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I don't care what Magath says and you shouldn't either. Magath is a madman.
Very well-written article as always from Lombardi, but I didn't see a football discussion in there as opposed to an emotional rant within a recanted history. It may have been intended that way, but why exactly do you not feel he has a chance
Bardi
? Surely Eriksen alone is not the only reason for Holtby's impending demise at Spurs if it is the case, especially since he can play a more reserved position as he did in that friendly.
And I agree with the post above, you can't put much stock in the words of Magath, especially a freshly relegated one looking for an excuse and choosing to refer to a loan player he knows well.
Bardi
? Surely Eriksen alone is not the only reason for Holtby's impending demise at Spurs if it is the case, especially since he can play a more reserved position as he did in that friendly.And I agree with the post above, you can't put much stock in the words of Magath, especially a freshly relegated one looking for an excuse and choosing to refer to a loan player he knows well.
Think
Bardi
usually gets it right ( I loved the Turfies article which was just my level of random) but think he's pulling our legs a bit on this occasion.
"..bar slapping Bale’s chest as the Welshman grabbed a stupendous winner against the Baggies, he did little of note and has done very little since then"
I think Holtby's been bright in several games of note-:
"Ten minutes into his Spurs career, he set himself a level, a level of expectation that has destroyed his Spurs career."
What was he supposed to do, put in a substandard work rate and try his best not to play well and slip under the radar for his first game so as not to build insurmountable amongst our fans? I think it's our fault as fans for building him up, not his.
"Holtby was cast off, surplus to requirements. In a calendar year he had gone from German Under21 captain and prospect, to relegation battler at Fulham".
I guess it's easy to break into the German national team, they don't have many good midfielders do they?
"The season got worse for Holtby when Magath publicly questioned his attitude at Fulham".
Didn't watch much of him at Fulham except the obvious MOTD highlights although I heard he was easily their best player during his spell there, although I'm sure that's easy to dismiss as they were a relegated team.
"Eriksen is who Holtby should have been"
Don't see why, not really a fair comparison in the slightest when they both arguably play in different positions and have had very different amounts of opportunities in a season with a huge amount of disruption.
I guess as a writer or journalist you have to try and polarise opinion by being a bit judgemental and stick your neck out either way to get people reading-you sit on the fence, you get splinters no? I think you're trolling a bit now though sonny jim, same with the Lennon article a few months ago. :lennonlol:
I think Holtby could become an excellent player for us particularly due to his closing down and pressing of the opposition, combined with his one-touch play. The former can help win possession when we're defending, and the latter can help draw defenders out of position when we're struggling to break down opposition defences creating space that our other players can exploit.
:holtbytongue:
Bardi
usually gets it right ( I loved the Turfies article which was just my level of random) but think he's pulling our legs a bit on this occasion. "..bar slapping Bale’s chest as the Welshman grabbed a stupendous winner against the Baggies, he did little of note and has done very little since then"
I think Holtby's been bright in several games of note-:
- The incisive pass to assist Defoe against Man City which set us on our way to a big win and took our fourth place challenge until the final day of last season.
- The pearler he cracked into the top corner against the team we later shipped him out on loan to.
- Pretty much being the best player on the pitch for us at Sunderland.
"Ten minutes into his Spurs career, he set himself a level, a level of expectation that has destroyed his Spurs career."
What was he supposed to do, put in a substandard work rate and try his best not to play well and slip under the radar for his first game so as not to build insurmountable amongst our fans? I think it's our fault as fans for building him up, not his.
"Holtby was cast off, surplus to requirements. In a calendar year he had gone from German Under21 captain and prospect, to relegation battler at Fulham".
I guess it's easy to break into the German national team, they don't have many good midfielders do they?
"The season got worse for Holtby when Magath publicly questioned his attitude at Fulham".
Didn't watch much of him at Fulham except the obvious MOTD highlights although I heard he was easily their best player during his spell there, although I'm sure that's easy to dismiss as they were a relegated team.
"Eriksen is who Holtby should have been"
Don't see why, not really a fair comparison in the slightest when they both arguably play in different positions and have had very different amounts of opportunities in a season with a huge amount of disruption.
I guess as a writer or journalist you have to try and polarise opinion by being a bit judgemental and stick your neck out either way to get people reading-you sit on the fence, you get splinters no? I think you're trolling a bit now though sonny jim, same with the Lennon article a few months ago. :lennonlol:
I think Holtby could become an excellent player for us particularly due to his closing down and pressing of the opposition, combined with his one-touch play. The former can help win possession when we're defending, and the latter can help draw defenders out of position when we're struggling to break down opposition defences creating space that our other players can exploit.
