Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City

He's not though because when he has had a chance he's been worse than those playing more often.

Up until the last week we were top of the league. He hadn't been missed or needed for the most part. He should've had more game time in Europa though to prevent overusing those we need in the Premier League and that's why I now believe we're suffering.

 

I have seen Dele do little wrong in the short cameos he he has been given recently on the other hand if you are advocating Bergwijn and Lucas because they run a round a lot then the argument is thin. I would rather have the out of practice Dele then the headless chicken of Lucas or the faux goal scorer that is Bergwijn. Without Dele we have a largely one trick team, we are just lucky it's a world class one trick. Sadly Leicester have just shown that harassment of Kane & Son can be effective in blunting that class. We need an up to speed Bale & Dele to give teams more to think about.

 

No one is essentially advocating for Bergwijn or Lucas to start ahead of Dele, because they play in different positions. Dele is not a winger, he's a central attacking midfielder. For him to play you'll have to drop Ndombele and/ or Lo Celso.

I'd happily drop Lucas and Bergwijn for what it's worth. Bale needs to get about five or six starts under his belt, that's when I think we'll see if he's still got it or if he is washed up, constant sub appearances will do him no good. I'd also love to see Clarke given a go, he literally won't be any worse than the two that are constantly starting.

 

I mostly agree but if we're being honest, we were top because of Son and Kane being in the best form of their careers. With NDombele and Lo Celso both off we really could've done with having Dele on to give us a bit of attacking punch through the middle.

 

BTW when did Eriksen go off the boil? Yes about the same time that Dele became less effective. Since that time Dele has not found a new partner on the field, he needs to play with either Ndombele or Lo Celso to develop a new understanding but that's not going to happen if he is not played for more than 20 minutes a pop.

 

No doubt Son and especially Kane have been vital but I think the system itself was working fine. Hojbjerg and Sissoko were mopping up nicely and the defence looked steady. But I think the overuse of some of the key players like Kane, Son, Hojbjerg etc in Europa games has resulted in them getting burnt out and that's something I'd definitely blame Jose for. I feel like Jose's system is heavily reliant on everyone being "on it", if just one or two drop off the whole team collapses and so with a tiring Kane, Son and Hojbjerg - our three most important cogs this season I'd say - it was bound to fail at some point.

I think Jose needs to be more careful of his key players, I get your best players offer the highest chance of results but burning them out reduces their input and the team eventually suffers.

 

Disagree neither Bergwijn or Lucas are wingers they occupy the space around Kane. Son is a winger and other than that we have wing backs. BUT now we have Bale so Son left wing Bale right wing and Dele and Kane in the middle with one of Lol Celso or Ndombele as AM

 

Son also occupies space near Kane as he cuts in from the left. Lucas and Bergwijn definitely are wingers but just on the right, albeit Bergwijn played in the same role as Son at PSV but obviously he won't play there over Son. Neither are anywhere near as good as Son though and that's why we're so ineffective on that right flank.

Dele won't get in over Ndombele or Lo Celso at the moment. When we signed those two I think Dele's days were numbered. We can't fit all three into an XI and I think the long term plan is to get Ndombele and Lo Celso playing together, that leaves no space for Dele in the XI and so at best he'd have to settle for a bench spot. The problem for him though is that Ndombele's fitness is pathetic and Lo Celso is made of glass so one is generally on the bench whilst the other starts, therefore Dele being the third choice of the three means he can't even make the bench.

 

Dele`s statistics say he is better, but you can`t include this season as he is never on the pitch. The very few minutes Dele has had this season, he has looked good most of the time, the odd appearance aside, but 5 minutes here and there is no good for a player to gain rhythm and confidence. In my opinion Mourinho needs to be changing formation, play Kane up top, with Dele in the hole and Son and Bale / Lucas / Bergwjin / Lamela down the sides, then 2 of Hojberg, Ndombele or Lo Celso as the 2 in midfield, with Sissoko coming in for the tougher games when we want to be more of a closed shop or when we are seeing a game out. Kane can still drop deep but then you have Dele making runs into the box. The current football is crap and will only get us so far, which is being proved in the last few games.

 

His performances in the EL (v worse teams than we have in the prem) suggest otherwise.
Like I said, I would love to be wrong but considering JM was willing to give Ndombele another chance it suggests Dele is not doing what is required in training

 

Perhaps we need to re-sign Eriksen!

 

On the subject of Danes, here's a thought for what we should do: play Hojbjerg on the right of the midfield two

Teams have been targeting our right flank for months now, in fact it was happening last season, as they know that if they don't get any joy from open play there's a good chance of winning a set piece that we'll make a complete Cyberpunk out of

And yet Hojbjerg always plays on the left of the midfield two

I can't be the only one seeing an obvious solution here, can I?

 

If I thought his head was right and he was eager to get back I’d take him in a heartbeat but I think something’s just gone a bit off for him. A prime Eriksen is one of the best playmakers in Europe but the current guy would struggle to make many top XIs at the moment and it’s why Arsenal are being linked

A loan with option to buy would be pretty ideal if Inter would allow it. If he came back and played like his first 5 and half years then sweet, welcome home, if he came back and played like the final 12 months then off you go and all the best.

 

It's hard for any player to come in for a match once every few weeks and play well.
Personally I think we have two world class players in Kane and Son, and everyone else is pretty similar in standard. If that is true then more rotation is called for.
If we are going to play 433 then almost any three of Hojbjerg, Winks, Sissoko, Lo Celso, Ndombele and Dele would work in midfield.

 

I wanna say no way but actually think he has a big point to prove so could well be worth the risk

 

The problem is that Eriksen isn't what we need, midfield control is what we need and Eriksen isn't a CM

Don't suppose Watford are willing to let us sign Etienne Capoue back?

 

Could always ask their new manager... and if he says no just wait 3 weeks and ask the next one

 

December 11th:


December 12th:


December 19th:

 

I'm hoping this isn't a bad omen, because Jose won manager of the month for November too and we've been **** since!

 

Since 2013, the names of the Watford managers have cumulatively contained all 26 letters of the alphabet.

In that time, Burnley's have contained the letters s e a n d y c h