Finding the midfield general / defensive midfielder

[Salsa Party Animal]

I want a big strong player who will drive the midfield and win the ball and pass the ball to all flair players. This player will take over from Petrov in my opinion.

I am looking as players in David Batty, Gennaro Gattuso, Michael Essien, Steve McMahon mould. Don't like Javier Mascherano.

Ideally a cross between Paul McGrath and Martin Laursen and Sir Dennis Mortimer

Who would you go for ?

Tom Huddlestone ?

[JUAN PABLO]

Ideally a cross between Paul McGrath and Martin Laursen and Sir Dennis Mortimer 



He would cost £125 million ;-)

[eastie]

I think both delph and gary Gardner will break into our midfield over the next year or so and give us drive and invention .

[Eigentor]

Mathieu Flamini.

Anthony Annan.

[cdbearsfan]

He's faster than Robinho
He shoots like Rivellino
He's better than Juninho
He's fabulous Fabian Delph.

[Blackcountry Villa]

Petrov is shite. He offers us absolutey nothing and he's a pointless captain.

I'd go for Flamini or Parker.

[The Man With A Stick]

Ligue 1 has churned out plenty of these over recent times (Makelele, Essien, Vieira, Deschamps...) so hopefully Houllier will already have someone in mind, without us having to pay top whack for an established English-based player.

[KevinGage]

Ideally a cross between Paul McGrath and Martin Laursen and Sir Dennis Mortimer

Why do I have an image of that strange hybrid beast in the League of Gentlemen?

Tom Huddlestone ?

Yeah, he's pretty strange looking alright.

[Dante Lavelli]

I'd be looking to replace NRC before Petrov as Petrov has the ability to keep things ticking over in midfield.

Toulalan hasn't gone to a big club yet.  Is Flamini currently in the Milan team? 
Henderson at Sunderland looks promising but I'd guess he is a bit too attacking.  What sort of player is Collison (or Nobel) at West Ham?

Hopefully through his connections with the French FA he knows a few gems that we can pick up for a song.

[Monty]

I'd be looking to replace NRC before Petrov as Petrov has the ability to keep things ticking over in midfield.

Toulalan hasn't gone to a big club yet.  Is Flamini currently in the Milan team? 
Henderson at Sunderland looks promising but I'd guess he is a bit too attacking.  What sort of player is Collison (or Nobel) at West Ham?

Agree about Petrov. I'd say that Lyon are a big club, the French league is on the up as quick as the national team is on the way down. Flamini is not currently in the team at Milan, so that's a good option. Collison and Noble are both very attacking players, yes, and the same goes for Henderson (who really looks good and, if he were at a London club, there would be calls for him to be in the England team).

[Dante Lavelli]

How old is Gary Gardiner and how long is he out for?  Whilst I would not propose him for the role yet, with Delph, we potentially have two future gems for the role.

One of those can presumably be eased into Petrov's position and this mystery other player to replace NRC. 

[darren woolley]

I agree flamini,but i cant wait untill delph is back.

[supertom]

I see Delph as more of an attacking player. I can't see him being a midfield general. He'll need a dirty job sort of player beside him. Coker is the only one we have who's suited right now. Stan just doesn't cut it, mainly because it's not really his game and his legs aren't up to it.

We need 2 solid central midfielders in january because we're overloaded with attacking players, but have no bite. Coker isn't good enough, Sidwell most certainly isn't, but sadly those two will have to play a fair chunk between now and Jan. I'd still keep Nige because he'd be a useful squad player for sure. Sidders can up sticks as far as I'm concerned though.

[garyshawsknee]

Either of the Diarra's at Real Madrid be my first choice,though we couldnt afford them.

[hawkeye]

I think this thread smacks of the normal quick fix mentality. Just chucking in a Midfielder wont solve our problems. We dont have a reliable goal scorer and without one our progress is very limited, you can get around midfield deficiences you cant get around not having a cutting edge up front.