He did look a little tired to me if I'm honest. The 60 yard sprint shows the type of guy he is, always willing to give 110% but that's why I'm worried that if we start him in the league before he's ready, he could end up over doing it, pull a muscle and then sit out the next 3 weeks. If he starts I hope he comes through ok, it's just I think as of right now, it'd be safer to bench him for Norwich and give him 20/30 mins and have the following game as a better chance of him starting. I think someone on Twitter said Spurs have 5 games in the next 15 days from Norwich, if true, he's got plenty of opportunities coming up.
i don't see any harm in giving one of Eriksen/Holtby the first hour and the other the final 30. Then reversing in subsequent games if both are fit. Until one stamps their authority as the no1 no10
It's a hard choice. Holtby by now should be used to the Prem but isn't match fit (in my opinion). Where as Eriksen has no experience and had little time with the team yet started the season with Ajax on fire. 2 goals in 4 games and I think he got an assist or 2 too.
Yeah it'll be interesting to see who gets the nod. Holtby is more used to the Prem, looked good against Dinamo but in my opinion isn't ready for a league start. Eriksen has no Prem experience but started the season on fire with Ajax, scoring twice in four games and I think he got one or two assists. Can't rule out Sig either, despite the fact he's been pretty average so far, towards the end of last season he was one of our "better" performers and when he's on form he's a very good player.
True, and 7 games in 3 weeks 14/09/2013 Tottenham Hotspur Norwich Premier League 19/09/2013 Tottenham Hotspur Tromso Europa League 21/09/2013 Cardiff Tottenham Hotspur Premier League 24/09/2013 Aston Villa Tottenham Hotspur League Cup 28/09/2013 Tottenham Hotspur Chelsea Premier League 03/10/2013 Anzhi Makhachkala Tottenham Hotspur Europa League 05/10/2013 Tottenham Hotspur West Ham Premier League Busy 3 weeks!
Do you know how many games it takes to get match fit, because I certainly don't. What I do know is that he's played 2 under 21 games to get back his fitness, which he excelled in, and played in the Europa League and was very good. I'm also not sure why you're worried about him pulling a muscle, fitness is about stamina but muscle injuries are caused by poor warm ups and over stretching causing stress on the muscles. I'm not a physio but I'd be surprised if he's in any heightened danger of muscle injuries. Why do you think he won't get much time on the ball against Norwich, by the way? Norwich will likely be defending from the top of their area and looking to counter us. You might not think it's ideal and I agree it'd be nice if he had a bit more football under his belt but I think it's easily preferable to throwing in from the off and hope he immediately links up well with his teammates.
Yeah busy for sure. Anzhi away has to be a 2nd string team for me. Chelsea before and West Ham after means we'll need fully fit sides for them games in particular for obvious rival/ derby reasons.
Of course I don't but general observation tells me he'd need at least a few minutes in the Prem or 1 or 2 more EL/ U-21 games before being fit enough to play 90 minutes in the most demanding league in football (or be in condition to last the majority of the 90 mins if need be). You cannot judge his form based on 2 under 21 matches and a Europa game against opposition equivalent to a mid-table Championship side. Townsend looked like Messi against Dinamo, I'm not going to start thinking we've got the new Bale though. I cited Kaboul's situation at the end of last season as to why I think Holtby isn't match fit, Kaboul said in an interview he tried rushing back but ended up over doing it and getting an injury which ruled him out. As for time on the ball, Norwich's defence and midfield will close us down a lot quicker than what Dinamo's players did hence why I don't think he'll have much time on the ball to make the key passes.
I've not said that at all. My point is that he couldn't have done anymore and that Eriksen is by no means an automatic first choice ahead of him. If Eriksen had a preseason with us, or had a couple of sub appearances under his belt then maybe he'd be a good choice but I'm not kean on pushing him in the deep end before he's even had a full week's training in him. I see Eriksen's situation as far from ideal and the same goes for Lamela so I just don't see the sense in making things difficult for them early on. I also don't see how you can bring up Eriksen's early season form in the Dutch league considering you've already dismissed Europa League game for being against low quality opponents and your ongoing concerns about Norwich giving us less space. Kaboul was totally different, he was out for 6 months or more, Lewis was out for about 6 weeks.
There's some good points made here over the last page or so, indicating what a tough call AVB has on Sat. Could all go out the window yet, we'll see who comes back fit n ready after this weeks travels.
I like the idea of starting one of Holtby/Eriksen and bringing on the other. It does look as if many players are going to have a chance to impress in the next couple of weeks, albeit with a squad that hasn't played together. I'm going to keep an open mind for a month or two as the team takes shape. While Holtby did not do very well overall last year, he's a different player at CM, IMO. One of the reasons I'd like him to play against Norwich is because the team doesn't know each other very well. I liked the way he kept calling for the ball and trying to direct traffic against Tbilisi, and from what little I've heard, Eriksen isn't particularly a take-charge type. I like Gylfi and think in retrospect he might have been a good choice against Arsenal for his tenacity and determination, but think he's the wrong choice against a team we have to break down.
As much as I'd like him to start I've even said Eriksen perhaps maybe better being eased in, my argument isn't about Eriksen starting over Holtby though, my argument is I don't think Holtby is fit enough to start in the Prem, yet. I've said give Sig the nod for Norwich and ease Eriksen and Holtby into the swing of things. Though I think you're belittling the Eredivisie a bit too much, yeah granted it's not the strongest of leagues compared to others but most of the teams are still of higher quality than Dinamo. In the long run however I do believe Eriksen will be the automatic first choice if he replicates his Ajax form. Sigurdsson and Holtby have both had a substantial amount of time to stake a claim and yet neither has held down a permanent place in the side, failing to impress on too many occasions in the league, we've seen glimpses but glimpses isn't enough. Splashing £11m on Eriksen suggests to me the club see him as the eventual full time number 10, providing he does indeed replicate the Ajax form, otherwise I don't see why they'd spend that sort of money on just another squad player to share a role with two others. 6 weeks is still a long time to be out, made even worse when it's coming into a new season and everyone else is fresh from the break and having pre-season under their belts, many players say a good pre-season can be key to the season ahead. If we were short in the AM department then I'd have no problems Holtby starting but while we've got Sig and Eriksen, plus others who can fill in there, I'd rather not rush Holtby back. I think AVB could/ should have given him some game time against Arsenal, we lacked creativity in that match and it was calling out for a Holtby/ Eriksen type of player to come on, Capoue's injury probably didn't help but that was on 75 mins, at half time I think the majority wanted Dembele off the pitch and Holtby could've come on then because I really don't know why AVB persisted with Dembele for 70 minutes. If he had of got some decent minutes then a start against Norwich would be something I'd be calling for. If Lewis starts Saturday then I hope he does the business. There's a lot more pressure on him and Sig now to perform with Eriksen's arrival so when he gets chances he'll need to take them, every player will in fairness but when the position those three play in can only be occupied by one of them on match day, there's no room for poor performances now.
Can't really fit both in mate. Both are number 10's. Holtby can probably play CM but the likes of Paulinho, Sandro, Capoue and Dembele are all ahead of him there. Though Dembele needs to up his form quickly.
Just meant in terms of general pecking order, excluding injuries/ suspensions etc. EDIT: Can see Sandro starting though. Probably, like Holtby, a bit too early but Capoue's injury means ideally we'll need a ball winner and so Sandro may have to rush back quicker than expected.
I think Villas-Boas will pick Dembele and Paulinho in the centre with either Holtby or Eriksen further forward. I think he'll go with the former, as he's done his job in two reserve games already. Should have a strong bench if everyone's fit.
