Player Watch - Tanguy Ndombele

[Giovanni]

That right there is EXACTLY why i cant wait to get son-kane-bale on the pitch together with him. At around 14 seconds the way he drives up the pitch and plays a pass out to kane. Just imagine him beating the opponent running forwards into space onto their back 4, looking up and having son, kane and bale all making runs and pulling players all over the place. Thats almost an unbeatable combination. All 4 have a great shot, son has trickery, kane and bale find corners of the goal with ease, kane and bale have a great cross and vision, power.

I cant f****** wait. Add lo celso to that also for the interplay and picking locks. I tell ya, alli will struggle to get the high profile minutes if those guys stay fit. He will really need to step up and thats a great thing because once he finds his suitable roll in the team i think he can

 

[Mr Pink]

He's got that similar ability to surprise players, avoid the press and beat them in tight situations. Dembele used more strength while Ndombele has a bit more trickery about him.

I think Dembele was a unique talent and one of the best players I've seen in a Spurs shirt, but I actually think Ndombele could prove to be a more effective player for us. His passing is 10 times better than Dembele's, who was always an extremely conservative passer, slowing down our play and rarely getting an assist or creating a chance in his entire time at Spurs. Ndombele on the other hand is probably only behind Kane in terms of passing ability at the club and offers us a lot more going forward in general.

Yeah bang on, and I love the pace Ndombele puts on his passing...he likes fizzes them right into the spaces he needs to hit.

I loved Dembele but Ndombele has more gifted feet, he's a higher ceiling if his work rate becomes consistently good.

 

[dtxspurs]

Yeah bang on, and I love the pace Ndombele puts on his passing...he likes fizzes them right into the spaces he needs to hit.

I loved Dembele but Ndombele has more gifted feet, he's a higher ceiling if his work rate becomes consistently good.

I think he’ll confirm he’s the second best midfielder in the league this year after De bruyne.

 

[Dillspur]

Nice to read but it does make me worry how he'll react to critisism in the future because honestly, he deserved to be called out for that Burnley display.

I think he deserves a little slack for last season, which was a shit show. He's a young guy in a new country, new team and one of the toughest leagues in the world, and honestly I thought he started brightly under poch. Then there's a manager change plus a host of niggling injuries, away from his family, we need to remember these are humans and not everyone adjusts to new surroundings at the same speed, Poch even said it would take him 18 months to truly settle.

 

[tiger666]

I think he deserves a little slack for last season, which was a shit show. He's a young guy in a new country, new team and one of the toughest leagues in the world, and honestly I thought he started brightly under poch. Then there's a manager change plus a host of niggling injuries, away from his family, we need to remember these are humans and not everyone adjusts to new surroundings at the same speed, Poch even said it would take him 18 months to truly settle.

Yeah I'm not disputing that but it reads like Jose was calling him out after the Burnley display and he reacted badly to it. He deserved that criticism and there's going to be times in the future he'll be criticised again. I just hope he doesn't kick off about it.

 

[Wadec]

Pogbas long passing and vision are out of this world the rest is a myth I wouldn't swap them and I was pissed off with Tanguy for the lack of effort last year but Pogba has been doing that for how many years now?

Pretty much what I was going to say. Paul Pogba is a myth, has had some great moments in games. Over time people seem to think he is this complete midfielder who dominates games and puts in exceptional performances in each week.

Truth is he barely performs for 45 minutes, never mind a full game or a run of games.

I hope Tanguy achieves all of his potential if he does he will far surpass Pogba who is currently wasting his obvious talent and ability.

 

[Dillspur]

Yeah I'm not disputing that but it reads like Jose was calling him out after the Burnley display and he reacted badly to it. He deserved that critisicm and there's going to be times in the future he'll be criticised again. I just hope he doesn't kick off about it.

You can never say for certain, but i don't think he will. The trust is growing and with it their relationship, when you've had time to develop that, it makes it easier to take criticism.

