What's new

Player Watch - Tanguy Ndombele

punkisback

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2004
4,410
7,278
As I said elsewhere, our transfer activity 2017-2019 demonstrates woeful complacency and arrogance on the part of Levy and Poch.

Selling Dembele with no replacement despite having a good year to line one up and knowing Eriksen was on his way out too was unforgivable negligence.

Expecting Mourinho to perform miracles when your first team midfield options include Winks, Sissoko and Dier is absolutely bonkers.
Thing is with Levy every time we've had to break budget to succeed he has never taken those risks. I think he fails to realise how quickly a team can depreciate in value and quality.
 

king26

Well-Known Member
Feb 28, 2008
1,103
1,490
Though t he did ok at Sheffield did not give the ball away and won it back several times and always passed forwards should start against Everton
 

Fittster

Active Member
Oct 21, 2019
87
143
Thing is with Levy every time we've had to break budget to succeed he has never taken those risks. I think he fails to realise how quickly a team can depreciate in value and quality.

Look at the players we have broken the record for:

Tanguy Ndombélé
Davinson Sánchez
Moussa Sissoko
Giovani Lo Celso
Steven Bergwijn
Roberto Soldado

When we have stretch our budget the returns haven't been great. More intelligence in recruitment is required (e.g. A DoF guided by analytics who can overrule the manager).
 

punkisback

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2004
4,410
7,278
Look at the players we have broken the record for:

Tanguy Ndombélé
Davinson Sánchez
Moussa Sissoko
Giovani Lo Celso
Steven Bergwijn
Roberto Soldado

When we have stretch our budget the returns haven't been great. More intelligence in recruitment is required (e.g. A DoF guided by analytics who can overrule the manager).
Other than Soldado, and the newcomers; we can only really have had Davinson come in who has been relatively successful with us despite his recent poor form and Sissoko who is a poor player. It is our scouting that is bad, but NDombele, lo Celso have world class potential. Davinson and Bergwijn have potential to be great first team players, but we probably did overpay on Davinson.
There was idiocy in Sissoko being a Mane alternative, despite now him being useful CM Player.
Some of our major problems until this season with our signings are that we don't buy players who come in and improve the first team. Only recently Lo Celso and NDombele have had the quality to improve it, as our CM was very poor. I can't remember a first teamer who has come in since Son before them.
The main thing is the timing of our signings, we seem to be more reactive than proactive; this is shown in the way we replace players who want to leave. We have bought weaker players such as Aurier and Foyth to replace outgoing players in Walker; or ran our players into the ground rather than buy high potential backups for them (Dembele, Wanyama, Kane). Or when we have had the opportunity to push on we don't sign players; they don't have to break the budget. It was like we couldn't find a player to replace winks or sissoko with tail end of 2019 for a decent price?
 

Strikeb4ck

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2010
4,483
9,409
I can't believe he wasn't given a chance in the 10 role. Just don't understand why we persist with the likes of Lamela or Lucas there, they have no penchant for creative passing to break down a good backline like the one we played against yesterday. Lo Celso breaks the first lines, Ndombele's breaks the last ones.
 

emiley heskey

Well-Known Member
Jul 3, 2020
1,121
1,832
I heard we used to look at player's psychological and character profile before buying them. Did our scouts really look at the psychological profile of Ndombele ?
 

Ronwol196061

Well-Known Member
Apr 9, 2018
3,925
3,646
I like NDombele. He has a natural talent going forward passing as he has talent and vision.
Mourinho like Poch are defensive minded and see him as being primarily defensive.I think he can expand our midfield attack with his vision and passing but he cannot do it with Mourinhos negativity being held over him.
Mourinho has regressed us not developed us.
 

danielneeds

Kick-Ass
May 5, 2004
24,179
48,764
I heard we used to look at player's psychological and character profile before buying them. Did our scouts really look at the psychological profile of Ndombele ?
Well, if they missed the fact that he flourished with a holding player next to him doing the leg work, then what chance they spotted any more subtle things like character?
 

whitelanefever

Well-Known Member
Aug 21, 2012
2,149
2,855
I just think when you have a player with that much ability as Ndombele you surround him with players in midfield for what he lacks.. For me the likes of Thomas Delaney Dortmund & Suar Serdar Shalke are who you look to.. Shalke have big financial problems.. Dortmund have Reyna emerging & Can coming in.. They are the box to box midfielders with a bit of nasty that would give balance to our attacking players
 

spurs9

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
11,840
34,012
I don’t think Sissoko and Bergwijn should be starting for us.
Lamela gets the midfield nod. Did more in 5 minds that Berg in 50. Not too many players have fight and appetite atm but Lamela does.
And I still see Sissoko as a very limited player. Strong running but really doesn’t know what to do with the ball or what spaces to move into
A bit harsh on Bergwijn, he has come into a dysfunctional team and has 3 goals in 7 starts and usually looks the most likely of our AMs to make something happen.
 

