[shakermaker]

Luke Joyce is the type of player that either goes unnoticed in a good team or gets victimised in a team playing poorly, such is his position and natural style. Manchester United were referenced earlier in this thread and continuing the metaphor - Joyce is to us as Carrick is to them. He does not battle and tackle, nor does he burst into the opposition 18 yard box; rather he mops up loose balls and turns play over to the forward-advancing players.
I believe he is unfairly criticised for failing to do a job he is not employed to do. In my opinion, the lack of forward movement in our team this year is the main reason for the seeming saturation of sideways and backwards passes by LJ. The reason for the lack of movement is that we have no real widemen with pace, another contributory factor is that one of our most creative players (Rommy Boco) has oft been plonked on the wing to make up for the lack in width.
With a ball winning midfield player alongside him (which Murphy can become but isn't the finished article yet) and attacking midfield players in front of him who move smartly, Joyce would be seen at the start of every positive move, I'm sure of it. In the absence of these all-too-valuable commodities, Leam Richardson has tried his best to employ one of our most reliable midfielders in a way which benefits the team but this has been difficult.
I'm not saying LJ should start every game; indeed I called for Linganzi to start in his place at Northampton as LJ's performance against Torquay was that of a jaded player. I'd be interested to see how Joyce, Linganzi and Murphy worked together in a midfield three with Beatts, Gray and Wing-nut (Jeffers) up top.