Might be due possibly to the club World Cup where you can sign players this summer and still register them for it.
Seems more like it's designed for clubs to skirt one issue or another In our case, if we signed Chris Rigg in the early window he'd qualify as CG for us due to being at the club for a week or two prior to his 18th birthday
It’s definitely for the Club World Cup PL summer transfer window dates revealed - with Club World Cup twist https://www.skysports.com/share/13336561
It’ll be interesting to see if any teams try and jump the gun and lock him down this summer, perhaps offering a loan back for a year to sweeten the deal. Could see that being good deal for everyone, if a more expensive one for the buyer.
It's you that's mistaken, Locky. "The players are no more crap now than when Redknapp had Modric and Krancar playing in a midfield two and we were getting battered regularly." That's what you said, I haven't put any words in your mouth and you trying to call my post weird is equally bizarre considering it's your statement that's proven the weirdest because it a) had no substance b) was factually incorrect. And even more ironically, you're now trying to put words into my mouth. Where have I once stated or even implied our midfield is as solid as Modric, Palacios, Sandro and Parker? I've simply said they're better than what we're currently seeing (and that goes for more than just the midfield) and it's similar to the situation we found ourselves in under AVB/ Tim where the likes of Dembele, Vertonghen, Rose and Walker were underperforming and looking worser players than they actually are but when given to Pochettino their quality shone through very quickly. And now I'm apparently kidding myself that Ben Davies can play as good as prime Ledley King? . Jesus, man, have a word with yourself and actually take in what you're typing here. You're going off in circles and saying they're squares whilst trying to argue and claim against things I've not even mentioned. You're waffling because I corrected your incorrect post and are now trying to put words into my mouth to make yourself feel better. You got it wrong, simple as that.
Locky? Sir. You misinterpreted my post. Quote all you want. I feel great by the way. Did RedKnapp play a midfield two? Yes. Were we getting battered regular around that time? Yes. Both facts. Both factually correct. Circles? Squares? Enough with the word salad. I'm not putting words in your mouth. Just saying that the current squad is a bigger part of the problem than you are recognising, and that Redknapp's squad became stronger in the positions I listed, mostly after that game. He was allowed to build a squad with balance. A lot of that was adding steel to the middle. Ange doesn't have a balanced squad yet, and has seemingly only been allowed to build a squad of youngsters with not enough experience up to this point. You're ignoring that Pochettino also made signings and changes upon his arrival, fully grown players. He also inherited Dembele, one of the most robust midfielders we've seen wear the shirt. He signed Trippier, an experienced player not new to the league or position, as a backup to Walker. Alderweireld, joined Vertongen as the centre-back pair. More premier league experience. Expecting Davies and Gray, out of position, to do much better than we are with any manager is not sensible. Also expecting a top half finish when our midfield is almost as hollow as a donut is also not sensible, regardless of manager. The squad needs work to do any better. Ange has overseen a bigger clear-out than most managers, and the replacements haven't all come in. Then there are the injuries. Any prem team that performs requires more steel in the middle that ours has now, and more solidity in the CB department. It's not just down to coaching. It has more to do with how other teams perceive the team than we think. If they think we're a soft tough, we simply get bullied. The Villa and Fulham games come to mind. Do you remember when Dembele poked that Chelsea players eye out in the derby? There is not one player with an ounce of that fight in them in our entire midfield. It's been that way with past Spurs teams, until it was fixed. It's broken and unbalanced again now. That was my point, my only point, and it hasn't changed. There is no back pedalling in attempts to make me feel better, or you worse, or whatever. It's not about feelings. The squad ain't good enough, and in typical Spurs fashion we're soft in the middle. We have reverted to old type. It needs fixing one way or another before any major progress happens. Regardless of manager.
