Comments on: Why Jay Spearing won’t come up short in the Premier League

By: Length Boy

Length Boy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:54:31 +0000

The best players of all time: Diego Maradona, Pele and Juninho, none of them were over 6ft. Being small can be an advantage, lower centre of gravity, balance, turn quick. Claude Makelele was 5 ft 6 and he was outstanding, likewise Edgar Davids.

Height has nothing to do with it. You’re either good enough (based on all your attributes) or your not. Same goes for pace, strength etc. It’s the whole package of attributes, not just one.

By: CT

CT — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:08:31 +0000

Good article. While I don’t think height should prevent him I must admit my heart was in my mouth at the Leeds game. At one point Spearing was near the back post marking Leeds centre back. Wisely, somebody waved him away to the edge of the penalty area.
In football while not the be all and end all, height is clearly a major advantage.

By: Matthew Cain

Matthew Cain — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:39:17 +0000

I agree that Spearing isn’t too small. But when you’re defending zonally, it’s important to have a bit of height. And we’re currently not a particularly big team.

There’s no way that he shouldn’t get a chance because of his height – but a pairing of (say) Spearing and Mascherano might lead to problems at set pieces.

http://blog.matthewcain.co.uk/liverpool-defending-setpieces/

By: Dave B

Dave B — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:31:48 +0000

Too small!! what a load of crap. If he was a centre back then yeah fair enough. Spearing is much better than Lucas. He should be given a few chances to play this season, he seems to get better and better every time he plays. Give him a chance, hes a fantastic prospect, he could be the future.

By: tombo

tombo — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:41:51 +0000

Each minuite he gets on the pitch he gets better and better If mach still wants to go then let him, Jay could replace him no bother and go on to become even better.

By: Mulls

Mulls — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:06:44 +0000

Spot on – don’t think people talk about 5′ 7″ Lionel Messi being too small and I think Sammy Lee was just about big enough to pick up his European Cup winner’s medal in 1981! And he’s all of an inch shorter than a bloke who wasn’t bad for us – Kevin Keegan.

By: Keiran

Keiran — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:40:47 +0000

I always like to champion the under-dog! Former favourite reds have been Nigel Clough and Pongolle! Jay made some nice defence splitting passes against Leeds and I’m praying that Rafa gives him more chances like he has done with Insua. With Mascherano looking disinterested with life at anfield I’ll be intrigued to see if Rafa gambles. Games like Hull, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Stoke etc. it would be great to see Spearing show what he can really do if given the chance. As long as he doesn’t play at centre back or defend deep in the box then height definatly does not hold a problem for him because his qualities on the floor are very encouraging!

By: Dave Swan

Dave Swan — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:21:51 +0000

He had a great cameo against Real Madrid, although the tie was effectively over and Real had given up the game. At Leeds I don’t think he stamped his authority on the game as much as I was expecting.

From his now defunct Facebook page he clearly enjoys the nightlife – maybe it’s time he knocked some of his ‘hanger-ons’ on the head and focussed 100% of his energy on attempting to muscle in on the Liverpool midfield.

With Aquilani on the way to fitness the task is going to be much harder for him. When he gets these chances in the League Cup etc he MUST show much more.

By: kopite1892

kopite1892 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:19:49 +0000

Great article.

Jay Spearing is the best young Red I’ve seen in a while.

I’ve been regularly watching the Reserves for the last couple of years, and from what I’ve seen, there are barely a few youngsters that have caught my attention. Kelly, Nemeth, and of course Jay Spearing. Those three seem to be in a different class from the other average players we produced the last years.

I was impressed by his cameo appearances in the Champions League last year, he was so good against Real Madrid that his name was sung on the Kop. He’s solid and consistent, tough in defence, and his passing is decent. Actually he reminds me of Danny Murphy at his best.

Him emerging from the Academy comes with the new CL rule for homegrown players, so that makes him an essential in the Liverpool squad at the moment. The likes of him could spare us millions, in an era of economic crisis.

By: James McGuire

James McGuire — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:19:19 +0000

In football while not the be all and end all, height is clearly a major advantage.

By: JAKE

JAKE — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:34:37 +0000

I agree – I think Jay be given more chances in PL matches in the last 20, 10 mins of games. He holds the ball up well and is a good passer.