Agreed. The time has come for Baines to start for England regularly. Cole's been a fine servant, but we can do without him now.
Myth. Opposition players have dribbled past Cole three times more than they've done to Baines in the past season, and in the first few games of this season, that difference has doubled - it's 6 times more. And while you could argue that Cole has more tackles/game and interceptions/game than Baines and that those stats could 'even things out', Cole isn't nearly as good as Baines when it comes to getting forward. I think we all agree that Baines is better than Cole when it comes to that, so I'll limit myself to a single stat which surprised even me - Baines has made as many key passes (30) in 7 games this season than Cole has in the whole of last season and the start of this season combined.
Man United 4 - San Marino 0
Myth. Opposition players have dribbled past Cole three times more than they've done to Baines in the past season, and in the first few games of this season, that difference has doubled - it's 6 times more. And while you could argue that Cole has more tackles/game and interceptions/game than Baines and that those stats could 'even things out', Cole isn't nearly as good as Baines when it comes to getting forward. I think we all agree that Baines is better than Cole when it comes to that, so I'll limit myself to a single stat which surprised even me - Baines has made as many key passes (30) in 7 games this season than Cole has in the whole of last season and the start of this season combined.
I know this is San Marino, but some touches, passes and movement off the ball is/was class. I would be pretty happy with some players ( Ox, Cleverley, not going to mention Rooney, because we all expect games like this from him). I'm not fan of England, but this is pretty decent game. Most of time Roy sub Rooney I turn stream off, not this time. Great game.Hope we play better against Poland. To be honet this scoreline flatters us
I know this is San Marino, but some touches, passes and movement off the ball is/was class. I would be pretty happy with some players ( Ox, Cleverley, not going to mention Rooney, because we all expect games like this from him). I'm not fan of England, but this is pretty decent game. Most of time Roy sub Rooney I turn stream off, not this time. Great game.
Antonio Valencia.So I see that you've been looking at the article on Whoscored. However, they rather brush aside Cole's significantly better tackle rate which is hardly a small factor. Then you also have to consider the systems that both players were used in when they got those stats. It's no secret that Cole was Chelsea's only line of defence on the left side for vast swathes of last year. It's a lot harder for people to dribble around you when your winger tracks back and you're able stop their wide players from having all the space in the world to run at you.
In my mind, Cole is still utterly superb in his defensive duties and, crucially, raises his game when paired against the world's best wingers. Baines is a more complete package and certainly offers more going forward. To dismiss Cole's defensive strengths based on a single piece of uncontextualised statistical analysis seems stupid. It's definitely up for debate but those stats hardly confirm that the perception of Cole having a greater defensive contribution is a myth...
It's hard to score when you have 10 players constantly behind the ball and they all sit in box. They are semi-pro/amateur players, but still it's pretty hard to play forward ball when having 5-6 players infront of you. Hopefully this makes sence.It's good for the youngsters yes don't get me wrong (and chuffed for Rooney for being 5th all time scorer), but how many times did we dilly dally around the box, and not attempt to go for the ball as it was heading into the box. Maybe I'm just being picky, but it just annoyed me. We achieved the scoreline we wanted, but when I was watching earlier I seriously doubted we'd reach it
It's hard to score when you have 10 players constantly behind the ball and they all sit in box. They are semi-pro/amateur players, but still it's pretty hard to play forward ball when having 5-6 players infront of you. Hopefully this makes sence.
Yes, you do make sence lol.I know this is San Marino, but some touches, passes and movement off the ball is/was class. I would be pretty happy with some players ( Ox, Cleverley, not going to mention Rooney, because we all expect games like this from him). I'm not fan of England, but this is pretty decent game. Most of time Roy sub Rooney I turn stream off, not this time. Great game.
Shelvey is a bit **** of a player, if he manages to control his temper, he could turn just good.Not at my age lol.
But yeah I do see it. But I'd say it's an efficient performance more than anything. Saying that Shelvey has done well since coming on
So I see that you've been looking at the article on Whoscored. However, they rather brush aside Cole's significantly better tackle rate which is hardly a small factor. Then you also have to consider the systems that both players were used in when they got those stats. It's no secret that Cole was Chelsea's only line of defence on the left side for vast swathes of last year. It's a lot harder for people to dribble around you when your winger tracks back and you're able stop their wide players from having all the space in the world to run at you.
In my mind, Cole is still utterly superb in his defensive duties and, crucially, raises his game when paired against the world's best wingers. Baines is a more complete package and certainly offers more going forward. To dismiss Cole's defensive strengths based on a single piece of uncontextualised statistical analysis seems stupid. It's definitely up for debate but those stats hardly confirm that the perception of Cole having a greater defensive contribution is a myth...