I’m probably alone in this but I would be happy to see the back of Maddison and especially Vicario. Maddison is decent but inconsistent and Vicario imo is a bombscare and was only signed by Ange because of the way his career went.
Think Frank could utilise Maddison like he did Eriksen, he played him in a sort of 8/10 hybrid role and the majestic bastard made everyone realise that he was still a baller even after dying for a bit. Happy with the (potential) appointment though, he’s been my preference for a few months now as any potential Ange successor so I’m hoping he lives up to my expectations and hype. With the right backing (I know… I know) I think he could do really well here and build on what Ange initially created so long as key players remain.
Has to be said the selection of 8s could be shaken up Bergvall and Bentancur are surely safe, but Bissouma having a year on his contract obviously asks if we should stick or twist - meanwhile Sarr (and presumably Gray) were 8s in Ange's system, but are surely more likely to plays as 6es, so we surely will need some depth In terms of Maddison, one thing that did strike me late last season was the new meta about an AM playing as a CF most obviously with Havertz, and I am curious to see if Maddison could play there to thread the ball onto Sonny and Johnson...though probably not as a starter, let's be honest here
One thing Maddison does have over Eriksen is his set pieces are noticeably better I mean Lo Celso's set pieces were better than Eriksen's...
Isn’t Bentancur contract up next summer too? Maddison as a false nine? Is he mobile enough for that? If anyone could do that role then I’d say Kulusevski.
Bit of history.Ange's sacking after winning the Europa after a season of league defeats and injuries brings to mind......Hugh Dowding.Winner of the Battle of Britain Cup over the Germans after a season of losses,injuries ........and being fired and replaced (by someone who could have lost this cup if hired earlier!).
IIRC there was noise of a new contract being drawn up late in the season, so that's presumably being kept in reserve for an announcement early in the window The main evidence against using Maddison as a false 9 is he usually fades at around 75 minutes, though how much of that was down to the amount of sprints he was having to do puts the question a little bit in the air. That said, it does seem Maddison loses influence in games once he gets his first clattering, for example the Tamworth game he was dictating play until he ate an elbow to the head when challenging for a header, and pretty much disappeared from the match after that
Most of our players aren’t a patch on prime former players. But that’s the market at the moment too. I’ve said for about two years now that football’s in a decline. Maddison’s one of the upper tier attacking mids in the league though, we’d do very well to get someone genuinely better than him. 23 goal contributions in 45 games this season, criminally underrated by some of our fans.
I think part of the problem players like Maddison and Bentancur have faced under Ange is that fans look to them to seize control of a game and dictate its tempo, but Ange's system is by design about having as little control as possible and basically using chaos to force the opponent into making a mistake which a high press can then punish. As a result, they looked even more lost than most of our players and spent most games running around like headless chickens. So many square pegs in round holes last season. I'm relieved he's gone.
True this current Spurs team is miles off the Poch era side. Maddison wouldn’t play for any of the other top 6 or even Newcastle imo.
We beat Newcastle to signing him, they even offered him more money (apparently). I think when played in his preferred ten role, there are only a small handful better than him in the league in his position. Actually makes his stats a little more impressive when you consider Ange played him as some weird LCM/ LM hybrid role this season.
This was why I wasn’t jumping on the hate bandwagon of certain players. Maddison and especially Bentancur are quality players when played correctly. Porro and Udogie were looking shambolic when played as inverted FBs, moment they switched back to their natural roles they immediately looked like their usual selves. A good number of others were just being given instructions/ tactics that took away their best attributes. I too am quite relieved to see the back of Ange’s tactics, his idea of how football should be played was great but his methods and execution were baffling at times.
What seems like a long, long time ago, but in reality was only in the build up to the appointment of Antonio Conte, I said that Tottenham shouldn't enter into relationships with exotic, high maintenance types, who want the expensive lifestyle and playthings....that we'd be far better off with the plain looking girl from next door, who would always love us, despite our many faults and **** like a bunny, no matter what. For the first time since Poch, we've made a smart move. Frank is the perfect candidate. I don't know if he will win us anything, but he will improve us, every day, and give us everything in trying to win. Finally...a smart move. I wish him well...because, make no doubt, this one smart move may be it for a while...there's plenty more stupid that we're capable of. COYS!
You could easily have been talking about Nuno here! Thomas Frank is a similar style appointment to him but I think Thomas Frank might actually be a better fit and just might be the tonic.
Nuno was burned out. He was given a 2 year contract with a break clause after 1 season... On appointment, I predicted he wouldn't see out the season. I was too generous! Nobody at the club had any conviction in his appointment. Plus, he was too defensive as a coach and our defending was for ****. Frank's a LOT more flexible tactically and I'll bet he gets 4 years, minimum.
Fully agree, especially on your last point. It will be quite exciting to see this in action. Thomas seems to have a highly intelligent footballing brain and will tweak and adapt where necessary.
