Harry Winks

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If toby and sanchez are permitted to make long passes then so should he. No one is going to bench him for being a bit more adventurous with his passes against a weak cardiff side.
 
I really believe he is a very good player, but the partnership with Sissoko doesn't seem the best for his style of play. Would like to see him playing alongside Dier or Wanyama in midfield.
 
I really believe he is a very good player, but the partnership with Sissoko doesn't seem the best for his style of play. Would like to see him playing alongside Dier or Wanyama in midfield.

Indeed. It's a difference balance of skills to that which we'd require if he was paired with a pure DM... We'd likely see a more forward thinking game from him if he's not called upon to be the disciplined one.

On their rare occasions together, Winks/Wanyama was previously the bollocks IIRC.
 
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I really believe he is a very good player, but the partnership with Sissoko doesn't seem the best for his style of play. Would like to see him playing alongside Dier or Wanyama in midfield.

I'd love to see him in the formation we played yesterday.

Winks was excellent last year when we played 3 at the back because his defensive responsibility isn't as high and he can be more creative. It was the same with Skipp yesterday. He wasn't overly reliant on being defensive due to having three centre backs behind him and as we saw, was allowed to be creative and forward thinking with his passes.
 
We actually have players that best suit a midfield 3 IMO.

Dier/Wanyama are DM’s

Winks control the game with his passing

Sissoko is the box to box non-stop player

A combo would enable each player to play their own game IMV.
 
OH FFS
:pochfacepalm:

Do these people not fucking know that he is shite because all his passes are backwards and the longest was only 7.5 cm
:dembelelol:
I disagree! Lots and lots of passes to the nearest guy, regardless of whether these passing are going to result in anything positive is definitely the measure for the best CM in the league. I think bus conductor might be behind this webpage.
 
We actually have players that best suit a midfield 3 IMO.

Dier/Wanyama are DM’s

Winks control the game with his passing

Sissoko is the box to box non-stop player

A combo would enable each player to play their own game IMV.

And amazingly, the player who best suits a 3 man midfield in our team is Dele Alli.

No surprise Poch has dropped him deeper this season and he's flourishing. Probably been one of our players of the season.
 


> tfw I'll never have Winksy doing mild aerobics with me and telling me to get my prostate checked.

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Winks the architect in Pochettino's latest Spurs vision

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino can appear a difficult man to read.

One month he discusses how much he enjoys change, new challenges, new experiences; the next he says his desire is to remain in charge of Spurs for twenty years.

Yet, and this is important, the two are not mutually exclusive. When Pochettino explains his desire to be challenged, his fondness for change, it’s taken as a sign he is considering his future at Tottenham. That he is looking elsewhere. Instead, the opposite may very well be true.

Since the Argentine arrived at White Hart Lane in May 2014, Tottenham have evolved from top-four hopeful to Premier League title challenger. That’s change right there.

Pochettino has achieved this on a fraction of the budget of the other top-flight behemoths. Something which certainly sounds like a challenge.

And he has changed the dynamic of the first-team squad, bringing through academy graduates and young English talent instead of buying from abroad. Couldn’t that be classed as a new experience?

So Spurs have, for differing reasons, given the former defender the stimulation he says he needs to enjoy his work. And is unlikely to change any time soon given the club are, finally, set to move into their new home in March. Change, challenge, and a new experience.

Pochettino, however, also deserves plenty of credit for his ability to keep things fresh.

Supposedly the era of a coach staying 20 years at a club is over. Players become burnt out, bored of hearing the same voice on the training pitch over and over again. It’s why Pep Guardiola believes three seasons is optimal for a coach at one club, and perhaps why José Mourinho never goes further at a club.

Yet Pochettino is now in his fifth season in charge of Tottenham and there isn’t even a hint the players are losing interest. In fact, they’re only getting better under the Argentine.

The latest change
So how has Pochettino done this?

Well, he has never been afraid to change tactically and during his time in charge Tottenham have used countless systems – from back fours to three-man defences, midfield pivots to midfield destroyers, fleet-footed wingers to creative No.10s. And Harry Kane. Always Harry Kane.

This ability to adapt has kept Tottenham from becoming predictable. No manager knows exactly how Spurs will line up and that is a huge advantage.