 

[t79boy]

I think he deserves a little slack for last season, which was a shit show. He's a young guy in a new country, new team and one of the toughest leagues in the world, and honestly I thought he started brightly under poch. Then there's a manager change plus a host of niggling injuries, away from his family, we need to remember these are humans and not everyone adjusts to new surroundings at the same speed, Poch even said it would take him 18 months to truly settle.

I get the whole settling in period but there was a comment that Ancelloti made about J Rod that made sense too ... he said if you have the quality you shouldn’t have any trouble on the PITCH.., I do know it’s different for different people but I do think the whole settling in and different league etc is over played as an excuse

 

[SpursSteveLincs]

I get the whole settling in period but there was a comment that Ancelloti made about J Rod that made sense too ... he said if you have the quality you shouldn’t have any trouble on the PITCH.., I do know it’s different for different people but I do think the whole settling in and different league etc is over played as an excuse

I think it’s a bit different. James R has moved countries at least 3 times so is far more prepared in that respect.

 

[Dillspur]

I get the whole settling in period but there was a comment that Ancelloti made about J Rod that made sense too ... he said if you have the quality you shouldn’t have any trouble on the PITCH.., I do know it’s different for different people but I do think the whole settling in and different league etc is over played as an excuse

You can't compare a 29 year old, that's lived in 4 different countries, is an experienced international to Ndombele, that's not fair.

 

[Rosco1984]

Pogba seems to suit games with a slower pace as he can drop deep and float balls over the top. When it becomes frantic or high paced I don't think he has the instinct defensively with his positioning which is why he gets bypassed easily and why coaches prefer him alongside a real DM like Kante for example. He's not a number 10 cause he can't play in between the lines, he needs the game in front of him, problem is his positioning and work off the ball.

Jose was trying to use him as a deep lying playmaker but he would just get caught on the ball leaving space behind him as he would stray from that position.

I firmly believe Jose tried all he could with Pogba and then started to come round to the idea he wasn't a player who could be moulded and that's why he wanted to sell. Same with Martial.

Ndomble seems to have been given a role further up although he is still required to drop back and help out. But at least this takes some pressure off him because he can take more risks on the ball and not be worried about being exposed shluld he lose it as two CMs shluld still be behind him.

Thankfully that's one aspect Pogba and Ndombele differ. Ndombele can play in tight spaces and doesn't need to see the game in front of him to manoeuvre or play into. Pogba can't do that effectively, as he's more like Dele and likes to use flicks and tricks to create. Ndombele has the dribbling ability of a winger which adds an extra dimension.

Basically Ndombele is more substance than social media reputation. This is the great thing about united at the moment they are eating themselves from the inside because the fans will only accept big names and it doesn't allow them to have the window we have had and fix holes in the squad. Their recruitment is driven by social media fads like Maguire one good tournament and he was the only one the fans would accept meaning they got trapped into paying 80m and putting a price tag on his head he would never live up to. Its the same reason they cant sell Pogba because he's a "star" long may their madness continue.

 

[Roy's Racers]

Pretty much what I was going to say. Paul Pogba is a myth, has had some great moments in games. Over time people seem to think he is this complete midfielder who dominates games and puts in exceptional performances in each week.

Truth is he barely performs for 45 minutes, never mind a full game or a run of games.

I hope Tanguy achieves all of his potential if he does he will far surpass Pogba who is currently wasting his obvious talent and ability.

A myth, wasting his talent? Come on. He was the best player in the World Cup winning France team and the team that were Euro runners-up. He's a great footballer. It takes bravery to be a player that can try things and be different. Its easy to critize when things don't come off.

 

[TheTanguy]

A myth, wasting his talent? Come on. He was the best player in the World Cup winning France team and the team that were Euro runners-up. He's a great footballer. It takes bravery to be a player that can try things and be different. Its easy to critize when things don't come off.

I agree that he is a very good footballer on his day (let's say 25% of the matches), but I certainly wouldn't swap him for Lo Celso and indeed Ndombele.

