OneMoSalah

A corner. Shit. Probably a goal.

Yeah but look at the opposition. A World Cup winning £100m+ MFer should be strolling these games without even getting out of second gear. Looks physically short of whats required for a CB, particularly against the likes of these teams, even there a few mins ago the boy for PNE just knocked him off the ball easily and hes down wanting a foul. Needs to fill out a bit.

Shame though because if he had a much stronger mentality to overcome these moments and spells his career would probably have been considerably better and even more successful. He definitely had the attributes to be a top top CF for me, particularly technically he was very very good. And taking that into considering, to be fair to him, he’s already had a pretty good career as it is. So it’s interesting to think what he could have done if he had been that bit wee more stronger mentally. But looking back he’s regularly scored goals everywhere he has been. 200+ career goals playing in Spain, Italy and England. Ended up playing for Real Madrid (two spells), Juventus(two spells), us and Atletico (two spells) on top of having been a regular with a good goal record at international level for Spain. Won 14 or 15 trophies at club level. Regardless of what people think, he will look back and probably say “yes my career could of been better but I still had a good one.”

Costing £100m is one thing, being worth it is another. Rice, Rodri, Bellingham 100% worth it yes as all 3 are outstanding and leading players in their positions. Likes of Musiala, Pedri, Valverde, Tchouameni, Odegaard bordering towards it. Rest still got a lot to prove before being bracketed as £100m players.

Great so take someone who’s scoring goals off the wing/as a 10 and put him as a false 9 instead of just keeping him where he is and using an actual CF ie. Broja or Jackson. We are already struggling for goals as it is never mind moving our most prolific player to play as a false 9….. a position which he has never played at senior level. Caicedo as a CB next?

Exactly. But at this time last January, umpteen folk on here - some folk had wanted to sell Kante for years as he was “done” despite miraculously being 100% fit since leaving here (shock horror), some who didn’t think Jorginho and Kovacic had anything else to offer at all - were all sitting there thinking it was too good to not do what we started then. Then to quote many on here this summer “Enzo, Lavia and Caicedo would be amongst the best MF 3 in the PL/Europe”. Now they’ve changed their tune and there is a lot of “we need to sign an experienced midfielder”? We had 3 of them that would of all done more than sufficient…. Poor planning from the board if we do go and recruit an experienced midfielder for a huge fee. When you look at any player irrespective of their position, for fees of £105m and £115m - you are 90% of the time expecting goals and assist contributions and we all know this isn’t any of the reasons why we signed either of them. Or for them to be the very best in their positions. They may become very good players but it is very rare midfielders are ever going to be worth £100m+ particularly in this modern day and age. The likes of Zidane, Modric, de Bruyne, Iniesta, Busquets, Gerrard, Lampard, Kroos, Scholes, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Pirlo etc are amongst the very very elite midfielders who would be worth £100m + now from a period of the past 10-20 years. But these were/are the very best of the very best. Caicedo and Fernandez have literally 150 games between them and honestly I am not particularly impressed with the pair of them at all this season. If I am honest, I do find it incredibly likely that they will never be worth the £225m we paid between them. But it’s hard to justify how they will ever be worth that based on what we have seen. They don’t score goals or get assists regularly, they don’t create a lot of chances, they don’t particularly function well as a pairing. Doing well in Portugal for Benfica and for Brighton who did excellent last season is one thing but to do what will be expected of them, for that price tag, year in year out, it will be tough for most players. Has been the same for Mudryk, as it was the same for Havertz. Was likely the same for Torres at the time in 2011 too. Price tags unfortunately dictate the expectations of players from clubs, managers and fans irrespective of if we want it to or not. Simple as that. You simply don’t drop £100m + on a player if you don’t expect them to do well from the off. Why would you?

If Ugo is rubbish then it really doesn’t say much for Santos or Casedei as Poch decided to loan the pair of them but retain Ugo after evaluating all 3 in the States. Think selling Gallagher would be a huge mistake as well. Potential to drive a wedge between Poch and the footballing department too if the club try force him out the door despite Poch wanting to keep him. It is unbalanced but I think Caicedo has to do some adjusting to play the role Poch seems intent on using him as. Or switch the system entirely. I think the 433 with Connor, Enzo & Moises worked better than this 4231 malarky with Palmer and Nkunku as a 10 in front of the pair of either Connor or Enzo & Caicedo.

