Bet he was popular! Tbf, you don't need to be clever to have a good footballing brain. It seems its something that comes naturally to the best players.
This Willian story is gathering a lot of speed this morning. "Respected Russian journalist Nobel Arustamyan believes that Spurs have pushed to the front of the queue for highly-rated Brazilian international Willian" - ITV News
All the talk on Carroll in the PL boils down to whether the MF beasts can be disciplined enough to protect him. At least with Modric you knew he was quite strong in the tussle so could be left to look after himself.
Exactly! Writing off either Dembele or Chadlii at this stage is just plain over premature nonsense. There are many new players that have been added to the squad. It is only natural that they will take time to bed in. Conversely, it will also take the already established players time to learn the way these guys play, their capabilities, their strengths and weaknesses, etc. We now have the basis of what looks to be a top squad. Yes, we still probably lack that little bit of creative magic that unlocks the most stubborn defences, but hopefully that will appear. I am particularly impressed with Soldado. He looks to be a natural predator. He's bright, quick, and the nerveless way he took that penalty was highly impressive. I expect him to score many goals for us so long as we can keep him fit.
It was me who said: "Chadli is crap. I really feel this might be the case. I know how ridiculous that sounds..." And I really DO know how ridiculous that sounds but y'know you do just get that feeling sometimes. And being totally honest I can't remember that feeling being wrong that often. And that's sort of interesting in itself. I can think of loads and loads of players who I thought looked really good to begin with but turned out to not be all that (Palacios springs to mind plus countless youngsters over the years - God I thought Palacios looked awesome). Then there are the ones who looked very good from day one (Dawson, King, Lennon, Modric, Berbatov, Parker, Sandro, VDV, Bale, etc, etc) who turn out to actually be really good. And then there the ones who look a bit dodgy to start with and never really improve (Signings like Pav, Zokora or Dempsey at the pricey end or youngsters like Rory Allen, Jonnie Jackson etc). But how many have I thought looked dodgy to start with but turned out to be really good? Um...Robbie Keane improved a lot. Benny came on in leaps and bounds - didn't fancy him to start with...but now I'm struggling for names. I just can't think of many. Certainly not compared to the other three categories which all contain loads of players in my mind. But I do apologise for being a downer. I know it's weird to be moaning after an opening day win. But I think the "banana-skin" nature of Sunday's game can be overplayed - Palace were really very poor and we only won due to a penalty. We'll need to improve a lot on that performance. And let's be honest: Chadli was crap, wasn't he?
Modric was thought too small to cope in the PL, Bale was a jonah, Kaboul was not rated and Parker was just crap. ON the other hand Bentley was the new Beckham and Bent was the top striker. These were widely held opinions amongst the fans. Not mine of course, First impressions are not always to be trusted.
I didn't rate Sandro to begin with but he (when fit) would be one of my first names on the team sheet. You can't judge Chadli after one match away from home as well, come on!
I guess that is the concern, but then again if our midfield can't protect him then what midfield possibly can! Also, as has been said on this board before, players like Dembele use their strength as a major part of their game, whereas players like Carroll find space for themselves and make it through good movement rather than brute force. Different play styles completely but I think he'd be ok.
That has been the consensus in the media all along, so no change there. I would love it, love it, if we keep him just to prove them wrong. Apart from the fact he is quite a good footballer.
Personally i'm not subscribing to that thought. I think we are showing Bale our ambition while simulataneously preparing ourselves for his departure (next year). I'm beginning to think we might be going for a real-crack at it this year, see how it goes, maybe win something, hopefully get CL, then sell Bale when we are in a better position.
from spurscommunity: there is a medical booked for this evening. same guys who did soldado. i have no idea if it's for willian.
Rotate. Bale Willian Lamela are your A listers Lennon Siggy Holtby are your A- listers Chadli i haven't seen enough of It would only be 1 year, if that. I'd expect 1 to possibly go in Jan and then Bale next summer
