Huddlestone

[Bedfordspurs]

IMO he completely disrupted the way we've been playing for a long time now. We usually keep it tight and knock the ball around in the 1st half and some of the 2nd, but he's always going for the glory passes. He could and probably should make a good distributor of the ball, but he's not in sync with the style of play we've been developing.

Stunned!!!!

I was at the game and he was clearly MOTM in a poor system that didnt try the best of bale

We were crying out for a left back in 45 minutest not 60!!! And that worked as Hudds had two sides of the pitch to pass too...

He was miles better than Parker and dembele

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Shpuld add the Wigan fans I met and there were plenty thought he was the best player on the pitch

 

[NaijaSpurs]

I'm sorry but if anyone thinks we played worse today than we did against City until Hudd came on they are crazy. To say he disrupted the way we played kind of ignores how rubbish we were against City until he came on, how poor we were against Basel, Everton and Fulham. Who disrupted our play against those teams? I think people should even re read the match day thread against Swansea, as most were far from impressed with how we played.

Basically we've been playing poorly since the Liverpool game and it's got absolutely nothing to do with the Hudd who has only been an asset and our best stuff in that period has been with him on the pitch.

Well said, if any of our midfielders were poor yesterday then it was Parker who gave us nothing yesterday

 

[Mulletperm]

I think some people on here need their eyes tested. Being critical of him after that performance is ludicrous. Easily one of our better players.

 

[Mosquito_Coasting]

Don't necessarily agree. I think of late we haven't controlled any game. For the first time in the first half we looked like we controlled the tempo. What we massively missed was Mousa. With him, Holtby and Huddlestone, it's a good dynamic giventhe options in the squad. The ability to vary it, short, long. Also he came deep and looked to get it off the back four. Where we suffered was when Wigan scored to go ahead and they dropped really deep. We were completely devoid of any ideas. That's where Mousa really helps. The ability to drop a shoulder and commit a few players. We need some clever intricate passers of the ball. Modric and Rafa I miss those guys.

Agree we missed Dembele when he went off, Holtby did not get into the game at all. There was a moment on the left wing when Dembele was taking players on, playing with them and he sucked men into him and passed square to Naughton who was then in loads of space and had a decent shot blocked.

As for Hud, he was very good first half and then second, what could he do? Wigan dropped very deep and the whole team lost its energy and stopped moving. As others have said, Parker was the unneeded player. Wigan are not strong and lacked confidence at the start, we could have dominated possession quite easily with Sig or Holtby in there instead.

 

[thfcsteff]

Thought Hudd looked fine. The main problem is you cannot play Hudd, Dembele and Parker together. Too slow. Fine when the Wigan were playing a high line, but once they dropped in a bit, we needed more pace around Hudd.

 

[SteveAWOL]

https://twitter.com/EPLIndex/status/328243188823363584

Top Passers today:

Toure: 99 (93% accuracy)
Huddlestone: 91 (89%)
Dawson: 82 (84%)
Davis (#saintsfc): 80 - (87.5%)
Lucas: 79 - (90%)

 

[Robbo]

Re: Huddlefro'

I love Thudd, he's an absolutely brilliant passer of the ball. Thought he was good yesterday.

My only concern is that he's too slow and will easily be marked or pressured out of a game. Had he only had the burst ofnspeed that Dembele has, he would have been world class, but his slowness is worrying - when the Wigan players started to be all over him as soon as he received the ball, he became so much more inefficient. And this is Wigan we're talking about, not Real Madrid.

I think it's vital for Thudd to be surrounded by hard workers and players that move quickly and draw opposition players away from him. Since he rarely does it himself, he needs teammates to create the extra space he needs to compensate for his limited pace and mobility. The question is whether (a) we have these players and (b) this fits into AVB's tactics.

Personally I think Thudd will be off this summer, if we receive a decent bid. I'm sure AVB is looking to buy a player more in the Modric mould, who is both a great passer and more mobile, to play the role Thudd had yesterday.

 

[joey55]

Re: Huddlefro'

I love Thudd, he's an absolutely brilliant passer of the ball. Thought he was good yesterday.

My only concern is that he's too slow and will easily be marked or pressured out of a game. Had he only had the burst ofnspeed that Dembele has, he would have been world class, but his slowness is worrying - when the Wigan players started to be all over him as soon as he received the ball, he became so much more inefficient. And this is Wigan we're talking about, not Real Madrid.

