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Overrated: Luka Modric

2 min read
by The Fighting Cock
I’m not having that Luka Modric is irreplaceable, world class or even our best – or most influential player. He is OF COURSE an outstanding footballer – but when the Croatian and Tottenham Hotspur finally part company this summer – I think it will be with a sense of what could of been. Luka’s a […]

I’m not having that Luka Modric is irreplaceable, world class or even our best – or most influential player.

He is OF COURSE an outstanding footballer – but when the Croatian and Tottenham Hotspur finally part company this summer – I think it will be with a sense of what could of been.

Luka’s a player – so able. He runs games and sets the tempo – a drop of a shoulder or a little step over – its gorgeous – truly gorgeous….did I say I had an issue?…I have – honest! – he just doesn’t do it enough, he doesn’t influence games enough. His goal tally is dreadful for a player of his obvious ability, his assists over the course of his Spurs career are almost as poor – yet this is the man, that if you believe twitter and various forums around the internet, whose absence will mean the downfall of Tottenham Hotspur. Relegation fodder again.

I was having this debate last week and was told in no uncertain terms that Modric was in the same class as a Sneijder, Xavi or (sore point) Pirlo. He isn’t – not even close in my opinion. I’m sure he has it in his locker and could be up there, but right now he is not of the standard to be compared with the ‘similar’ star names in his position.

As the ‘creative’ spark in our midfield, Modric should be the constant – the game changer, the one the sets everything off – he isn’t…

Modric should be hitting that killer dead ball or arriving on the edge of the box when it’s tight to take the points – he doesn’t… How many points and trophies have a Lampard, Fabregas, Scholes, Gerrard won for their respective teams by doing just that?

When he’s on it – he’s a joy, almost unstoppable – this however is all to infrequent.

Modric is the first to spout off about the need to showcase his talents on the Champions League stage – I honestly believe that if he was as good as people would have you believe, he would have been – in the lilly white of Spurs.

Another argument that tends to be thrown around is the quality of player he plays alongside and if he was at a Man United, City or Real Madrid he would be a true great… seriously!?

He currently plays with some of the best attacking players in England – one of the most attacking sides in Europe. Spurs brand of football is made for a player like Modric… Look left and see Bale and BAE flying down the wing, to the right Lennon and Kyle Walker causing havoc. How about just in front to the elusive Van der Vaart or the power and pace of Adebayor

The Croatian is hardly short of an option or two.

When he goes he goes. A £35million offer from Madrid would be just the ticket, money in the bank and out of the country – ‘just in case’ he does decide to live up to the hype.

You could have had your Champions League dream with Spurs Luka – but just maybe you’re not as good as what you think you are.

COYS!

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52 Comments

  1. Dan
    26/06/2012 @ 6:45 pm

    This opinion reaks of cognitive dissonance. I’m sure if Luka was totally committed, verbally, to Spurs, no one would be saying this.

    • Case
      26/06/2012 @ 6:47 pm

      I get the feeling it’s not going to be the most popular opinion we’ve had on here…

      • malspur
        26/06/2012 @ 6:59 pm

        I dunno bout that. The article is accurate, we do not get the whole Luka package I think. He doesn’t score any where near enough goals, his fannying around at the start of last season did us no favours, his drop in form at the end of the season the same There is no denying the fella has class but maybe not as much as we are told he has. I would happily take £30 mill and let him go to Real. We are a bigger club than Luka, if he doesn’t wanna play for us sell him. Life and the Mighty Lilywhites will go on.

        COYS

        • dan yiddo
          26/06/2012 @ 9:00 pm

          I’m with you on that one.

    • Parklaner
      26/06/2012 @ 7:53 pm

      Agree 100% if he was staying he’d be the best thing since hot shit.
      Yes he doesn’t score enough but he’s a deeper lying midfielder, he sets the tempo of the game and can increase or decrease it where necessary. How many moves start from him? how many killer passes has he played to Bale/Lennon for them to whip a ball in to be finished off in the box?

