Lewis Holtby - On loan to Fulham

[Barry Mead]

In some ways I quite like Holtby, he's always buzzing around trying to get involved, trying to put a tackle in. trying to play a pass, happy to play deep or more advanced. I think this might not be good for him, versatility can be good but most players tend to look better when they focus on a given role. Easier for full backs, wingers, CB's and strikers, tougher for midfielders. I was never a great fan of Jenas but I think he tried to be all things to all players, maybe had he focused on playing as a pacy right sided am who could score goals he might have thrived better, but he ended up playing in all kinds of midfield roles but never really developed in one. The Jack of all trades master of none syndrome does look like it could impact Holtby too. Obviously young players look to play, if that means adjusting their game to fit a team need to get an opportunity they'll go for it, but imo except as a one off that doesn't always benefit the club or the player. The other thing about Holtby at Spurs is where does he really fit, defensively we have strong dm's and cm's that look better, Sandro, Capoue and Dembele, we could use a more attack balanced cm and some more competition at am. I'm not really convinced he has enough in his game to be an am, maybe he could play the more attack balanced cm but I think he has quite a way to go to convince. Still young enough and seems enthusiastic enough, but I'm not sure that with midfield competition so fierce and with wingers playing or two strikers meaning limited spaces that he'll cut it with us longer term. If we change our overall shape and play then maybe he'll get more opportunity but I see his chances as very slim in the shorter term

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Not on the bench for the 2nd game in a row- I'm worried about his future at Spurs

 

[XSuicideBunnyX]

Not on the bench for the 2nd game in a row- I'm worried about his future at Spurs

I'm pretty sure somebody said on here that he was late to training, and I know Danny Rose said a couple of guys were late to training and Tim was having none of it. So maybe he's just being disciplined, because Tim knows Bentaleb's got the stuff to cover for Lewis.

 

[Bofbro]

I think he could/must be injured.

 

[idontgetit]

I would be fucking gutted if we sold him

 

[DaSpurs]

There were rumors in the summer of interest from the Bundesliga. Rumors have been rampant that we were looking to ship out Lamela on loan this winter, yet his brother came out to refute this. We're not selling Holtby.

 

[EQP]

At the post match presser, Sherwood said we had 9 players out with injur. He didn't specify who but i figure he was talking about

Kaboul
Paulinho
Sandro
Andros
Jan
Defoe
Siggy
Ade
Holtby?

 

[dontcallme]

Whenever a new manager comes in there are going to be some players who benefit and some who don't get a look-in.

With a squad as big as ours there is always going to be a couple of players who don't get to play.

Ade is already benefitting and Bentaleb is getting game time despite us having a lot of midfielders.

I hope Holtby stays. He's a good player and a hard-worker. The more he improves the sooner he'll find his role in the team. At the moment we're not sure where his best position is. Hope we keep him long enough to find out.

 

[yankspurs]

Holtby runs. I dont get how Sherwood keeps him out. Sherwood loves his guys to run raand a bit

 

[DaSpurs]

Holtby runs. I dont get how Sherwood keeps him out. Sherwood loves his guys to run raand a bit

Sherwood's sharp, and I think one of the key lessons he picked up rapidly was that if you're going to play a central midfield of two in the league, they've got to be strong tacklers. Absolutely love Holtby, but he isn't ideal in a 2-man midfield in this league. He might do well alongside Sandro in particular, but other than that I'm not exactly sure what's to become of him at Spurs. I hate it, because I favor the guy so much.

 

[Snarfalicious]

Maybe we should look to loan him out. Sherwood appears to view him as a CM, but even with injuries it's still a loaded position for us. He'd definitely attract some interest from other EPL sides so him spending a half season on loan could make sense for Holtby and us as I'm not sure Sherwood knows exactly how to utilize him effectively.

 

[DaSpurs]

Maybe we should look to loan him out. Sherwood appears to view him as a CM, but even with injuries it's still a loaded position for us. He'd definitely attract some interest from other EPL sides so him spending a half season on loan could make sense for Holtby and us as I'm not sure Sherwood knows exactly how to utilize him effectively.

Not a bad idea, but with Paulinho's injury Dembele's got to have a backup capable of going forward. With Eriksen being utilized out wide and Paulinho down, we don't have any other options available to work the ball into attacking positions.

And as I said, I think Holtby would be a strong partner with Sandro. Sandro's ability to shield the back line would allow Holtby some more freedom, and as we saw with the Anzhi game (regardless of the quality gap), he's fantastic when he's allowed to roam.

