Abe he went into one tough challenge against Preston, got a little bit hurt then didn't look like he dared go in for another challenge. So that is also why we need Wellens in the team to get stuck in and does what he does best.

That is a concern, perhaps even a legitimate one, however King does not 'bottle' challenges, he stays on his feet and cuts down options, very much the modern way, but as I said above his contributions in the middle third are not his strength, in is has ability in both boxes that make him a superior player.

This is why partnering him with Abe, defensively a midfield terrier, is a balanced option, particularly if a more creative player is given licence to operate the attacking role just ahead of them.

The shear physicality of the Championship is an issue, particularly Abe and the other the imports but suggesting that Wellens provides the answers is simply not accurate. his attitude may be feisty alright but his tackling is poor, he gets brushed aside all to easily and when he does try and 'get stuck in' he commits too many fouls.

[FoxyPV]

Can't fault you on that MD - I like Wellens but feel he's a bit of liability sometimes

[Kitchandro]

.

[okie fox]

Thanks for setting us straight -- what would we do without you!

King has suddenly become beyond criticism despite the fact that some games he is anonymous.

I have yet to see the terrier in Abe. I have seen the Abe that loses the ball while running towards his own goal.

Oakley played narrow last season to protect Wellens -- that's a new theory! Why didn't you point that out last season?

[lcfc81]

I'm a big Wellens fan. I think he is tenacious, gets stuck in, and when things aren't going well he rolls his sleves up and gets on with it. I can't remember the game, but under Sousa there was a moment when no one wanted to take a corner and who runs over but Wellens. A bit of leadership, a wise head, always good to have around imo. I also think he does some clever passing (although I accept sometimes it doesn't work). I also accept he has weaknesses but to me Wellens is a player I very much want playing for Leicester.

[Kitchandro]

I'm a big Wellens fan. I think he is tenacious, gets stuck in, and when things aren't going well he rolls his sleves up and gets on with it. I can't remember the game, but under Sousa there was a moment when no one wanted to take a corner and who runs over but Wellens. A bit of leadership, a wise head, always good to have around imo. I also think he does some clever passing (although I accept sometimes it doesn't work). I also accept he has weaknesses but to me Wellens is a player I very much want playing for Leicester.

[Kitchandro]

On his limited outings so far it is clear that Abe has better control, is more comfortable on the ball and reads the game better than Wellens, and most of the rest of our team come to that. I come to that view by watching him play, It is an opinion and one that for the moment I stand by. However Abe has not yet proved that he can make this superiority tell in the 'hurley burley' of the championship, that incidentally is a fact.

We managed a promotion push last season despite our issues in midfield. It misfired often and was overwhelmed on occasion, NFP realised this, hence deploying Oakley in the bizarre narrow right position then slipping into 4-5-1 under the pretence that we were playing 4-3-3. A big part of the problem was Wellens.

Well you see these points in particular are why we are never going to agree. Again you seem to think Abe is somewhat a class above the rest of our team. I think this is a massive overreaction to a couple of decent but unspecatacular performances.

Wellens in fact reads the game and has a better football brain than most of our team. This is how he makes us tick as I've previously said, he can either slow it down or quicken it up, and he gets our attacks going.

Like I said before, once Pearson brought in Spearing, there was no place for the ineffective Oakley, so he was dropped. How you can deduce that Wellens was the problem in this I don't know, since Pearson stuck with him through a very consistent and successful campaign. I'd say Wellens was the opposite of the problem. Pearson would agree that infact Oakley was the problem.

I find it strange that we finished 5th yet apparently we did so in spite of a poor midfield and poor strikers

We had a poor midfield and strike force in 2007/08 and got relegated. Not last year.

[Guest Bilo]

People do realise that if his showboating came off 100% of the time, his passing was consistently perfect and he scored 30 goals a season from midfield he wouldn't be here right? He'd, y'now, be in the Premier League. Ask any Donny fan what they thought of Wellens and hear their response, and they're still one of the best footballing sides in the league.

[Finnegan]

I'm tempted to stop going to games by that. I agree, you are not the only one that thinks so, which is why it winds me up so much. Like I say, you believe that because you want to believe it. You've made your decision after 2 games - that's what makes it obvious that it's favouritism.

Ugh, if you say so, matey.

[Raj]

Wellens is Crap.

That Welsh bloke at Spurs is the answer.

[sbfox]

Kitchandro...

