Okay, I just saw one individual stat that might mean something. Lamela in the three games he played on the left scored two goals and had a crazy 8.59 rating (in WhoScored). I'm guessing two or three of the four PL MoMs he received were when he played there. Also, Eriksen was a bit better (according to WhoScored) when he played on either side than in the center. So playing Eriksen on the right and Lamela on the left looks like a good idea. Chadli, as you'd expect was much better on the left as well. One solution would be to use Dembele in the center, while rotating Lamela and Chadli on the left, and Eriksen and Lamela on the right.
Rotating the three during a game could be effective, essentially I'd keep Chadli left, Eriksen centre and Lamela right to begin a game with but if there isn't much happening then I'd definitely like for them to switch about and see if their luck changes. Chadli's shown he can pop up in different areas with goals, both of his QPR, his Arsenal, Stoke and Southampton goals come to mind where he wasn't on the left hand side when finishing them off so he definitely has that drift factor about him to know when to leave his position in order to find space and hopefully score or create something. Eriksen often drifts into areas as well and his ability to shoot from distance allows him to have a crack from anywhere within a good 25-30 yards, he can also spot passes better than anyone in the side so whenever he has the ball, regardless of where he's positioned, there's a sense that something could happen when he's in possession. Lamela only really drifts centrally, we rarely see him go over to the left which is something I'd like for him to do when the time's right, especially if we're a goal down and we need some whipped crosses into the box. Big season for Lamela coming up, Eriksen has more than proved himself, Chadli was very effective last season and so it leaves the final attacking mid we purchased in 2013 to shine through, which I believe he can.
Does selling the site of the Brook House primary school for £11m quid count as a transfer? Spurs to Legal & General, apparently.
Of course, how much left, central and right mean, and how WhoScored tracks them, is a grey area. To me, defensive responsibilities define them. I once decided to count, and found our "left" and "right" had no effect on where the players actually went when we had the ball. I think Lamela does get on the left a fair amount, as I recall, but rarely near the goal. His best moments were key passes from the center of the pitch, or, perhaps more accurately, just to the left of center. I remember them finding Kane at West Ham (who then passed to Dier) and Chadli for the goal at Arsenal, among three or four others. Nevertheless, I took the stat seriously because it reflected what I saw: Lamela and Chadli were both clearly better not on the right, while Eriksen can play anywhere. (Lamela was poor in the center, which I’m sure reflects those first few games when we tried him there and he showed a preternatural ability to lose the ball after trying to dribble through clumps of players). If we don’t get a RM, of course, another option would be adding Pritchard, but he’s better in the center or left as well. Pritchard in the center, Eriksen on the right and Lamela and Chadli rotating on the left might be the best option on paper, if Pritchard can excel in the PL. It is a key year for Lamela, but WhoScored thinks he’s already quite a good player. To me, about 1/3 or 1/4 of their ratings can be thrown out derisively. But most make sense to me. In any case, their ratings of our players were. 1. Fazio (teehee) 2. Kane 3. Rose (think about it--was anyone else on the team so committed and effective so consistently besides Kane and Lloris?) 4. Eriksen (would have been 2 except late season burnout) 5. Lamela (Did he really have 4 MOTMs in the PL?) 7. Vertonghen (okay) 8. Bentaleb (about right)
If I was to list our top 8 of last season it would be: 1. Kane 2. Rose 3. Lloris 4. Bentaleb 5. Eriksen 6. Chadli 7. Jan 8. Dier RWAEB, I think Whoscored award their own man of the matches going by there own ratings. I wouldn't read much into it anyway, I don't think it's as important as MVPs in America.
Interesting stats there, RWAEB, god knows how Fazio tops the ratings though (unless you're joking?). Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure 6 comes after 5 If I were to rate our top 8 I'd say: Kane Rose Bentaleb Lloris Eriksen Chadli Dier Mason
Don’t you be hittin’ me with that new math! Seven comin’ after five was good enough for my daddy, and it’s good enough for me! Nah, I’m not joking in the slightest about Fazio. Statistics love Fazio (or WhoScored stats, anyway). 2nd in aerial duals won per game in the PL, for a start. Still doesn’t explain that rating, though. Surely anyone watching him could tell he’s dire... ..and Dier isnt. Isn’t that interesting? The only North American sport that has something similar is ice hockey, which announces the game’s three stars in reverse order at the end. I’d go 1. Kane 2. Lloris 3. Rose 4. Eriksen 5. Bentaleb 7., I mean 6. Vertonghen 7. Dier 8. Chadli 9. Lamela 10. Mason 11. Dembele
That's a bizarre move if true. Surely they knew all about him when he was playing in the same league as them? He hasn't exactly made any headlines since being here, so what has inspired them to move for him? I personally wouldn't mind keeping him. Didn't cost much and unlikely to be on big wages, not to mention he didn't put a foot wrong when called upon. But I guess the writing was on the wall as early as April when the midfield '2' was crying out for a rotation yet he was overlooked time and again. I don't really follow French football at all so I'd be grateful if someone could edify me as to the talents of Mr Rabiot.
Apparently PSG are paying £6m which I believe represents a profit to us (purely looking at transfer fees)
We probably paid for him in Euros. The pound has appreciated against the euro quite a bit since then..
Stambouli was considered a very good player before he joined us so maybe PSG are confident he can be the player he looked like he was gonna be before his move.
I think PSG's interest in Stambouli is down to the fact Cabaye's gone and rumours surfaced of Thiago Motta possibly leaving, so Stambouli's arrival will fill a gap, plus he knows Ligue 1 well and despite not making many appearances for us, in the ones he did, he done nothing to suggest he was a bad player, deserved a lot more game time in my opinion and it will be a shame to see him go as I think he has a solid future as a good DM and is/ was ideal to bring on in games where we're protecting a lead.
I mean that really is a good point, isn't it? (Though am I inventing a memory of him losing possession in the final third sort of to the right during a game and it leading to a goal?). To me he looked to have a bit of class about him too, especially for a DM. Certainly not a Zokora or Freund style of DM It's weird how some players just seem to get game after game to be positively crap in and other players just never get a chance. I assume it must be to do with what's seen on the training pitch. And I really do hope that the subjective assessment of just how skillful, imaginative, aware etc a player is is not taking too much of a back seat to fitness stats, km covered in a game etc. Yes a player has to fit a tactical system but, well, the system should be one that embraces footballing skill as the a really key attribute of a player.
