The problem with Doherty for me is he always seems to need to take an extra touch, be it when he's receiving the ball or when he's looking to send in a cross - something which none of Emerson, Reguillon or Sessegnon seem to do Given how making the ball move quickly is a big part of how Conte has set us up to play, that's ultimately where Doherty falls down as he causes the ball to slow down considerably when he has it
Sure, but you could say that about a lot of teams at a first XI level, including us. Obviously our wider squad needs a lot of surgery
When Gollini, Doherty, Winks and Lo Celso are starting a semi final for you, it's pretty telling your squad needs surgery
While I don’t think Gollini is the required level I think it’s worth saying that many of the same issues we see in him now - mainly around commanding his box with authority - were justifiably levelled at Lloris when he was bedding in. I don’t think Gollini is the same level but I think we are too quick to write off players these days. Especially on twitter. Like now people still sleep on how good Jorginho is because he had a bad start in the PL. I remember one game where we basically used Alli to take him out of the match and it destroyed their system under Sarri. Now players struggle to get near him because he adapted and improved.
Lloris wasn't perfect when he joined but it was clear for all to see he was a world class keeper just bedding-in. He was still pulling off saves that were making fans basically go "holy ****!". I don't think Gollini is terrible for what it's worth, far from it in fact, I just play on it a little but it does need to be said he's not really shown any attributes to suggest he's the one to replace Lloris. I'm also aware that our next long term number one is almost certainly not going to be as good as Lloris, it's likely we won't get one of his level for another 20-30 years (if that) but equally we have to ensure we get someone who is as close to Lloris as possible, or at least someone you can feel confident in and unfortunately I don't think that's Gollini. To me, despite having a couple of strong seasons with Atalanta, he's a keeper who'd be number one at a club like Southampton or Palace, not Tottenham.
Man Utd need a clear identity that a good manager will give them. If they get that guy then even without signings they’d comfortably make top 4. Add in a CDM and they could mount a title challenge. Spurs have the right manager but not the players. They need 4-5 first team players and to get rid of 4-5 too.
We’re ahead of them with a game in hand and I think you can say the same about us too in terms of number of players. They need probably a fullback on either side, a partner for Varane, a CM and to sort out their mess of attacking mids and forwards. We need a RWB, left-sided CB and a creative CM at minimum for the starting XI, and the rest is quality reinforcements in some positions (Dier’s CB slot, striker, RW) and squad surgery to rebalance the group. Far easier said than done of course.
I think Utd have a packed squad but I don't think the quality is as good as some make out, they don't have many outright bad players like we do but they don't have an abundance of top ones either. Ronaldo's obviously in a league of his own and Fernandes is a very good player, not forgetting Varane at the back but beyond that I don't feel Utd have any other players I'm overly envious of. And I don't think the teams around us would think too differently either. Greenwood's probably the one player I'd take outside of the three I mentioned and that's on the basis I think he's a massive talent, as of right now though we won't know if he reaches his potential or not. So I guess on the basis of quantity more so than quality, then yes, they probably should get top four but if we added just two or three good players to go into our XI, I'd say we'd have a better first XI than them, which is quite crazy considering how **** our overall squad is.
It’s late but anyone wanna name a combined Spurs/Utd 11? I’d put Kane, Son and Lloris in it and the rest would be Utd players. I just can’t see that they need as many signings as Spurs.
There's a couple positions that I think both sets of fans will be bias with, whilst there's a couple where I simply don't think there's a standout candidate. There's also the formation issues seeing as we both play different ones but for the sake of the question, my 9 of an 11 would be: Lloris No one, No one, Varane, Reguilon Skipp, Pogba Son, Fernandes, Ronaldo Kane Both team's RBs haven't done much, whilst Dier and Maguire seem very equal, both capable of good performances but with a big brainfart in them too. If Romero didn't get injured he could've been in the conversation, revisit this at the end of the season when he's hopefully had a run of games. Edit: if Diego or Luke read this, be interesting to see what they’d do.
I wouldn’t choose Reguilon over Shaw but I can see why you might. Skipp is one I missed so that makes 4 in my 11. I agree both teams RB/RWB haven’t done much but Maguire > Dier (just) for me. If I was going on your formation then I’d go with Lloris RB - all crap Maguire Varane Shaw Skipp Pogba Son Bruno Ronaldo Kane
Running through their squad: DDG is still good but not at the level he was. They’ll need to replace soon, as we do with Hugo. I quite like Henderson but they don’t seem to. Wan-Bissaka causes the same problem for them that Emerson does for us. Good athletes and solid defensively but can’t beat a man and limited in the final 3rd. Ultimately both need upgrading. Varane is the best defender in the two squads but their other options are either injured or not good enough. Maguire is too slow. Shaw is a shadow of his self from last year and they probably need to buy there if his form doesn’t improve. Their midfield is very similar to ours, McFred is basically the same as our midfield combinations. Erratic quality and not enough consistent creativity. Fernandes is a cut above as a 10 but Rangnick’s 4222 doesn’t have him play centrally. Their forwards are a mess and the elephant in the room is Ronaldo, who will continue to bail them out but IMO is an expansive luxury that they did for emotional reasons. And don’t even get me started on Pogba. IMO Greenwood is a fantastic prospect and they should be building the team around him and Fernandes and Sancho, with Cavani as a more experienced option up top. They could have chosen to invest money in positions they actually need but blew a fortune on Ronaldo. If you asked me for an XI with everyone fit I’d pick a similar one to DH, except Pogba gets nowhere near the side and I’d slot Romero and AWB in. Neither squad has a complete RB, LB options are dubious and you could pick anyone in the pivot really and it wouldn’t matter. I’m tempted to refuse to pick Ronaldo because I just think signing him was a symptom of everything that’s wrong at that club. Ultimately we both need multiple players. I think we have a more balanced squad and that says an awful lot about how unbalanced I think theirs is.
Shaw was excellent last season including for England at the Euros too but he’s gone back to being pretty average this one. This season though Reguilon has played three more in the Prem but has a goal and three assists to Shaw’s solitary assist, we also have more clean sheets than Utd in the Prem too, hence why I went with our guy. I can understand Maguire over Dier, albeit I do think it’s “6 of one” with the pair. Varane is miles and miles ahead of any other CB in both teams, Romero has the potential to be the one deserving to be picked alongside him but potential doesn’t equate to current ability and the latter is what I went with in my decision making.
I think we’re pretty much on the same wavelength when it comes to evaluating individual quality. Though I’d disagree about the balance of squads, I think they’ve got a much better balanced one where they can call in a few reinforcements that won’t massively decrease the quality of their team, we on the other hand feel each loss when a first choicer is out. They’ve got a top keeper and a good backup. We’ve got a top keeper and a below-par backup. They’ve got four decent FBs. We have one. Two can potentially be so, the other is ****e. They’ve got a mixture of quality in midfield. Our strength lies in grit which as you’ve mentioned is equivalent to their McFred, we have no Pogba/ Fernandes equivalent though whilst despite his lack of game time, Donny would also walk into our team. Upfront we have two elite stars and one decent player. Backed up by a below par one and a prospect. They have one of the GOAT, a former elite striker, two decent squad players, a great prospect and an expensive flop but who could come good.
Yeah that’s fair. Maybe I’m being too harsh on them. I’m certainly not overly optimistic about our balance!
We need a man of steel,or two for our defence....but from where? Another thought.....had Harry gone to City when they wanted him.....would City be top today?