Santos and Casadei will probably be sold on lets be honest. Something has to give. With the Lavia signing, there is no clear path for any of them to get in to the team. We have Moises, Lavia, Enzo, Gallagher & Ugochukwu all between the ages of 18-23. Too many similar profiles and ages for them all to make it. Simple as that.

I mean given the fact we are going to give virtually everyone relatively new we’ve got time, we may as well do the same and see what he does next season with Poch if we keep him. If he doesn’t do well second season he has to go though yes. I do think he will only be a squad player unless he does something drastic though - the improvement will have to be huge and not to mention if Silva goes in the summer (likely), he has to step up and demonstrate some leadership qualities (was captain at Monaco).

Tbf he hasn’t looked great but I think playing him Badiashile or Colwill as a pairing would be better as opposed to Poch using him as a right full back or with Silva. He isn’t a bad player for say and isn’t a particularly great one but first half v Palace him and Badiashile looked pretty comfortable together I thought. Struggled second half but the whole team did. Not completely given up on him but yes we have too many CBs if we sign the lad from Nice this window.

Yep typical stupid fans social media accounts. One photo from when he was here and they put 2+2 together and get 81636

They were saying that in the summer too I am sure. Yeah was a good GK but probably past it for the level we want. Sanchez no use either. Re: Jean-Clair Todibo - could be a good signing. He’s 24 years old, has around 3 full seasons worth of games at Nice, few caps for France, brings height, certainly fits the profile of players we should be looking at more than the 16-21 year olds we are seemingly insistent on buying. Probably is ready to make that next step. Although Fofana, Disasi, Silva, Badiashile, Colwill… have enough bodies there unless we were to get rid of 1 maybe 2 of them. I think Spurs or United will be ahead of us in the cue though for the lad as they need CBs urgently.

Caicedo isn’t necessarily a defensive midfielder or a number 6 as such but we are probably asking him to do that role. It is weird though because sometimes he can look alright in possession but then other times he is just so negative and slack in possession. Or takes far too many touches. Him and Enzo have been huge disappointments this season. Can’t deny that. And MC was never going to be worth £115m ever. And never will. But we paid it. Enzo probably fall into that bracket as well. But still not wrong to expect much more from these 2. Brighton and Benfica were both no doubt ecstatic with the deals they got, as you would expect them to be, £220-225m between them for 2 players that had played 150 odd club games between them. As anyone would be.

We wont get any of them three. Plus as said before, where would Barella actually play if we were to sign him? He isn’t a 6. He is an 8 or more accurately a ‘mezzala’ as they call his role in Italy in a 3 man midfield so he would have to play instead of Enzo or Gallagher, not Caicedo or Lavia. Quality player but would be pointless signing him considering Enzo arrived for 100 + million and given Gallagher’s importance to this team at the moment plus the fact we usually play 4231. Then you’ve got Nkunku and Palmer who have been used centrally as a number 10 so thats another thing to take into consideration because particularly for Nkunku, it would mean shoehorning him into a stupid position ie off the left or as a false striker - which isn’t where hes has success in his career. He’s always played off a CF to great success. Pahlinha should of been targeted instead of Lavia for me in all honesty. Been very good for Fulham. Proven. Experienced. Gives them balance, height, a bit of leadership, more than good enough in possession. £55m spent on Lavia would probably have gotten him. Or £60m I think was Bayerns bid. I wouldn’t be surprised if Liverpool go for him or Bayern don’t try go back. He would give that Liverpool team what they need IMO.

All well and good but maybe focus on getting things right here first. New directors of football, new medical team, some experienced guys to help the squad. Once we start getting some progress here then maybe think about feeder clubs.

I think it is one thing to do it for City as their system he isn’t necessarily an out and out left back (or wasn’t meant to be). Another thing doing it in a team trying to play with actual fullbacks like we do (or will when an actual LB is available). I think on paper Gvardiol looked an absolute top buy because most thought he was a massive upgrade on Ake and that he would take his place in the left side of the defence in that 3 2 4 1 shape they used very successfully last season, where Stones pushed into midfield next to Rodri creating a double pivot with Akanji, Dias and Ake effectively becoming a back 3. They’ve not looked as solid this season though but they have also reintroduced Kyle Walker into the starting and had regular injuries to Stones who probably played some of his best football last season in that role. Not to mention Kovacic and Nunes have been thrown into the team also so they’re not using Stones in there either. Would say from what I’ve seen, Gvardiol has played much more often as an out and out left back than actually in that role Ake played than I think most folk assumed he would have done. I don’t think he’s done badly but I think he maybe hasn’t done as well as most would think. Its not his most natural position but he is still more than capable of slotting in there. He can dribble the ball well under pressure (another thing Pep has added to the City team/squad adding him, Nunes and Kovacic all players who are good at ball carrying under pressure/when pressed) but think CB is still his best and where he will end up long term. Genuinely would be surprised if City don’t revert back to that 3241 shape that served them so well last season because it gave them so much more defensively and also added height to their team whilst not necessarily losing their dominance on the ball as the likes of Akanji, Stones, Ake, Rodri, Dias are all excellent on the ball. I am a bit baffled they’re back to more of a 4231 with fullbacks playing as fullbacks. Because they don’t have a great deal of pace in that area bar Walker. Or an actual left back to trade.