      We’ve all seen him run the midfield. sadly it won’t be with us next season.
      Sell to Madrid for 30 mil just to piss Chelsea and the mancs off

      • Money
        26/06/2012 @ 9:09 pm

        I agree Malspur. Modric scored 3 goals and had 3 assists the whole season. If he was that good we would at least have had 2 more points and 3rd. He wants champions league football but contributed so little to Spurs last season.

      • Roman
        05/08/2012 @ 11:47 pm

        Piss Chelsea off?! Haha, what are you on about? They offered you 40m last year and now you’re struggling to get rid of him! If he joined Chelsea he could’ve enjoyed knocking you out of the FA cup and then Europe! Haha, Chelsea have attacking midfielders coming out of their ears now too! Be pretty hard too annoy the champions of Europe! 5-1!

    • CROoney
      27/06/2012 @ 4:31 pm

      you will miss him that much that you’re not aware ! mid table team next season without him…mark my words…i like you as a club but he’s alpha and omega of your style..the man set up half of the goals bale scored and he dictates everything about your play. you will miss him like no one before

  2. jerkinmahjurgen
    26/06/2012 @ 6:57 pm

    It’s more about Redknapp than Luka. Harry went for the sack. And eventually got it. All our players missed the guidance needed to sustain a title push as a result and therefor we missed out. Modric is a cracking player. Buy our whole squad is very good so we shouldn’t be ‘too’ affected by it, not like when we lost Gazza, for instance.

    • jerkinmahjurgen
      26/06/2012 @ 6:58 pm

      *But*

  3. Cecil Gaybody
    26/06/2012 @ 6:58 pm

    I would rather keep the unattractive micro Croat , but I agree he doesn’t dominate enough.
    I more scarred that his replacement will be a downgrade as we dont spend big.

  4. p. holland
    26/06/2012 @ 7:01 pm

    Two goals and half a dozen assists does not make you world class. He constantly bangs on about CL football, what did he do this season to acheive it, for most of the second half of the season he went missing a la Berbatov.I hope for his sake the grass really is greener in Madrid

    • Dan
      26/06/2012 @ 7:06 pm

      No, but two goals and a half dozen assists doesn’t make you not world class either. This isn’t that black-and-white.

  5. mike
    26/06/2012 @ 7:06 pm

    the human mind is extremely gifted at rationalizing loss and pain. but if you think goals and assists are the measure of a player who sits that deep, you’re not just rationalizing, you’re deluded. the likes of lampard, fabregas, sneijder all play in rafa’s spot. it’s no comparison.

    the team has more of the ball and plays further up the pitch when luka plays. he compares favorably with the likes of pirlo, scholes, alonso on those terms, though not quite at their level. but please continue making yourself feel better about being jilted by our best player.

    • Dan
      26/06/2012 @ 7:09 pm

      This. I’m shocked by the number of knowledgeable, match-watching fans that say Luka is not our most influential player. But as you say, “the human mind is extremely gifted at rationalizing loss”.

    • johnson
      26/06/2012 @ 7:22 pm

      Post of the day ,spot on .Modric is sheer class .Stats tell you Iniesta isn`t all that ,but we all know otherwise. He doesn`t score goals because he doesn`t have to ,V.D.V scores goals because he has too .V.D.V is nothing without his goals .Modric plays the game with such ease & what he gives us will not be easy to find as he makes others play better .Scott Parker without Modric is painful .Other players need players like that ,makes the whole team tick like a conductor with an orchestra .Stats tell you nothing about a player who has everything .

      • ur a knob
        26/06/2012 @ 10:58 pm

        Parker is painful full stop.

  6. top dog
    26/06/2012 @ 7:06 pm

    Sell the ugly rat, fuck you Ivanovic not to Chelsea.

