Kyle Walker

[DubaiSpur]

Out of question out of the names mentioned ; A) who is the best in order and B) who is most attainable in order....

I've seen more of Heinrichs than anyone else, so I'd probably say he's the most suitable - just 20, tall (same height as Walker, more or less), tactically versatile (can play across half the damn pitch - DM, CB, RB, LB, LW, RW, you name it), hard worker, good passer, reasonable crossing ability, pretty fast (although not as fast as Walker - then again, very few players are). I've seen little of Sidibe (beyond the CL, anyway), and I haven't seen anything of Karsdorp - I only put them forward because I looked into the possibility of replacing Walker when the rumors first came up and they were the only ones I could find who fit the bill in terms of being young, big (Karsdorp's actually a bit taller than Walker, going by transfermarkt), strong, fast and attainable.

'Best' is more subjective, and given that I've only seen one of them and indirectly head about the other two, I can't make a pronouncement one way or another.

Largely guesswork on my part, but if I were forced to order them in terms of *suitability*, I'd go Heinrichs - Karsdorp - Sidibe. Heinrichs is only 20, has CL and Bundesliga experience, and is attainable given that Leverkusen have finished in lower mid-table. Karsdorp is 22, has only played in the Eredivisie but has helped Feyenoord win a title and ticks a lot of the physical boxes, apparently - he's also attainable, but has recently signed a new contract, which will make it more difficult. Sidibe's 24, has experience at the top end of the CL and has helped Monaco win Ligue Un - but whether Monaco will be open to selling him is the question.

Then lick my balls and wash my dishes. Ta

I'll pass thanks - but life chez Gazza must be a real blast for the missus.

 

[harr1984]

i don't think you have to nominate a replacement to say we can replace him, we arent all blessed to have enough free time to watch football from around the world so as to have a good knowledge of whats out there. What we do know is that we have an excellent manager who has got consistent high levels of performances out of some players that prior to his arrival seldom showed their top level, let alone consistently over a season. go back to his time at Southampton and how many of the players they sold after doing well there went on to replicate their form at their new clubs? not many really. so this suggests to me that we could buy a player not quite on Walkers level but of the same mold, with potential and have a good chance of ironing out the kinks in their game and help them step up a level or two.

If someone says a player can be replaced, I'd absolutely expect them to name names otherwise how can they have the licence to say that? Yes we are all aware of Pochs ability to develop players, but he's not a magician. Walker had a very strong skill set already and Poch has ironed out some of his misgivings,but Walker is in the top bracket of full back and he will not be easily replaced,if he can be at all.....

 

[billyiddo]

Again, let me lay out the profile of the player I think we need at that RB position -

Essential qualifications:

- Generally good person - single most important qualification. Must be humble, respectful to his team-mates and club staff, willing to work and improve, and mindful of bad publicity when on his own time.

Other necessary qualifications:

- strong, difficult to muscle off the ball or beat in a 50:50.
- tall (or at least, taller than the average full-back) in order to continue our tactical advantage of being generally larger and more aggressive than our opponents.
- lightning-fast, in order to provide pace down the flank - pace we badly need, given that there's a relative shortage of it in the forward positions.
- indomitable work-rate, to get up and down his flank with ease and thunder away for the full 90 minutes.
- Ability to effectively understand and carry out tactical instructions - critical in a fast-moving, fluid system like the 3-4-2-1/4-2-3-1 we drop into and out of on a regular basis.
- Reasonably good technical ability, in order to hold possession and participate in build-up play going forward.
- reasonably young, in order to fit into the club's recruitment policy and Poch's personal preferences.

Nice-to-haves:

- Reasonably good crossing ability, in order to provide good deliveries into the box - it isn't strictly necessary because the option of playing it in low and hard always exists, but it would be nice for him to have a nice cross on him nonetheless.
- Familiar with the Premier League and its unique demands, challenges and playing style.
- from our academy, or possessed of a connection to the club more broadly.


With each qualification on that list, the pool shrinks. If we get to the last one, I'm not sure a player exists out there suitable for us, because even KWP is a bit small, even for a FB. Even ignoring the 'Spurs connection' requirement, there are very few RBs out there who tick the rest of the boxes and are also attainable targets for us. Maybe Rick Karsdorp, of Feyenoord. Maybe Benjamin Heinrichs, of Leverkusen. Maybe Djibril Sidibe, of Monaco.

But the best option remains Walker. Poch can do a lot of things with players, but he can't magically make them faster, taller or (significantly) more powerful than they already are (if they're past their growing phase, anyway). Thus, although it wouldn't be a terrible blow (given that Trippier can do a good job covering him and KWP ticks many, although not all of the boxes required for a Walker replacement)....it's a stretch to say that Walker is easily replaceable. He isn't.