I think it's vital for Thudd to be surrounded by hard workers and players that move quickly and draw opposition players away from him. Since he rarely does it himself, he needs teammates to create the extra space he needs to compensate for his limited pace and mobility. The question is whether (a) we have these players and (b) this fits into AVB's tactics.

Personally I think Thudd will be off this summer, if we receive a decent bid. I'm sure AVB is looking to buy a player more in the Modric mould, who is both a great passer and more mobile, to play the role Thudd had yesterday.

Why do people still have these concerns? For some reason it's as if our fans forget he's already proven his doubters wrong. For most of this season the Hudd has been spoken about as if he's a new signing we don't know anything about. Even this week people have been going on and on as if he can play in a 3 man CM, and not a 2.

Have Spurs fans lost their memories? He was a starting CM in a team that finished 4th. The following season he had an ankle injury and was never bale to play more than 2 games in a row, but in the games he played we averaged a PPG that would have been good enough for a top 4 finish. Tim Sherwood said he'd become the first name on the team sheet. Harry took Modric off before him. He was made captain. Huddlestone has nothing to prove to Spurs fans. He's proven himself.

The only caveat is if our fans are talking from the point of view that he might not be the same player following such a long time out. That is fair enough, but most of the time I don't get the impression that is right.

For those who have forgotten here are his stats for the 2009/10 season, where he established himself in a 2 man CM. He was our top ranked according to Whoscored:

http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/25...erStatistics/England-Premier-League-2009-2010

 

[parklane1]

Same old Hudd, give him acres of space and he will pass a good ball, close him down and he disappears. Again i say he will be gone in the summer.

 

[SlumDilla]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...for-spurs-champions-league-chase-8603567.html

Andre Villas-Boas is confident of having the midfielder Tom Huddlestone fit for Tottenham’s pursuit of a Champions League place.

“He has been tremendous, his impact against [Manchester] City was outstanding and he controlled our passing against Wigan,” Villas-Boas said. Huddlestone has starred in a 4-3-3 recently but Villas-Boas would trust him in 4-4-2 if the manager reverts to that against Southampton today. “Either way Tom has already played a 4-4-2 when Mousa Dembélé was injured, to great effect.”

Seems AVB would look to use Hudd in a 4231 formation. Though 433 would work well in Hudds favor imo.

 

[africanspurs]

Same old Hudd, give him acres of space and he will pass a good ball, close him down and he disappears. Again i say he will be gone in the summer.

based on that we would lose pretty much all of our midfielders. none of them can pass a good ball once they are closed down

 

[Spursalot]

based on that we would lose pretty much all of our midfielders. none of them can pass a good ball once they are closed down

Not really, our other midfielders have other good attributes. Tom's best is by far his passing, take that away and he's not fit for purpose.

 

[africanspurs]

Not really, our other midfielders have other good attributes. Tom's best is by far his passing, take that away and he's not fit for purpose.

edit_; i can only deal with what he says , since he doesnt say much it appears that a large amount of what he is talking about centres around the ability to be useful in passing when pressed. obviously i think he means what you say too but one can only assume...

except for the part where statistically he is about as good as most people in slowing down the opposition you mean. not sure what the stats say about his time with AVB but 2 years ago and prior to that statisticaly Thudd was like the second best most efficient defensive guy we had

its also telling that people dont appreciate how his positioning is a shade above others. guy moves like a lummox yet is decent in initially placing himself where he needs to be

also has a nice handy push off on the opposition after they have made the first pass in order to slow them running ahead of him or easily getting to the return pass

the reason why none of what the likes of you or parklane say, not that parklane likes to give much away anyway, would actually sway me...is because i have seen Thudd as one of the most instrumental players in a top tottenham team that was also defensively sound. if he was THAT brick at most things and could only pass then its amazing we got anything done that year.

its okay though, i have a new lease of life ..... i can appreciate that most people trash or bin anything that happened going back more than a few weeks ..and also tend to forget things or dont try to remember etc. This is why for me if you have proven in the past that you can perform for a sustained and lengthy period then you always have the gift / ability in you

Thudd was in the total dark, no doubt parklane and yourself highlighted how much dead weight we carried in him at some point...but he seems to have played himself into the starting 11 with a coach that some on here worship as a demi GHod....must be doing something right IMO

also tactically thudd is quite good with two runners in front of him

so there

 

[Spursalot]

He wasn't 'THAT brick', he got injured and he has yet to regain the mobility he had previously. If he can then sure that's a good thing and he'll be a good asset to have around.

