Bale has (rightly) taken all the plaudits but amongst his rise to form another man has also been quietly going about his business very aptly. Lloris had many doubters (not me, he was a beast on PES games of old ) but so far he is adapted to the English game very well, notably his confidence at dealing with set pieces. Not WUMing, but I'm amazed you were able to prize him away for such a lowly figure and the fact Barca or even United didn't go in for him. Quite a steal you have there, where art thou Heurelho?
Yup, he's the best keeper we've had in the Premier League by a distance in my opinion. His speed off his line when a ball splits our defence is actually a joy to watch, I've not been excited by a goalkeeper before. Leave Gomes alone though, he was for the most part an above average keeper, made to look worse by a media witchhunt and some terrible refereeing.
Are you fed up talking about what you should be talking about...all this ****! http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...enitez-stun-Chelsea-players-with-bust-up.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jan/17/chelsea-rafa-benitez-southampton http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...uer-world-and-can-win-the-Premier-League.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21552216 Nice abundance of smileys in your post I see!
The thing that I'm happiest about with him is that he's largely unspectacular, despite being consistently top-drawer. Commands his box well, communicates with his defenders and does the simple things very, very well, which means that he rarely has to do anything outstanding. That he also has the ability to pull off fantastic saves when he's needed is just the icing on the cake. Adds an extra dimension to our game with his willingness to come out of his box and seems to know exactly when to do it, too. A very good keeper, brought in for a very reasonable price. It might tempt Levy to go back to them in the summer for another bargain or two.
Despite not being a position we desperately needed to strengthen (STRIKER LEVY!) Lloris has come in and improved the team. Our defence is improved on last season despite losing King and Kaboul being out all season so far, Lloris has to be given some of the credit for that. I would be worried about keeping hold of him in 2-3 years time tbh as i think the biggest clubs will be sniffing.
Nothing wrong with the thread, Smart. Lloris had been very good for us this season after a somewhat shakey start. I said in the summer that I'd prefer we signed Cesar on a cheap deal and spent the money elsewhere but the more you see of Lloris, you see how well he fits in to our style of play. It's not something you'd usually place much importance on as a 'keeper but his pace allows him to sweep up for our defence when the highline is beaten and his shot stopping is also very good. He's certainly one of the best in the league and is forming a good understanding with our defence.
but in that time, we'll have continued to improve (hopefully) and we should have a new stadium. We're a good side considering our limitations over wages and not being in the CL. that could be different in a few years
It helps when the defence in front of the 'keeper is solid- and Spurs defence has been remarkably solid in the period since Lloris has been the regular first choice- in fact, to such an extent that you don't really notice him. The best 'keepers down the years have tended to play behind the best defenders- Clemence, Shilton, Seaman, Schmeichel, Cech (at his mid 2000s peak) Joe Hart, at present etc. Confidence, focus and togetherness builds when the players can rely on each other. Most of those names just did their job competently , but could produce their best when called upon if needed. The issue with Lloris was whether he could adapt to the physicality of the English game- high ball into the box, players surrounding him, the relentless pace etc, but due to the solidity of the defence, he's not been tested in the way many imagined he might be.
Touch wood, touch wood. We could also get a new stadium and go on a massive anti-spend like Arsenal have. They've done remarkably well considering, would we do as well? Hmmmm. My glass is always half empty, i like to power through the first half a pint
Our Academy seems to be coming good at just about the right time, I'm not sure it'll produce any genuine superstars, but it looks to have enough to produce a number of future squad players.
Oh yeah! But of course we are top of the spending charts according to most other fans. The non-net spending charts. The money they spunked on the training ground and academies was money well worth spending in my opinion. Spunked probably the wrong word, oh well.
Yeah, I know we are. They fail to see that we sell all our dead wood for a decent price and recoup just about everything we spend on new players.
He looks to be a very good athlete. Probably a lot stronger than he looks, too. I would also agree that it gives a defence far more collective confidence when they know that they have a top keeper like Lloris behind them. That was always the problem with Gomes, I used to close my eyes just about every time somebody took a long range shot. I can't imagine, if truth be told, that our defence had any confidence in him either.
cue the discussion/arguments to start about the Hugo/Brad goalkeeper situation at the start of the season... what? I didn't say anything....
Didn't say there wasn't, threads fine, I'm just amused the provider has nothing better to think about than a rival teams goalie! I find their mindset intriguing, when its all going wrong for Spurs the last thing on my mind is some other teams players, I'm fairly sure you're the same, or would run off to the Chav board to discuss Hazard?
All jokes aside, Roo, I have seen Lloris develop in the last couple of months. Much more positive in the air and he has dropped that flamboyant 'soft-wrist' tip overs that were evident in his play in France - at least from the videos I saw of him back then. It was noticeable the other night that he was stronger coming to claim crosses in the box and if you add that to his general top positioning and speed then you have yourself a very useful keeper. And of course he has had a damn good mentor for learning about being a keeper in the PL.......
To be honest DL you weren't the only ONE that thought Hugo was a major coup for us. I was amazed we signed him. I said at the time and he's strengthened my case even more so now, Hugo is without a doubt one of the best keepers in Europe. Top 5 for me would be: Casillas, Buffon, Cech, Neuer, Lloris. Heurelho on the other hand is out in Germany on loan to Hoffenheim
