Can they get rid of that ****ing song? Before anyone asks, it's the meme special, "Darude - Sandstorm".
WARNING: TACTICS TALK What yesterday demonstrated more than anything else is how critical having somebody who can actually tackle in central midfield is to our system ...feel free to paste that comment to the No **** Sherlock thread The thing with the system we've been employing since the restart is that the wide players press high up the pitch to force the play inside, where the central players sit back and mop up. And this is why Hojbjerg is an important signing, because with players pushed into the centre we need someone who can either break up play in midfield or pounce on any loose balls, which is exactly what he was doing in the 45 minutes where anyone was bothering to play football - and this is exactly the issue with last two seasons, because Winks and Sissoko can close down channels and recycle loose balls what they can't do is break up play, which is problematic considering both have been used as ersatz DMs for the last two years One thing that did stand out, though, was how Winks was often playing deeper than Hojbjerg, which begs the question if this was a tactical choice with Hojbjerg acting as a screen to give Winks that little bit of extra time to pick out a pass or whether it was Winks mentally defaulting to the role he's been in for the last couple of seasons that he needs to have coached out of him
I'm feeling very relieved that Mourinho seemed to be trying to look at available options for FB and wing back systematically. I had been concerned that I hadn't seen any evidence of a sensible plan for the position. Being weak at RB and getting rid of your two best RBs (if Aurier is on his way) seemed perverse. The names most often mentioned as incoming I find terrifically unimpressive. I can get behind using a lack of established options as an opportunity to give youth a chance. Mourinho has something of a history of converting players into wingbacks. Cirkin, Sessegnon, Fernandes and Foyth all had their moments. I was particularly impressed with how well Cirkin took care of the ball, and how much Fernandes worried defenders. Of course, given the opposition, it's nothing to get carried away about, but it is a step in the right direction.
Given the asymmetrical wingback system we're using, it's certainly more feasible to convert players into FBs Foyth's the obvious one, given Poch and the Argentina NT were already converting him to a sitting RB a year ago Tanganga's played in various positions across the back four Marsh switched from a DM to a RB on loan at Orient last season Eyoma's just as capable an RB as he is a CB because of his pace Sessegnon started as an attacking LB at Fulham Although the obvious point there is we have a lot of players capable of playing in a Ben Davies-type role, which ultimately means that not all of them can - and it has to be said that Marsh looks most likely to be the one who doesn't, given he's still with the U23s this pre-season (as are Roles and Georgiou) and not mingling with the first team Just as long as we don't try Sissoko at RB again...
So there's a story going around about Bergwijn and Ndombele having a punch-up on the training ground, which was the final straw and Ndombele is going to be sold this summer ...which is impressive, as Ndombele is currently in France, so apparently he flew back into the UK, dodging quarantine to make a beeline for our training ground just in time for Bergwijn to start a fight with him once he arrived
It'll be interesting to see if they play him at CB or RB, as that would give us a clue where his future lies
Fate has delivered to Jose a September that is an effective pre-season with everything at stake.IMHO how he navigates that with the squad (transfer flux or not) will tell us how (well) he is going to manage this season.
Don't know if anybody has this train of thought. Normally in pre-season most clubs would be jetting around the US or Asia making lots of commercial income and pretending that the players are getting ready for the new season. This Covid year nearly every club is staying put and playing friendlies (just the old days ) against lower league clubs. I think this is a much better way of easing into a hectic start for us. I wouldn't mind a return to this norm ( although won't last when international travel is allowable again). What do others think?
The one thing about our last few pre-seasons was the behind closed doors friendlies at Hotspur Way we had against teams like Southend, Brentford or Orient, which felt more like a combination of a glorified training session and attempt to get some of the chaff in the shop window than anything to benefit the first team
Amazing how he could get into a punchup with Steven Bergwijn at our training ground while in another country... please log in to view this image
