Thor Rising - Why Gylfi Needs a Change of Position to Salvage his Tottenham Career

[Krafty]

Like I said in the previous Siggy thread, I think he needs to be played in central midfield rather than the advanced position, and with Dembele being quite good defensively, a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 with Dembele and Siggy as the central midfielders, against weak opposition who have stuck 10 men behind the ball, could really suit the Icelander.

He likes to come on to the play, have things in front of him, so he can anticipate where the ball and space will open on, then attack it. He's not the type of player who excels being the centre of the play, like a VDV or Holtby, for example. He's not nimble or agile enough, or have the vision and know how or a number 10.

But he is a very good player, and with the Europa League kicking back in, I'll be interested to see if AVB starts to rotate his central midfield like he has the centre backs. If so, I think Siggy could get chances in his more natural position.

 

[Mr Pink]

The ball he hits for Lennon against Reading (away) was from a deeper area to IIRC. An excellent ball it was to.

 

[JAYSTAR]

Like I said in the previous Siggy thread, I think he needs to be played in central midfield rather than the advanced position, and with Dembele being quite good defensively, a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 with Dembele and Siggy as the central midfielders, against weak opposition who have stuck 10 men behind the ball, could really suit the Icelander.

He likes to come on to the play, have things in front of him, so he can anticipate where the ball and space will open on, then attack it. He's not the type of player who excels being the centre of the play, like a VDV or Holtby, for example. He's not nimble or agile enough, or have the vision and know how or a number 10.

But he is a very good player, and with the Europa League kicking back in, I'll be interested to see if AVB starts to rotate his central midfield like he has the centre backs. If so, I think Siggy could get chances in his more natural position.

I agree with this post and think it would be good to see siggy adapt his game. Honestly, I was surprised how often parker lost possession. Holtby behind Dempsey ade or defoe might work well too, which really leaves us playing 4231 given the high line of our full backs. Will be interesting to see how things pan out.. Will Ade get stuck in or not bother? Will Dempsey start scoring regularly playing up front? Will holtby save some energy and be able to play 90 minutes at that pace?!? I reckon parker will be in against newcastle tho.

 

[ravo]

Siggy = Kranjcar of this time, excellent player that is extremly likable. Scores long range goals but unfortunate to not be a first IX player but also dont want him going to another team because you know he would be awesome there grrr

That's probably because there's only 9 in your team!

 

[Flashspur]

i think he is better in CM than as a striker but the boy seems versatile enough

 

[ItsBoris]

Siggy = Kranjcar of this time, excellent player that is extremly likable. Scores long range goals but unfortunate to not be a first IX player but also dont want him going to another team because you know he would be awesome there grrr

Siggy has far more potential than Kranjcar imo. I know he has it in him but I don't understand why he isn't showing it. Maybe it's the pressure of trying to make his way in a bigger club?

At the same time I wouldn't be dropping Adebayor or Defoe to play Siggy up front, I doubt he could be as good a striker as either of those two however I do think he has a place in the team but he needs to start showing what his capabilities are.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

There are plenty of players who have had their positions changed and been a success, Thiery Henry for instance and latterly Theo Walcott has scored goals as the central striker down the road.

It is difficult to see how he is going to get game time with Holtby now going to claim the same number 10 role pushing Dempsey to the subs bench as well.

The difference with players like Henry and Walcott though is that they were still good enough in their original positions before being moved either tactically or because the manager thought they could be even better in the new role.

This article is basically saying "well we've tried everything else, so lets do this" which I don't agree with. Some of Gylfi's cameos have been promising, but too many times he's just pissed away the opportunities, we can't use the Redknapp excuse of him not rotating or picking his favourites, it's obvious that AVB works on the training ground and takes into account who fits in to the team ethic. At the moment Gylfi clearly doesn't.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

He deserves a run more than Dempsey.

Don't know why the opposite's happened.

The amount of chances Dempsey's had, I'm sure Siggy would have had a better return.

I'm embarrassed for anybody that rated this post 'agree'.

 

[Spurs1960]

Like I said in the previous Siggy thread, I think he needs to be played in central midfield rather than the advanced position, and with Dembele being quite good defensively, a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 with Dembele and Siggy as the central midfielders, against weak opposition who have stuck 10 men behind the ball, could really suit the Icelander.

He likes to come on to the play, have things in front of him, so he can anticipate where the ball and space will open on, then attack it. He's not the type of player who excels being the centre of the play, like a VDV or Holtby, for example. He's not nimble or agile enough, or have the vision and know how or a number 10.

But he is a very good player, and with the Europa League kicking back in, I'll be interested to see if AVB starts to rotate his central midfield like he has the centre backs. If so, I think Siggy could get chances in his more natural position.

