The biggest question I have, which the pass map bears out, is why the hell was Lo Celso playing deeper than Winks? This is a valid question when you look at the previous games Winks started (I'll post links, otherwise I'll take up most of a page with this) LASK - played more or less level with Hojbjerg Maccabi Tel Aviv - Hojbjerg was deep, Winks was advanced Newcastle - a shade ahead of Hojbjerg A North Macedonian Team - played deep, with Ndombele more advanced Southampton - deeper than Hojbjerg (which he shouldn't be) Everton - ahead of Hojbjerg In short, he's a 6 if he starts with Ndombele, but an 8 if he starts with Hojbjerg - but last night he was an 8 starting alongside Lo Celso, and that makes no sense, just as it made no sense against Southampton for Hojbjerg to be the 8 (an error we fixed by half time by simply switching their roles around, it has to be said) Obviously the issue is that Lo Celso shouldn't be playing in the pivot in the first place, because if we wanted him match fit we either should have played him in his natural 10 position or potentially on the wing where he often plays for Argentina, instead we went for the square pegs into round holes approach and our midfield was a jumbled mess
I think you've sort of already said it as Hojbjerg has toughened up that midfield and that's what we've been desperately craving, so far he really does look the part. He does already also have an assist to his name too though (blinding one at that). Whilst I wouldn't say he's a destroyer like a prime Wanyama, he's a bit more well rounded and let's not forget the double pirouette! Another quality he's brought is leadership, I think Jose nailed it a week or so ago by saying he's a captain without the armband and I'd 100% agree with that. I wouldn't take issue if he immediately jumps ahead of others into a vice captain role after Lloris and Kane. Something I've said for years is Winks doesn't have a USP. Everything he does, another player can do and more. The thing I see most when people mention a strength of his is retaining possession. That's not a skill, or certainly not a unique one in my eyes. Hojbjerg can do that, Ndombele and Lo Celso can do that. The difference though is these players also have bigger and better attributes. Hojbjerg is the glue and defensive steel, Ndombele and Lo Celso are the outlets for creativity, Ndombele also has a touch of the Dembele's about him in terms of gliding forward beyond players. So when Winks plays, you're getting a basic player who offers nothing different to others and therefore that means we've got a player in the team who isn't beneficial in any area. Want him to defend? He can't. Want him to bring it forward? He can't. Want him to create? He can't. Realistically they're the three fundamentals you want from your midfielders, if you can't do any of those then you shouldn't be playing, certainly not for Tottenham anyway.
The thing with retaining possession is that it is a skill, which is why Dier has been dropped back into defence as he couldn't retain possession due to not having the skill to take on opponents (unlike Dembele or Ndombele) and he couldn't retain possession as his passing amounted to winning the ball back and hoping that Dembele is two yards to his left (unlike Hojbjerg or Winks) The biggest issue is that Winks did have a USP when Poch's system had the personnel required to keep it working, as with our attacking trio pressing high up the pitch that created the space for Winks to ping passes around, but the problem is that after our attacking band stopped pressing in 2017-18 space wasn't being created for him, so he can only really operate in games that are more open - but with us being a counter attacking team this season how many games can that be said about per season? At a guess, half of our European games (last night being an obvious exception, as they were Burnley's Belgian cousins) and maybe a quarter of our league games
Dier was also dropped back because he was just no longer a good enough DM though. Compare him in 15-17 to the one we saw from 18 onwards and it was chalk and cheese, seemed less mobile and nowhere near as defensively sound. His form dropped off a massive cliff and that's being polite. I've never really seen the Winks you speak of, he's had some stellar games primarily in Europe (Barca, Madrid and PSV come to mind) but I've certainly not seen him ping passes about on a regular basis. The 16-17 season was his proper breakthrough but he was generally on the bench most weeks because that was the season we had Dembele and prime Wanyama in the middle and finished 2nd. In 17-18 he missed half a season but being dominated by Rochdale players and taken off relatively early was probably where I began thinking he weren't good enough. 18-19 was where he became a starter due to the injury to Dembele and then last season he played a similar amount. So four full seasons, two as a back up, two as a starter, in none of them has he ever truly impressed over a run of games. He really doesn't have a USP. He's just a body in the park that is of very little benefit to this side, regardless of how we set up or who he plays alongside. In terms of recent memory/ era, I can't think of a poorer player to have played so much for this club.
Before anything else... **** MUSIC ALERT You can see him spraying passes around several times, but this also proves the point: you can see by the kits he's wearing that most of his more progressive moves in the compilation are from 3-4 years ago, and the more recent ones are in more open games like Dortmund or Barca What else stands out is that Eriksen's slump coincides with Winks' When Eriksen was pressing high up the pitch, not only did Winks have both the time and space to pick his passes, but he was also able to pick off stray balls and quickly recycle the ball When Eriksen stopped pressing high up the pitch, that not only eliminated the time and space Winks needed to pass anywhere but sideways/backwards, but also meant that instead of hoovering up loose balls instead he was having to challenge for the ball, and he doesn't have the defensive abilities to do that effectively And it's the defensive side that is worrying, and at the risk of going Full Statto let me compare his stats to those of Will Hughes, who plays a similar role at Watford (and was briefly linked in the summer) Winks: https://www.infogol.net/en/player/h... Infogol Player Rating,2020/21 season is 5.70. Hughes: https://www.infogol.net/en/player/w...es averaged 29 passes,2019/20 season was 6.35.
