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Spurs Midfield 2014/15

SpurMeUp

Jimmy Cantrell
Who will be sold? Who will be first choice in the middle? And how many players will make up the midfield (guess the formation)? In your opinion.

Do we need to sign another midfielder?
 
Firstly list who you think has the best footballing attributes:

Eriksen
Dembele
Sandro
Bentaleb
Chadli
Lamela

For me they have the most potential. Holtby should get a mention, but can he play to a system? Capoue could be anything he wants to be as well. A fresh start for him, plus he can play CB. Could Poc the former CB teach Capoue to play well at the back?

Sigi you'd guess will be sold. Lennon kept as a squad player. Townsend is unknown, maybe just maybe Poc will be able to harness him effectively.
 
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Didn't even mention Paulinho. No idea about Frank Crapalele to be honest. We have too many midfielders. We need to sell/ loan at least two, don't we?
 
Dembele/Chadli/Siggy for me would be the ones closest to the door

I'd keep Holtby (his energy style game seems suited to Poch)
One of Bentaleb/Carroll to keep, one to loan (or both to loan depending on how many we play in midfield)

Townsend needs to step up in preseason, show a little more thinking to his game, otherwise we might as well cash in.

That's potentially 4 sold, 1-2 loaned out.

Add a Creative midfielder and/or LW option coming in.
 
We have a lot of midfielders. My analysis is based on Poch recreating his Southampton formation with the current Spurs squad:

Rodriguez = Lamela/Chadli
Lallana = Eriksen/Holtby
Schneiderlin = Capoue/Bentaleb
Wanyama = Dembele
Davis = Paulinho/Bentaleb

I'm finding it hard to find a role for Sandro (doesn't seem like looking at Southampton or Espanyol under him that he favours pure DM's), Townsend or Lennon (not sure he likes pure wingers)
 
I'd sell Siggy, Lennon and Dembele (loan Carroll and Bentaleb), and buy a LWF and deep-sitting ballplayer.

Finish up something like:

---New LWF-------------------Lamela
---(Chadli)------------------(Townsend)

-----------------Eriksen
-----------------(Holtby)

----------Sandro-------New ballplayer
---------(Capoue)------(Paulinho)


Konoplyanka and Schneiderlin would be my choices for the two new players
 
We have a lot of midfielders. My analysis is based on Poch recreating his Southampton formation with the current Spurs squad:

Rodriguez = Lamela/Chadli
Lallana = Eriksen/Holtby
Schneiderlin = Capoue/Bentaleb
Wanyama = Dembele
Davis = Paulinho/Bentaleb

I'm finding it hard to find a role for Sandro (doesn't seem like looking at Southampton or Espanyol under him that he favours pure DM's), Townsend or Lennon (not sure he likes pure wingers)

Wanyama is very Sandro-esque IMO
 
I'd sell Siggy, Lennon and Dembele (loan Carroll and Bentaleb), and buy a LWF and deep-sitting ballplayer.

Finish up something like:

---New LWF-------------------Lamela
---(Chadli)------------------(Townsend)

-----------------Eriksen
-----------------(Holtby)

----------Sandro-------New ballplayer
---------(Capoue)------(Paulinho)


Konoplyanka and Schneiderlin would be my choices for the two new players

Think it would be more like:

....Eriksen...........................Lamela

....................Paulinho

...........Dembele.......Capoue
 
The question is, where will the goals come from? Chadli I think has goals in him. We know Eriksen does. Paulinho will make late runs into the box and can pick up a few goals. Can Lamela start tucking them away? Can Dembele deliver on his great promise?

I need to give it some thought. I'm really not sure, but this appeals:



Chadli...............................Lamela

....................Eriksen

...........Dembele.......Paulinho


Still so much unknown. How will Lamela stand up to the pressure? Can Paulinho be disciplined? It is like building a team from scratch. For me only Eriksen is a guaranteed starter. Crazy.
 
The question is, where will the goals come from? Chadli I think has goals in him. We know Eriksen does. Paulinho will make late runs into the box and can pick up a few goals. Can Lamela start tucking them away? Can Dembele deliver on his great promise?

I need to give it some thought. I'm really not sure, but this appeals:



Chadli...............................Lamela

....................Eriksen

...........Dembele.......Paulinho


Still so much unknown. How will Lamela stand up to the pressure? Can Paulinho be disciplined? It is like building a team from scratch. For me only Eriksen is a guaranteed starter. Crazy.

