Player Watch - Tanguy Ndombele

[Thenewcat]

There was also the guy who played squash against his pal for an hour, which is of course just as hard as competing at the top level of professional football.

The level of misdirection and whataboutery on this thread is astonishing. It’s absolutely irrelevant how fit any of us are, and whether we are sports scientists or all the rest of it. We have eyes, and Tanguy Ndombele does not have the fitness level you can reasonably expect from a premier league footballer. This is indisputable. I’m not a premier league footballer so whether I can run up stairs, play squash or run further than him is beside the point. If Ndombele gets fit he could (probably will) be awesome. If he doesn’t he’s going to waste his talent

 

[SugarRay]

I think its more about the energy NDombele gives when he has the ball to the energy he doesn't when he doesn't have the ball. This creates this dichotomy and confusion with how fans assess him.
Distance is like possession stats.

When in possession he seems to come alive, but then again these are usually short bursts of energy. His tracking back the other night had me laughing to be honest. Looked like an old boy coming to the end of his fortnightly 5km, head back, gasping for breath.

 

[jonnyrotten]

The level of misdirection and whataboutery on this thread is astonishing. It’s absolutely irrelevant how fit any of us are, and whether we are sports scientists or all the rest of it. We have eyes, and Tanguy Ndombele does not have the fitness level you can reasonably expect from a premier league footballer. This is indisputable. I’m not a premier league footballer so whether I can run up stairs, play squash or run further than him is beside the point. If Ndombele gets fit he could (probably will) be awesome. If he doesn’t he’s going to waste his talent

And the amount of yawnacaust posts like yours that have been omnipresent since October is also astonishing. We get it, it's been said a million times already.

 

[SamR]

I'd do a Rooney with him. Send him off for a 3 week pre-season style camp in the US and let him build up the base stamina. Get him back for the 2nd leg of the CL and let him properly integrate for the rest of season. Sounds whacky, but there is little chance he will get full 90 minute fit at this stage of the season.

 

[Thenewcat]

And the amount of yawnacaust posts like yours that have been omnipresent since October is also astonishing. We get it, it's been said a million times already.

Well evidently lots of people don’t get it otherwise they wouldn’t be posting stuff about whether we can run up stairs in February. There will be no one happier if he gets fit

 

[Ronwol196061]

When in possession he seems to come alive, but then again these are usually short bursts of energy. His tracking back the other night had me laughing to be honest. Looked like an old boy coming to the end of his fortnightly 5km, head back, gasping for breath.

It's true but artists cut off their ears too

 

[stevenqoz]

In the modern game we assume that players have a basic underlying fitness....especially to play in the EPL. Early on I was making jokes about his lack of an engine. It seems the problem was a fitness/recovery one

 

[Flashspur]

Your just going to have an escort when he goes to the local Congolese in London. Keep him off the maize, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, yam, taro and plantain. Go full metal jacket carnivore. I reckon that extra 3 kilos he is carrying is what's holding him back. That and a stair climbing regime. Never fails.

 

[spursfan77]

Take note of his gait at 9:20, especially compared to everyone else. He's languid.

Looks like he needs to stretch his muscles out there. He’s walking like me the next day after an hour of six a side

 

[ajspurs]

I'd do a Rooney with him. Send him off for a 3 week pre-season style camp in the US and let him build up the base stamina. Get him back for the 2nd leg of the CL and let him properly integrate for the rest of season. Sounds whacky, but there is little chance he will get full 90 minute fit at this stage of the season.

I know he's obviously not in the greatest shape now but there would be something seriously wrong if he can't get 90 minutes fit with at the very least 16 games of the season still to play, permitting he stays injury free. I mean we've seen Kane return from injury and play a full 90 minutes on his first game back.

 

[N'Obody]

I know he's obviously not in the greatest shape now but there would be something seriously wrong if he can't get 90 minutes fit with at the very least 16 games of the season still to play, permitting he stays injury free. I mean we've seen Kane return from injury and play a full 90 minutes on his first game back.

Kane is a freak of nature though. He seems to have wolverine like healing abilities. P.s you would assume Kane has always been fit since he has been involved in football a very long time and has been brought up through the English game, injuries aside, kane is usually a beast physically speaking.

 

[nailsy]

I'd do a Rooney with him. Send him off for a 3 week pre-season style camp in the US and let him build up the base stamina. Get him back for the 2nd leg of the CL and let him properly integrate for the rest of season. Sounds whacky, but there is little chance he will get full 90 minute fit at this stage of the season.

I'm so glad that you explained what you meant by this. I thought you wanted to send him off to shag someone's gran.

 

[slartibartfast]

Kane is a freak of nature though. He seems to have wolverine like healing abilities. P.s you would assume Kane has always been fit since he has been involved in football a very long time and has been brought up through the English game, injuries aside, kane is usually a beast physically speaking.

I used to think that with Bale. Whenever he got clattered he'd be fine almost straight away. Then he left and the injuries came flooding in. Now he just plays golf.

 

[hellava_tough]

I know he's obviously not in the greatest shape now but there would be something seriously wrong if he can't get 90 minutes fit with at the very least 16 games of the season still to play, permitting he stays injury free. I mean we've seen Kane return from injury and play a full 90 minutes on his first game back.

Agreed.

We've spent top-dollar on world class training facilities.

We should be able to get our players up to speed with their stamina.

 

[danielneeds]

I used to think that with Bale. Whenever he got clattered he'd be fine almost straight away. Then he left and the injuries came flooding in. Now he just plays golf.

A lot of it is down to mentality, though. In his early years here Bale used to struggle every time he’d get a knock, and would be fussing about it the rest of the game. Then once he hit his top form he wouldn’t worry about the injuries as much.

I do think a lot of his injuries at Madrid are because he tried to over train to keep up with Ronaldo and then nowadays he’s in a bit of a negative state of mind.

 

[John48]

Whilst I agree part of it is mental I do think there's a case for guys like him to do yoga or Pilates, so they're more supple & able to ride challenges better.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

You're right. It's no where near the level. That was my point. Tanguy is a professional athlete who's job it is to be fit and in shape. Not just a professional but a professional playing for one of the top teams on the planet. I don't think it's wrong for me to expect him to be in good enough shape to play more than 20 mins of top flight football.

Is his so called poor conditioning a bit of a red herring and being conveniently used for not playing him?. Only asking

 

[ajspurs]

Kane is a freak of nature though. He seems to have wolverine like healing abilities. P.s you would assume Kane has always been fit since he has been involved in football a very long time and has been brought up through the English game, injuries aside, kane is usually a beast physically speaking.

Yeah I agree, I don't mean to directly compare their respective fitness levels as such, but more so just that if Kane (assuming he recovers quicker than others, like Logan ) can do so after returning, surely the average player such as Ndombele should be able to so after at least three matches.

I can see why he wouldn't be selected to start vs Villa but I really hope he is as to keep starting him will be the best way for him to gain match fitness. My only concern with that is that I think it will see Lo Celso shafted out wide, when he should be our most important player from the middle.

 

[Flashspur]

Why would you not play him? He is the best playmaker we have.

 

[Ronwol196061]

When in possession he seems to come alive, but then again these are usually short bursts of energy. His tracking back the other night had me laughing to be honest. Looked like an old boy coming to the end of his fortnightly 5km, head back, gasping for breath.

My point is I don't think he likes to track back,I mean I don't really know but he seems to put all his energy into his attacking game. To me he is an artist.Maybe we cant afford such a luxury but we are badly in need of creativity. We need the have 2 DMs behind him or one DM and another CM who could cover and maybe we will destroy the opponents.