Is his tackling good enough to play central midfield alongside Dembele who is not a defensive midfielder himself. Sandro was top os the stats for interceptions and tackles won. You are basically suggesting taking that element out of our game. It is something that might look good on paper when you have the ball but in practice without it is a disaster waiting to happen.

Our defence would be under great pressure and have more to deal with, a step back rather than a step forward.

 

[Spurs1960]

The difference with players like Henry and Walcott though is that they were still good enough in their original positions before being moved either tactically or because the manager thought they could be even better in the new role.

This article is basically saying "well we've tried everything else, so lets do this" which I don't agree with. Some of Gylfi's cameos have been promising, but too many times he's just pissed away the opportunities, we can't use the Redknapp excuse of him not rotating or picking his favourites, it's obvious that AVB works on the training ground and takes into account who fits in to the team ethic. At the moment Gylfi clearly doesn't.

Walcott remember was not a regular in the team last season, he spent much of it on the bench coming on as a sub.

I entirely agree some of his cameos have shown flashes of adapting to our system which is why he is a squad player and of an age worth persevering with.

If Harry haters wish to complain about Harry not rotating the squad then they have to complain about AVB doing the same. He picks the same each week, all he has done is change centre backs really. But I have no doubt there will be a huge amount of double standards here.

 

[Spurs1960]

I agree with this post and think it would be good to see siggy adapt his game. Honestly, I was surprised how often parker lost possession. Holtby behind Dempsey ade or defoe might work well too, which really leaves us playing 4231 given the high line of our full backs. Will be interesting to see how things pan out.. Will Ade get stuck in or not bother? Will Dempsey start scoring regularly playing up front? Will holtby save some energy and be able to play 90 minutes at that pace?!? I reckon parker will be in against newcastle tho.

Our full backs only played a high line in the last game because the opposition had 10 men. Normally this season they don't press on and leave it to the forward players charged with the extra responsibility.

 

[Krafty]

Is his tackling good enough to play central midfield alongside Dembele who is not a defensive midfielder himself. Sandro was top os the stats for interceptions and tackles won. You are basically suggesting taking that element out of our game. It is something that might look good on paper when you have the ball but in practice without it is a disaster waiting to happen.

Our defence would be under great pressure and have more to deal with, a step back rather than a step forward.

Dembele stats for tackles and interceptions are extremely impressive, and as I said it would be used in games like Stoke (0-0), Villa (0-0 at HT), QPR (0-0), games where we will be on top, have a lot of possession, and rather than having two central midfielders who don't really make runs up to the strikers, never mind beyond, we could have a ball player and someone like Siggy breaking forward.

If we have lead and the oppo are starting to come at us, then you can bring a Sandro or Parker on, and in most games Sandro and Dembele will be first choice, but the point is Siggy should be a CM option, not an AM option (especially with a poacher like Defoe upfront) as he struggles to get into the game from that point.

I think he has enough in terms of attitude and stamina to do okay in a defensive sense, for example I wouldn't be concerned at all if he played with Sandro against better teams (again, not the first choice pairing but they should be okay together), but when we have near 70% possession and plenty of territory, we don't really need a Sandro or Parker in there

 

[schwinebikkje]

Like I said in the previous Siggy thread, I think he needs to be played in central midfield rather than the advanced position, and with Dembele being quite good defensively, a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 with Dembele and Siggy as the central midfielders, against weak opposition who have stuck 10 men behind the ball, could really suit the Icelander.

He likes to come on to the play, have things in front of him, so he can anticipate where the ball and space will open on, then attack it. He's not the type of player who excels being the centre of the play, like a VDV or Holtby, for example. He's not nimble or agile enough, or have the vision and know how or a number 10.

But he is a very good player, and with the Europa League kicking back in, I'll be interested to see if AVB starts to rotate his central midfield like he has the centre backs. If so, I think Siggy could get chances in his more natural position.

Great post. Siggurdson has the qualities to be a great DM. People from Iceland are tough as hell and they`ve got great work ethics. He has some similarities with Bastian Schweinsteiger, who also started out as an attacking mid/winger. I`m hoping for our own Icelandic Schweinsteiger

 

[Gedson100]

He reminds me of Lampard more than anyone.
That in itself creates a quandry because I find Lampard a total 'marmite' player. His stats look great but often when he plays you wonder if he's even on the pitch, a criticism that could be levelled at Sigurdsson early on.
He's looked more useful in his brief cameos recently and is arguably unlucky to be 14th name on our team sheet.

