Never said he was great on the ball, he doesn't need to be though as he gets it forward to the attacking mids as quickly as possible, it seems like this season he's understood his limitations but used the skills he does have to the best of his ability. If only Winks done similar he'd actually look a half decent player yet he's a passenger in 95% of games.
I doubt its way of ranking is completely accurate but it is objective. Winks has played in a lot of matches we have won. It would be bizarre if that had happened despite him being crap.
Trippier's played in a lot of games we've won, yet most would agree he's had a shocking season (and I'm a big Tripps fan). Winks offers us nothing unique, there's no USP about him. As I've just said to PNP, he's a passenger. We've gone from Modric, to Dembele to now Winks. Fillet steaks to a big mac.
Sissoko rarely does this, unless there's a really obvious break on. He either passes it sideways or backwards or he runs with the ball, if there's an opportunity to do so. Winks has been asked to do a job that he's not really suited to and he's largely done a good job of it. He's having to do it like Jorginho, making a large number of passes in deep positions, because that's where he's getting the ball. He can't generally go that far forward, because he has to do a job defensively.
The moment Moussa gets it he drives it forward as you've mentioned, then looks for the nearest player. I'd much rather that than him receiving the ball and his first instinct is too look 5 yards to his left or behind. Ask the Chelsea lads what they think of Jorginho right about now. If we're wanting Winks to play that role then it's going to make for horrendous viewing. We need a midfielder who's going to get it forward. I'd much rather Winks has less than his usual 95% passing accuracy if he was actually trying to make killer balls or risky forward passes. His current style holds us back. Yesterday was a sign of what he can do if he took more forward chances, those moments are too infrequent though.
He's had to play that role, because we haven't had a holding midfielder since Dier had his operation. Pochettino's preferred system had him playing there prior to that anyway, due to the absence of Wanyama and Dembele. We've still won 70% of the games that he's started this season and have lost some big ones that he didn't. He's getting stick for not being Dembele and being asked to play out of position. Neither of those things are his fault.
It’s not just been since Dier’s injury though. He’s played like this since breaking into the side. The first year or so I could ‘forgive’ him for it as he’s finding his feet at this level and doesn’t want to make mistakes but I’ve seen zero progress since his debut. He’s still the same player who seems too scared to take risks going forward. He’s too ‘safe’ for this system. Yesterday was a rare exception but that was likely out of desperation through the team chasing a winner, if he’d done more of that in his time in the team I wouldn’t be criticising him so much. I don’t give him stick for not being Dembele, I give him stick because I think he’s a poor player for this team who generally offers us nothing special. Dembele wasn’t Modric but he still had his own way of controlling games. Winks’ idea of controlling a game is to make countless 5-10 yard passes that doesn’t help towards an attack. If he took the last thirty seconds of yesterday’s game and implemented that into his style on a regular basis, he’d be a bloody good player.
The problems I've seen in recent games with the personnel available to you in midfield have related to when the opposition have the ball. It's been too easy for teams to carry the ball forward through midfield. The inception stats show that none of them are very effective at winning the ball back in midfield. Two years ago Wanyama was important in that role.
He didn't start off playing it safe. He was used further forward and ran with the ball more. He's been more conservative since his injury problems and he's been used in a deeper role, because of our deficiencies there. He was allowed to get forward yesterday because Dier came on and freed him up. You're comparing him to peek Spurs performance Dembele and Modric and finding him wanting. Hardly surprising. When Modric was his age he'd just signed for us and was being viewed as a flop. We had our infamous 2 points from 8 games ('arry) start and he got moved all over the midfield.
Wanyama is crocked, Dier was out because of his appendicitis operation and Amos, who started there in pre-season, did his knee ligaments. Sissoko's done a job there, despite being more of a box-to-box player, but we've struggled to fill that role.