  7. BIB
    26/06/2012 @ 7:07 pm

    SHHHHHH jose Mourinho might read this

  8. J Spurs
    26/06/2012 @ 7:18 pm

    Modric is a huge loss for Spurs, no doubt. But do you remember a young man called Mr Huddlestone? Surely he can fill a void. He scores (some) goals, and takes free kicks and corners better. I’m not saying that he’s better than Modders but he offers us something different whilo the others run around. And guess how much of Luka’s millions will he cost us?

  9. Jay
    26/06/2012 @ 7:19 pm

    Truth is he only shows up when he feels like it, his game is linking play and trying to dominate games, when he does this we usually win comfortably, when he doesn’t we lose, the problem is he offers nothing defensively, is poor at defending/attacking set plays due to his small stature…..basically we are too reliant on him, if we had a player like Huddlestone in his place then we would play from the wings more with Hudds cross field balls and we would be more solid defensively as well as physically.

    Hes a good player but its time he left, I personally think he will struggle at Madrid, he lacks consistency and that is what Jose demands.

    We cant afford to be reliant on one player that doesnt score goals or assists, Barca can do it because Messi wins games on his own, Modric doesnt.

  10. Jamie
    26/06/2012 @ 7:21 pm

    I enjoy this blog, but this article demonstrates a total lack of understanding of his role in the team. His job in our set up is to pick the ball up from the back 4 and get it forward, and release VDV, Bale, and Lennon into dangerous positions. Have you any stats on how many forward passes he makes? Forward pass completions would the relevant stat. Where do we thing all our goals start from? Have you any stats on how many goals and assists Xavi makes? No. Per game it’s almost identical to Modric, as is his role in the team – albeit a better version.
    What do you want? Have him abandon his position in pursuit of personal glory? Play him as number 10, he gets more goals and assists. It find it laudable that he sacrifices himself for the good of the team. Bale would do well to take heed of this.
    It will be like Carrick, nobody rated him or realised what he did until he was gone. And Modric is a far better player.
    The point about him realising his CL dream if he’s played better is a good one. But I’m over the chicken badge stuff. He’s been a great player for us, he didn’t do a Berba – far from it. So if he’s set on going to Real and we get a fair offer, £40m mil minimum or involving players, then let him go. He’s turning 28 and wants to win the Champions League, and Real Madrid will always be challenging under Mourinho.

    • Vera
      26/06/2012 @ 8:41 pm

      Jamie, your talking poop. Modric gets forward alot and has had many chances to score but he has a weak shot and often drags it well wide.
      Get a grip people, Modric aint as good as your saying. Fuck the lil cunt after wanting Chelsea last year. Bye Modric you oveRATed traitor bastard.

      • dan yiddo
        26/06/2012 @ 9:16 pm

        LOL

  11. Jay
    26/06/2012 @ 7:21 pm

    Plus for 35mill we could get Sahin, Sigurdsson, Vertonghen and Adebayor…….Vertonghen espeicially will offer alot more for the team than Modric can he is a class act and is the one signing we NEED to make.

    I cant take watching Gallas, Nelson, King (Since Balotelli foul) and Dawson playing equally as bad next year

  12. Shady
    26/06/2012 @ 7:25 pm

    “Modric should be hitting that killer dead ball or arriving on the edge of the box when it’s tight to take the points – he doesn’t… How many points and trophies have a Lampard, Fabregas, Scholes, Gerrard won for their respective teams by doing just that?”

    No offence mate but that just totally sums up your understanding of his game therefore more or less devaluing your opinion of him.

    I honestly cannot for the life of me understand anyone who doesn’t appreciate his game and realise that we’re gonna really miss him.

  13. paulhasissures
    26/06/2012 @ 7:31 pm

    Really disappointed to read this.

    Don’t slag off players. Luka has bar one game (man city this year) always given his utmost and been a quite brilliant player for us.

    I will be sad when he leaves, but that’s modern football we are in tier 2 of a very big cake and while that’s the case bigger clubs will always be attractive to our players.

    love the shirt and those in them, while they are in them.

