Quote Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory View Post
He was 50/50 in the early days. Had a bad habit of making blind passes that turned over possession in dangerous areas. Would almost result in the opposition scoring. He’s cut that out if his game now. He never controlled the park like Cesc. I’ve yet to see a player replicate that level of influence in the middle.
I'm talking about his very early performances in the League Cup and games where he was the clear standout for Wales. Obviously the opposition wasn't great, but he displayed all his attributes. He wasn't exactly like Fabregas, but he was closer to being that sort of technical midfielder than he was the workhorse British grit merchant that many seemed to have written him off as. Most of the negative stuff about his game came from the post-injury period. Much like Wilshere is being written off based on the last few months rather than judging him on his hugely promising first season before an 18-month injury stalled his progress.