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Was it wrong to sell Adel Taarabt?

JC-Rule

Well-Known Member
Dec 14, 2005
1,993
1,285
Not very good at writing columns, but just wanted to ask if we should have kept Adel Taarabt at Spurs?

He moved permanently to QPR after spending some time on loan.

Since then, he has been made captain and is blossoming into a good playmaker that can also score goals.

Yesterday, Swansea were put to the sword, after being trashed 4-0.

Adel had a hand in all four goals. Creating two and scoring two himself.

Is it that he has found a suitable level in the Championship, or could Adel make an impact in the Prem?

In any case we may soon find out, as QPR look destined to return to the Prem soon, and he seems happy to stay there.
 

philbanger

Active Member
Aug 2, 2004
213
73
He seems happy, for now at least anyway. I think he had to go as he was always mouthing off about how he should be playing. Even if he had stayed I can't see him being anymore than a sub at present. Time will tell but I imagine that once QPR are promoted, he will start up the 'I should be playing for Real Madrid' talk again and pee them off. I also feel he will be found out at Prem level due to his unwillingness to pass the ball in simple positions.
 

JimmyG2

SC Supporter
Dec 7, 2006
15,014
20,779
Simple answer is 'probably' but lets hope we don't make the same mistake with anyone else.
Fitting square pegs into round holes is always difficult, sometimes you have to alter the hole.

Of course it's only the Championship and he might well have been a difficult player to love and tyo manage but my gut feeling was then and is now that he was an exceptional talent that we failed to accomodate.

But as others will poin t out we are doing quite nicely without him and I wouldn't swap him for Modric our current playmaker.

Good question, tough call. You can't win them all.
 

davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
18,106
45,030
Well, it was certainly not wrong for Adel Taarabt. I don't think it was wrong for Tottenham either. QPR have made good use of him as a direct result of Warnock having correctly identified that opponents in the Championship cannot remotely cope with his ball skills. Then Warnock has built the whole team shape around Taarabt, surrounding him with good players who will do the work that Taarabt can't/won't do, thus freeing up Adel to wreck the opposition.

There was no way that Spurs were ever going to do that, certainly not during the period of 1-3 years that it was (still is) going to take for him to develop his opposition-wrecking abilities to the point where they will work against Premiership or international opposition, where the gap between his skills and a defender's reactions will not be so great.

I think he may well get to the point where he can do this at top level - he's still very young and can improve - but I'd argue that he had to move in order to find out.
 

will8587

Well-Known Member
Jul 17, 2006
1,342
419
I haven't seen much of Taarabt at QPR, particularly since he moved there permanently, but when I have it's usually been Taarabt trying to do overly complicated things like beat 6 defenders when he has 3 teammates wide open or score a goal from a nearly impossible angle.

It just so happens that someone put together a video of all his touches in that infamous Swansea game, and it looks like he's still doing the same thing. http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/qpr-swansea-adel-taarabt-performance-all-goals-7968987/

Stuff like that will work against inferior competition. His two goals should have been easily saved by a Premier League-calibre keeper (granted, he was unlucky to score on another shot). His current skill-set might be successful in the Championship, but unless he continues to improve, he's going to get eaten up by bigger, stronger Premier League defenders.

I don't doubt that he's a talented player. We all knew that, but it's still a matter of whether he can make the most of those talents (and minimize his flaws like his selfishness on the ball and tendency for trying to do too much). Right now, it seems like a case of a big-fish in a little pond. We'll have to see how he fares next season as just another fish in a big pond.
 

rupsmith

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2006
1,714
2,328
Ive just watched his performance against Coventry - he is streets - and I mean absolute streets ahead of anyone on the park. Its only a matter of time before he moves on. He has it all and physically he has grown trememndously - his team play is still pretty bad but my goodness the boy can play. Without improving his decision making I doubt he will move to the very best teams either in England or abroad. But I think its a matter of time before the penny drops and when it does he will become one of the best players in the world.

Walker got MOM in that game btw.

I wrote this when we sold him - most of it applies

"Its so unfortunate - i genuinely think this boy will be a world star in a few years. He is only 20 and has everything - strength, pace, tremendous skill, can play with both feet. Nothing wrong with his attitude either like Gio - he simply thinks he is Gods gift to football and there is nothing wrong with that - to a degree. England will make him physically tougher and I see him going to Spain or Italy or even Arsenal and becoming a world star.

Or fingers crossed Harry works some magic, convinces him to stay and he becomes the new Chritiano Ronaldo - he is only 20 for Gods sake. "
 

kicked

Member
Apr 24, 2004
924
5
Theres probably a clause in there for 1st refusal or something. Were Spurs wrong selling him...no. You cannot just keep players in the hope of them living up to their talents. There is a big gulf between premiership and championship. Would he be able to pull off what he does at Championship level at premiership level?? Well, the answer is he didn't. Just like Gio hasn't. Now they may go on and become the best players on earth, but for whatever reason, they didn't show it at Spurs. Now I am sure each club has let go of something special at sometime. Not because the player was bad, but because the player didn't slot well or fit in well with the TEAM. Thats the thing here. As we know, one great player doesn't make a team. Adel and Gio, very talented, but probably don't fit the team. These 2 players have a lot of promise, but promises don't buy wins. Teams do.
 

brett.spurs

Banned
May 22, 2007
7,388
2
Should've signed him upto a long contract and told him QPR was his home for the next couple of years.
 

Partizan

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2005
6,573
3,405
Should've signed him upto a long contract and told him QPR was his home for the next couple of years.

