[Archived] David Thompson?

[BRFC4EVA]

I think that most people would agree that 3 out the 4 places in midfield are already taken with Pedro on the left, Emo on the right and Bazza in 1 of 2 centre mid spots. However, we haven't really yet solved to who is gonna take the last place.

Last season i felt that Tugay was off the pace and gave the ball all too often. He didn't turn it on enough, however im pleased he has signed a new deal. Flitty also was off the pace and the most major part to his game is closing down players and getting the tackles in. I dont think he can do that for a full season now at his age (32?).

With this in mind and Douglas not yet good enough, why dont we try out David Thompson there. He is only 26 has the ability to get after players. He always puts in 110% and never shirks a tackle. He also has skill and a good pass on him and i think he should play in the centre mid with Bazza. This will take the pressure off Bazza as he wont have to get forward and defend trying to make up the lack of legs from either tugay or Flitty.

Opinions anybody?

[chris]

well hopefully Emerton going to be on form otherwise Thompson may have to play on the right.

I think Souness has his eye on a pre-30's player to fill CM with Ferguson, I think that is now our remaining weakest position, with Tugay poor defensively and Flitcroft lacking pace.

Shame we missed out on Davis, but a player of his age and quality would be nice if we can raise funds

Edited July 10, 2004 by chris

[Lathund]

It's not like we've heard this proposed hundreds of times before

Anyway.. he SHOULD work well in the centre, in theory. But the problem is that he hasn't played there, at least not for a long time

[LeChuck]

It must be something Souness thinks will work or he is going to try, there's no way we would go into this season with just three central midfielders (Ferguson, Tugay, Flitcroft) especially when you consider Tugay's age.

None of our other midfielders will be capable of playing central and I believe it was mentioned in the LET that it was something Souey had considered...I imagine it is something he will try early in the season.

Lets hope it works because, if Thompson could do that job well, I believe we would be in a position to play our 4 best midfielders.

[kingalan]

A left winger who's never played in the Premiership before; our two central midfielders both coming back from serious injury; and a right winger who didn't live up to expectations and had a poor season.

These lads won't have time to find their feet and I really hope they hit the ground running.

On paper, Thompson looks a good choice for the central midfield berth, but whether he can rediscover his sparkling form of a couple of years back is another matter. Here's hoping he can.

[SkemLad]

Was there none from this list, [as at the end of the season] that you could realistically get on a free?

Hatem Trabelski Ajax

John Nieuwenberg Ajax

Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal

Nwankwo Kanu Arsenal

Sylvain Wiltord Arsenal

Dion Dublin Aston Villa

Matias Emanuel Lequi Atletico Madrid

Gionatha Spinesi Bari

Yildiray Bastürk Bayer Leverkusen

Oliver Neuville Bayer Leverkusen

Carsten Ramelow Bayer Lerverkusen

Alexander Zickler Bayern München

Stern John Birmingham

Guiseppe Signori Bologna

Jay-Jay Okocha Bolton

Youri Djorkaeff Bolton

Emerson Thome Bolton

Marcio Amoruso Borussia Dortmund

Sunday Oliseh Borussia Dortmund

Marco Pisano Brescia

Johann Mjällby Celtic

Henrik Larsson Celtic

Chris Powell Charlton

Paolo Di Canio Charlton

Emmanuel Petit Chelsea

Mario Melchiot Chelsea

Marcel Desailly Chelsea

Mauro Silva Deportivo La Coruña

Paul Gallacher Dundee Utd

Jorge Vargas Empoli

David Unsworth Everton

Steve Simonsen Everton

Paul Gerrard Everton

Thomas Helveg Inter

Matias Almeyda Inter

Okan Buruk Inter

Nikos Machlas Iraklis

Edgar Davids Juventus

Vratislav Lokvenc Kaiserslautern

Angelo Peruzzi Lazio

Fernando Couto Lazio

Sinisa Mihajlovic Lazio

David Batty Leeds

Lucas Radebe Leeds

Muzzy Izzet Leicester

Doriva Middlesbrough

Colin Cooper Middlesbrough

Dado Prso Monaco

Viorel Moldovan Nantes

Marco Simone Nice

Teddy Sheringham Portsmouth

Yossi Benayoun Racing Santander

Mateo Racing Santander

Egil Østenstad Rangers

Frank de Boer Rangers

Ronald de Boer Rangers

Michael Mols Rangers

Christian Nerlinger Rangers

Ernesto Cambiasso Real Madrid

Flavio Conceicao Real Madrid

Daniel Jensen Real Murcia

Javier De Pedro Real Sociedad

Jonathan Zebina Roma

Lima Roma

Victor Agali Schalke 04

Fabian Lamotte Schalke 04

Kristijan Djordjevic Schalke 04

Fabrizio Zambrella Servette

Darren Anderton Tottenham

Gustavo Poyet Tottenham

Jamie Redknapp Tottenham

Christian Ziege Tottenham

Jody Morris Walsall

Krisztian Lisztes Werder Bremen

Steffen Iversen Wolves

Paul Ince Wolves

Ioan Ganea Wolves

Alex Rae Wolves

Paul Butler Wolves

Michael Oakes Wolves

[1864roverite]

theres a statto inside this one then

[FourLaneBlue]

In the original post by BRFC4EVA he mentioned that Douglas is not yet good enough.

I'm not so sure about that. The performances he put in at the end of last season were sometimes impressive and that was despite being played out of position. It's plain to see that Douglas is no left winger but I'd be interested to see how he did in the middle. The work rate and commitment are there and he doesn't mind getting stuck in. The qualities he gives the team are similar to those Flitcroft used to have, way back in the days before he was known as a 'love rat'.