I didn't say it would be easy but reading through this thread makes it seem like a lot of you think it will be impossible, which I don't think is the case at all, difficult and maybe it would require a slice of luck too but not impossible.

In the post of mine which you have quoted I said I think we need a player not entirely at Walkers level but maybe one or two below, with age on their side and of a similar mold - your list of requirements seem to be for if we were looking for a player already at the top of their game - which would be impossible I agree, but I'm saying we can get a less polished Walker type full back, of which Walker is certainly not a unique player a type by a long stretch, and allow Poch to apply the polish (oo-err) as it were...

 

[billyiddo]

If someone says a player can be replaced, I'd absolutely expect them to name names otherwise how can they have the licence to say that? Yes we are all aware of Pochs ability to develop players, but he's not a magician. Walker had a very strong skill set already and Poch has ironed out some of his misgivings,but Walker is in the top bracket of full back and he will not be easily replaced,if he can be at all.....

Walker was a fine player before Pochettino, as was Rose and I was one of the few bigging them up early on in their time with us when the concensus was they wouldn't make it - however neither were at the level that they are currently and we're certainly not thought of as players that could end up realistic transfer targets for the world's biggest/richest clubs - Luke Shaw at Southampton being another example of his good work with taking fullbacks up a level or two

 

[Spur of the moment]

Walker was a fine player before Pochettino, as was Rose and I was one of the few bigging them up early on in their time with us when the concensus was they wouldn't make it - however neither were at the level that they are currently and we're certainly not thought of as players that could end up realistic transfer targets for the world's biggest/richest clubs - Luke Shaw at Southampton being another example of his good work with taking fullbacks up a level or two

...but who has since gone backwards now he no longer has Poch to coach him.

Something for Walker to think about before leaving? Not because he'd ever regress like Shaw has but I'd venture he's at risk of losing some of that intense focus Poch seems able to impart. Especially as at City he must expect even stiffer competition for his place somewhere along the line.

 

[Glenda's Legs]

Warning : **Body Language Question Incoming**

For those in 30/31 and the PL Lower yesterday : I was in the PL Upper and as the players rounded the SE corner in their lap of honour, I noticed Kyle particularly applauding the crowd as he went round. It seemed to be more so than the other players. I didn't know if it was in reaction to singing of his name that I couldn't hear from above. Or if he was really saying a goodbye. It just seemed a bit poignant, but I may have just been reading more into a simple gesture than is warranted. Hopefully that is the case, as I would love for him to stay with us.

 

[Gazza]

I've seen more of Heinrichs than anyone else, so I'd probably say he's the most suitable - just 20, tall (same height as Walker, more or less), tactically versatile (can play across half the damn pitch - DM, CB, RB, LB, LW, RW, you name it), hard worker, good passer, reasonable crossing ability, pretty fast (although not as fast as Walker - then again, very few players are). I've seen little of Sidibe (beyond the CL, anyway), and I haven't seen anything of Karsdorp - I only put them forward because I looked into the possibility of replacing Walker when the rumors first came up and they were the only ones I could find who fit the bill in terms of being young, big (Karsdorp's actually a bit taller than Walker, going by transfermarkt), strong, fast and attainable.

'Best' is more subjective, and given that I've only seen one of them and indirectly head about the other two, I can't make a pronouncement one way or another.

Largely guesswork on my part, but if I were forced to order them in terms of *suitability*, I'd go Heinrichs - Karsdorp - Sidibe. Heinrichs is only 20, has CL and Bundesliga experience, and is attainable given that Leverkusen have finished in lower mid-table. Karsdorp is 22, has only played in the Eredivisie but has helped Feyenoord win a title and ticks a lot of the physical boxes, apparently - he's also attainable, but has recently signed a new contract, which will make it more difficult. Sidibe's 24, has experience at the top end of the CL and has helped Monaco win Ligue Un - but whether Monaco will be open to selling him is the question.



I'll pass thanks - but life chez Gazza must be a real blast for the missus.

Always aim to please

 

[SpurSF]

If someone says a player can be replaced, I'd absolutely expect them to name names otherwise how can they have the licence to say that? .

I suppose the Adam Smith link makes the most sense. Academy lad, from North London, also a Spurs fan, who has been generally really good for Bournemouth. The main issue is he's only a year younger than Kyle and much less distinguished in his career. I could imagine them selling Kyle for 35-40 million, then picking AS up for around 15 mil. That said, I'm not sure he improves our team. It's a tough one for sure....