I've said for ages that we need a proper holding midfielder, going back through various previous managers. We still weren't as fragile in the middle of the park before Postecoglou, though. I believe that he's largely responsible for that, even given our lack of balance and our injuries. We've got plenty of good players and plenty of decent midfielders. The manager isn't using them right, despite that being quite difficult at times. The 4-3-3 with inverted fullbacks and touchline wingers exposes our defence badly.
Not replacing Hojbjerg was a mistake. The Dane had many limitations but he gave the midfield a bit of grit even if he wasn’t the most disciplined. Archie Gray should have been used in midfield more too.
Hojbjerg doesn't do the sitting role well, in my opinion. Very handy for pressing and closing down, though. Useful option, especially off the bench. Gray got stuck due to our unbalanced squad and injury problems. We went into the season unprepared at fullback and then lost all of our centre-halves. I think he'd be a very good holding midfielder, but we've yet to see him play there. Putting all that pressure on him and Bergvall has been quite unfair to them, I think.
By complete coincidence, the BBC may have given the game away mentioning Los Ladrones would have to pay a fee for TAA if they want to play him in the Club World Cup So yeah, self-interest is the name of this particular game
Not replacing Hojbjerg isn't the issue: letting Skippy go was Skippy was a better option for the base of the midfield three than Hojbjerg, though it has to be said Ange tended to play him in the high pressing role to give Sarr a rest last season
Except they’re not yet factually correct because you’ve yet to even show where these supposed regular batterings occurred, especially with Modric and Kranjcar in a two (or even without them), unless of course the source is “trust me, bro”? Any squad issues are being exacerbated by the poor coaching and tactics. The imbalance you keep mentioning isn’t helped by the manager shoehorning a number 10 in as an 8 and a number 8 as a 6, along with inverted FBs which just isn’t productive enough all because he wants to persist with a formation and system that doesn’t suit multiple players. That there’s even still an imbalance after 4 windows is further damning of the planning from manager and DoF. At the very least there should be a cohesive team by now, with the aim of building on quality going forward, yet after over £320m spent we’re still scratching our heads as to what we’re meant to be seeing most weeks, more players have also regressed than progressed. We’re likely seen as a soft touch because the tactics often feel like players are just told to “go and attack, mate”. Our fans, rival fans and pundits alike have often spoken of the amateurish vibe to our play. There’s often little structure, we send about 8 players into the opposition half and therefore one through ball or one over the top and the opposition are more or less one on one with Vicario. It’s why last season van de Ven became so important because the amount of recovery sprints he was having to make in games prevented a number of shots at Vicario, it’s no wonder his (and others’) hamstrings keep going, that just isn’t sustainable.
You're being pedantic and deliberately obtuse. Around the time when Redknapp played Modric and Krancar in a midfield two we got battered regularly. I remember that game particularly and I remember teams coming and scoring 4 or 5 against us was regular enough that it could be predicted when particular teams came or we went to them. No lies told. I said what I said. It was not really enjoyable until the midfield battle became something we cold predictably win. We need trustworthy partnerships. Can you name our best midfield three or two? Redknapp had Palacios and Huddlestone, then Modric and Parker. Pochettino had Dembele and Wanyama, until he didn't anymore. Can you confidently say who our best two or three are? I feel like we are waiting for Gray, Bergvall and Sarr to grow up and become world beaters. Who are the three seniors above them for their positions who are so clearly leaders showing the way? Yes, squad issues are exacerbated by poor coaching and tactics, but if you haven't got the players you haven't got the players. It doesn't mean that it makes sense to ignore the squad issues and simply blame coaching. This squad would require reinforcement, whomever the manager is. There should be a cohesive team by now because, why? You sell lots of experienced players, and don't adequately replace them, then expect a cohesive team? Even after crippling injuries? By which logic? The lack of a cohesive team is not only down to Ange, as I said, there are players he wanted, with more experience, that he couldn't get for one reason or another. Who is to blame for that? "We didn't give you all the tools you required, but you should have fixed the problem by now anyway! Because, reasons." doesn't make