Given the importance of wing backs in the world of Conte I think it will be interesting to get posters views on where we are and perhaps more importantly, where we are going in this segment of the team. We clearly tried to sign a potential right wing back in the shape of Adama Traore in the January window. Personally I am not too disappointed that we didn't get him because I am not convinced he has the right abilities, but others will disagree. First perhaps, we should look at what we have and starting with the Left, My view is that Reguilon and Sessegnon are fairly similar but you would hope to see them both improve under Conte. Sessegnon maybe has the greater potential, being 4 years younger than Reguilon at just 21. He has come in for some heavy criticism from the fans but in my view due to injuries he has not had the kind of run needed to settle into the team and show his best form. I think we are just beginning to see that potential in the last few games. We also have Ben Davies who can perform in this role. Right side looks more uncertain, Emerson Royal is still learning the role and it remains to be seen if he can succeed, he has lots of determination which is a good start. Matt Doherty has been a massive disappointment so far but we have to take into account that former mangers have not played to his strengths, he also had covid which may have sapped his performance levels. Recently under Conte and being played in his more natural role we have started to see the Doherty we thought we were buying from Wolves. His goal against Leeds looked like a man oozing confidence, and we haven't seen that from him before, has he turned a corner at last? Should we be looking for another Wing Back on the right or should we concentrate our resources on midfield and central defence? What's your view of our Wing Back situation?
Royal's just not suited to playing the role, at all. It's like trying to get a more athletic Corluka to play that position. People expected him to be more attacking because he's Brazilian. I think that Sessegnon and Reguilon could adapt to it, but neither's quite there yet. It probably doesn't help having Son ahead of them, who doesn't defend well, to say the least.
"He's another player who has improved. He has worked a lot. I like him because if he plays or if he doesn't play he is committed & his attitude is always at the top. He understood he can have an important part of this team." - Conte when asked about Doherty today.
Maybe here is where the confidence of Doherty has come from. If he still wants to be at Spurs after the time he has had here so far then the guy is surely worth persevering with.
I think right now, Reguilon is the only WB who is almost perfectly suited to the role. He loves bombing forward, had a solid crossing game and whilst he can have some lapses defensively, he’s not a shoddy defender in general. There’s improvements to be made but I think you’ll find it tough getting someone significantly better than him, he’s a top 5 LB/ LWB in the Prem in my opinion. Sess is someone I really want it to work for, seems such a likeable guy and there really is a player in there but it can’t be denied that he’s been borderline shocking in just about 80-90% of his Spurs appearances. Seems to have a real lack of confidence with the ball and I’m not sure how that can be changed, maybe some therapy work? As of right now I only see him as a backup option. The right side is far more problematic though. I think Emerson has copped some very unfair flack, as PNP has said it doesn’t look like he’s suited to the WB role, defensively I think he’s very good, basically a right sided Ben Davies or as PNP again said, another Corluka albeit a bit quicker than the Croat. He’s not a bad player by any means, just perhaps not a RWB, which under Conte is a problem. Doherty’s disappointed everyone. We all thought we got a great deal when signing him for such a moderate fee, he was excellent for Wolves and statistically only bettered by Trent in the RB/ RWB role for goals and assists. Barring about 4-5 games he’s looked like he’s never kicked a football before when in a Spurs shirt, when he has played well though he’s been brilliant but it’s been way too far and few between. I think we’ll definitely sell one RWB in the summer, who that’ll be depends on how this season finishes, if Doherty keeps his spot and performs like he did against Leeds then Emerson will likely be the one to depart, if Doherty reverts back to type then he will be the one to go, it’s not impossible for both to go though, depending on who and how many we bring in. Unfortunately we may need to worry about the left side though too, Madrid have been linked with activating the buy back clause for Reguilon and if they do we’ll definitely need a LWB replacement, which considering we’ll be needing a RWB, CB, ST and one or two other spots too, it makes for a hectic summer.
I don't think it's confidence, I think it's just confusion. He played as a left-back or a winger for Fulham and now he's being asked to play in between. I think he gets stuck deciding what he should do, as he's neither one nor the other. Doherty's goal against Leeds came from him not having to think. There was only one option for him and he took it very well. He struggles badly with left-footed wingers at the moment. I think it's for the same reason.
