I don't know how anyone could watch yesterday's performance and think that Schneiderlin wouldn't massively improve us. When we had possession it was slow and ponderous AVB football all over again. That wasn't a tactical thing because we produced our two goals from open play due to Pochettino's high press and in fairness also Limassol being well below our level. The real reason we looked so slow moving the ball is because our three in the center are a problem. Dembele and Sandro are both so slow on the ball and Paulinho is incredibly wasteful in possession.
At this point in time I don't know how you can't look at Bentaleb and Capoue and not see them as a class above our other options. Capoue's passing makes Sandro look like a limited player like Palacios. Don't get me wrong, Sandro's still a solid tackler of the ball (though I maintain he looks 10-15 pounds overweight) but Pochettino clearly wants more complete players who can contribute to the game in all facets. The modern game on a whole dictates the importance of a variety of skills in a player. For me, Sandro and Dembele are much too one-dimensional and when they play together it is tough for us to develop any fluidity in the side. Both are very solid backups but I can't see them ever filling long term important roles in a successful Pochettino side.
Schneiderlin is a better and significantly more versatile player than Dembele, Sandro, and Paulinho and it isn't particularly close. It's not a buy buy buy thing but rather a necessity to shake up center midfield that has been well below average since Modric's departure. Just like with our back line, quantity does not equal quality. Pochettino saw that and we've added a whole new backline despite only being really thin at left back. It looks like he's seen it with our center midfield and thus Schneiderlin has been our most ever present and seemingly most coveted target. It's nice to have an adult with a football brain running the team again, addressing our needs in a calm and rational fashion.
