I thought Soldado was our best player though, to be honest. Some of his movement and technique was exceptional. Very unfortunate not to get a goal.
Not been around to chat with you all lately but managed to catch the match today online and was overall pleased with the way we are progressing. Again, we had a bit of a frustrating afternoon creating 'clear cut' chances but I think they will come with time. The way we kept going was very good to see. We never dropped our heads and went at them to the last whistle. Kudos AVB! Again, pleasing to see us keep a clean sheet and as things stand, we have the least leaky defence in the league. That's not something we get to boast about often. What I am also encouraged about is the options we have. Players like Lamela are only going to get better. Hotlby is going to grow in stature this season, that I am totally convinced of. Bobby just needs to get a better understanding of our system and the goals will come. The midfield is going to be hotly contested with quality throughout the squad. It's just great news all round. We're still not scoring enough goals to presently make any realistic title challenge but I am convinced someone is going to get a real hiding from us at some stage sooner or later because our possession and ball movement is getting better and better. We have the players to destroy defences and once they gel, we could be an amazing team to watch. For now... I am happy to patiently sit and watch the AVB project develop and let the guy do his thing. COYS!
Fantastic result - and just for WY I said when Pulinho signed that he'd outperform Sandro and Dembele this season He looked better in Brazilian football than Sandro before signing, and Dembele was overated by Spurs fans last season
I've seen nothing from Paulinho's performances to suggest that he's worth more to the team than Sandro. Sandro is a ****ing animal. I have barely ever seen a player as good at wining possession as him; he is a colossus of a footballer.
Sandro and Paulinho are different players though, I don't think you can really compare the two. I think people are too quick to lump Paulinho into the 'defensive midfielder' category as he is actually a very creative player with good vision and as we witnessed today, will score a few goals. Sandro on the other hand is our robust ball winner, as RobSpur says he's a "****ing animal", and our player of the season last year until his injury. From what I saw of him on Thursday he's very near to his best again (one crunching tackle stood out in particular) and I really hope he re-establishes himself in the team. We've been extremely lucky to have the luxury of not having to rush him back. Sandro is already a legend at the club on and off the field and I personally think he and Paulinho could establish themselves as ours, and Brazil's, central midfield pairing for the next five years or so. I think we're all generally agreed that Dembele is our most expendable of the four central midfielders, which would surprise a lot of other fans as he's been hyped up a lot by the media. Still, he looked a little better today so there is hope for him. P.S. While writing this post I kept remembering how many years we spent with Jenas as our number one central midfielder, and it made me smile about our current situation.
I agree with the first part I've highlighted there Wandering, but not the 2nd. I didn't say they are like for like replacements, and I would agree that they are not. You can only fit so many players in your team though, and - simplistic as it sounds - I would rather fit Sandro in. He'd be my first name on the team sheet probably. (I agree with much of the rest of your post as well).
To be fair, Sandro hasn't had much of a chance yet. It's a very bold claim considering what Sandro was like for us last year, some people have very short memories of just how good he was. Not sure how you can say one will outperform the other as naturally they occupy different roles but if you say so On the 'looked better in Brazil' point - Paulinho is 25, Sandro was 21 when he left Brazil, it's not really a fair comparison - and again, different positions
Well, you're completely wrong RS, Paulinho is a class above Sandro, that's why he starts for us and Brazil and Sandro doesn't. Just as Lloris is a class above Friedel, as I also pointed out last season (No disrespect to Sandro and Brad BTW, but Paulinho and Hugo are world class, simple as.) Oh and Dawson is in our 'first XI' despite many misguided Spurs fans thinking otherwise. It's so nice being so right so often TBF I thought we'd only draw today, so I got that wrong.
do you remember when sandro was on course for player of the season last year, or has that slipped your mind ?
To be fair to Mr Greaves , Paulinho is a more attacking player compared to Sandro and offers more variety . Sandro has the ability to be a real powerhouse but is not there yet. His time will come . Midfield central should be , 1st choice Paulinho, with the others , Cap, Sandro, Dembele taking the other position or acting as cover for him. In front has to be the creative part such as Eriksen. Anyway that's how I see it.
Paulinho and Sandro aren't rivals for the same position, plus Paulinho is generally thought of as a good purchase so its silly discussion to even have, unless someone wants to create a WUM debate like they did with Lloris and Dawson. Sandro is only out of the team due to Injury, he was a powerhouse last season before his injury and his role is more of a defensive one, while Paulinho is more of player who will drive forward, but can also operate as a DM if needed, while Sandro can also push forward if needed, but essentially both players have different roles, yet when paired together offer the perfect balance as can offer cover, yet they excel at different roles. So why are we even trying to create a Sandro V Paulinho debate? Anyhow, as been mentioned people do have short memories and forget how impressive Sandro has been not just last season, but also before and I expect it won't be long before him and Paulinho both form a great partnership through the middle.
there shouldn't be a Paulinho v Sandro debate,it's a squad game these day's so both players are needed and are as important as each other!
Exactly! what next, Lamela v Eriksen if they both settle and be top players? Alot of fans where happy about selling Bale as they believed it meant we could have a more balanced team, so its bizarre that now these fans want to start trying to argue over whos more important to the team, just so they can try and "brag".
He'll be back in, don't worry. Still early days for him and he played thurs and will prob play tomorrow. Come mid-late oct he should be fairly match fit with any luck
Who has said Dawson should be dropped? I must have missed that the same ways missed everyone saying Hugo was **** last season. Is it just because he isn't always in everyone's XIs each week? If so, it's a squad game, nobody should play every game