I don’t remember him ever playing further forward than CM. He’s always been conservative and safe in my eyes. I just feel that it was overlooked in the early stages due to him being fresh on the scene and holding his own but fast forward to his third season now and I don’t feel much has changed. The talent is there but the belief/ mentality isn’t. The injuries definitely haven’t helped but I don’t see any signs that he’s going to become the level of midfielder we need/ want him to be. I may compare him to Modric but that’s because our own fanbase believe he’s Modric’s heir or use the term “Winkiesta” with the implication he plays similar to Iniesta, which I find laughable even if it is partly tongue-in-cheek. I don’t compare him to Dembele but I do point out that we’ve gone from Modric to Dembele to him. The drop in quality is massive. In fairness to him that’s not his fault but then that’s where the club should’ve been more proactive in terms of planning for a Dembele replacement instead of relying on Winks.
It baffles me how you are a massive Trippier fan, yet think so little of Winks. If Winks does nothing in games, and isn’t up to scratch in your opinion, how the hell do you think so highly of Trippier, who has many of the same negative traits that you describe Winks as having? - As well as not being able to defend, and is prone to catastrophic mistakes?
I think this view is quite blinkered. You see only what you want to see. If it's a side or back pass it gets noticed and if it's forward or a burst forward it's ignored. I am neutral about Winks but if you only want to look at the negative that's all you'll see. Similarly the midfielders you might think are good also spend a lot of their time passing sideways or back - it's a feature of the position. Very few have the luxury of driving forward at every opportunity in this league. Mind you, put Winks in Citeh and he'd probably be able to run forward more. It's always possible to dislike a player if you're not prepared to see the positive. Your comments are massively unfair.
I've always rated him, but he is one weird player. Not many attacking players hug the left touchline so closely, and he's the only one I can think of that's right footed. He's a poor fit for a manager who wants players to exchange positions constantly and confuse defenders. But, as I said, he frightens defenders with his speed and dribbling. He really should play against Man City, even when we're at full strength, I think. I say that because he was the best player on the pitch for us in the loss against Man City before the beginning of last season. He and Georgiou were the only two players who could break their press, because they were the two speed dribblers we had--like Townsend, as you say. Except instead of belting it into Row Z, GKN tries various things, which tend to look reasonably well judged, if not particularly inspired...until Sunday...and for that matter during the ICC, where his goals were crucial (for whatever the ICC is worth).
Winks reminds me of Trevor Brooking. He kind of makes himself available at all times, it stops other players giving the ball away.
Putting my head over the parapet, I know, but I'm still not convinced by Sissoko. Big ego, big heart, big engine, But very few actual skills in my view. Passing and shooting being two rather inportant ones he lacks. Does what he does through brute force, mostly. Oh, by the way, I don't agree with you about Winks, either........ Sorry, old chum ( feeble attempt at compensatory ingratiation...).
He's not even playing that far forward now. He's used as our deepest midfielder. It's not unusual to see Winks trying to play out from the edge of our own box, virtually level with our centre-halves. We also tend to play further back overall, as our pressing game isn't what it used to be. He has and I think he's reached his limit, barring the set-pieces that he's bizarrely being passed up for. He never tries to beat his man and he's given tons of space by other sides, as they know he's not going to use it. His crossing has been uncharacteristically poor and he's been put to the back of the queue on free-kicks, for some reason.
Aye, Sissoko will never be the most technical. The jury is still out as despite his excellent form, it’s still only just five or so months of very good football out of nearly two and a half years. That said, it does seem like he’s understood his limitations whilst also finding the courage to use his strengths and it’s worked well this season for him, he’s stepped up at a time we really needed him too. So far it’s between him, Son and Kane for our POTS in my eyes. As for Winks, I’m in a minority, fully know that. Although I do believe a number of people’s opinions of him are clouded by sentiment due to him being a cracking lad and an academy graduate. Feels a little similar to when Lewis Holtby was here in some ways, loved the guy as a person but ultimately everyone acknowledged he wasn’t good enough for Tottenham. That’s how I feel about Winks right now. Just really don’t see what it is he brings to the table.