:holtbytongue:
Don't entirely agree with the main article, think its too early to judge conclusively and he would still be a good addition to our squad
Bardi
The Fighting Cock
Very well-written article as always from Lombardi, but I didn't see a football discussion in there as opposed to an emotional rant within a recanted history. It may have been intended that way, but why exactly do you not feel he has a chance
And I agree with the post above, you can't put much stock in the words of Magath, especially a freshly relegated one looking for an excuse and choosing to refer to a loan player he knows well.
For the most part it was an emotional rant because we haven't had any football for ages and i have been listening to old episodes of the pod around about the time Holtby signed. Blame
Thelonious
When he signed there was this incredible feeling that we had grabbed some brilliant youngster, but in the cold light of day, although Holtby remains a decent player, he isnt this masterful number 10 he was meant to be. He isn't even good enough to play deeper, Bentaleb is far more reliable there.
I just dont understand how there continues to be this much support for a player that to be honest, has done very little for Spurs. In his first season Jenas managed a lot more, yet he remains an analogy for everything that is wrong with Spurs.
Holtby is ok, but not the wunderkid people make out.
This is what I find a bit odd though - he is a youngster - and a talented one at that?
You're welcome geez, debate is healthy. I just think he hasn't had much of a chance so should be roughly in the same boat as Lamela and Soldado when we're evaluating players. If Eriksen gets injured and he gets drafted in then he must take his chance.
When Lewis Holtby arrived many of us were swept away by his enthusiasm, blond hair and his work rate. However, over a year and half later his career has stalled. Where once there was so much hope, now there is just hustle and bustle. Is there any hope that Holtby can be a success at Spurs?
Read article
Read article
Article should be titled "Magath admits he's a shit manager"
What other explanation can he offer - he'd managed the player before and signed him to dig him out of a relegation battle...........he can't criticise the player for his perceived lack of character, he knew exactly what he was getting
Imo Holtby, because what seems to be his true love for THFC. His dream move if you like. I just think he tried to hard to impress from the get go! He has a sharp brain. If Poch can compose his game slightly, by that I mean, not feel he needs to attempt a defense splitting pass, first time, every time. Then I think we have a real player on our hands.
I'm still completely dumbfounded by the amount of stick Holtby gets when he missed the second half of the season. Everyone says that team needed to gel, yet single out the players for not performing. Makes no sense at all.
He's only ever had half of each season of intermittent runs in the team, technically playing for 4 teams in the last two seasons.
Imagine if we wrote off Bale so quickly!
He's only ever had half of each season of intermittent runs in the team, technically playing for 4 teams in the last two seasons.
Imagine if we wrote off Bale so quickly!
Bardi
The Fighting Cock
Thank you for taking an interest and actually reading the piece, unlike a few others you gave me a chance to get my point across.Think
"..bar slapping Bale’s chest as the Welshman grabbed a stupendous winner against the Baggies, he did little of note and has done very little since then"
I think Holtby's been bright in several games of note-:
Alright just a few cherry-picked examples although I think they're legitimate glimpses of his talent.
- The incisive pass to assist Defoe against Man City which set us on our way to a big win and took our fourth place challenge until the final day of last season.
- The pearler he cracked into the top corner against the team we later shipped him out on loan to.
- Pretty much being the best player on the pitch for us at Sunderland.
"Ten minutes into his Spurs career, he set himself a level, a level of expectation that has destroyed his Spurs career."
What was he supposed to do, put in a substandard work rate and try his best not to play well and slip under the radar for his first game so as not to build insurmountable amongst our fans? I think it's our fault as fans for building him up, not his.
"Holtby was cast off, surplus to requirements. In a calendar year he had gone from German Under21 captain and prospect, to relegation battler at Fulham".
I guess it's easy to break into the German national team, they don't have many good midfielders do they?
"The season got worse for Holtby when Magath publicly questioned his attitude at Fulham".
Didn't watch much of him at Fulham except the obvious MOTD highlights although I heard he was easily their best player during his spell there, although I'm sure that's easy to dismiss as they were a relegated team.
"Eriksen is who Holtby should have been"
Don't see why, not really a fair comparison in the slightest when they both arguably play in different positions and have had very different amounts of opportunities in a season with a huge amount of disruption.
I guess as a writer or journalist you have to try and polarise opinion by being a bit judgemental and stick your neck out either way to get people reading-you sit on the fence, you get splinters no? I think you're trolling a bit now though sonny jim, same with the Lennon article a few months ago. :lennonlol:
I think Holtby could become an excellent player for us particularly due to his closing down and pressing of the opposition, combined with his one-touch play. The former can help win possession when we're defending, and the latter can help draw defenders out of position when we're struggling to break down opposition defences creating space that our other players can exploit.