Wasn't Lamela 2nd highest scorer in Serie A in his last season there or something?

I think Soldado and Lamela will score a lot next season. Paulinho will chip in with double figures too.
 
Wasn't Lamela 2nd highest scorer in Serie A in his last season there or something?

I think Soldado and Lamela will score a lot next season. Paulinho will chip in with double figures too.

Will Lamela stay fit? Courtesy of WikiP

2012–13 season
Lamela began the 2012–13 season well, his first goal of the season coming against Bologna on 16 September 2012. Lamela hit a superb patch of form in October and early November, scoring seven goals in six games, including a brace against Udinese in a 3–2 home defeat and goals against Atalanta, Genoa, Parma, and Palermo. He also scored a goal in the Derby della Capitale against Lazio. After almost a month out with an ankle ligament injury, he returned to the field and scored a brace against Milan in a 4–2 victory on 22 December.

Lamela went on to score 15 times in 33 games, putting him joint-fifth in Serie A and second to striker Pablo Osvaldo (16 goals) at Roma.
 
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The question is, where will the goals come from? Chadli I think has goals in him. We know Eriksen does. Paulinho will make late runs into the box and can pick up a few goals. Can Lamela start tucking them away? Can Dembele deliver on his great promise?

I need to give it some thought. I'm really not sure, but this appeals:



Chadli...............................Lamela

....................Eriksen

...........Dembele.......Paulinho


Still so much unknown. How will Lamela stand up to the pressure? Can Paulinho be disciplined? It is like building a team from scratch. For me only Eriksen is a guaranteed starter. Crazy.

I like the look of that midfield, and it makes sense based on the sort of 4-3-3 at Southampton. It seemed like he went w/ a main striker, a wide striker and a free creator with a runner/utility man, plus a ball recycler and a destroyer. Obviously, that is a rigid understanding of it, but it seems to look something kinda like:

Schneiderlin---Wanyama
---------Davis-----------
Rodriguez-------Lallana
------Lambert---------


If we use that as our base (which could totally change), I think he might do something like this....

----Capoue (Sandro)----Schneiderlin (Bentaleb)
---------------Paulinho (Holtby)--------------
Eriksen (Carroll???)-------Lamela (Chadli)
-------------Adebayor (Soldado)-------------------

I could see him moving Dembele, Siggurdson, and possibly Sandro (if he really wants to go), and replacing them with a young #10, Schneiderlin, and a DM if Sandro goes. I really think we need a deep passer/ball recycler type to replace Modric. MS can get stuck-in and has a fantastic range of passing. Not saying him and Luka are like for like, but we need someone who can control the pace of matches, get balls up to the frontmen, and get a foot in. To me, MS is that player. I like Dembele, but I'm not sure he has the speed of thought to do that job, and while I think Bentaleb has a huge future, I'm not sure he's quite ready for that entire role just yet.

People seem to hate Paulinho, but he's a tireless runner who can get into the box and score goals. If we are going to press high up the pitch, we need someone who has a relentless engine, and to my eyes, Paulinho and Holtby are best suited to that role. Possibly, Bentaleb could do it too, but I haven't seen enough to feel comfortable giving him that role. I hope there's still a place in the team for Townsend, even though he had a really up and down year. He seems a likable guy and is Spurs.

I'm especially interested in what MP does w/ the frontmen. We've seen how good Adebayor can be, and I still think Soldado could be a decent player. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he sells either one or both and replaces them with either Bony or Lukaku, plus one other. MP has a history of bringing young players through, so I feel like HK still has a part to play.

Frankly, I'm excited for Poch and the season, and I really hope we just give him time to do his work and build HIS team.
 
I like the look of that midfield, and it makes sense based on the sort of 4-3-3 at Southampton. It seemed like he went w/ a main striker, a wide striker and a free creator with a runner/utility man, plus a ball recycler and a destroyer. Obviously, that is a rigid understanding of it, but it seems to look something kinda like:

Schneiderlin---Wanyama
---------Davis-----------
Rodriguez-------Lallana
------Lambert---------


If we use that as our base (which could totally change), I think he might do something like this....

