Player Watch: Djed Spence

[rabbikeane]

Ideally third choice spot is always club trained. We should have two keepers competing for that spot, one training with the team the other out on loan. Wise move would be to find a club that accept that Spurs always provide them with their keeper, so that we can rotate who we send there.
When one of them become good enough, they can take the step up as 2nd or even 1st choice. While they are moved on when someone younger comes up from the Academy.
2nd choice should be a keeper you're comfortable with playing games, our issue now is that Forster is a finished player - hence why people suggesting that Austin should be ahead of him just by being of viable age and fitness - not a perfect situation, but at least we know he's not finished.

 

[easley91]

So Archie Gray at RB in Europe then this season?

 

[Westmorlandspur]

Ideally third choice spot is always club trained. We should have two keepers competing for that spot, one training with the team the other out on loan. Wise move would be to find a club that accept that Spurs always provide them with their keeper, so that we can rotate who we send there.
When one of them become good enough, they can take the step up as 2nd or even 1st choice. While they are moved on when someone younger comes up from the Academy.
2nd choice should be a keeper you're comfortable with playing games, our issue now is that Forster is a finished player - hence why people suggesting that Austin should be ahead of him just by being of viable age and fitness - not a perfect situation, but at least we know he's not finished.

He’s never even started, that’s the problem

 

[Westmorlandspur]

We should be taking every competition seriously but we should also be making sure our players are at peak performance levels.

That’s a lot of games we have coming up and something will give. It’s not just about the europa league, it’s about avoiding injuries and making sure the players aren’t coming back knackered for the league games.

Regarding the keepers. Taking four keepers , two of which you have no intention of playing is ridiculous squad planning and giving one of them a new five year deal even though you think he isn’t good enough to sit on the bench is baffling no matter what way you wanna try and defend it

Not as if they don’t pick the keepers there are other players to take their place. They are filling spots which would otherwise be left empty. Surprised Max Robson isn’t in it, over 21 but club trained.

 

[Westmorlandspur]

So Archie Gray at RB in Europe then this season?

Not as if he’s never played there.

 

[Westmorlandspur]

Irrespective of how this affects Spence, I find our goalkeeper development policy absolutely bizarre. We hold onto two guys in their mid 20s who have never played a senior game for us, whereas Arsenal feel confident enough in their goalkeeping backup to release 22-year old Okonkwo (who has a stellar League 2 loan record) on a free. Something doesn't add up for me.

Agree. Serious lack of ambition from Austin and Whiteman. What are they doing with their careers.
Eventually Keeley and Gunter will overtake them, if they haven’t already done so . If and when they leave us they will disappear without trace.

 

[DannyNZ]

Hard for us to say but the coaches bringing Forster instead of an outfield player suggests they believe he is our 2nd choice and currently better than the 2 young keepers.

I sincerely hope we do not end up having to rely on Forster, he has no ball skills and the last time he played he just cannot get down quickly enough. Let’s hope Vicario stays fit because Forster will cost us points for sure. The keeping stocks are a shambles and should have been addressed.

 

[sparx100]

Think Ange has made a mistake. Probably a good source of game time for Spence which has now been initially stopped.

 

[Jamturk]

After giving it much thought and despite my initial disappointment for Spence I feel that Ange has made the correct decision. We have multiple defensive options if injury befalls anyone but in goal knowing our luck was Vic to go down with a serious injury it could derail everything.

It's not Forster or Spence's fault but experience counts for a hell of a lot between the sticks.

 

[SpursSince1980]

Lot of handwringing over this. While I’m personally a little perplexed, I’m not using it as a stick to beat Ange. He probably has a good reason. My guess is it has more to do with Gray’s development. Biss and Bents will be our primary 6s until January. And Ange probably wants Archie and Lucas starting these games. That means Archie will probably start every one of the matches in one of the FB spots.

StIil agree that it’s a shame Djed won’t get more playing time in this competition. But Ange isn’t a nonce. He has his reasons. On a positive note… could also mean Spence gets more starts in the PL. Giving Porro a rest here and there.

But… yeah… it does elicit a raised eyebrow!

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Think Ange has made a mistake. Probably a good source of game time for Spence which has now been initially stopped.

That is one way of looking at it. Here is another:

Suppose Ange sees Bissouma and Bentancur as his deepest CMs. And now imagine that Ange wants to keep them both fit, in form, and happy. That means one has to start in Europa League games.

If that spot is covered - Where does that leave Gray? Probably playing right back, which is where is played last season for Leeds.

So that leaves Spence playing LB, where Ange tried him in preseason. Now, Ange has to decide on Spence at LB or Davies at LB. It’s possible Ange thinks Davies at LB gives us a better chance to win.

Now we will see how this all plays out in a few weeks, but its unlikely that Ange took this decision lightly nor without understanding the situation.

 

[qqq1]

But Ange isn’t a nonce.

I should hope he isn't.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Lot of handwringing over this. While I’m personally a little perplexed, I’m not using it as a stick to beat Ange. He probably has a good reason. My guess is it has more to do with Gray’s development. Biss and Bents will be our primary 6s until January. And Ange probably wants Archie and Lucas starting these games. That means Archie will probably start every one of the matches in one of the FB spots.