:holtbytongue:
I 100% agree with you regarding his good points. He does offer the team something, but most of the time he flatters to deceive. His entire career at Spurs is summed up in those three points, barring a EL display and a good performance against Villa in the League cup. That isn't much.
He had promise, i had hope for him but i don't see it working at Spurs. I would rather give the game time he would take to a youngster. Sell him make a few bob and invest it back into the team (???Levy??)
I am not saying he is bad, he just isnt as good as we thought he was. AVB, Sherwood and Magath have had doubts about him. I hope he has a brilliant season and scores 20+ goals, but i don't see it.
As you said above, when you write something you have to take a stance. My stance is it wont work out. Its a shame.
Regarding the Lennon piece, he is 27 and he has yet to perfect his final ball. How much longer do we have to wait?
Right, he's a 23 year old with experience in the Champions League and the top of the Bundesliga, and now a year and a half in the Prem. Frankly, a promising youngster yet to see a considerable stretch in his position of choice for us doesn't get any more appealing than this, especially considering it's reasonable to believe Poch actually tried to get him this past winter window and so would be apt to integrate him into his philosophy.
Um... I guess the answer would be I don't really have one? I'm pretty down on the pivot part of our midfield. Eriksen starting in the most advanced part of our central midfield is the only thing I really feel good about. Besides that, I'm really hoping we buy Schneiderlin to play the deepest role in our midfield. He's such a complete player, probably number 1 on my wish list despite our glut of CMs. I think he's that good. For the more box to box role, I guess my preference would be Bentaleb. I thought his form last year was better than Dembele or Paulinho and those were in his first ever top flight games. Also hoping the World Cup will have accelerated his development. But still, I don't feel too confident relying on a 19 year old but he is our best chance of having a great player in that spot.
As for Holtby I think he's the type of squad player a club like Spurs should be aspiring to have, hard working and relatively skilled. Of course the caveat is I can't even make an educated guess how Holtby or any player will develop under Pochettino as we haven't really seen anything yet. But we have a decent sample size now with Holtby and I don't see him as of the requisite quality to make the Spurs first team especially considering his most natural position is taken up by arguably our most undroppable outfield player. I don't think there's any non-speculative evidence that he can play deep or wide so unless he is to supplant Eriksen I just don't see it.
Makes sense considering the rigor of his pressing system. It is a very common to see pressing teams wear down and concede late. The onus is on the manager to regulate minutes and make sure fitness is high. Just another reason I think Holtby is perfectly built for a sub in this new era.
I'd love to see him make the number 8 spot his own, just hard to see it being a seamless or easy transition. Would much rather it was tested in Europa or other Cups. If it works, then introduce it in the league but starting it right away would be too bold in my eyes especially considering how many options we have there.
That's a good shout for Bentaleb on loan to sweeten the Schneiderlin deal. Koeman will be interesting to watch, he's one of the more contentious names amongst Dutch coaching circles because along with Van Marwijk they have broken from the traditional Cruyff/Michels attacking Dutch football ethos. His teams have not always endeavored to play attacking football With how much Southampton is giving up, I think they'll probably be amongst those in the relegation battle. They may turn to quite defensive tactics due to that. I'm not sure I would feel great about Bentaleb there.
I think all of our young players that we see as potential first teamers should stay with the club for the first half of the season and learn Pochettino's system. They can get games in the Europa group stages and other early cup games. If it looks like they won't be getting any games in the second half of the season, loan them out during the winter transfer window.
Bardi
The Fighting Cock
Eriksen is incredible. Despite coming from a weaker league he has been brilliant. Younger than holtby and all round a better player. If he had the social media skills of Holtby......
Paulinho- desperately disappointing, but i will let him off. Just as he was picking up form Adam nearly broke him in half, then after that it was all about getting to Brazil uninjured.
Lamela- Have to wait. Cant judge him yet.
Chadli- Never more than a squad player. Arrived with little hype or fanfare. To be fair though weighed in with some goals and strong performances at the end.
Soldado- jesus. Can take a pen though which is good news.
Capoue- Looked decent then got injured, ate to much got fat and lazy. Needs a big year.
Chiriches- Looks very talented. Ball playing CB, may come to the fore under Poch.
I am not saying Holtby is poor, he just isnt what he was made out to be. His tenacity and obvious passion for the club has allowed him to build this cult following that frankly he doesnt deserve.
I have said before i hope he smashes it this season, i just dont think he is good enough to ever really control a game.