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Player Watch - Tanguy Ndombele

allatsea

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
8,865
16,053
In the last few pages there are no posts calling him a DM.

General feeling seems to be he will play deeper than the attacking mids but next to a DM.

Interested to see how Jose lines us up long term.

4231 is suitable for us but it appears Ndombele and Lo Celso could form a fantastic three man midfield alongside a DM.
He is our Dembele replacement IMO. He outshines Dembele in passing and shooting but is someway behind him in his defensive abilities. But like Dembele it is hellishly difficult to get the ball off him. With some good coaching and hard work on his part he can become a world star.
 

werty

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2005
25,074
26,310
He is our Dembele replacement IMO. He outshines Dembele in passing and shooting but is someway behind him in his defensive abilities. But like Dembele it is hellishly difficult to get the ball off him. With some good coaching and hard work on his part he can become a world star.
Dembele is/was much better at protecting the ball.

Ndombele has been very inconsistent so far, which is to be somewhat expected with him being in a new league and the niggles he's had. There's been games where he's looked like a superstar, but also games where he's looked like Fred.
 

wrd

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2014
13,603
58,005
Dembele is/was much better at protecting the ball.

Ndombele has been very inconsistent so far, which is to be somewhat expected with him being in a new league and the niggles he's had. There's been games where he's looked like a superstar, but also games where he's looked like Fred.

I agree apart from the Fred comment :LOL:. Dembele had a great first season for us coming from Fulham so he was used to league but then took a while during the Poch season to find his feet, Bentaleb and Mason were keeping him out and we had to use him further forward. Ndombele just needs time. Age is on his side.
 

phieffect

Well-Known Member
Jan 31, 2013
330
1,204
He is our Dembele replacement IMO. He outshines Dembele in passing and shooting but is someway behind him in his defensive abilities. But like Dembele it is hellishly difficult to get the ball off him. With some good coaching and hard work on his part he can become a world star.
I'm a fan but you don't really need to get the ball of him at the moment. Just wait till he passes the ball. Half the time it's an amazing pass and the rest it's straight at an opposition player. He needs to improve on that cause he's not much help defending a counter attack
 

Kiedis

Well-Known Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,926
8,490
No cooincidence that as soon as he went out and Sissoko took his place, we hardly had any meanongful possession.
 

McFlash

In the corner, eating crayons.
Oct 19, 2005
12,740
45,361
We also must consider all the factors, such as him being young, unable to speak the lingo, coming from the French league to one of the most competetive leagues in the world, and into a team (that has been) in a mess.
Give him a bit of time and he will acclimatise and shine.
 

SonicSarr

Well-Known Member
Jun 7, 2012
2,944
5,053
In the last few pages there are no posts calling him a DM.

General feeling seems to be he will play deeper than the attacking mids but next to a DM.

Interested to see how Jose lines us up long term.

4231 is suitable for us but it appears Ndombele and Lo Celso could form a fantastic three man midfield alongside a DM.

That last bit. It makes me salivate and pre-come. Stick a Kante in a Ndombele LoCelso sandwich and we would purr. Winks for rotation for either of the latter 2.
 

NEVILLEB

Well-Known Member
Nov 6, 2006
6,733
6,335
The problem will be that Dele is now playing back in his advanced position.

With two wide men to support him that means the two central midfielders have to be brilliant defensively.

I can’t see Ndombele ever being that.

So that’s an issue if we’re going to keep the current system.
 

DiamondLites

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2011
4,630
13,062
Looked like he was trying too hard to impress on Saturday and as a result didn’t play with his natural effervescence. Like others have said we surrendered control of the game when he came off, once him and Jose get on the same page he will be an animal
 

ajspurs

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2007
22,987
31,167
The problem will be that Dele is now playing back in his advanced position.

With two wide men to support him that means the two central midfielders have to be brilliant defensively.

I can’t see Ndombele ever being that.

So that’s an issue if we’re going to keep the current system.

I think we could get away with him just being tidier on the ball and with someone defensive next to him. He just needs to clean his game up a bit and find a consistent level that is of a decent standard. He does that and I have very few problems with him as you can see the talent is clearly there.
 

NEVILLEB

Well-Known Member
Nov 6, 2006
6,733
6,335
He’s not a defensive midfielder though and we’d need two of them if we’re going to let the top 4 have the freedom Mourinho has granted them.

I can’t see him being happy not being involved higher up the pitch.

By not buying players that fitted his system Poch tried to change a winning formula and things fell apart.
 