I still maintain that in the right team, Harry Winks could be a very good player Unfortunately he’s not what Spurs need right now
To be brutally honest, as compilation videos go it's not overly flattering, a few pinged passes and an occasional Parker-esque twist and turn. It's all from the 18/19 season too - the title of the video also indicates it's 2019 - and two of the teams featured are who I've said he's played well against in Europe (Barca and PSV), two are also in lower priority games in the League Cup against Watford and West Ham. With this about Eriksen it sounds like yet another factor as to why Winks is struggling without just acknowledging that he himself isn't a good enough player. Over the years there's been different variables, I've not really known a player to have all of this made for them. Firstly it was that he was young and will improve. Then it was he'd just returned from injury so was rusty and subconsciously bottling tackles and 50-50s. Then it was he shouldn't be in a two but a three. Then even in a three he has to play with the right players. The system has been blamed. And now this one with Eriksen slumping. It feels like everything needs to be perfect for him whereas the others are seemingly making do with what they've got. I think Jose's starting to lose patience with him though anyway, last three league games he was kept on the bench for one, a late sub for the other and not in the squad for the latest. The selection for Brighton will be interesting, I'd be surprised if he starts but if he's not in the squad again then I think similar to Dele he's on his last legs at Spurs, his only saving grace is that he'll probably get more time than Dele in Europa.
...and then I realise that InfoGol doesn't seem to realise people want data from previous seasons, so in case people missed it Harry Winks (2019-20) Games played: 26 starts, 5 subs Tackles attempted: 77 Successful tackles: 40 Success rate: 52% Fouls: 24 Yellows: 9 Reds: 0 Will Hughes (2019-20) Games played: 27 starts, 3 subs Tackles attempted: 117 Successful tackles: 75 Success rate: 64% Fouls: 53 Yellows: 9 Reds: 0 As is abundantly clear from that data, Hughes and Winks play in the same role and played a similar number of games, yet Hughes not only attempted 50% more challenges than Winks but his success rate in those challenges is significantly better, which underlines how ill-suited Winks is to the Michael Brown role he's been playing for two years - while also saying that Hughes might be a decent shout for a the CM I was calling for during the game, namely someone who can break up play and then play a through ball to set us on our way Hughes also got the same amount of yellow cards for twice as many fouls, but that's less of a surprise...
Wait until our next game gets delayed because of Ludogorets lying about their players not having Covid...
Tanguy’s back in training but no sign of Aurier, Hojbjerg and surprise, surprise, Lamela. Apparently Aurier had an issue in the warm up vs Arsenal but still played so not sure if we’re taking precautions or he’s aggravated something, worrying that Hojbjerg isn’t there though. He did play two successive 90 minutes but you’d still think he’d be in training even if there’s a plan to rest him for tomorrow (which should be the case).
I'm wondering if Jamie Bowden will be in the squad, considering he wasn't with the U23s the other day ...mainly because the other option is to think "Oh ****, he got injured again after returning, didn't he?"
please log in to view this image Thursday 10th December 8pm Europa League Group Stage Tottenham Hotspur Stadium We're on a very respectable run in the Premier League and it would be nice if we could start to replicate it in Europe. We struggled badly in Antwerp and this is a great opportunity to set things right and win the group. Qualification is already secure, but this decides the quality of the opponent that we're likely to face in the next round. Rest and rotation are expected, so it's also a fantastic chance for those outside of the first XI to stake a claim for a starting place. Can Mourinho sort out his questionable selections in this competition or will the Belgians take first place? Our visitors have been in very mixed form since we played them in late October, both in Europe and domestically. They lost to Anderlecht and 10-man LASK, drew with Standard Liege and Oostende, then beat LASK in the return leg, who had another man sent off. Victories over Leuven and Ludogorets, who also picked up a red card, were followed on Sunday by a 4-2 loss to Genk. This wasn't much of a shock though, as the team from Flanders currently lead the Juliper League and have two players scoring for fun. Paul Onuachu has scored 14 in 14 and I'm sure a few teams will have an eye on the towering Nigerian, who has made it into his national side's squad. It'll be interesting to see what sort of side Antwerp put out, as they also have a big game on Sunday coming up. They sit in 4th place on 25 points and host Club Brugge in an early kick-off, who are in 2nd place on 30 points. I'm sure that they want to win the group, of course, but will they risk playing a full team when they're already through? Time will tell, but there seemed to be a few changes for the loss to Genk. Brugge are the former team of their current manager Ivan Leko, too. For anyone that needs a reminder of the embarrassing first leg: Aurier and Lamela are out for this one, while a number of other players probably won't be risked. Neither side has any suspensions. Lineups for each side's last league game: Spurs: Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Sissoko, Hojbjerg; Bergwijn, Lo Celso, Son; Kane. Subs: Hart, Rodon, Davies, Winks, Bale, Moura, Vinicius. League form: WWWWDW. Antwerp: Butez; De Laet, Gelin, Seck; Miyoshi, Hongla, L. Verstraete, Juklerod; Benavente, Refaelov; Mbokani. Subs: Beiranvand, Buta, Lukaku, B. Verstraete, De Sart, Manuel, Mbenza. League form: WLDDWL. Ref: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP). Relatively young La Liga ref, but he's already taken charge of Champions League and international matches. TV: BT Sport 2. How would you like to line up for this one and what would you change from the Arsenal game? Would you stick with much of the same lineup, make a few changes or go for a wholesale switch? Which system and tactics would you use and what are you expecting Antwerp to go with?
Must-win game, and I do not trust the B team to deliver. Antwerp know they only have to avoid defeat (so can/will they play on the counter ?? ) . Really need Bale and Alli to front up big-time now.
Why is it a must win game? I would have thought the teams we can draw if we lose are not that much stronger than those we can draw if we win. Probably changes our chance of winning the thing from 11-1 to 10-1 or something like that.