  14. henryp0p
    26/06/2012 @ 7:33 pm

    falser words have never been said! He’s incredible, scoring/assisting doesn’t mean shit when you see the way that he bosses games. He is the assist to every assist, hes our metronome. Without Luka we wouldn’t be this attacking team you describe, you only really miss something once its gone. We’ll miss him a lot, though hopefully £35million will make up for that.

    • ur a knob
      26/06/2012 @ 11:01 pm

      Bosses which game exactly???

  15. ricksmg
    26/06/2012 @ 7:44 pm

    I think the author is missing the point about Modric……

    It is not about how many goals he does and does not score. It is not about how many assists per game he does or does not have. It is about possession!

    He runs the team as he is the fulcrum about which all our possession stems. Without Modric, we have few players who the other players can pass too, and move into positions, confident that possession will not be lost. He gives the other players confidence that they can move into space without having to worry about defensive responsibilities.

    Modric will be a big loss to our game play, and without him, we will be even more of a counter attacking team as we will not be able to collectively retain sustained possession.

    The up-side will be, if the money received will be used to fill the squad gaps created by the red saggy-faced one.

  16. ses
    26/06/2012 @ 7:47 pm

    Coys you are bang on !! everybody goes on about him like he was Consistently performing like he did when England lost to Croatia A few years ago at Wembley! before we bought him the following season, he puts in one brilliant pass a game and commentators start to say, and Modric this and Modric that, and you wait for something spectacular and then your let down! Pirlo hit more telling passes in one game on sunday than Modric did in one season!!!

  17. shelfsidelogic
    26/06/2012 @ 7:48 pm

    Totally agree. Not shown as much as they hype should justify, but may (not definitely) do it for a Barca or Real. Still one of the worst shooters I’ve seen from a play maker. Thanks, it’s been a pleasure, but goodbye, we move on.

  18. Friend or Defoe
    26/06/2012 @ 8:01 pm

    i agree he is ‘overrated’. but (to put this in champo terms) he has 18s and 19s where people think he’s all 20s. yes he lacks in goals and assists, but thats only looking at the final and penultimate touches of any move and as you point out with the 4 players we have on the 2 flanks its no surprise he’s not as heavily involved in those last 2 touches. but he’s the the assist to the assist which doesn’t get you fantasy points and is what we will miss. But I do agree with the article that we won’t miss him as much as to be mid-table or worse. currently we can’t fit in Sandro, Parker and VDV let alone Livermore and Thudd in the same midfield so we need to grow up, accept it and move on. We have a bundle of talent at the club so there is an opportunity for someone else to run the show. And on him leaving, I’d of course rather he goes abroad than stays in the UK for purely selfish reasons and I hope we get the best deal – if that’s player plus cash so be it. on a very minor minor bonus point, having this ‘relationship’ with Real, assuming he goes there, and following Mourinho’s apparent assist in handing us VDV on the cheap, is not a bad thing either given there desire to collect young talent and not use them for a season.

  19. Mad4snow
    26/06/2012 @ 8:12 pm

    Where was modric when we got to the CL?…….injured…..a certain T Huddlestone took centre stage…..

  20. Essexian76
    26/06/2012 @ 8:20 pm

    Struggling really hard to think of a better player we have in midfield, perhaps some may consider VDV to be an equal? Strange, when you think that Modric’s best games last season were all when VDV wasn’t in the side and coincidentally were also our best performances..but stats eh,

  21. VinnySam
    26/06/2012 @ 8:33 pm

    excellent player, but yes, over-rated. Totally agree with you. He may end up doing very well in another team, we’ll have to wait and see. But I’d be more pissed off if we lost Bale, VdV or Sandro.

  22. Spezza
    26/06/2012 @ 9:16 pm

    Agree with the article.. Good player yes.. Over rated yes.. Crap at shooting yes. Why do some fans lick his arse so much? We could replace him with someone who has an end product and deliver us more points on the table..he may stand out a bit more and look the business at a barca or Madrid. I think we need to part our ways this summer.. Goes missing, especially away from home… Got no character. Most fans who rave about him only see the home games. See ya ratty.. No hard feelings. Would rather have the 35m now.

