after watching a few man united games this season, i've noticed tim howard usually rolls the ball to his defenders rather than punt it up field. did he do that as a metro as well?
yeah - he's got a strong arm and can hurl that thing past midfield pretty accurately - probably more accurately than when he punts it up the park. I remember the other teams seemed to always take possession from his kicks - dunno if it was poor distribution or poor forwards/midfielders - so I never minded him tossing the ball out.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The reason he does so now is that ManU are the best possession team in the EPL, and have little to no desire to play Route 1 football; they prefer to build out of the back, and have the talent to do so. I'd say at least 50% of continental teams play that style, as it's been the most effective internationally both for club and country.
I was talking with some Man U fans right before the transfer and they were asking about Timmy's kicking ability. I was telling them how he usually threw the ball more than he kicked, and how well that benefited the counterattack. So basically he always threw the ball a lot, so its no suprise he is doing it at his new squad.
He isn't throwing it more...hes rolling it more. But when you got defenders like that, you don't have to worry as much that they might "Walsh it"
uhmmm NO! He NEVER rolled the ball or threw the ball to anyone while at Metro. He always played keep uppy (or whatever its called) then kick it straight up and bounced of his head towards midfield.
He usually ends up rolling it out to the DM. If Man United are playing defense, he tends to punt it. It's actually a bit annoying at times - he tends to defer to Roy Keane, even when it's probably not so smart (as in too many defenders nearby). If Cristiano Ronaldo is in the games, Howard will often throw it to him. Works quite well - actually... been a few times where that combination has worked to cover the length of the field.
If he never rolled the ball as a Metro (not true, but lets go with that) and now he rolls the ball as a ManU player... then "He isn't throwing it more...hes rolling it more. " is 100% correct. Check your meds.
Sometimes I get annoyed at the frequency of his roll outs... they seem to wind up in tense situations a lot, but Rio and Silvestre and the guys are all pretty good with ball at feet so they don't get into trouble to much. Howard can punt the ball very well, I think he got an assist a few weeks ago didnt he?
Yes. And you would be surprised how many United fans I've chatted with who haven't noticed his two-footed ability in clearing balls out. I have many memories of Barthez being wrong-footed and having to set up his left foot to clear anything. It's a tribute to Timmy that he does it so well that it's gone largely unnoticed.
Tim Howards kickind has always looked more than acceptable to me (anyone care to recall Mark Bosnich dealing with pass-backs??) And rolling or throwing the ball from the back, particularly to fast wingers (ie Ronaldo as stated by Haven) can make for great counters - hey it always worked for Peter Schmeichel, and what finer an example is there than him??