[Salopbaggie]

For those who think Yacob's contributions are not good enough may find the following interesting.

Yacob over the past 4 years is the second best in the Premier League at his job (breaking up the play) and since 2012/13 he has won 306 tackles, only Morgan Schneiderlin has won more (324).

The figure averages just over a 75% success rate.

So peeps think of this next time you wonder if he is good enough.

[devwakey]

Yacob is the type of player that you notice once hes gone!

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

I don't think anyone in their right mind would dispute his brilliance at breaking up play; the problem is that he's not exactly shit-hot at picking out a forward pass after winning the ball, and with Fletcher beside him (who also struggles to do this) it's a major part of why we struggle to turn defence into attack.

[Slick_Footwork]

Yacob is a good stopper, he tackles well, and does a good job at reading the game.

However, I'm with Ska'dForLife that there are some flaws to his game.

His big problem is his lack of mobility, which causes him to give away a lot of free kicks in dangerous areas. He's also a bit of a hot head. On the ball, he's decent at playing it economically but really needs a ball playing midfielder next to him who can see the bigger picture.

Overall, I think in a 5 man midfield, he can do a great job as the sitting midfielder. He can break up play, play it tidy to someone close and let play build from there. In a 4-4-2, I don't think he's mobile enough at this level.

[talkSAFT]

For those who think Yacob's contributions are not good enough may find the following interesting.

Yacob over the past 4 years is the second best in the Premier League at his job (breaking up the play) and since 2012/13 he has won 306 tackles, only Morgan Schneiderlin has won more (324).

The figure averages just over a 75% success rate.

So peeps think of this next time you wonder if he is good enough.    

Mourinho probably rates Schneiderlin, but he hasn't picked him for a League game this season, probably for the same reason. Yacob's certainly one of our best players, but I just wonder if he's taking another bloke's* shirt, esp for Home games.
* We don't seem to have "another bloke", but another Coach might have prioritised buying someone else.

Much as I rate Claudio, I'd rather have Mulumbu of 3-4 years ago, who broke up play just as well, AND offered more going forward.

[Mosestheballwinner]

[quote='Salopbaggie' pid='97375' dateline='1474641976']
For those who think Yacob's contributions are not good enough may find the following interesting.

Yacob over the past 4 years is the second best in the Premier League at his job (breaking up the play) and since 2012/13 he has won 306 tackles, only Morgan Schneiderlin has won more (324).

The figure averages just over a 75% success rate.

So peeps think of this next time you wonder if he is good enough.    

Mourinho probably rates Schneiderlin, but he hasn't picked him for a League game this season, probably for the same reason. Yacob's certainly one of our best players, but I just wonder if he's taking another bloke's* shirt, esp for Home games.
* We don't seem to have "another bloke", but another Coach might have prioritised buying someone else.

Much as I rate Claudio, I'd rather have Mulumbu of 3-4 years ago, who broke up play just as well, AND offered more going forward.
[/quote

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I remember watching him peg a 25 yard screamer on YouTube when we first bought him and thought wow. Clearly it was a misplaced pass ???????

[Salopbaggie]

I appreciate all of the comments above and can agree with the majority. However we are where we are and we play the style we play.

IMO the roll Yacob plays is not to make the fancy cross field ball that will split a defence in two. His job is to stop the attack coming forward, a job he does very well, a job I would suggest he does far better than Fletcher. Then again it is not Fletcher's role to break up play, he is there to make the fancy pass, which he does far better than Yacob.

I think our problem arises not from the players we have, but the diversity within the squad. Our squad is so small we are seriously limited to style of play, amongst other things. By that I mean, if we are playing a City or United, you need a Yacob sitting in front of the back nine to break up the attack. However if you are playing a Stoke or a Bournemouth you may feel the level of break up play required to be less and field a more attack minded midfielder.

As for Mulumbu, a great player in the middle, loved the guy as a player, but without wanting to appear flippant I think Bryan Robson would be preferred if we are bringing players from the past back.

[Mosestheballwinner]

I appreciate all of the comments above and can agree with the majority.  However we are where we are and we play the style we play.

IMO the roll Yacob plays is not to make the fancy cross field ball that will split a defence in two.  His job is to stop the attack coming forward, a job he does very well, a job I would suggest he does far better than Fletcher.  Then again it is not Fletcher's role to break up play, he is there to make the fancy pass, which he does far better than Yacob.

I think our problem arises not from the players we have, but the diversity within the squad.  Our squad is so small we are seriously limited to style of play, amongst other things.  By that I mean, if we are playing a City or United, you need a Yacob sitting in front of the back nine to break up the attack.  However if you are playing a Stoke or a Bournemouth you may feel the level of break up play required to be less and field a more attack minded midfielder.

As for Mulumbu, a great player in the middle, loved the guy as a player, but without wanting to appear flippant I think Bryan Robson would be preferred if we are bringing players from the past back.

We couldn't afford Bryan but I'd settle for Gary. He was an unsung hero.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Is there nothing to be said for bringing back Willie Groves? He only cost a hundred quid

[Dingle-Dingle]

Claudio just signed new 2 year contract. DD