'I was going to go to Arsenal and Comolli was there with [Arsene] Wenger,' said Taarabt.
'But he went to Tottenham so I went there. That was a big mistake for me. My friends in England - like Armand Traore and Abou Diaby at Arsenal - told me Tottenham were not the right fit for me.
'The big mistake was to sign for Tottenham and not go to another club when I first came over.'
'England is not for me, I think La Liga is the best league for me,' he continued.
'[I don't like] how they play in England, I like to play football. I look at teams like Bolton, Stoke or Wolves and say: 'There is just no point for me'. I hate that style of football.'

'I have one more year on my contract this season and I hope that Tottenham make a deal in the summer. If not, I will go for free next summer,' he added.

'I hope to be playing for one of the top four in Spain next season - Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia or Sevilla.

'I have contact with good teams and I know that they want me. Now I just have to hope they can agree a deal with Tottenham.'




He clearly wanted to leave Tottenham and his desire is to play in Spain. There's no way he would've agreed to sign contract a extension
 

HertfordSpur

Member
Aug 5, 2004
612
2
Taarabt looks fantastic in the Championship. A world beater.

Herein lies the problem. It's the Championship. A massive difference in quality.

He might yet become a great player but he would have never done that at Tottenham in the EPL. Too much of a show pony and not enough team play. The defenders give you much less time and space in the EPL. Just look at how hard Bale and Lennon have to work to make an impression.
 

jushin3

Well-Known Member
Aug 16, 2010
1,221
389
A goal and an assist today, has to be player of the year in the Championship.
 

King Yid

Well-Known Member
Jan 3, 2011
267
594
I generally agree with what most have said regarding the standard of the Championship and Adel's place within it, however, I would look at the likes of THudd, Lennon and Bale and how they were all recruited from the Championship. All three of them burst into the team showing lots of promise then fizzled out. All three have now established themselves through a combination of hard work and good luck, but have got there none the less.

Adel would have made it at Spurs, without anything as drastic as changing the structure of the team to do so; he was simply played in the wrong position. If he had been played as a striker he would be scoring goals for fun and his selfishness would be encouraged. His real strength is his strength on the ball and retaining the ball in a tight spot. When he picks up the ball he is awesome over the first 20 yards or so then loses the ball, so why not put him in a position where he is generlly 20 yards from goal before he gets the ball; i.e. a striker.

We wasted a lot of time with Adel playing him on the wing, where his primary function is to set up his team mates so that they get the glory. This obviously didn't appeal to Adel's gandiose ego, so he tried to do it all himself, mores the pity.

If we had stuck him up front in the team we have today, we would't be going on about needing a new striker, we'd be talking about Adel being the new Henry (rather than Zidane (no one's perfect)). He would be perfect for the role, he has height, strength and could hold the ball up. If he was one of the focal points of our attack you would find that bringing others into the game would come more naturally to him, as he would know that he would get plenty of chances of his own to score.

So, to answer your question, yes, we have made a mistake selling Adel. Hopefully we had the sense to insert some sort of first refusal clause when we sold him to the Hoops

Peace
 

Son_Of

SC Supporter
Aug 22, 2008
4,260
15
how much did we get for AT? i don't think it was wrong per se, we're currently above chelsea and in the CL places. but maybe we could've got more money for him
 

MikeCOYS

Member
Jan 8, 2011
553
19
It's sad that he's gone, but I don't regret it as he let the club down by saying he can play for the biggest club in the world.

I think he plays kinda like Lennon and a bit of VDV but instead with common sense like Lennon take on 1-2 he takes on 4-6 players even when there are opportunity to break and score or pass and score.

He'd be a great sub for matches when we're 0-0 or down a goal. Into first team? Can't say he can replace our 5 midfielders, Bale, Modric, Lennon, VDV and Thudd.
 

riversmonkey

Active Member
Nov 24, 2004
1,244
1
Adel needs to be loved, he needs to be the star player, the Roy of the Rovers if you will. He's flourishing at QPR because he is the main focus at the club. The move was perfect for him.

You could argue that it was wrong to sell Mounir El Hamdaoui, he is in amazing goalscoring form for Ajax, and would certainly offer something to the club if we made a move for him.
 

brett.spurs

Banned
May 22, 2007
7,388
2
Just set up Routledge with a brilliant outside of the foot through ball over the Coventry defenders.
 

Strettsville

Member
May 15, 2005
126
0
Big mistake to sell him.

Lennon is .. what's the word?
Obvious? One footed? Can't cross? Can't shoot?

If Lennon could cross even to the standard of Bentley then we would have a great player. If he could pass or do anything with his left foot then we would have a great player.

As it is we have someone who is fast. Put it this way, if Lennon was just a regular player would he get a game anywhere in English football - even in the conference? I don't think so. Tarrabt over Lennon every single day.
 

Kingstheman

No longer BSoDL
Mar 13, 2006
5,831
2,991
I do not miss Adel Taarabt.

I do not believe that Tottenham Hotspur misses Adel Taarabt.

I do not believe that Adel Taarabt misses Tottenham Hotspur.

I predict that if/when he leaves, this question will be asked of Giovanni Dos Santos and should the same fate behalf him, Sandro.

For every Ryan Giggs there is an Eric Djemba-Djemba.
 

Kingstheman

No longer BSoDL
Mar 13, 2006
5,831
2,991
Big mistake to sell him.

Lennon is .. what's the word?
Obvious? One footed? Can't cross? Can't shoot?

If Lennon could cross even to the standard of Bentley then we would have a great player. If he could pass or do anything with his left foot then we would have a great player.

As it is we have someone who is fast. Put it this way, if Lennon was just a regular player would he get a game anywhere in English football - even in the conference? I don't think so. Tarrabt over Lennon every single day.

Perhaps Lennon is not that sort of player and needs development as a different sort of footballer - after all, we have other players who can perform the role of crosser.
 
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