[Archived] Vince Grella Signs

[VillaSimon]

SSN BREAKING - Blackburn in talks with torino midfielder vince grella

[brfc_jonesy]

Well happy we're in talks about Grella whenever i've seen him he looks pretty solid!

[RibbleValleyRover]

Looks like there is strong interest in Vince Grella and i think its about time we had a seperate thread to discuss the player and his possible transfer to the club:

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4053218,00.html

I have to confess i haven't seen him play, but i see he is described as a DM.

Any Australian rovers fans, or people who watch Italian football on a regular basis, able to shed some light on Grella? The type of player he is, what he can offer to Rovers etc?

[Hughesy]

Signing on from Espana.

Key Question - Is he an improvement on what we have got?

[imy9]

Grella could be a decent acquisition for us, defensive midfield is a vital area that needed strengthening.

Right midfield is the next big area and I feel we need a "star name". now whether that is Joaquin, Pennant, SWP, Lennon, I want Ince to spend £6 million plus for a top class winger because that could make or break or season. Looking forward to Nicko's 11 o'clock update

[JAL]

Grella could be a decent acquisition for us, defensive midfield is a vital area that needed strengthening.

Right midfield is the next big area and I feel we need a "star name". now whether that is Joaquin, Pennant, SWP, Lennon, I want Ince to spend £6 million plus for a top class winger because that could make or break or season. Looking forward to Nicko's 11 o'clock update

WHATS ALL THIS DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER RUBBISH !!!!!

A good midfielder should be able to attack and defend in equal measure, if he isnt good at one then hes no good for Blackburn Rovers - we need a strong central midfielder who provides both and makes the team stronger.

[AlanK]

erm...Makelele?

[imy9]

WHATS ALL THIS DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER RUBBISH !!!!!

A good midfielder should be able to attack and defend in equal measure, if he isnt good at one then hes no good for Blackburn Rovers - we need a strong central midfielder who provides both and makes the team stronger.

With all due respect that is nonsense.

I could name you some midfield players who can do both, Gerrard, Vieria and Fabregas are three but would cost ridiculous amounts of money!

Most teams have a defensive midfield player like Makelele who are technically sound, good tacklers who keep things ticking over in midfield and then you have an attacking midfield player who does the damage in the final third.

What you are asking for is a player who is brilliant at neither like Reid!

[American]

With all due respect...

Not due any.

[Cally]

WHATS ALL THIS DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER RUBBISH !!!!!

Is that you Mr Keegan?

[frosty]

WHATS ALL THIS DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER RUBBISH !!!!!

A good midfielder should be able to attack and defend in equal measure, if he isnt good at one then hes no good for Blackburn Rovers - we need a strong central midfielder who provides both and makes the team stronger.

Those midfielders are very rare.

[JAL]

With all due respect that is nonsense.

I could name you some midfield players who can do both, Gerrard, Vieria and Fabregas are three but would cost ridiculous amounts of money!

Most teams have a defensive midfield player like Makelele who are technically sound, good tacklers who keep things ticking over in midfield and then you have an attacking midfield player who does the damage in the final third.

What you are asking for is a player who is brilliant at neither like Reid!

Makelele is the exception to the rule but he is surrounded by far stronger players than we have at Rovers, name me another whose as effective and please remember we are not Chelsea we dont have their attacking strength with world class players allover.

Defensive midfielder sounds very negative, quality forward thinking midfielders is what Rovers need thats what we are short of.

[67splitscreen]

Signing on from Espana.

Key Question - Is he an improvement on what we have got?

Would that be a improvement in your, mine, or Inces opinion.

Guess until we sign him and see him for ourselves, we'll just have to go with the flow.

[brfcshabba]

Defensive midfielder sounds very negative, quality forward thinking midfielders is what Rovers need thats what we are short of.

We have David Dunn, but I am sure you won't agree

[Lathund]

Who gives a (Please don't use that word again) what it sounds like?? Fact is that every midfield needs a ball-winner. If he's good going forward then that's great, but it's not the main thing. As jmy says, the midfielders who can do everything are few and far between. And would cost £20m+. And funnily enough, they all play for CL clubs. What we can ask for though is a defensive midfielder who's an accurate passer. Those do exist within our price range, and the little I've seen of Grella would indicate that he's a fairly good passer.