Poor lad just got screwed. Was coming into some great form just as we had the managerial change and consequent reversion to 4-4-2.

 

[Snarfalicious]

Not a bad idea, but with Paulinho's injury Dembele's got to have a backup capable of going forward. With Eriksen being utilized out wide and Paulinho down, we don't have any other options available to work the ball into attacking positions.

And as I said, I think Holtby would be a strong partner with Sandro. Sandro's ability to shield the back line would allow Holtby some more freedom, and as we saw with the Anzhi game (regardless of the quality gap), he's fantastic when he's allowed to roam.

Poor lad just got screwed. Was coming into some great form just as we had the managerial change and consequent reversion to 4-4-2.

It's really starting to look like Bentaleb is going to pick up minutes in midfield. I agree completely on Holtby working well with Sandro as Sandro is a DM capable of playing as a lone destroyer and basically appears to thrive off the defensive responsibility.

I'd love to see him loaned to a side like Aston Villa. They play his style of positive quick passing, he could really do some good things there and I think he could really help Villa pick up some points off our rivals.

 

[DaSpurs]

It's really starting to look like Bentaleb is going to pick up minutes in midfield. I agree completely on Holtby working well with Sandro as Sandro is a DM capable of playing as a lone destroyer and basically appears to thrive off the defensive responsibility.

I'd love to see him loaned to a side like Aston Villa. They play his style of positive quick passing, he could really do some good things there and I think he could really help Villa pick up some points off our rivals.

Oh man, that's a great shout. He'd be perfect for Villa, as they seem to struggle getting the ball to their strikers far more than even we did under AVB. And you're absolutely right, they just may take a few vital points away from some direct rivals with the added impetus.

Another plus would be that if he enjoys it a lot there and we do decide to sell, he could be involved in some sort of swap for Benteke (if he returns to form).

 

[Mouse!]

It's really starting to look like Bentaleb is going to pick up minutes in midfield. I agree completely on Holtby working well with Sandro as Sandro is a DM capable of playing as a lone destroyer and basically appears to thrive off the defensive responsibility.

I'd love to see him loaned to a side like Aston Villa. They play his style of positive quick passing, he could really do some good things there and I think he could really help Villa pick up some points off our rivals.

I don't get the point of having such a fantastic squad and then loaning out half of it. Alongside Eriksen and Lamela, Holtby is one of our most creative players. He will have a part to play this season, and we'll be grateful we have him. A few more game winning moments - a la Fulham - to come from him yet methinks.

 

[RustySpider]

He will have a part to play this season,

That's what people were saying about Pienaar, Kranjcar, dos Santos etc.

Nobody except the manager knows how much game time a player is likely to get. If Holtby is behind the likes of Dembele, Paulinho, Capoue, Sandro & possibly Bentaleb for a central-midfield spot, and behind Eriksen, Soldado & Adebayor for a place in behind the striker, then he should be sold, plain and simple. It's not worth paying his wages if we're only going to play him in rubbish games.

I highly doubt he'll be getting game time any time soon whilst Sherwood is running a 4-4-2.

 

[TonyWant]

At the post match presser, Sherwood said we had 9 players out with injur. He didn't specify who but i figure he was talking about

Kaboul
Paulinho
Sandro
Andros
Jan
Defoe
Siggy
Ade
Holtby?

What about Naughton? Is he 1 of the 9? he was originally going to be on the bench v Man U and then was replaced at the last minute by Fryers, presumably because of injury
I think Ade was not one of the 9 - TS was referring to 9 pre game today, I think
So I presume both Holtby and Siggy are in the 9 - otherwise would have been on bench today or v Stoke, I think

 

[milli.com]

Sell Siggy and Holtby don,t need them were well stocked use the money to buy striker and maybe centre back.

 

[Lufti]

At the post match presser, Sherwood said we had 9 players out with injur. He didn't specify who but i figure he was talking about

Kaboul
Paulinho
Sandro
Andros
Jan
Defoe
Siggy
Ade
Holtby?

Think it was Naughton he was talking about not Ade

 

[cockerel downunder]

I think he's got huge potential but unless we are planning a switch to 433 I just can't see him getting much game time unfortunately. I think he could be ok in a 442 with a holding player alongside him and who knows maybe he will get a chance on Saturday and stake his claim with a match winning performance... Or maybe him and sig were left out of the last 2 squads before the transfer window opened for a reason