The obvious issue with the WBs is we have Los Ladrones' buyback clause for Reguilon looming over us this summer, meaning that Paratici needs to compile a list of LWBs for the summer in preparation - and considering that Reguilon has been a reliable outlet for getting forward this season, that means not taking the Aurier route. This might also be why it's been reported today that we're offering Sess and extension, as we're futureproofing that flank just in case (even though, as I said a few days ago, Sess appears destined to remain "good" and never "great", which is a blessing in some aspects but a curse in others) On the other flanks it's a bit of a muddle. Emerson was doing fine until the hivemind decided he was terrible and now every misplaced pass or heavy touch gets pounced upon, all of which misses the issue that he's basically Trippier being called on to play like Walker. On paper this isn't a problem, as Trippier played as a RWB for us and England as both Poch and Southgate favoured 3ATB, and it has to be said that Emerson does have experience as a RWB...in the 2019-20 season, when Betis used that system for a period, however there's no denying the eighteen month gap between him last playing as a RWB for Betis and first playing as a RWB for Spurs which obviously wasn't an issue when he was brought in as we played 433, but has seen up and down performances since using 3ATB (even though a large chunk of those can be pinned on other players, but the hivemind is just replacing Aurier's name with his) Doherty's the weird one, considering a few weeks ago he was the one regularly cited as the one to replace if not in the summer than in the January window, yet he's found a patch of form for possibly the first time since we signed him and does seem to be meshing well with Deki on the right - yet given he just turned 30 the likelihood is that he's still the most expendable And with both Reguilon potentially being spirited away and Doherty potentially being expendable, this does beg one obvious question: if those scenarios both take place, do we buy starting WBs on each flank or do we sign somebody to incentivise Sess and Emerson to tighten up their game as they can easily be dropped for a spell?
I think Sess and Regulion are fine competing for LWB. Sess’s issue seems to have been confidence, whether that’s being worried about his abilities or his injuries in the past. Conte has alluded to this over the last few weeks. Hopefully he continues to grow in a rich vein of confidence this season. Reggie is a solid option to have in competition with him, albeit one I think with a lower season. He had a great debut but has never really kicked on from there. On the right it’s a bit of a mess. Doherty is the natural fit for the role but has had mostly a torrid time here. Emerson is solid defensively but has been extremely inconsistent in terms of his decision making and technical ability in the final 3rd. Definitely more of a RB than RWB. I’d prefer to see Emerson moved on this summer and that we look for younger competition for Doherty. Lampety to start with Doherty in the wings would be amazing. On the left it’s all about whether Madrid exercise their buy option for Reggie. I can’t remember the exact reported terms of the deal - I think I recall it being more of a buy option at a certain price, so if Reggie didn’t want to go back for any reason, they can’t force it. That’s different to a straight buyback clause IIRC, where we’d be forced to transfer his registration. Worth keeping an eye on anyhow, but I doubt they’d want him back unless they get a better offer elsewhere and can make a quick profit.
I am happy with Reguilon and Sessegnon, these two can both potentially improve also, I have high hopes for Sess in particular. The other flank is a problem, Royal does not appear suited to a wing back role, he lacks pace and attacking ability, albeit he seems a steady enough defender and Doherty is a steady eddy but ultimately not quite at the level we need. Unless Royal miraculously improves before the summer, we need a top class pacey right wing back to replace one of Royal or Doherty this summer. I thought it was funny when Kane popped up on the right side and showed our RB`s how to cross, by fizzing in a ball into the exact danger area a CF would love it.
If you think we need 2 LWB and 2 RWB then I’d say right now the club needs 2 RWB as Doherty just hasn’t been good enough to be reliable and Emerson just simply isn’t a RWB. Unfortunately it just isn’t working out for Sessegnon at the moment, he looks lacking in confidence every game he plays and doesn’t look up to it. That said I’d probably keep him next season just because he’s young and there is definitely potential there. Reguilon sometimes looks very good and then he will make a silly mistake, that said I’d definitely keep him too for now in the hope that Conte can iron out the mistakes and take his game to the next level.
I think Doherty's better performances have been his recent ones and the same applies to Sessegnon that tells me they are getting better and feeling more comfortable in their roles. The fact that Conte speaks well of both of them suggests they are in his plans, so hopefully they are part of a general team improvement. Improving player performances has been one of Conte's main themes in press conferences since his arrival as you would expect because we can't change the whole team in one go. We can all see the difference when we play a team attacking us like City, giving us the opportunity for counter attacking or teams like Burnley sitting back and trying to catch us on the break. Overall we are happier against teams that attack us but wing backs should work in both situations. By their nature it's the better teams that attack and the weaker teams that defend that's born out with some of our best performances against Liverpool and City. Having said that don't mention Southampton or Chelsea.