I'd have to see Douglas given a run in central midfield to see how he does as will everyone else. To say he is not yet up to it (or as some have said will never be it) is sheer speculation and not even an educated guess. I say give the guy a chance this season in his preferred position.

Which means he'll probably end up as a right back...

Edited July 11, 2004 by FourLaneBlue

[92er]

I think Saturday's LET suggested that Souness's favoured pairing in centre-midfield might well be Ferguson and Tugay.

[tchocky]

Was there none from this list, [as at the end of the season] that you could realistically get on a free?

Javier De Pedro Real Sociedad

Yep, there was one.

[rover6]

Didn't Thompson play central midfield for Liverpool?

I don' t think it will take a lot of 'converting'. He naturally drifts into the centre when playing wide and imo would have no problems adjusting.

[herbergeehh]

I think he played out on the right, rover6?

I agree though, I'd also like to see him play there - if it doesn't work out then fair enough, at least we know !

It would IMO mean that Ferguson has got to be the holding, defensive midfielder though, which could handicap his offensive play. But if Thommo can get back to where he was after signing from Coventry, he can be a great asset in central midfield aswell.

[S15]

If we had Thompson and Ferguson in the middle they'd need to get on each others shoulders on goalkicks or we'd never actually win anything.

Ever.

[roversWASmylife]

In the original post by BRFC4EVA he mentioned that Douglas is not yet good enough.

I'm not so sure about that. The performances he put in at the end of last season were sometimes impressive and that was despite being played out of position. It's plain to see that Douglas is no left winger but I'd be interested to see how he did in the middle. The work rate and commitment are there and he doesn't mind getting stuck in. The qualities he gives the team are similar to those Flitcroft used to have, way back in the days before he was known as a 'love rat'.

I'd have to see Douglas given a run in central midfield to see how he does as will everyone else. To say he is not yet up to it (or as some have said will never be it) is sheer speculation and not even an educated guess. I say give the guy a chance this season in his preferred position.

Which means he'll probably end up as a right back...

Agree with everything you’ve said there FLB.

I’ve said it before, Douglas did very well last season in the games that he played. When we were sinking slowly and everyone was worried, Douglas was one of a few at the beginning who really got stuck in when it mattered.

Douglas as well got a lot of unfair criticism in my opinion of certain members here, because he was being played on the left wing and wasn`t the winger that we all wanted, yet when he played there, he gave 100% every game and wanted to play, he did a good job and has to be in Souness`s plans for the season coming up.

FLB – I can’t remember, but wasn’t Douglas played in central midfield against Bolton back in January?

I remember him then playing well in that game, wasn’t frightened of getting stuck in. I hope he gets another chance, he deserves it.

[Exiled_Rover]

I think Saturday's LET suggested that Souness's favoured pairing in centre-midfield might well be Ferguson and Tugay.

That would make matches good fun for the opposition

[den]

The way things are going, we should be asking if Thommo can play centre forward.

[FourLaneBlue]

FLB – I can’t remember, but wasn’t Douglas played in central midfield against Bolton back in January?

I remember him then playing well in that game, wasn’t frightened of getting stuck in. I hope he gets another chance, he deserves it.

Actually I think you are right. If I remember right when he was taken off we weren't losing then two minutes we were behind and that was that for the game.

[BRFC4EVA]

In the original post by BRFC4EVA he mentioned that Douglas is not yet good enough.

I'm not so sure about that.

Maybe that came out wrong. What i was basically trying to say is that i dont feel that Douglas (as the moment, not nessecarily in a coupla yrs) is good enough to play a full season of prem football. I have no problems with him as a player and in the future will be a real asset but for me, at the moment we have better options.

[BRFC4EVA]

In the original post by BRFC4EVA he mentioned that Douglas is not yet good enough.

I'm not so sure about that.

Maybe that came out wrong. What i was basically trying to say is that i dont feel that Douglas (as the moment, not nessecarily in a coupla yrs) is good enough to play a full season of prem football. I have no problems with him as a player and in the future will be a real asset but for me, at the moment we have better options.

[chris]

In the original post by BRFC4EVA he mentioned that Douglas is not yet good enough.

I'm not so sure about that.

Maybe that came out wrong. What i was basically trying to say is that i dont feel that Douglas (as the moment, not nessecarily in a coupla yrs) is good enough to play a full season of prem football. I have no problems with him as a player and in the future will be a real asset but for me, at the moment we have better options.

i don't think he's anywhere near good enough to fill the CM role, Souness claims him to be a right back I thought, anyway if i had a 23yr old Flitcroft or Batty I would not give Douglas a second look, sadly we seem to be weak in a position he can fill to some degree.

Maybe he should be given a chance if we have injuries and see how he does, but we can do a lot better, Douglas will likely end up playing his career for a lower PL club or good div 1 club, hopefully Blackburn are going to become a good PL club where we belong

[FourLaneBlue]

Maybe that came out wrong. What i was basically trying to say is that i dont feel that Douglas (as the moment, not nessecarily in a coupla yrs) is good enough to play a full season of prem football. I have no problems with him as a player and in the future will be a real asset but for me, at the moment we have better options.

I agree that we shouldn't be looking at him to be a main choice in centre midfield but I'd like to see him given a few games in that position this next season. To see what he can do when he is given a chance to shine rather than just battle away unselfishly for the team in a part of the pitch he appears to seem a bit awkward in.

[broadsword]

According to our Graeme in the LET, DT will be pushed into a more central position thsi season ...

[Tom Pringle]

Emerton starting....please god help us

[AussieinUk]

One bad bloody season, FFS! Lighten up!!

[Tom Pringle]

Bit touchy aren't we?

Is it because he's a fellow Aussie? Or you just dislike my opinion?