Here's why I think you are underestimating just how good N'Dombele is and the ceiling he can reach - You mentioned those players I have highlighted in Bold - Hoddle & Ossie were, by far and large exceptional talents and my love for Hoddle knows no boundaries, however, the pace, technical ability and overall skill of players they faced back in the late '70s & '80s were nowhere of the same quality of players that play in the premier league now. The game, fitness and management of players nowadays are far and beyond what they were in the '80s.They’re both midfielders? Following Tottenham I’ve seen Hoddle, Ardiles, Gascoigne, Modric, world class midfield players. I sincerely hope that Ndombele grows to that stature but at the moment he’s nowhere near.
I wonder how long it will take opposition fans and pundits to catch on.To be honest if you can't see the insane potential this guy has I'd argue football maybe isn't for you.
He's starting to realise it now. Mourinho is going to seriously invest in him and I think he'll be the best midfielder in the league by next season.
Goes part of the way to explain why the wheels fell off when he was subbed.Ndombele had 8 recoveries against West ham which was more than any other midfielder on the pitch and he won 6 of his 9 duels which was more than Declen rice.
I wonder how long it will take opposition fans and pundits to catch on.
I think (almost) every Spurs fan already recognises how massively talented he is but I think among the wider football community he's still seen as a bit of a fat failure of a signing. Lo Celso also seems to be criminally underrated.
It's certainly not a bad thing but it's quite weird to have 2 of the best midfielders in the entire league yet both still under the radar.
I wonder how long it will take opposition fans and pundits to catch on.
I think (almost) every Spurs fan already recognises how massively talented he is but I think among the wider football community he's still seen as a bit of a fat failure of a signing. Lo Celso also seems to be criminally underrated.
It's certainly not a bad thing but it's quite weird to have 2 of the best midfielders in the entire league yet both still under the radar.
Same here, but I’m struggling to get the bitter taste of yesterday out of my mouth. I rarely avoid highlights or press reports (Champions League final being the last time) but I can’t bring myself to watch MOTD2.First time in a couple of years I'm actually excited to watch us play. Feels like forever.
Pogba 90m, Pepe 70m, ..........see where I am going with this? (Ndomebele is currently better than those two in my opinion)I don’t hate him at all, he’s a very skilful player. I’m yet to be convinced he’s worth £60m, time will tell. Football is a team game
Ndombele:I can ask you the same in the other sense.
Last season Gio was the key to be in Europa hwile Ndombelé was benched
From one side, this is fine because it means that great teams aren't going to steal them from us any time soon.I wonder how long it will take opposition fans and pundits to catch on.
I think (almost) every Spurs fan already recognises how massively talented he is but I think among the wider football community he's still seen as a bit of a fat failure of a signing. Lo Celso also seems to be criminally underrated.
It's certainly not a bad thing but it's quite weird to have 2 of the best midfielders in the entire league yet both still under the radar.
Yeah I'd say that's our weakest area in terms of depth, even worse than CB where the general quality is lower but there isn't a massive drop off.That’s why I don’t fully agree about us having a strong bench. Yes, the second string attackers are strong but when one of Ndombele, GLC or Højbjerg is replaced, the levels in midfield drops by a fair bit.
Precisely. How much do you really know about football if you have to wait until someone has achieved their potential before you are able to recognise it?§
When you've watched football for several decades you also get a sense of a player who's pretty special even if they're not the finished article. I think that's all people are really saying.
There was one part of the play on Sunday (I can't remember when it was as it was wine o'clock for me) when N'Dombele played a ball to Aurier. It was his vision for the pass that surprised me, every other one of our midfielders would have played it wide to Aurier, however N'Dombele played it through the gap behind the defender for Aurier to run on to. It was the vision and weight of pass (critical) that were sublime. The only other player that might play or try that pass would be GLC.
Yeah I'd say that's our weakest area in terms of depth, even worse than CB where the general quality is lower but there isn't a massive drop off.
The drop from Hojbjerg-> Sissoko, from Lo Celso -> Winks, from Ndombele -> Gedson is huge. We can't expect to have incredible depth in every position but I do think one more well rounded, solid CM to replace Sissoko and/or Winks, would be ideal and in a dream world that would be someone like Sabitzer.
Next summer the ideal window would be a new CM, a new CB, a new RB (I still think we can do better than Aurier and I'm not convinced by Doherty in a back 4) and a permanent deal for Vinicius if he's any good.