As you say '2 years ago and prior to that statisticaly Thudd was like the second best most efficient defensive guy we had', unfortunately if my memories are correct time tends to flow forwards and not backwards.

If he does not regain that mobility then my concerns are perfectly valid.


He's started one game. I think claims he has 'played himself into the starting eleven' are a little premature.

 

[africanspurs]

He wasn't 'THAT brick', he got injured and he has yet to regain the mobility he had previously. If he can then sure that's a good thing and he'll be a good asset to have around.

As you say '2 years ago and prior to that statisticaly Thudd was like the second best most efficient defensive guy we had', unfortunately if my memories are correct time tends to flow forwards and not backwards.

If he does not regain that mobility then my concerns are perfectly valid.


He's started one game. I think claims he has 'played himself into the starting eleven' are a little premature.

but he did play himself into the starting 11. thats fact and history...hardly premature if he has done it already

time does go forward. its also built on the past which people tend to ignore.....there is no reason for me why thudd shouldnt have the capability to perform like he did two seasons ago

wait, are you saying that thudd was more mobile in the past than he has been in recent weeks? i think its my turn to have gold fish memory....he looks about the same to me.

i cant think of a time when he has ever been that mobile laterally

 

[Spursalot]

but he did play himself into the starting 11. thats fact and history...hardly premature if he has done it already

time does go forward. its also built on the past which people tend to ignore.....there is no reason for me why thudd shouldnt have the capability to perform like he did two seasons ago

wait, are you saying that thudd was more mobile in the past than he has been in recent weeks? i think its my turn to have gold fish memory....he looks about the same to me.

i cant think of a time when he has ever been that mobile laterally

He was more than he is currently. He has improved a lot since december, which is good news. If he keeps it up he might get that starting eleven spot on a permanent basis.

It is built on the past, however things change. Players get injured.


If he starts today i will not be particularly confident. Southampton's pressing game has improved immensely under Poch, and Huddlestone should be one of the two points that pressing us will hurt us. The other of course being Parker.

 

[braineclipse]

Not really, our other midfielders have other good attributes. Tom's best is by far his passing, take that away and he's not fit for purpose.

Pressing doesn't completely negate his passing. He's still a much better short and mid range quick passer (one or two touches) than Parker (and Sandro). African highlights some other things he does well.

His movement is actually pretty good and he wants the ball, he makes it harder for teams to press us, unlike Parker who makes it easier. Thus with Hudd in the team we're less likely to be forced into long balls.

And, as I've said many times now, with the current form Parker is in I don't see that he offers much of anything. And Parker is who he's being compared to at the moment because those are the two options for the spot next to Dembele or next to (/behind) Dembele and Holtby if we play a 4-3-3-.

 

[Spursalot]

Pressing doesn't completely negate his passing. He's still a much better short and mid range quick passer (one or two touches) than Parker (and Sandro). African highlights some other things he does well.

His movement is actually pretty good and he wants the ball, he makes it harder for teams to press us, unlike Parker who makes it easier. Thus with Hudd in the team we're less likely to be forced into long balls.

And, as I've said many times now, with the current form Parker is in I don't see that he offers much of anything. And Parker is who he's being compared to at the moment because those are the two options for the spot next to Dembele or next to (/behind) Dembele and Holtby if we play a 4-3-3-.

He was a good one or two touch passer, however i haven't seen enough of it to convince me he is back to his best. He has been successful with us recently because he has been given lots of time on the ball, and has had time to pick his option and pass.

 

[braineclipse]

He was a good one or two touch passer, however i haven't seen enough of it to convince me he is back to his best. He has been successful with us recently because he has been given lots of time on the ball, and has had time to pick his option and pass.

I think he did just that against Wigan, particularly in the first half, less so in the second. There were several times where he found the right quick and accurate pass to keep us playing where I think others in our squad would have done a lot worse.

He's obviously not back to his best after 18 months injured, smallish injuries and on the bench most of this season in addition to that and only one league start in the last... just about forever.

For me he's shown enough to deserve a start ahead of Parker though, the real question at hand. As I've said before it seems quite likely that he'll leave in the summer, but we'll just have to wait and see I suppose.