StIil agree that it’s a shame Djed won’t get more playing time in this competition. But Ange isn’t a nonce. He has his reasons. On a positive note… could also mean Spence gets more starts in the PL. Giving Porro a rest here and there.

But… yeah… it does elicit a raised eyebrow!

 

[SpursSince1980]

 

[SpursSince1980]

@Gassin's finest …

 

[UncleBuck]

Agree. Serious lack of ambition from Austin and Whiteman. What are they doing with their careers.
Eventually Keeley and Gunter will overtake them, if they haven’t already done so . If and when they leave us they will disappear without trace.

It’s not a lack of ambition on the keepers part, it’s a lack of faith that is given to home grown goalkeepers in this country.
Technically it should be the easiest home grown position to fill.
And when you get to Scott Carson’s age (34) if you’re happy to just do a bit of training for £30k a week then why not milk it, what a cushie career he’s had!

 

[robotsonic]

It’s not a lack of ambition on the keepers part, it’s a lack of faith that is given to home grown goalkeepers in this country.
Technically it should be the easiest home grown position to fill.
And when you get to Scott Carson’s age (34) if you’re happy to just do a bit of training for £30k a week then why not milk it, what a cushie career he’s had!

It looks like Carson is 39. And when I say "looks like", I mean that I read the text that he is 39 years old and was born in 1985 as I didn't believe that he was only 34, because that mf looks like he's 49 and change.

 

[garyhopkins]

I don’t really care what he is. We have left ourselves massively short (again) and have to include a near 40 year d keeper because apparently this professional footballer who we have just given a new deal for half a decade is so bad he can’t sit on the bench.

Near 40? Forster is 36 years and 5 months old. I just checked with my 12 year old whose pretty bad at Math but improving, and Forster is nearer 36 than 37. He's also nearer 35 than 40. If we're to believe that he's near 40 then we must assume that Austin is near 30. Currently the near 30 Austin has 19 career professional starts and the near 40 Forster has 478 including 6 for England.

Forster, whether we are sure of his ability or not these days, is our No.2 goalie and his contract like Austin's was extended last season. As such Forster remains the No.2 until his contract ends at the end of the season. Has any team ever left out their clear No.2 goalie from a European squad? I doubt it.

Add in that he's a well liked member of the squad and a big dressing room presence (and not just in size by all accounts) with the type of character that Ange tends to love then it seems like a no-brainer really. I kinda feel for Spence as he's had a reasonable pre-season but someone had to be left out (just as Juan Foyth similarly missed out on our Champions League squad).

 

[Albertbarich]

Near 40? Forster is 36 years and 5 months old. I just checked with my 12 year old whose pretty bad at Math but improving, and Forster is nearer 36 than 37. He's also nearer 35 than 40. If we're to believe that he's near 40 then we must assume that Austin is near 30. Currently the near 30 Austin has 19 career professional starts and the near 40 Forster has 478 including 6 for England.

Forster, whether we are sure of his ability or not these days, is our No.2 goalie and his contract like Austin's was extended last season. As such Forster remains the No.2 until his contract ends at the end of the season. Has any team ever left out their clear No.2 goalie from a European squad? I doubt it.

Add in that he's a well liked member of the squad and a big dressing room presence (and not just in size by all accounts) with the type of character that Ange tends to love then it seems like a no-brainer really. I kinda feel for Spence as he's had a reasonable pre-season but someone had to be left out (just as Juan Foyth similarly missed out on our Champions League squad).

Pedantic points about his age aside we are short in quality in both positions but it’s far far more likely we need defensive cover than keeper cover.

You don’t know about squad dynamics unless you work with them so whilst Forster seems a nice chap , I’m sure Djed has friends , I’m sure certain squad members were happy about Lo Celso’s treatment, last season he all but froze out Eric Dier who was previously a leader and from all accounts massively popular. It’s not about feelings , they’re professionals.

I don’t care about any of their feelings. I care about the fact we’re one mid term defensive injury away from being really short and even without one the squad is likely to be fatigued in defensive areas as he is going to really struggle to rotate

 

[garyhopkins]

Pedantic points about his age aside we are short in quality in both positions but it’s far far more likely we need defensive cover than keeper cover.

You don’t know about squad dynamics unless you work with them so whilst Forster seems a nice chap , I’m sure Djed has friends , I’m sure certain squad members were happy about Lo Celso’s treatment, last season he all but froze out Eric Dier who was previously a leader and from all accounts massively popular. It’s not about feelings , they’re professionals.

I don’t care about any of their feelings. I care about the fact we’re one mid term defensive injury away from being really short and even without one the squad is likely to be fatigued in defensive areas as he is going to really struggle to rotate

You are right that we can't be certain about squad dynamics but there are plenty of videos where players have said positives about Forster in the dressing room and on the training pitch. You only have to watch Forster's contract extension video to understand that he's the type of character who Ange would like around even though he's not gonna play much.

Spence definitely has good friends amongst the younger players as this has also been mentioned in recent player videos.

But you're noting that Ange has made tough decisions over the also popular Dier and Lo Celso, so Ange and the other coaches wouldn't struggle to axe another popular player. However, they chose Forster, and, I assume that they must have had good reason to make that decision.

I kinda feel like a devil's advocate but it's more an Ange's advocate as I see there is a lot of logic in the decision. Only Ange can know conclusively and word it perfectl, and I wouldn't be surprised if he is asked about it in his next press conference.