Another coach after Potter and Lampard that doesn’t work on defensive set pieces, clearly. We are a soft touch team. That has to change. To make real progress things like defending set pieces have to become a piece of piss, instead its a shambles every week.

But again whilst Barella is a very rounded player he isn’t exactly a holding midfielder or particularly defensively minded. So wouldn’t of made sense but sure that calibre of player would of been available for close to or the same as Moises no doubt. NB does play a lot more as that more attack minded midfielder, regularly getting in the sort of half spaces similarly to like where Silva/de Bruyne had done for City under Pep for a while. He is also renowned for making a lot of those runs - underlaps (I think thats how they would describe it 😂?)- past their wingbacks as well as getting into the box. Maybe Gerrard is a good comparison for him. He can do that at Inter as they play him on the sides of a 3 but us signing Barella as a like for like to play instead of Caicedo when we look more like a 4231 team most weeks would probably not work. To restrict him to a more sort of defensively minded position would be stupid. If anything, signing him instead of Enzo may have made sense tactically as he has a different role. Enzo is definitely the more freed up of the two when they play next to each other or more recently Connor. Moises was bought to be that bit more defensively minded and his role (& Lavia when he plays) has to be more for bringing balance to the team. Barella wouldn’t of done that, restricting his best qualities. It is weird though they play Mkhktaryan and the Turkish lad in central MF too.

I think he does too much of this sometimes. Yes it helps the team at times but the amount of times he does this when it is unnecessary is also frustrating because when the play advances he is miles behind it and not in the box. There are things for him to learn as a young CF in particular like holding the ball up, finishing and doing some simpler things as well as being offside a lot and picking up unnecessary bookings for dissent but there is no way he is a better bet than Victor Oshimen. He needs a more experienced player to learn from and we need a more proven player to carry the goalscoring burden. Nkunku may do this as a 10 but he isn’t a striker and folk going on about the Cole Palmer false 9 thing are off their heads. I can’t see Oshimen coming here anyway, would be a crazy move from him to do so considering he is just about to go into the best period of his career.

Rodgers and Lennon both stagnated Celtic the last 18 months they were there though. Ask any Celtic fans. Rodgers has also gone back and has really struggled to replicate the same high levels of performances that they were producing with Postecoglu. Look at how tight the table is in Scotland. With the same squad barring a few additions/departures. In Europe the quality difference is hugely noticeable, agreed, but Celtic trying to go toe to toe with Real Madrid, RB Leipzig & Shakhtar Donesk (first match I had seen Mudryk play in) is historically unheard of, yet they went at them in every game and by all account had big chances in each game which better quality players would of scored. Same as how Spurs have gone at every team they have played. Top quality players make a difference. Even Brendan Rodger’s record in Europe with Celtic is below par and Lennons when he returned didn’t come up against teams of that quality barring maybe Lazio so it is a false stat to waive around when you consider Rodger’s record in the PL with Swansea, Liverpool and Leicester also & Lennon’s record domestically in Scotland with Celtic & Hibs. I think if he gets the additions he wants which are reportedly another CB, a winger and central midfielder - this will strengthen Spur’s position a lot. Although it does remain to see how he continues to do and especially again next season but a lot of football to be played to then. But I don’t think people should think that this is just a honeymoon period or a flash in the pan. Most would argue he has already lifted Spurs to another level much more than Mourinho and Conte ever did.