spurs9

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
11,840
34,012
I just think when you have a player with that much ability as Ndombele you surround him with players in midfield for what he lacks.. For me the likes of Thomas Delaney Dortmund & Suar Serdar Shalke are who you look to.. Shalke have big financial problems.. Dortmund have Reyna emerging & Can coming in.. They are the box to box midfielders with a bit of nasty that would give balance to our attacking players
Have you seen much of Weston Mckennie for Schalke? Apparently available for 18m and sounds like he is making a name for himself as a quality DM.
 

yankspurs

Enic Out
Aug 22, 2013
41,883
71,188
Have you seen much of Weston Mckennie for Schalke? Apparently available for 18m and sounds like he is making a name for himself as a quality DM.
Linked with a few PL sides as he seems one to be on the move this window(whenever it is). Good player.
 

Ronwol196061

Well-Known Member
Apr 9, 2018
3,925
3,646
I just think when you have a player with that much ability as Ndombele you surround him with players in midfield for what he lacks.. For me the likes of Thomas Delaney Dortmund & Suar Serdar Shalke are who you look to.. Shalke have big financial problems.. Dortmund have Reyna emerging & Can coming in.. They are the box to box midfielders with a bit of nasty that would give balance to our attacking players
100%
 

jolsnogross

Well-Known Member
May 17, 2005
3,729
5,431
When we were blisteringly good that final season at WHL, our central midfield was:
1594009238759.png


This is the current numbers for this season, with Skipp, Dier, Fernandes, Eriksen(?) all with a bit part too.
1594009597233.png


It's long past time that we had a trio in the middle of the park that played with each other consistently.
I'd play sissoko and Winks together with GLC at the point of that midfield.
But Ndombele needs to be integrated, surely, given he was the star signing last summer and we can't have this bit part stuff carrying in to next season.
 

synththfc

Well-Known Member
Aug 24, 2017
3,740
26,716
When we were blisteringly good that final season at WHL, our central midfield was:
View attachment 69814

This is the current numbers for this season, with Skipp, Dier, Fernandes, Eriksen(?) all with a bit part too.
View attachment 69815

It's long past time that we had a trio in the middle of the park that played with each other consistently.
I'd play sissoko and Winks together with GLC at the point of that midfield.
But Ndombele needs to be integrated, surely, given he was the star signing last summer and we can't have this bit part stuff carrying in to next season.

Didn't dier play almost every match as a CB that season? We played a midfield 2 that season, and Dier really only played DM when Dembele was hurt
 

Flashp

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
784
3,274
Didn't dier play almost every match as a CB that season? We played a midfield 2 that season, and Dier really only played DM when Dembele was hurt
No, he primarily played CDM, only covering CB at times.

We actually often started with a CM2 of Dier and Wanyama, as Dembele was hurt.
 

spurs9

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
11,840
34,012
When we were blisteringly good that final season at WHL, our central midfield was:
View attachment 69814

This is the current numbers for this season, with Skipp, Dier, Fernandes, Eriksen(?) all with a bit part too.
View attachment 69815

It's long past time that we had a trio in the middle of the park that played with each other consistently.
I'd play sissoko and Winks together with GLC at the point of that midfield.
But Ndombele needs to be integrated, surely, given he was the star signing last summer and we can't have this bit part stuff carrying in to next season.
As @synththfc says, 23 Dier's appearances were at CB in the 16/17 season and also, all but 3 of Sissoko's were on the wing.
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,388
But the point is Sissoko is the best and only option available for this role.

Winks can't cover the space quick enough and isn't defensive minded.

Lo Celso is ineffective as a DM and we need him forward.

Ndombele can't play there certainly not.

It's the it way, for now, how we can fit him in.....And it once again highlights the utter incompetence of our recruitment.

Dier had a bad illness and wasn't showing signs of being a DM anymore, whereas we knew Wanyama was crocked. Yet we did nothing to address it.

A year before we Dembele was really struggling but we decided to show him loyalty and let him wait for a club to give him a big payday but never bothered to bring in his eventual replacement.

What the hell were we doing???

As I've said before, the problems started when Dembele left and Wanyama fell to bits. They, along with a fit Eric Dier, were the last pair of players that could hold it together in a pivot. We don't have players who can do that now but continually set up with 2 in CM. Aurier needs babysitting most of the time which drags a player wide (usually Sissoko) and the gaps are there to be exploited. Once we are stretched like that we're piss easy to get through. Howeber, we have a long list of players who would be way more compact and solid in a CM3. Stick Lo Celso and Ndombele with Skipp, Gedson, Winks, Sissoko or even Dier or Foyth, and you immediately have a far more stable midfield that can cover the width of the pitch effectively. GLC or TN could also break forward and support the front line.

IMO, using the 4231 system without the right personnel was a major failing from Pochettino and Mourinho is doing exactly the same thing. Unsurprisingly, the results are strikingly similar.
 
Top