And over the past month, the side’s shape and style has evolved once more, as Football Whispers‘ team persona highlights.

IPtODa2.png


Since the start of December, partly due to injuries, Spurs have used a 4-3-1-2 system and have attempted to control games through possession. Chief in ensuring that happens in Harry Winks.

The England international is a Pochettino favourite: intelligent, technically gifted and assured in possession.

“Harry has the profile of the perfect midfield player,” Pochettino said earlier this season. “His characteristics are perfect. When we talk about midfielders like Xavi and (Andrés) Iniesta, he’s like this type of player. He has this capacity but he needs to take my words in a very positive way – he needs a lot of work.

“I don’t want to praise him too much so his head [grows big]! His perception will be ‘wow!’ And the reality is he still needs to prove himself.”

It’s safe to say Winks is beginning to do that on a weekly basis. He has completed 90 minutes in six of Tottenham’s last seven Premier League games and in their League Cup quarter-final and semi-final matches against Woolwich and Chelsea respectively.

Based in the centre of the midfield three, it’s Winks’ job to collect possession from the centre-backs and move Spurs up the pitch, either by carrying the ball or breaking lines with incisive passing.

The latter is something he does very effectively. In the Premier League this season only five players have averaged more accurate passes per 90 than the 22-year-old (69.11). Of these, 10.21 go backwards, so he isn’t just playing ‘safe’ passes, as the radar below highlights.

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Winks is vital to Tottenham’s structure with the ball. And he is helped out by Moussa Sissoko when Spurs don’t have it.

The Frenchman is stationed on the right of the midfield three and is given license to push forward, often using his pace to break beyond high defences. But when Tottenham have to defend, the Frenchman tucks in and helps break up attacks.

At his peak, Mousa Dembélé did the job of both, which enabled Pochettino to field four advanced attackers. But the Belgian is no longer the force of old and may depart this month. Yet Spurs have already moved on, and that is down to their coach.

It’s not just the midfield that he’s tweaked. The attack has, too. And whisper it quietly, Kane is no longer Spurs’ frontman: it’s Son Heung-min.

Below are the average positions from Tottenham’s win over Bournemouth last month.

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As you can see, Winks (No.8) is the deepest midfielder, with Sissoko (No.17) to his right and Christian Eriksen (No.23) to his left. Then ahead of them is Dele Alli (No.20) and Kane (No.10).

Son (No.7) is stationed in advance of the England captain, and this is a structural change that has been evident in almost all of Spurs’ matches in December and January.

This switch has paid off, too. Son has been in stunning form while Kane has struck nine times since the start of December.

That pair’s impact is nothing new. Winks’ is, however. He’s been given the keys to the Tottenham midfield by Pochettino and has excelled. It appears he is also a man who relishes a challenge…
 
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The latter is something he does very effectively. In the Premier League this season only five players have averaged more accurate passes per 90 than the 22-year-old (69.11). Of these, 10.21 go backwards, so he isn’t just playing ‘safe’ passes, as the radar below highlights.

This stat still lacks context, but it at least hints that Winks may not always play it safe.
 
Our best player today.

Kept it moving. He's getting so much better defensively, thought he was fine against Chelsea but he was brilliant tonight. All over the pitch defensively in the first half and in the second half, considering he was our only "recognised" central midfielder on the pitch he had to do the part of two players at times.

Looks like he was instructed to get forward a bit more in the first half too. Reminded me of the Winks I remember from the youth teams when he would get forward and have a lot more shots at goal.

98% pass completion
5 completed tackles
3 interceptions

Well played Winksy!
 
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Our best player today.

Kept it moving. He's getting so much better defensively, thought he was fine against Chelsea but he was brilliant tonight. All over the pitch defensively in the first half and in the second half, considering he was our only "recognised" central midfielder on the pitch he had to do the part of two players at times.

Looks like he was instructed to get forward a bit more in the first half too. Reminded me of the Winks I remember from the youth teams when he would get forward and have a lot more shots at goal.

98% pass completion
5 completed tackles
3 interceptions

Well played Winksy!

So much more positive than his recent performances have been. I saw in him today what I want to see more. Not sure if that's because we were chasing the game or not but if he works on his final third he'll be in the team for years to come. Great positive steps today Winksy
 
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