 

[Spur of the moment]

Warning : **Body Language Question Incoming**

For those in 30/31 and the PL Lower yesterday : I was in the PL Upper and as the players rounded the SE corner in their lap of honour, I noticed Kyle particularly applauding the crowd as he went round. It seemed to be more so than the other players. I didn't know if it was in reaction to singing of his name that I couldn't hear from above. Or if he was really saying a goodbye. It just seemed a bit poignant, but I may have just been reading more into a simple gesture than is warranted. Hopefully that is the case, as I would love for him to stay with us.

Me too, but watching on tv there were one or two other body language signals that had me worried. Whilst waiting to come on as sub Poch moved towards him to put his arm around him to give him instruction but at that same moment Walker moved away almost like he was trying to avoid his manager. Though a little later they did seem to be interacting amicably enough tbf.

But then after the game he seemed decidedly distracted when the camera caught him and the question ran through my mind whether he was wholly up for the celebrations? But hey, I wasn't there so I may well have missed a whole load of much more positive signals off camera. So hopefully just me reading into it what I dread the most. He is hardly the most demonstrative of players at the best of times.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Me too, but watching on tv there were one or two other body language signals that had me worried. Whilst waiting to come on as sub Poch moved towards him to put his arm around him to give him instruction but at that same moment Walker moved away almost like he was trying to avoid his manager. Though a little later they did seem to be interacting amicably enough tbf.

But then after the game he seemed decidedly distracted when the camera caught him and the question ran through my mind whether he was wholly up for the celebrations? But hey, I wasn't there so I may well have missed a whole load of much more positive signals off camera. So hopefully just me reading into it what I dread the most. He is hardly the most demonstrative of players at the best of times.

Neither him or Rose like the limelight off the ball. I struggled to get Danny Rose to say more than sentence and only came to life when I fudged uk my selfie with him

Walker won't say anything if he can avoid it but he will Pose for photos.

Their all much more comfortable with other players

 

[Bullet]

I fudged uk

Big head

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Big head

If you see the photo my head looks massive actually

Rose took the phone off me as I was spannered

 

[thfcsteff]

One thing to ask is how often we managed to get both our first-choice wingbacks on the pitch together? 9 times? 10 maybe? Rose has missed roughly what, 15-16 games? We've won all but two. I agree. Neither would be easy to replace, especially given that we have replacements already who aren't the same types of player! So yes, that point is well taken. But to suggest that Poch and this team could not survive without one of them? Not true and proven over and over this season. Trust the manager. If he lets someone go it is not because a) he didn't try to turn them around or b) because he didn't factor anything else other than the player's agent waffling. Poch will have surveyed and surmised the situation. But until the season ends next Sunday, you most likely will not hear him address it.


Sitting on my porcelain throne using glory-glory.co.uk mobile app

 

[DubaiSpur]

I suppose the Adam Smith link makes the most sense. Academy lad, from North London, also a Spurs fan, who has been generally really good for Bournemouth. The main issue is he's only a year younger than Kyle and much less distinguished in his career. I could imagine them selling Kyle for 35-40 million, then picking AS up for around 15 mil. That said, I'm not sure he improves our team. It's a tough one for sure....

Smith wouldn't really offer us anything Trippier doesn't. He's a good right back who belongs in the Premier League - solid at everything, reasonably fast, reasonably strong, reasonably good on the ball. Bit of a liability in defense, judging by what Bournemouth fans are saying about him (on their Vital forums), but good in attack and an asset overall. I'm happy he's managed to build a top-flight career after leaving us.

But he isn't really anything super-special that would necessitate us buying him back and playing him ahead of Trippier, never mind Walker.

 

[Daisuk]

https://twitter.com/x/status/864139882477780992

 

[Olle73]

Done done or just done? There are many levels of done when it somes to a transfer, particular when the speculation is somewhere 0% and 100%.

 

[DubaiSpur]

https://twitter.com/x/status/864139882477780992

Do they have trees at City's training ground, by any chance?

 

[billyiddo]

Hmmm so 'IF' that is correct it would suggest to me that from our end we are more interested in getting the deal done early and reinvesting the money than we are letting a transfer saga drag on all summer or trying to convince Walker to stay

 

[SpurMeUp]

Hmmm so 'IF' that is correct it would suggest to me that from our end we are more interested in getting the deal done early and reinvesting the money than we are letting a transfer saga drag on all summer or trying to convince Walker to stay

Or the price agreed is extortion. 60 million. English. Best of his generation in that position. In his peak years. Could even be more.


Sitting on my porcelain throne using glory-glory.co.uk mobile app

 

[glasgowspur]

If it's done I doubt he would be playing, what if there was an injury. The club would just have put in stand with a tight muscle story.
Not saying it won't happen, just that it hasn't yet.