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-:
- 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.
Alright just a few cherry-picked examples although I think they're legitimate glimpses of his talent.
"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: