I have the feeling that if Giovani Dos Santos wasn't already on our books and hadn't apparently alienated himself from the management, that a fair chunk of our fans would be calling for us to sign him. It's apparent that we need something of a clear-out, both up front and in our midfield. The likes of Keane, Jenas, Palacios, Bentley don't seem to have a place in our squad, there's an argument for the sale of Defoe and/or Crouch and it looks like Kranjcar is on the way out too, while Pienaar was pretty ineffective since his move, though it'd be a little premature to write him off. That leaves us needing to bring in cover for Lennon and van der Vaart, plus the possibility of playing as a second striker, assuming that we bring in someone new to lead the line. Annoyingly, the young Mexican fills this criteria to a tee, barring his inability to walk past a bar (according to Redknapp) or reproduce his international form at club level. Imagine a Europa League side with the same system that our first team uses, but with a young striker up top (Sturridge, Wickham?), Parker and Huddlestone in the middle, Walker at right-back and Dos Santos cutting onto his stronger left foot from the right wing. A tempting prospect, but I have the feeling that he'd waste yet another opportunity and we'll see him leave for sunnier climes during this window.
Worth a read PNP. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896...os-santos-aiming-to-become-one-of-the-worlds-
It seems to confirm my belief that he would be much better off in the Spanish league where the passing game suits his style. That's a little ironic from a Spurs fan I know but we have to play Stoke, Wolves and Blackburn and similar and they do not respect pretty pattern football. In a nutshell GDS is just not the type of player that can suceed in the battle that is the PL.
Considering that he was trained by Barcelona for years, along with the rest of their youth/first team, it seems naive to suggest that the players wouldn't have been taught how to deal with teams like Stoke/Blackburn/Wolves Harry's judgement is to be questioned given his assessment of players he has worked with before vs players he hasn't, not to mention the drunken escapades of Keane and King not affecting their place in the team, which gives the lie to GDS being ignored because of drunkenness. I still think GDS can do a job for us as a link between midfield and a lone striker. To date he has not had a prolonged run in that position.
His career at Barca started with a bang just like Bojan but the early influence Ronaldinho and Deco had on him has done the boy no good. A bit like Carlos Vela, Dos Santos lacks the commitment needed to be a top player. Infact at this moment he does not even have the commitment to make himself a run of the mill prem player.I would argue that Vela and Dos Santos have more natural talent then the Little Pea, but that guy has the desire to want to make it to the top. You can see it on the pitch with his pressing. Also speaks English unlike Dos Santos and Vela who have struggled to adapt to life in England. When Dos Santos feels at home you can see that he can be a decent enough player as shown in the world cup. Also once Redknapp decides what he makes of a player he rarely changes his view. Many a player has found himself on the 'not liked' list and never made it back. Dos Santos does not have the commitment to get in favour of Redknapp. He might turn out to be a decent player in a club like Sevilla but imo he has zero chance of doing anything in England. Also its not only Arry that has this view of Dos Santos, Barca and the Mexican national team hold the same view of Dos Santos.
You say that but Redknapp speaks highly of Keane who showed no loyalty to Tottenham and Crouch who has been piss poor in the League but done well in the CL (which will not apply next season) If GDS is rubbish then so be it but the likes of Redknapp should not complain about GDS going to bars while giving chances to those caught as being drunk like King and Keane
Regardless of the skill level, Redknapp seems to look for hard work in training on a consistent basis, even if you are not selected. If you work hard you have a good chance of playing, if you don't you have none. That is his minimum requirement and let's face it, 2-3 hours work a day is not really the end of world. The likes of GDS and the lamentable Bentley are hardly the type of player who fit into this category. So they are in a circle of despair, which means that even when they do get their chance, (generally when every other option is unavailable) they look poor because they haven't; a. worked hard and stayed sharp and b. played for a long time. This would explain the selection of the even more lamentable Keane, who you have to admit, has always been one of the most enthusiastic trainers and hard workers in the squad (so much so that his misdemeanours don't get mentioned) when he couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. Personally I think the work ethic for most of the squad is greatly improved. We grind out more results and come back from deficits much more than we have in the past. But if you don't work you don't play. Maybe our days of "luxury" players are behind us. Our top player these days (Modric) is a tireless grafter and has sublime skill too. Does GDS fit into our current system? Probably, he is a very gifted young player. Does he have the same mindset as the regulars at Spurs? That looks doubtful right now. If he did, he would still be at Barca. Whether he can acquire it is debatable. He obviously prefers Spanish football because he can play the type of game he was bought up playing. Maybe it is just too early for him to break through here.
Why do people keep mentioning Keane like he's playing every week? He was out of the side for the first part of the season and then exiled to West Ham, a fate that I wouldn't wish on anyone! Redknapp does seem to freeze out certain players, but I think that Ferguson makes similar choices about hard working squad members. The Neville brothers are never going to win any trophies for individual skill, but their mentality is invaluable.
He scored a fantastic goal to finish off the USA in Mexico's comeback from 2-0 down to win the Gold Cup 4-2 yesterday, grabbing the last goal and making poor Tim Howard look a bit silly.
Bah! Crouch would have scored that as well. What he would have done though was go back and humiliate Howard again..... just because he could. They don't call him 'Twinkle-Toes' Crouch for nothing you know! Sadly, JTS, days are numbered here. I think he would do ok as a support striker or out wide of a front three, a system we don't play (though Lennon or VdV on the right, Dos Santos on the left and NEW STRIKER in the middle could work...... shame about the amount of goals we would let in). But 'Arry has made up his mind and Dos Santos seems to have thrown in the towel. Get some moolah for him and move on.
Colonel Gaddafi;672933]Considering that he was trained by Barcelona for years, along with the rest of their youth/first team, it seems naive to suggest that the players wouldn't have been taught how to deal with teams like Stoke/Blackburn/Wolves Why would Barcalona teach players how to deal with Stoke/Wolves/Blackburn? They do not face teams like this in the Spanish league. As in much of Southern Europe the game is taught as a passing game, with the emphasis on receive control pass. This is why Crouch is more successful in Europe than at home they just don't know how to deal with this type of player. Contact is minimal as evidence by Barca players going to ground at the least touch. The PL still produces some tough physical games that you will only see in Northern Europe this is another reason why England fail in the World Cup where the rules of Southern Europe are applied. To succeed in the PL skill players must also develop a hardness not needed in Spain. Modric for example took a while to adjust and is all the better for it, so far GDS has shown little to suggest he can do the same.
Dos Santos did have a successful spell at Ipswich in the Championship though Spurf, which is arguably a more physical league. It's hard to argue that he's failed to adjust to the Prem too, as he's had such little experience of it. I'd suggest that he'd be capable of playing in a few positions in our current system, on either wing or in the vdV role, but whether he'd fully apply himself is another question entirely.
I did not see him play at Ipswich PNP and tbh I have only seen his few appearances for Spurs and playing for Mexico and that is what I am basing my comments on. Plus I would have thought that Harry would have tried him more when Lennon was injured if he had a shred of confidence in him. He did after all give Pav a chance in the end despite his earlier comments on the player.
I don't think that Redknapp has any confidence in him either, Spurf. The only time I remember him playing last season was in the bizarre system that we used against Arsenal in the Carling Cup. I didn't see that much of him at Ipswich either, but their fans seemed to appreciate him, he scored 4 goals in 8 games and it would suggest that he can live with the physical game. Watching some highlights of him on Youtube, I note that he actually scored a couple of headers for Santander, which I didn't expect.
“I trained hard and gave 100 per cent during the week because I wanted to convince him to give me more playing time, but at the end of the day it’s his decision and it didn’t go my way.” So basically he actually tried to knuckle down for a few weeks and prove himself to Redknapp? It's no wonder other players are favoured infront of him if he thinks that training hard and giving 100% is anything special. To answer the question, GDS is the right kind of player to be backup/competition for both wingers aswell as the VDV role. Unfortunately he's got his head in the clouds, believing that he can be a great player. He's all talk and we don't need players like him, we need more like Sandro. Did you read Sandro's recent interview? He spent little time talking about how well he's done and instead focused on the quality of the players around him and the potential of the club to be successful. If GDS is happy to play in the Europa League and League Cup until he proves himself then great but I won't be holding my breath.
Been a good read this, everyone making valid points , one of those guaranteed divided opinion players. I'm not sure on mine now having previously, and openly written him off as a PL success. If nothing changes in himself then I'd stick with my original one, but I take on board a recent resurgence, and I'm always open to give players another go in the right circs'. There's just a nag with me, that its more to do with being happy in Spanish football/life.
Whether he suits the system or not surely he would have been a better option from the bench than the likes of Keane and Jenas when struggling to break down the teams that park the bus at WHL.