sense in absolutely any walk of life. Especially with the injury decimation of the squad. Ange has been encouraged mainly to invest in youth first and experience second. It's therefore gonna take longer to build the team that can compete. Simple. Redknapp and Pochettino didn't have this issue as much, which is partly why it's an unfair and ridiculous comparison, regardless of how much money has been spent. Players cost way more now. This is why in my humble opinion, the board need to back him and follow through on the actual plan. Give the guy a chance to succeed rather than expecting miracles. The other option is to throw him on the heap of managers that you also didn't back that could have succeeded if you had, and then they go on to succeed elsewhere. Not a good look. Dumb. The players are told much more than "go on and attack, mate". This is a weird, semi-prejudiced narrative that gets spun, similar to the usual anti-Spurs nonsense. On what basis do we assume that this manager who has more experience than most in the league by number of years has only developed tactical ability that amounts to "go on and attack, mate". If this guy was from Germany, Italy or Spain, or even the UK, no such assumption would be made. The irony is that Redknapp himself has said that he has told players to "run about a bit", his tactical nous has never been questioned in this way. Amateurish vibe to our play? You may be correct here. I may also be equally correct in my belief that opposing teams target players or positions they deem as weak. Kinsky got targeted as the newbie goalkeeper. Gray definitely got targeted as the youth put of position in a shaking temporary defence. We give opposing teams confidence to feel they can win, just based on who's playing. All with no, or very little, reliable on pitch experienced protection from midfield. Again maybe both are true, but to ignore the squad deficiency as a hugely significant factor makes no sense. Also, young players generally make more mistakes than experienced players. That risk comes with the territory. We all saw the difference when Vicario came back in even though Kinsky did an admiral job. The issue you're describing in greater detail is the same as the issue I'm describing. For me tough it's a big fat hole in the middle of the team. For one reason or another we just don't look or feel strong in midfield or at the back. That has been Spurs recurring issue throughout many managers. The managers that do well are the ones that solve that squad issue with relative speed.
Hojbjerg came at a time when we were lacking a strong midfield and tried to cover up all roles , at times he was found out of position because he was like a one armed paper hanger , playing for Denmark he looked a different player because he concentrated on his own role
You can call me what you like, I've simply proven that your initial statement was indeed not a fact. There was never a period where we got regularly battered with Modric and Kranjcar playing in the midfield two. I've literally provided the data of games Modric and Kranjcar were on the pitch at the same time that disproves your statement. There was one bad defeat with them as a midfield pairing and that absolutely does not constitute to being "regularly battered". Even from a general observation, Redknapp finishing 4th, 5th and 4th in his three full seasons, as well as taking us from bottom to 8th in his first half a season shows you that being battered regularly couldn't have really happened because you don't climb the table and finish in spots like that via regular defeats/ batterings. Regular defeats is what we're currently seeing under Ange, hence us sitting 14th with 15 losses to just 10 wins. I can't tell you who our definite best midfield three are because the midfield three isn't working and hasn't really worked effectively enough for the best part of 14-15 months. Maddison is not an 8, he's a 10. Bentancur is not a 6 he's an 8. So if I had to pick, the first thing I'd do would be to ditch 433 and go 4231 and have Maddison playing behind the striker and a midfield pairing from a choice of Bentancur, Sarr, Bissouma, Bergvall and Gray, in terms of best form I'd pick Bentancur and Sarr right now, with the aim of phasing in Bergvall and Gray to replace one or both over time. I'd then also ditch the nonsensical inverted FBs which is so often causing goal scoring opportunities for the opposition. There should be a cohesive team at the bare minimum because four transfer windows and practically two years in is ample time to get the basis of a team together via signings and coaching. No one's expecting miracles but some basics should absolutely be in place by now, yet we look worse now than anything we've seen in the last 5+ years. Nuno, Hurzeler, Iraola and Glasner all sit above us with weaker squads and lesser budgets, have their players playing like a team and have been in their current jobs in equal or less time than Ange has with us.