Why don't you seem to get the fact that no one wants to get rid of Wellens? No one hates him, no one thinks he's rubbish and we all think he has a role to play. HOWEVER, Abe is technically a better player (in the opinion of many/most people). Wellens is very much in the mould of the combative English midfielder - very traditional. What Abe (and King to an extent) gives us is a modern modern type of central midfielder.

Also, and this is just conjecture, but I get the feeling you prefer Wellens because he is English. Truth?

Oh and I also want to clarify that you believe that any player would have to prove themselves at this club? So you think that Messi would have to sit on the bench, work his way in to the team, rather than displace the footballing genuis of Richie Wellens? Remarkable.

[Finnegan]

Kitchandro...

Why don't you seem to get the fact that no one wants to get rid of Wellens? No one hates him, no one thinks he's rubbish and we all think he has a role to play.

It's called siege mentality.

You're arguing with a wall.

[MC Prussian]

Kitchandro, if there was a Church of Wellens, you'd be its first missionary.

I can't see the point in standing up for one single player whilst coming close to ridiculing a Japanese International.

Wellens is a player who has been with the team for about ten times more games than Yuki Abe and thus has had much more chances to prove himself on this level.

RW to me is very erratic in reading plays, his shooting is abysmal (I think he's realized that himself and that's why he doesn't dare going forward as often as he used to).

He gets stuck in the middle of the park, in a limited space and shys away from doing most corners or free-kicks.

To me, he's technically limited. Very much so.

In that regard, compared to Wellens, Yuki Abe to me is a more complete footballer, and certainly a more complete midfielder because of his versatility.

Being a Human Dynamo alone like Richie Wellens is doesn't do the trick in modern football anymore.

He reminds me of a classic type of English footballer who used to be able to compensate for his lack of skill through his fighting spirit.

Yet he's very frustrating to watch - misguided passes, bad judgements in terms of tackling.

Still, I'm not saying there's no room for players like Wellens no more - but, in my very humble opinion, surely not in the Premier League or in a team that has the intention of pushing for a playoff spot.

Unless, as I've pointed out before, RW starts working on improving on his all-around ability.

[marbelladave]

Thanks for setting us straight -- what would we do without you!

King has suddenly become beyond criticism despite the fact that some games he is anonymous.

I have yet to see the terrier in Abe. I have seen the Abe that loses the ball while running towards his own goal.

Oakley played narrow last season to protect Wellens -- that's a new theory! Why didn't you point that out last season?

Glad you appreciate the input...

In order...

King is certainly not 'beyond criticism', he is strange for a midfielder in that he is largely innocuous in the middle third, I have pointed that out many times, he is an effective defender in our own box and although he may have a gift for scoring goals but he is not a creator of goals for others.

Abe is disciplined, tenacious and has terrific recovery speed, that makes him an asset in my view. Like Vitor and unlike the rest of our thud and blunder defenders he makes his tackles standing up and often comes out of them with the ball at his feet.

Oakley played that right sided position to 'protect' (help out is a better term) our center mid pairing, whoever that was, though it usually involved Wellens. When playing 4-4-2 with 2 men up and 2 men wide the were often outnumbered and occasionally overwhelmed. NFP saw that and deployed Oakley to help out, when that proved to bring it's own problems he switched to 4-5-1 (but told us it was 4-3-3).

As for pointing it out, I did so many, many times, I was already calling for a switch to 4-3-3 by this stage last season.

Kitchandro...

Why don't you seem to get the fact that no one wants to get rid of Wellens? No one hates him, no one thinks he's rubbish and we all think he has a role to play. HOWEVER, Abe is technically a better player (in the opinion of many/most people). Wellens is very much in the mould of the combative English midfielder - very traditional. What Abe (and King to an extent) gives us is a modern modern type of central midfielder.

Also, and this is just conjecture, but I get the feeling you prefer Wellens because he is English. Truth?

Oh and I also want to clarify that you believe that any player would have to prove themselves at this club? So you think that Messi would have to sit on the bench, work his way in to the team, rather than displace the footballing genuis of Richie Wellens? Remarkable.

Abe is clearly a better 'technical' player, his international record proves this but as has been pointed out, it is one thing playing in the sun in very non physical international arena and quite another coming up against shear physicality of some championship players.

Can he do that? Personally I think so, but I might be wrong and a more 'traditional' (code for less skilful??) player such as Wellens might end up the better option...

Anyway from Svens comments in the Merc. it looks like we may be finding out soon...