  23. THEOFC
    26/06/2012 @ 9:57 pm

    Couldn’t agree more. Very few goals and very few assists. Soooo overrated.

  24. mattspurs
    26/06/2012 @ 10:05 pm

    Luka Modric, perfect anogram for ‘our calm kid’,

    says it all

    coys

  25. Greg
    26/06/2012 @ 10:46 pm

    Isn’t it amazing how alex ferguson, jose mourinho, slaven bilic, avb, and virtually every other manager and footballer in europe would want this guy in their team? I mean, they must all be completely thick and demented and know nothing about this game in which they are all professionals.
    I think we should pick some of the posters on here and elsewhere and let them manage our Spurs. They are clearly much more observant and knowledgeable than all of those professionals put together.

    • ur a knob
      26/06/2012 @ 11:08 pm

      Yeah bandwagon boy, they are all queuing up arent they?? Oh but wheres the bid or is it just paper garbage??? Have you watched us since Xmas??? Luka has been utter shite for 90% of it. Maybe his head was turned but no way near the player from season b4 last.. he needs charlie to hold his hand and is really just a big girl. Massively overrated and we will not miss him -actually he gave away so much in the last 20 games that we’ll probably be better off without him. You live in last season (2010/2011)- try actually watching one of our last 20 games b4 you comment. A shadow of what he was and absent far too often for my liking.. We lost 5-1 to chelsea, to norwich, to the goons when 2-0 up, everton, Manure, City, all with him in the team so cant be all that really… No bottle and no character + doesnt want to play for us – he can f-off really..

      • Dan
        26/06/2012 @ 11:34 pm

        @ur a knob

        Statistically, he had his best season for us this past year. What say you, fact hater?

    • KennyM
      26/06/2012 @ 11:53 pm

      Yeah you believe in all you read in the papers……are there fairies at the end of your garden as well?….plonker!

  26. Ray
    26/06/2012 @ 11:18 pm

    Good article, a lot of what you say is correct. Modric is a fine player but to eulagise him as if he’s a God is ridiculous. He goes missing against the better sides time and time again. I’ve read some comments on this blog that Modric isnt a goal scorer because he plays too deep and controls games but how many times does he pop up in great goalscoring positions and fluffs it completely. some twat even compared him to Paul Scholes. That’s all well and good but Scholes influenced games irrespective of whom United played against int EPL and he scored more than his fair share of goals. Thats what I call influence. The same could be said of our own Gazza prior to his self inflicted knee injury. If Daniel Levy does decide to sell Modric which he does not have to do by the way, as Modric still has 4 years remaining on his contract, then it goes without saying that he will get rid of him overseas. I for one would love him to go to Real Madrid and see how he fares against the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Busquets and of course the great Lionel Messi. Spanish football is littered with sso mant teams who have a lot of gifted players. Modric has been known to say in his broken English that he meeds to be playing in the Champions League but was’nt he part of the team that failed to claim 3rd spot by throwing away a 10 point advantage to Arsenal? What ever the outcome, let it be clear that NO player is bigger than the club not even the great Jimmy Greaves. Long live THFC.

  27. KennyM
    26/06/2012 @ 11:47 pm

    Absolutely spot on….all the posters that are saying different either have not watched all our games or have no football knowledge…..fact!

    If we do sign Gylfi Sigurdsson as being reported you lot will be glad we got rid of Luka!!

    COYS!

    • wat
      26/06/2012 @ 11:48 pm

      Jesus. Christ.