Honestly I don’t get why anybody in modern day football would want to sign a 7 or 8 year contract. Including all the guys we signed on them. Just severely limits them to what they can do and also the club if the players struggle. Other than the amortisation benefitting the club, it seems especially baffling from a sporting point of view. For both club and player. Yes you can believe in a project or love a club that much or whatever other reasons but see a 7 or 8 year deal, players are giving away control of nearly half of their careers and potential earnings in one go. Even if they don’t honour the full duration, as most players don’t tend to on average these days, if your good but fancy moving somewhere else, you’re likely not going to get a move for at least 4 or 5 years as the club will want to protect their investment. Unless a team matches what will no doubt be crazy valuations based on how many years they have left. Particularly if you have 4 or 5 years left of a 7 or 8 year deal. And you’re more than likely not getting a new and improved deal for at least 4 or 5 years either unless you do a freak of nature season after season for 2-3 years where it is near impossible to not warrant one be it increased pay/bonuses or whatever. Sure reasonably content players may see it as a good way to tie their futures up over a huge chunk of their careers, but the money in football now, most players (and their agents) are probably making much more money from moving clubs than they ever have from signing new contracts too. Particularly the sign on fees for free transfers also thats a massive money maker for them. It would actually be interesting to see what players make when signing a new deal at a current clubs in terms of bonuses etc compared to what they do when they move to another club.

Yeah. But he probably hasn’t impressed Poch enough to play there. I think defensively he is very poor also for this level. Perhaps but he had the same thing at Celtic too. His tactics were dubbed “naive” after his first 4 games by the media yet once it clicked properly - which takes time/all your best players being fit - and he strengthened the squad in key positions, those naive moments disappeared and he was rightly commended for his personality and approach to football. Irrespective of the league and quality of opposition I don’t believe it is any different. Even Pep was the same at City year 1, they needed to spend 300m on another GK and 4 fullbacks the next summer to really kick on from when we beat them to the league. That was maybe a season or 2 after Pellegrini won the league ridiculously comfortably too. And then there was Klopp with the high pressing too at the beginning, it was “naive” because he was “burning players out” but a few transfer windows and a pre season later, different story. No doubt he will need to make additions as Spurs are scraping by personnel wise, lost Harry Kane in the summer but I think it’s unfair to say the style he has done throughout his whole career won’t transmit to the PL when it already has and lets be honest, the style it isn’t exactly too dissimilar in ways to what we have seen from various managers like Pep, like Arteta, like Bielsa, like Wenger etc. Just with his own twist on it as all these guys had/have on possession based attacking football. Its just his reputation more for me that makes me think people are dismissive of his football. If he had played the sort of football he did throughout his managerial career at an Ajax or a Villarreal and had the same level of success or some other slightly higher profile clubs than he has done, people wouldn’t be as pessimistic I think. Yes their games have had scary moments and a few of their games could have gone either way or been finished earlier but everyone was praising Brighton and de Zebri last season now they are leaking goals left right and centre, playing the same way. Nobody is deeming them or him as naive - but because he had the success last season. I think irrespective if people think Spurs are naive or not, they are ballsy to play that way against everybody and have got clear belief they will score goals. Be it v City, Liverpool, Brighton, us - whoever. When they get their starting 11 back and if they add some good quality to their squad that suits that style, I don’t think people will be convinced that he is naive to play that way. If I am honest (maybe a bit biased as I was a huge fan of what he did up at Celtic as I have family who are Hoops and seen some games), I think he has the potential to move again to the likes of a Manchester United or a Liverpool or somebody if he has some real success at Spurs if I am honest. I mean Klopp won’t go on there forever and Radcliffe could see him as a viable option for United. Maybe a bit unrealistic as I’d think Klopp wont be going anywhere yet but even when we were linked with him before Poch was announced, I’d of taken him. Purely for his reputation of improving players, the style of football and more importantly his character.

I mean either way Poch will not be happy if he is sold to anyone, never mind Spurs who are well above us. Only other examples I can think of is Mata maybe? But even then it is not like that entirely, as he rarely played with Jose and it was clear he didn’t rate him where as Connor has been a regular and captained the team over 10 times this season. So not even that similar. Would be a crazy move by the directors and ownership, just gives more indication and puts a potential wedge between the footballing dept & Poch too. Not to mention the story already running about Poch wanting increased influence in the transfers & wanting more experienced players.

Honestly feel he needs to take Colwill out of the team full stop for now as he has really struggled I think but he cannot as we have no fit LBs. When Cucurella and Ben are back, Levi should be dropped just to get a bit of a rest and also get himself right as he has been a mixed bag. Got the feeling Cucurella was turning a corner performance wise but still has more to offer.

Selling Connor (one of our key players) to Spurs of all teams, who currently look lightyears ahead of us, would be a sign that the owners are not interested in winning anything for me. Or fully behind Poch.