But Tim is right that we miss the guy "who moves that ball and passes it between the lines very quickly and assists the assister". To start with he tried Eriksen there, before presumably coming to the conclusion that he was not suited; after that it was Bentelab, again not really a good fit - an experiment he seems to have abandoned after his view from the stands at the Liverpool debacle. So now he is trying Chadli…
I would love to see what this team could do with a proper playmaker.
Holtby?Yeah, if he only hadn't loaned out the guy who does that in January ey?
Holtby?
He seems to be able to thread a pass to a striker and has a shot on him, but he has no defensive bite to play deeper - Eriksen has more desire, and even he is too lightweight to play centrally.
Bentelab had presence, but then started making bad errors.
Chadli is not such a bad fit - he is defensively minded and has played some good early balls. Works hard.
Tom Carroll has been treated badly - he should have had this season's europa to really establish himself. Who knows if he'll get a chance now.
Squawka Football @Squawka Mar 31
Lewis Holtby won 11 tackles against Everton - no player has won more in a single EPL game this season
Guess who holds the record for most tackles in a game during this premier league season?
It was actually 12 according to most other stats sites. 12 out of 12 attempts as well. Oh, and he averages 3.1 tackles a game too
Er Fulham lost that game 1-3, so it was hardly a game changing performance. But I'll take your word as I concentrate on our games.
When he came on as a sub for us the first time, he tracked back 30 yds, slide tackled and looked to be the business.
But since then, for us, he only drops back to collect the ball and knock it sideways, although that may have been under instruction.
And when we didn't have the ball, he did not want to know.
I know he's popular, but that is my impression of him whatever the stats say. He had goals in him, and was still settling in, so I'm not saying that it was right to loan him either, but if one of Holtby or Ericksen had to go, then we kept the better AM/wide player imo.
Why did either have to go?
As for him not wanting to know whilst we didn't have the ball, that has to be a joke. That actually has to be a joke.
It's all about opinions...
I really don't get why Holtby and Soldado are the fan's favourites,
from what we have been presented with so far.
Or why AVB is still adored. I must have missed the meeting where all this was explained.
Maybe because they're two players who actually seem to care about the club? Holtby is an exciting player who always gives 100%, is always in and around Tottenham media and always celebrates like crazy. He also goes on about how much he loves playing for the club and turned up at games even while on loan at Fulham. Watch our goals against Fulham back. I think it's the third goal, and it shows the bench. Soldado is the only one that celebrates, the others just sit there arms folded.
It is hard to say which players love any club when they are paid such obscene amounts of money.Maybe because they're two players who actually seem to care about the club? Holtby is an exciting player who always gives 100%, is always in and around Tottenham media and always celebrates like crazy. He also goes on about how much he loves playing for the club and turned up at games even while on loan at Fulham. Watch our goals against Fulham back. I think it's the third goal, and it shows the bench. Soldado is the only one that celebrates, the others just sit there arms folded.
It is hard to say which players love any club when they are paid such obscene amounts of money.
But Holtby's enthusiasm for the game seems pretty genuine, and that is nice to see. I'd be delighted if it worked out for him, but without the europa games we cannot afford such a large squad - something has to give.
Holtby and Eriksen were being played in the same areas - buying Eriksen was always going to put Holtby's future under threat.