  28. Yiddo82
    27/06/2012 @ 1:52 am

    To all those doubting Lil’ Luka’s influence, I recall a stat at the back end of last year (around Villa away) that the only player in the country who played more completed passes in the opposition half than Modric last season was Silva, and he’d played 7 more as I recall. The total was something like 1200. That’s possibly the most important stat for a player like him. Also to the idiot earlier on who said he was poor defensively?! Are we talking about the same player? I’d be amazed if there were a playmaking midfielder who wins more tackles and interceptions than Luka.
    The guy is epic, and will be missed. I don’t think we’ll fall apart however, we will just need to change our system a bit. A replacement would likely not play as deep, quality in this position is hard to find. Or we’ll play Thudd, a different kind of player but with regular game time I’m confident he’ll do a similar job. He’s still fairly young too. And he has goals in him. Thudd at home, Sandro away?

    • wat
      27/06/2012 @ 2:34 am

      More tackles than Yaya, more interceptions than Michael Carrick.

  29. mose
    27/06/2012 @ 2:35 am

    People need to realise that trying to judge Luka Modric based on statistics is like judging Kate Upton based on the fact that her second toe is longer than her big toe. Who cares about her toes, I know I’d still lay some pipe in her. I’d absolutely rock her tits off. The point being that Modric’s influence can’t be judged by stats. Watch Spurs play and you’d see this. Also, on a side note, how often does Xavi score? Pirlo? A world-class, midfield playmaker that dictates tempo doesn’t need to get goals.

    That being said, If he doesn’t want to play for Spurs, then he can do one.

  30. Stujam
    27/06/2012 @ 3:21 am

    Modric is a good player, he keeps the midfiled moving and sometimes arrives late to score, but not that ofren.
    Did someone compare him with Scholes, you must have manure in your eyes, Scholes in his time was one of the most feared midlfielders in Europe according to the Barca midfield a man they most hated facing.
    Did Modric not leave a team in the Champ League for us, was that for what the team then prominsed or was it for Levy’s offer of bigger money then he was getting?
    He will be hard to replace and perhaps we should try to set up in a different way.
    I will miss the odd flash of brilliance from the player, but I will not miss the mouthy little man!

  31. bobble job
    27/06/2012 @ 8:24 am

    can you imagine having modric’s talent and our front line ?
    his stats don’t reflect his talent – maybe if we had a couple of decent strikers you would have seen a better offensive game from him.
    and don’t forget – who ever plays in mid-filed for us would always have the duty of feeding bale and lennon such is our style of stretching the game across the park to our wingers.
    ask gareth bale if he feels more like starting a lung busting run when he sees modric on the ball compared to just about anyone else in the team.
    with players like modric its not about goals and assists – its about using the ball – seeing a pass early and being able to deliver it.
    he is a player that can play numbers of games in a row without giving the ball away cheaply – without making those sloppy passes that so many so called good players make.
    and lets not forget one major point – for what is a diminutive player he pulls a shift, gets his takles in and can never be callled a luxury player like some other players compared to him.
    i don’t think for one minute he is not irreplaceable – far from it !!
    what bothers me more than that is the what it means to the other players in the team whose movement is linked to the almost gurantee that they will be found with a well weighted accurate pass.
    i believe we can find someone to fill his boots but their would have to be a season or two bedding in – just like modric had – and not sure we have that tme.
    i fully agree with greg – the biggest managers rave about him – and its not unwarranted praise – he is top draw – no mistake
    don’t focus on stats – stats don’t win games – they never tell the whole story and they don’t reflect impact with-in a team !!!

  32. JC
    28/06/2012 @ 12:04 am

    As ever its all or nothing.

    Modric is brilliant, but he’s not a one man team. Goals and assists are not his forte: he dictates the pace and style of our play. However, no man is bigger than the team and he is replaceable.

    The poster is right though, he is overrated at the moment. Its because he is one of the few players in the league who could fit into a barca style team: he has that passing ability: and that is a fashionable player to be right now. Scholes is a good comparison in my opinion sure Scholes scored a few more goals, but that wasn’t the main part of his game (obviously Scholes achieved far more, but Modders is still young).

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