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Youcef Atal

TEESSIDE1

Married, new job and Spurs on the up!
Jul 3, 2006
15,089
18,780
Don't we hear that every year though?

He moans, no one will pay the inflated fee so he signs a new contract for an extra £20k per week. Repeat for the next 2-3 years and he is asking price is ridiculous as are his wages.
 

alexis

Well-Known Member
Sep 1, 2012
1,820
3,374
Love the thought of Atal but just spent an hour looking at his highlights and he is very offensive with little defensive product (highlights i know). Also seems to overplay and over run the ball frequently. Anyone who is football smart tell me different or how he could fit (help us bury lower teams early??).

if not this chap who are the RBs out there who have the speed of walker, defensive nous of danny but with the ability to cross and cut in
 

thefierycamel

Well-Known Member
Dec 31, 2014
2,015
5,128
Love the thought of Atal but just spent an hour looking at his highlights and he is very offensive with little defensive product (highlights i know). Also seems to overplay and over run the ball frequently. Anyone who is football smart tell me different or how he could fit (help us bury lower teams early??).

if not this chap who are the RBs out there who have the speed of walker, defensive nous of danny but with the ability to cross and cut in
Kimmich, and that's about it. You're looking at the very best of the best to get that. Generally faster players who are in defensive positions didn't make it as forwards, thus their ball playing ability is lacking (see walker). More defensively minded players are often slower and thus don't contribute as much in attack. Unfortunately you have to sacrifice either offense or defense these days. Wan-Bissaka is not as quick, nor as attacking as Atal. You have to choose
 

daryl hannah

Berry Berry Calm
Sep 1, 2014
2,674
7,717
Love the thought of Atal but just spent an hour looking at his highlights and he is very offensive with little defensive product (highlights i know). Also seems to overplay and over run the ball frequently. Anyone who is football smart tell me different or how he could fit (help us bury lower teams early??).

if not this chap who are the RBs out there who have the speed of walker, defensive nous of danny but with the ability to cross and cut in

Pereira at Leicester?
 

Vincent30

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
900
3,694
Pereira at Leicester?

I keep hearing people say we missed the boat with him, but i must be in the minority saying i've been underwhelmed. Defensively very dodgy and ok going forward. I'm pretty happy we didn't go for him.

It's pretty simple if we are willing to spend the money, Wan Bassika will likely be the best defensive RB we could get, he is a monster and decent going forward. Or we take a punt on Atal who to me is far more offensive than Pereira and would add pace and directness, but defensively i'm not too sure on him.

Either way, anything would be an upgrade on the current RB situation which is quite frankly woeful for a team of our stature.
 

cider spurs

Well-Known Member
Jul 5, 2016
9,399
23,731
Agree Kimmich is the one.

If it's a defence first minded player we seek, then it has to be wan-Bissaka.

3rd in the premier league for tackles,
2nd in the premier league for interceptions.

He does get forward and offer an attacking outlet, but thus far hasn't contributed too much by way of assists.

Atal is the polar opposite, he's the 'modern day fullback' the type that go marauding forward time after time , placing less emphasis on defence and more on attack.

I'd personally a RB that can display the basics first, namely defend and stop the opposition scoring. I think the attacking aspect can be coached and improved as time goes by.
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,391
Agree Kimmich is the one.

If it's a defence first minded player we seek, then it has to be wan-Bissaka.

3rd in the premier league for tackles,
2nd in the premier league for interceptions.

He does get forward and offer an attacking outlet, but thus far hasn't contributed too much by way of assists.

Atal is the polar opposite, he's the 'modern day fullback' the type that go marauding forward time after time , placing less emphasis on defence and more on attack.

I'd personally a RB that can display the basics first, namely defend and stop the opposition scoring. I think the attacking aspect can be coached and improved as time goes by.

I agree with your sentiment but Danny Rose has had years with Poch to improve his offensive output and hasn't.
 

cider spurs

Well-Known Member
Jul 5, 2016
9,399
23,731
I agree with your sentiment but Danny Rose has had years with Poch to improve his offensive output and hasn't.


Can't really argue with that. I guess some players respond well to training in certain aspects of their game more than others.
 

BC87X

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2012
71
342
I would always prefer an attacking wing back to a defensive one.

Atal would fit into the Dani Alves, R. Carlos, and Marcelo category of wing backs that are extremely offensive minded with pace to bail them out, due to lack of defensive ability just like Walker was with us.
 

Matecheck

Free pawn
Sep 25, 2016
307
967
Love the thought of Atal but just spent an hour looking at his highlights and he is very offensive with little defensive product (highlights i know). Also seems to overplay and over run the ball frequently. Anyone who is football smart tell me different or how he could fit (help us bury lower teams early??).

if not this chap who are the RBs out there who have the speed of walker, defensive nous of danny but with the ability to cross and cut in


Here are Atal's stats up until January, when Nice started moving him further upfield. Elite level defensively (posession-adjusted tackles and pressures that lead to a change of possession are literally off the chart at 3.66 and 17.82 respectively):

Youcef-Atal-Ligue-1-2018_2019.png
 
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King of Otters

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2012
10,751
36,093
I keep hearing people say we missed the boat with him, but i must be in the minority saying i've been underwhelmed. Defensively very dodgy and ok going forward. I'm pretty happy we didn't go for him.

Slightly weird take considering we ended up with Aurier instead of Perraria, who has contributed next to nothing to the team in the two years he’s been here.
 

lgsbigal

Member
Aug 20, 2013
90
193
This guy looks like Lucas playing at RWB. Poch is at his best with wingbacks like this I’m all in. With that acceleration/pace he’s not getting beat 1v1
 

Vincent30

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
900
3,694
Slightly weird take considering we ended up with Aurier instead of Perraria, who has contributed next to nothing to the team in the two years he’s been here.

Not really sure what's slightly weird, you seem to be missing my point that i don't rate Pereira and feel he wouldn't add much to our team at all. I think he is a very average full back. If you were referencing Wan Bassika whom i rate as a very good RB then i'd most definitely agree.

Defensively, Pereira is pretty poor.
 

Matecheck

Free pawn
Sep 25, 2016
307
967
Agree Kimmich is the one.


Kimmich is the definition of an attacking only fullback. A centre mid convert who is great at moving the ball forward and providing assists but awful at defending. Was terrible overall at the world cup. The Germans made Özil their scapegoat because of his turkish heritage. But Kimmich was the one whose side was constantly wide open vs Mexico and South Korea.
 

The Scarecrow

Well-Known Member
Jan 17, 2013
5,597
12,201
Kimmich is the definition of an attacking only fullback. A centre mid convert who is great at moving the ball forward and providing assists but awful at defending. Was terrible overall at the world cup. The Germans made Özil their scapegoat because of his turkish heritage. But Kimmich was the one whose side was constantly wide open vs Mexico and South Korea.
No pace to recover either.
 

King of Otters

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2012
10,751
36,093
Not really sure what's slightly weird, you seem to be missing my point that i don't rate Pereira and feel he wouldn't add much to our team at all. I think he is a very average full back. If you were referencing Wan Bassika whom i rate as a very good RB then i'd most definitely agree.

Defensively, Pereira is pretty poor.

We appear to have passed on Pereria in favour of Aurier. Whatever your reservations about Pereria, he has proved to be a very capable attacking full back. If he has some defensive weaknesses, then so does pretty every other attacking full back in world football. Aurier on the other hand has proved not only to be a liability but extremely injury prone.

So yes, we did miss the boat on Pereria. Not because he’s the perfect full back, but because he’s objectively better than the player we ended up signing instead.
 
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