Peter Whittingham

 

Profile Updated; 01/09/2012





Date of Birth: - 08.09.1984

Height: - 5ft 10 inches

Position: - Central Midfield/Attacking Midfield

Nationality: - English

Current Club: - Cardiff

Estimated Market Value: - £4million

Linked with: - West Brom, West Ham, Fulham











Club Statistics







Aston Villa



2002/2003 season - 4 matches, no goals and no assists.

2003/2004 season - 39 matches, 1 goal and no assists.

2004/2005 season - 15 matches, 1 goal and no assists.

2005/2006 season - 4 matches, no goals and no assists.

2006/2007 season - 4 matches, no goals and no assists.

TOTAL - 66 matches, 2 goals and no assists.









Burnley (Loan)



2004/2005 season - 9 matches, no goals and no assists.









Derby (Loan)



2005/2006 season - 11 matches, no goals and no assists.











Cardiff



2006/2007 season - 19 matches, 4 goals and 4 assists.

2007/2008 season - 49 matches, 9 goals and 8 assists.

2008/2009 season - 38 matches, 4 goals and 6 assists.

2009/2010 season - 51 matches, 25 goals and 13 assists.

2010/2011 season - 50 matches, 11 goals and 9 assists.

2011/2012 season - 55 matches, 13 goals and 15 assists.

TOTAL- 262 matches, 66 goals and 55 assists.











International Statistics







England U21



2006/2007 season - 1 match, no goals and no assists.













General Comments:



On the face of it, this seems like a strange profile for me to do. He plays in the second tier of English football, has never really done anything when he played in the Premiership, or when he playes against Prem teams, and is getting into the back end of his career, so wont be improving anymore. But, I personally think that Peter is a great player. I really do think he is one quality, quality individual. He controls the midfield, can hold, can go forward, play wide, or in the middle, score and defend, and, most importantly, in the Championship, he is a great leader, and can motivate his teammates around him to keep performing.







Anyway, more onto the assets of his game. He is a very similar player to Nuri Sahin at Liverpool, on loan from Real Madrid, and also Charlie Adam. However, he is more similar to the Charlie Adam at Blackpool, and not the one we now find ourselves with at Liverpool. His left foot is truly amazing. It really is. His set pieces are probably the most impressive piece of his game. He can put a fantastic ball into the box from a corner, whip it in from a free kick, or have a fantastic shot from a free kick also. What is impressive about his set pieces also, is that they always seem to be on the ball (scuse the pun). He always manages to get the ball into the danger area, and gives the opportunity to his teammates to get on the end of the ball. His quality delivers always seem to cause havoc in the box, mainly for the opposition too!! Anyway, I briefly mentioned his free kicks, which really are out of the top draw. People mention players such as Honda, at CSKA, who is a very good free kick taker, but Whittingham is right up there. He is a great free kick taker, when he has a shot. He just has such control over his shots. It is rare that you see him hit the wall, or totally sky it over the bar. He always seems to challenge the keeper with his shots and free kicks. The final piece to the set piece jigsaw is penalty taking. He again is a very good penalty taker - and keeps his composure 9/10. He can be calm and pass it into the corner, or truly smash it high up into the net. An around great penalty taker is Peter Whittingham, and a great set piece master.





But those are not the only things that his game relies on. You would guess that due to his high quality set pieces that he would be a really good passer - and you would not be wrong. He can spray the ball around all day long. Whether it is a long ball, or shot sharp passing, similar to Joe Allen at Liverpool or Xavi at Barcelona. But also, as I mentioned he has that accurate and expansive passing also available to him - which when you have got a big pitch like Cardiff has, helps to make the pitch as big as possible, bring more players into the game, stretch play, and cause more problems again for the opposition.





As I mentioned earlier about the Cardiff City player, he can play in a number of different ways, and positions. He is an incredible versatile player, who could play almost in any position in the attacking third and do it to a really high standard. He can play on the left wing and whip dangerous balls into the box. He can sit a bit deep and dictate the play, or he can play behind the front man, and let his long range shots do the talking. It helps that he reads the game really well too, as it means that he can read peoples runs, and help to dictate play more. It also means that when he plays behind the striker, that he can read their runs - but he also has the talent to be able to pick out that eye of a needle type pass to be able to find the centre forward if needed.





To conclude the good bits about Whittingham, I should mention his reliability and consistency. He has been performing right at the top of his game for Cardiff for a number of years now. Year after year he produces the goods for Cardiff, whether it is the goals or assists he contributes, or dictating pay and bringing the team together. Also, if you look at the amount of games he plays each season, it is impressive. He has played lots and lots of games for Cardiff, won't get injured and just keeps going. It is very, very impressive.









Anyway, before you think that Peter is my son, or I am his agent, he does have some weaknesses to his game. When he holds in the midfield it gives him the chance to dictate the play, but it also means that the opposition can catch him out, because he is weak in the tackle. I have noticed that he does not seem the most confident when he goes into the tackle, and just purposely brings players down. He is not a very good player in the tackle, and it is certainly a weakness. However, I would suggest that the weakness would stand out more in the Championship because of the physicality of the league. In the EPL it is a much less physical league than the lower divisions. There are less tackles flying in, so I think he would be found out LESS if he played in the top flight of English football.





However, there are not too many other bad things to his game. I have mentioned that he is a little bit of a dirty player, especially in the tackle, and sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, he can be criticised for effort. However, the other major negative point in his game is his over reliance on his left foot. He does not have a right foot to rely on. And I mean it too. He just does not seem to have one. He has such a quality left foot that you would expect him to have a decent weaker foot, but he just does not have a decent weak foot. Perhaps this is what has kept a Premiership team away from him - because he can get away with it in the Championship - just relying on his fantastic left foot, but he might not get away with it in the Premiership.









Would Whittingham cut it the Premiership?



Yes, Yes he would. I know that I have just said that his over reliance on his left foot could be a problem, but as long as he played on the left of midfield, or the left central midfield position, then he should be absolutely fine. Furthermore, he would bring so much quality to a team through his passing and set piece. He would be able to control the midfield in the Premiership as easy as he does now in the second tier. I would have no worries about him if he ever does make the step up again, but I fear he will never get the opportunity again, as Cardiff seem to be stuttering this year already. But he has such good ball skills, control and passing that he could easily dominate in the Premiership. Perhaps not at a big team, as Charlie Adam has found out - but he could easily replicate Joe Allen at Swansea, or Adam when he was at Blackpool. He has enough quality to be able to make that step up.











Summary of Whittingham:





Strengths: Crossing, passing, strength, free kicks, injury free, penalties, reliable, consistent and experienced.



Weaknesses: Tackling, reliance on left foot, failed at top level, pace, dirty and effort.











The Business End of the Profile:



Peter Whittingham does not look like leaving Cardiff in the foreseeable future. He has turned down numerous moves, and signed a contract extension.







This is Just one of Peter's Great Goals;



















Thanks



{A profile by Ed052}