----Capoue (Sandro)----Schneiderlin (Bentaleb)
---------------Paulinho (Holtby)--------------
Eriksen (Carroll???)-------Lamela (Chadli)
-------------Adebayor (Soldado)-------------------


I could see him moving Dembele, Siggurdson, and possibly Sandro (if he really wants to go), and replacing them with a young #10, Schneiderlin, and a DM if Sandro goes. I really think we need a deep passer/ball recycler type to replace Modric. MS can get stuck-in and has a fantastic range of passing. Not saying him and Luka are like for like, but we need someone who can control the pace of matches, get balls up to the frontmen, and get a foot in. To me, MS is that player. I like Dembele, but I'm not sure he has the speed of thought to do that job, and while I think Bentaleb has a huge future, I'm not sure he's quite ready for that entire role just yet.

People seem to hate Paulinho, but he's a tireless runner who can get into the box and score goals. If we are going to press high up the pitch, we need someone who has a relentless engine, and to my eyes, Paulinho and Holtby are best suited to that role. Possibly, Bentaleb could do it too, but I haven't seen enough to feel comfortable giving him that role. I hope there's still a place in the team for Townsend, even though he had a really up and down year. He seems a likable guy and is Spurs.

I'm especially interested in what MP does w/ the frontmen. We've seen how good Adebayor can be, and I still think Soldado could be a decent player. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he sells either one or both and replaces them with either Bony or Lukaku, plus one other. MP has a history of bringing young players through, so I feel like HK still has a part to play.

Frankly, I'm excited for Poch and the season, and I really hope we just give him time to do his work and build HIS team.

I'd say that's pretty accurate, except Lamela is Rodriguez, and Eriksen is Lallana (both side of pitch wise and style wise)
 
1) I would expect to see Siggy sold along with one of Dembele or Paulinho as well as one of Capoue and Sandro. Carroll will probably be given a pre season to impress and may stick with us until January if the club cannot find a BPL loan (personally I see another Championship loan a waste of time). Falque for me is another one who I think will ultimately leave. Lennon is another who could also be shifted, as I think Townsend may be favoured due to his age and versatility.

2) I really liked the fluidity of the front three at Southampton and would like to see a similar system implemented this season (4312).

I think a lot comes down to where Eriksen is played in the formation. A lot of people (myself included) assume that he will slot in as the #10 player in the side, the position that Lallana had so much success in last season. If that were to be the case, then I would also assume that Lamela would be the first option to fill the second striker roll. In that case I would expect the midfield three to be comprised of a physically fit, highly mobile unit, combining Holtby, Paulinho and one other. The problem will be deciding a roll for Paulinho. If paired with Holtby then I think he would need to assume a larger portion of the defensive work with the third man being a defensive midfielder with distribution skills.

-----------(New DM)--------------
-----Paulinho-------Holtby---------

Another option however could be a system that has Lamela playing in the #10 role, with the club purchasing a proven goal threat from wide positions, someone like Jay Rodriguez. If that's the case then we could see Eriksen deployed in a deeper role that would allow him to start moves from deep. The issue here is that he doesn't appear to have the stamina of Holtby nor any of the three in the midfield from the Southampton blueprint. If we were to play this system, we would need two other midfielders who could defensively cover him. Capoue/Sandro and Dembele perhaps although I'd also prefer the DM+Schneiderlin-esque player combination. This could be Bentaleb.

-------Capoue--(DM distributor)----
------------Eriksen----------------

Another issue we will have is the late return of our players who played in the World Cup. Whilst their fitness may be less of an issue, bringing them up to speed will take time. Of the midfielder's we have, we will see Bentaleb, Paulinho, Dembele and Chadli return late, so the final lineup of our starting midfield will likely not be seen until we have hit October.


Purchases
---------------
Someone in the Schneiderlin mould. A player who can both distribute but also read the game well enough to act as a defensive shield for the back line. Clasie is spoken of highly on here and could do the job as could Banega (off to Marseille?).
 
I'd love to be a fly on the wall and see how Poc forms the core of a new side. I guess we won't get any idea of the setup until the first friendlies.
 
................Soldado
Eriksen......Mata........Lamela
.......Dembele.....Sandro

I don't think Mata is an LVG player. I think we should go in big for him, pair him up with Soldado again, and I reckon we would be a real force with that team
 
There is no way we could afford mata, no way would united let him go, and there is no chance he would want to come.
 
Hate to be that guy, but oh what could have been:

Eriksen - Lamela - Bale
Modric - Sandro​

As for next year, what I would want:

Eriksen ------------ Lamela
Bentaleb - Holtby
Sandro​
 
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