Nick-TopSpursMan

Well-Known Member
Aug 4, 2005
4,000
18,942
I'm a fan but you don't really need to get the ball of him at the moment. Just wait till he passes the ball. Half the time it's an amazing pass and the rest it's straight at an opposition player. He needs to improve on that cause he's not much help defending a counter attack

I mean that's not really true. His passing has been very good for the most part, just the occasional sloppy pass (like any player).

Across the Premier League season so far, he has an average pass accuracy of 84% (88.8% in the CL). That's with him adjusting to the intensity of the PL and adjusting to a new team. Moreover Ndombele consistently tries incisive passes, not just safe passes backwards and sideways.

Even on Saturday when he had a very erratic match, he actually had our 4th best pass completion percentage of 90%, behind only Lo Celso, Winks and Son (Lo Celso had 5-7 mins, Winks had 3 mins or so). He made the 3rd most passes too with 60.

He also made 3 tackles and 2 interceptions, which was the 2nd most in both categories by any Spurs player.

Ndombele also had the second most touches of any player (after Sanchez), despite coming off on the 73rd minute, showing how important he was in CM.
 
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coys200

Well-Known Member
May 22, 2017
8,436
17,403
What I don’t really get is the sheer extremes in his performances. At times in 30 minute patches he’s looked sensational and unplayable. However when he looks average he looks very average boarding on bad. Was pretty poor in 1st half Saturday but better 2nd half. But watching game back, having him and Dier lumbering around CM didn’t look great. I’m starting to think he only shows up for “big” games. Be interesting if he starts on Wednesday but if I’m Mourinho watching that game back there’s no way I’d start him. As a 2 right now has to be Winks/Sissoko.
 

wrd

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2014
13,603
58,005
What I don’t really get is the sheer extremes in his performances. At times in 30 minute patches he’s looked sensational and unplayable. However when he looks average he looks very average boarding on bad. Was pretty poor in 1st half Saturday but better 2nd half. But watching game back, having him and Dier lumbering around CM didn’t look great. I’m starting to think he only shows up for “big” games. Be interesting if he starts on Wednesday but if I’m Mourinho watching that game back there’s no way I’d start him. As a 2 right now has to be Winks/Sissoko.

One of the key things said about him during the summer including by him himself is his focus, he needs to develop that which ties into what you say about showing up for the big games. It's still early doors yet, Son was the exact same, I think half of SC was ready to sell Son the day we got battered by Newcastle.
 

mrlilywhite

Well-Known Member
Sep 1, 2008
3,174
4,992
He’s not a defensive midfielder though and we’d need two of them if we’re going to let the top 4 have the freedom Mourinho has granted them.

I can’t see him being happy not being involved higher up the pitch.

By not buying players that fitted his system Poch tried to change a winning formula and things fell apart.
Define defensive midfielder. If you mean, the stereotypical "destroyer" a'la Dier, then no, he isn't. However, there are many roles defined in the Defensive midfielder position and N'Dombele is very much a defensive midfielder, though not in way that most would think - For me, N'Dombele is what the Brazilians call a Volante - This particular role is more of a Hybrid, between a holding midfielder and Defensive midfielder, yet it still falls under the defensive midfielder position.

Obviously, Jose wants a more destroyer type CDM and TN has far more to his game than that and his physical attributes are not ideal in that kind of role. I personally feel that generally this particular role has been phased out by a lot of the top clubs now and they are working more and more with the "Busquets" type Volante.

I personally feel, that given time and hopefully a more settled side, we could see both TN and Lo Celso being our long term midfield pairing, however, due to the latter's versatility, he could act as a direct replacement for Eriksen or the right side inside position, that Moura occupies. The worry for Lo Celso though is how does he get into a team in a more favoured position when Dele is playing so bloody well?

I guess to a certain degree, I'm not a huge fan of the destroyer or ball winner, as I feel they are limited in what they offer from an attacking point of view. If you can have a player that is a hybrid of that and one that has huge passing ability, then that should be the way forward.
 

thfc1989

Well-Known Member
May 8, 2008
2,601
3,439
Showing a lot of promise. Doesn't look entirely match fit and still looks like he is adjusting to the pace of the league, but definitely flashes of a top quality player there.
 

yido_number1

He'll always be magic
Jun 8, 2004
8,645
16,810
Showing a lot of promise. Doesn't look entirely match fit and still looks like he is adjusting to the pace of the league, but definitely flashes of a top quality player there.
Agree about the match fitness. There were two moments on Saturday when his tracking back was Stambouliesque. I think Kane ran past him and he just started a slow jog. Something strange on the fitness front with him. Will be interesting to see this hopefully improve and see what that can do for him. His passing at times is unbelievable and then he will go and give away a simple pass. Maybe the fitness thing which makes him a little sloppy at times?
 
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