 

[double0]

Pogba is a silky footballer his range of passing is brilliant his more a Sebastian Veron than say Steven Gerrard.
The mistake United keep making is not surrounding him with legs.

 

[Wadec]

A myth, wasting his talent? Come on. He was the best player in the World Cup winning France team and the team that were Euro runners-up. He's a great footballer. It takes bravery to be a player that can try things and be different. Its easy to critize when things don't come off.

I never said he wasn't talented. He is far from being not talented.

It is nothing to do with things not coming off, he has moments of brilliance yes but he let's himself down outside of that. Doesn't work hard off the ball, is not consistent. I say he is a myth as people put him in this bracket of top tier players such as De Bruyne, when the harsh reality is he has rarely performed at the level he can for extended periods of time.

Yes I do think he is wasting his talent, he has played a total of 27 games for club and Country since the start of last season, a large part of this was due to him wanting to move to Madrid.

 

[topper]

I think he’ll confirm he’s the second third best midfielder in the league this year after Kane and De bruyne.

FYP

 

[Pochie]

That was mightily impressive considering how Chelsea pressed him almost every time he had the ball.

I know people say dembele and I understand with how he keeps the ball and resists the press. But his passing makes him better imo.

I know he needs to be consistent, but if he plays like this for the rest of the season we are talking world class. I cannot think of a single player like him, who is that good.

I agree with your assessment. There is something Gazza-esque about his natural ability - and even running style and movements. His confidence is growing and it is great to see. He is truly special.

 

[ohtottenham!]

How many goals this season now, or assists, or assist to the assist?

Banging, spot on imo! I see it exactly the same way re Ndombele. Think he'll be scoring, assisting and assisting beyond... plenty this season! It's the attacking intent and urgency he has. He's totally switched on during those phases of play, and he influences the attacking play of others around him.

We saw it in the messy buildup, Maguire headers/Shaw mixup, to our first and his goal. He saw everything that was happening and pounced. Not just that; he rifled it in with his left foot. He has both power and accuracy with both feet with his shots. And he gets those shots off quick before others can react.

He dinked the pass to Son while he was falling and under pressure so that Son could lay a straight pass to Kane for his goal...assist to the assist.

Even with Aurier's goal where Hojbjerg drills that sublime pass to set up Serge; it's Tanguy who lays a quick, simple pass to Hojbjerg because he sees that Hojberg has space and passing lanes in front of him. He has that attacking mindset and urgency in those phases and it drives other players to do the same.

Thinking of a Kane/Son/Bale setup with Tanguy; Tanguy will score plenty, assist plenty, and assist the assister the same.

Edit: Tanguy's involvement for Serge's goal was the pass to Moura who fed Hojbjerg. But, still Tanguy drove that phase of play with his pass.

 

[The Opinionated Lurker]

I never said he wasn't talented. He is far from being not talented.

It is nothing to do with things not coming off, he has moments of brilliance yes but he let's himself down outside of that. Doesn't work hard off the ball, is not consistent. I say he is a myth as people put him in this bracket of top tier players such as De Bruyne, when the harsh reality is he has rarely performed at the level he can for extended periods of time.

Yes I do think he is wasting his talent, he has played a total of 27 games for club and Country since the start of last season, a large part of this was due to him wanting to move to Madrid.

The media (namely Souness) have done a number on how Pogba is perceived and comments like this prove it. In the same way Tanguy can’t have his face full screen without the commentators questioning his first season, Pogba can’t come on screen without some sort of dig. And for those who don’t watch or don’t care, having the commentators say ‘hmm he’s shit’ all the time will rub off on them

 

[t79boy]

You can't compare a 29 year old, that's lived in 4 different countries, is an experienced international to Ndombele, that's not fair.

maybe I am old and think differently the current generation are a bunch of soft snowflakes ....
if you or I got a job abroad paying GOOD money do you think your new employer would let you get away with not being at your best after a very short settling in period (a month tops) ? You would be out on your ear ! Yet we sit here and make excuses for them... these are elite athletes who Should be able to adapt to new physicality's by training harder etc ...