Having a more or less dedicated ball-winner allows the other midfielders, as well as the full backs, more freedom going forward. Thus, by utilizing a defensive midfielder you get a more attacking team. Even Brazil uses a player like Emerson in that role. I wouldn't exactly call them a negative team.

[Bobby G]

Cant see him being much better than Vogel who I think is the only specialist central midfielder in our team, other than Mokoena who is an enigma...

[JAL]

Those midfielders are very rare.

So what sort of shared vision has everyone got for Blackburn Rovers I find the thought of 'we need a defensive midfielder' a very negative statement, especially after the boring long punt upto the front two football I had to witness on staurday.

Hopefully the manager is an ex-England international whose played in Italy and he'll be able to find that good allround midfielder.

Hopefully !!!!

We have David Dunn, but I am sure you won't agree

If David Dunn can get past 60 minutes in agame then... yipee.

David Dunn

Is that you Mr Keegan?

The central midfielder has to do both jobs equally well, defend and attack.

[rover6]

JAL you have failed to appreciate the evolution of the modern game.

Footballers are now exceptional athletes (most anyway), counter-attacks are incredibly fast. A specialist holding midfielder offers some kind of shield when the team's attack breaks down and the opposition is on the charge.

It makes sense in simple specialisation terms. Only one CM can go forward at a time in a 4-4-2. So why have two jack of all trades in the middle? Why not allow them to specialise and have clearly defined, complementary but opposite roles?

Of course, that doesn't mean that the defensive midfielder can be a talentless hoof. However, he can specialise in the particular skills of that role - prompting play from deep, anticipating moves, tracking runners, giving an option to the centre back dawdling on the ball and so on. His presence also gives greater freedom to wingers and full backs to get forward. In that sense, paradoxically, the presence of a good defensive midfielder increases the attacking potency of the team.

[alexanders]

What about Reo-Coker JAL?

Grella

Emerton Dunn MGP

Villanueva

I think I have heard that Ince likes to play 5 in midfield.

[John]

Have not seen him play much myself. Some profiles of him below:

Parma schemer Grella offers a more defensive option in midfield and is one of the most under-rated members of the Socceroos squad.

Vince Grella is a hard-working ball winner who plays in midfield for Italian club Parma.

A hard-working destroyer who performs much of the dirty work in the Australian midfield, Vince Grella has followed a similar career path to Mark Bresciano, leaving Carlton for Italy.

[Cally]

The central midfielder has to do both jobs equally well, defend and attack.

Says who like?

Having one deeper more defensive minded CM and one to dictate the tempo of the game and get forward to support the attack is nothing new.

[rover6]

I still think that given a genuine and concerted opportunity, Emerton or Reid could have been converted into effective defensive midfielders. Emerton has shown glimpses that his tremendous athleticism suits the role (Liverpool performance last season).

However, seeing as Ince isn't going for the conversion route, Grella definitely adds to our team in being an improvement on Moko. Hope the fee is sensible for a 28 year old of steady but unspectacular talent.

[JAL]

What about Reo-Coker JAL?

I think I have heard that Ince likes to play 5 in midfield.

Good call, think hed be an improvement if it was possible to land him.

[alexanders]

Good call, think hed be an improvement if it was possible to land him.

He is a defensive midfielder and IMO the reason why Barry shone last season!

A def mid gives the other CM more space and ability to go forward.

[sparkspakespoke]

Sorry, wasn't meaning positionally, certainly a centre/def midfielder, but I meant more in terms of his erm, application. Takes no prisoners I believe. Whether he's got the trademark 'sorry I didn't mean to bump into you/leg you up/push you over/stand in your way/whatcha mean mate, penalty? red card? strewth!!' Lucas moves remains to be seen

Hey, I thought Lucas's attitude was spot on! Least you knew where you stood with him - somewhere in the Riverside.

I hear you. You're right at least with neill you knew where you stood, or used to stand before he left you on the floor. Questionable decison making when his contract came to an end with us though...

I think Grella is going to be a good player for us, if we get him. Good athlete by all acounts and enjoys a tackle. Can also pass a ball as well. I can see him doing the running to allow Dunn to play. Or maybe even along side Vogel with two back in front of the defence and the pineapple playing off Santa which is the way i think we'll line up against the top clubs.