The fact that he's young is a bonus and in no way should we give up on him, because he will have his uses. Depending on transfers in the summer or an eventual shift to 4-3-3 his versatility could serve him well.
Squads are fluid and people come to the fore when least expected, the entire Bale/Ekotto situation being a good example for both players. If we find ourselves in the same situation in a year's time then a couple of things will be apparent; we must be doing well if he can't get in the team and maybe a move is for the best.
Until then, he needs to be kept around the suqad and given a few chances, who knows he might even take them.

 

[idontgetit]

Actually give him a chance behind Adebayor
Actually give him a chance behind Adebayor
Actually give him a chance behind Adebayor
Actually give him a chance behind Adebayor

" "

 

[Spurs1960]

Dembele stats for tackles and interceptions are extremely impressive, and as I said it would be used in games like Stoke (0-0), Villa (0-0 at HT), QPR (0-0), games where we will be on top, have a lot of possession, and rather than having two central midfielders who don't really make runs up to the strikers, never mind beyond, we could have a ball player and someone like Siggy breaking forward.

If we have lead and the oppo are starting to come at us, then you can bring a Sandro or Parker on, and in most games Sandro and Dembele will be first choice, but the point is Siggy should be a CM option, not an AM option (especially with a poacher like Defoe upfront) as he struggles to get into the game from that point.

I think he has enough in terms of attitude and stamina to do okay in a defensive sense, for example I wouldn't be concerned at all if he played with Sandro against better teams (again, not the first choice pairing but they should be okay together), but when we have near 70% possession and plenty of territory, we don't really need a Sandro or Parker in there

As an attacking midfielder Siggy scored 7 times in 18 games when he joined Swansea last January. Playing him in the way you suggests negated that strength which would be foolish. I certainly wouldn't like him playing there against the likes of Stoke, he get run over.

Assuming we would still have 70% possession without a Sandro or Parker I feel is a false assumption, we had 70% because Parker was playing and because we were playing against 10 men so it is hardly a decent example to use. Had we been more than 1-0 up then there may have been a case for bringing Parker off but certainly not when there was only one goal in it.

Siggy has been playing wide and not centrally where he is best because Dempsey has developed in the role and contributed with 5 goals and 5 assists.

I fear he is destined to be a squad player, an understudy to Holtby.

 

[ultimateloner]

He reminds me of Lampard more than anyone.
That in itself creates a quandry because I find Lampard a total 'marmite' player. His stats look great but often when he plays you wonder if he's even on the pitch, a criticism that could be levelled at Sigurdsson early on.
He's looked more useful in his brief cameos recently and is arguably unlucky to be 14th name on our team sheet.

The fact that he's young is a bonus and in no way should we give up on him, because he will have his uses. Depending on transfers in the summer or an eventual shift to 4-3-3 his versatility could serve him well.
Squads are fluid and people come to the fore when least expected, the entire Bale/Ekotto situation being a good example for both players. If we find ourselves in the same situation in a year's time then a couple of things will be apparent; we must be doing well if he can't get in the team and maybe a move is for the best.
Until then, he needs to be kept around the suqad and given a few chances, who knows he might even take them.

I haven't seen enough of him to determine whether he is like Lampard; but if he is then we have a jewel in our hand. I rate Lampard highly, think he has everything for a modern day midfielder = technical, strong, high stamina, great finishing.

 

[SugarRay]

I'm not sure about shoe horning a player in to the side wo has showed very little in Tottenham colours so far and hasn't really set the game alight bar a cracking two months at Swansea.

Especially when we have better and more proven players vying for similar positions.

He needs to bide his time and take his chance when it comes.

It seems a lot on this board like to cut him some slack. Shame its not extended to other players at times! Hard to understand

 

[ultimateloner]

I'm not sure about shoe horning a player in to the side wo has showed very little in Tottenham colours so far and hasn't really set the game alight bar a cracking two months at Swansea.

Especially when we have better and more proven players vying for similar positions.

He needs to bide his time and take his chance when it comes.

It seems a lot on this board like to cut him some slack. Shame its not extended to other players at times! Hard to understand

He is only 22 and had a decent run with Reading scoring 10 goals. So we are trying harder to find excuses for him, say compared to Hudd who's done naff'all for 2 years now.

 

[SugarRay]

He is only 22 and had a decent run with Reading scoring 10 goals. So we are trying harder to find excuses for him, say compared to Hudd who's done naff'all for 2 years now.

Hudd has been ruined by injuries. I think he is done at Tottenham

I meant Dempsey, Defoe ( never, EVER get this ) and the like.

Sig is 23 ain't he? Two good months at Swansea and a decent season in Germany is all he has to show so far. Has a lot of convincing to do. I hope he comes good.