Xavi Simons

[thfcsteff]

Who would have thought that the man who was brought in partly because of his strong record in developing young players, and who helped to turn Christian Nørgaard into an excellent PL midfielder, could have helped Simons develop his game?

Can you explain to me what he has added to Xavi's game in terms of development skill-wise that was previously not part of the player's make-up?

BTW, I would question Nørgaard as having been turned into an 'excellent' PL midfielder. Had you said Damsgaard and turned it down to 'quality PL midfielder' I think I'd have agreed.

 

[thfcsteff]

I just find amusing that if Xavi isn’t playing well it’s on Frank (fact) and if he is it’s not Frank.

Admit it. Unless I keep my (admittedly often long) posts to a minimum, you lose interest and just assume 'Frank hater, I'll bang on that gong again in my reply' LOL!

 

[SpurMeUp]

Admit it. Unless I keep my (admittedly often long) posts to a minimum, you lose interest and just assume 'Frank hater, I'll bang on that gong again in my reply' LOL!

Yes you wraped it in nuance and gestured towards a broader picture, but at its core this is simply about bias. Xavi not hitting the ground running was black and white: Frank wasn’t using him correctly. You stated that was a fact. If you’re going to apply that kind of binary causation, then you have to apply when Xavi is playing well. The manager is ultimately accountable despite all the other variables, so fair enough, but be consistent. Credit where it’s due.

Most of the improvment is on Xavi himself imo, just settling in, but Frank and his team no doubt helped. You're introducing the defensive coach - anything - to try and move any credit from Frank Yes I think he is a big asset, but he's only just joined.

We're all happy Xavi is playing well. He is not thinking, was in his zone. And the beautiful thing was the synergy with the fans. He's a showman, and fed off the home atmosphere. He partly created the atmosphere by taking the game to City. And Frank and the team no doubt played a part too with the half time talk.

 

[thfcsteff]

Yes you wraped it in nuance and gestured towards a broader picture, but at its core this is simply about bias. Xavi not hitting the ground running was black and white: Frank wasn’t using him correctly. You stated that was a fact. If you’re going to apply that kind of binary causation, then you have to apply when Xavi is playing well. The manager is ultimately accountable despite all the other variables, so fair enough, but be consistent. Credit where it’s due.

Most of the improvment is on Xavi himself imo, just settling in, but Frank and his team no doubt helped. You're introducing the defensive coach - anything - to try and move any credit from Frank Yes I think he is a big asset, but he's only just joined.

We're all happy Xavi is playing well. He is not thinking, was in his zone. And the beautiful thing was the synergy with the fans. He's a showman, and fed off the home atmosphere. He partly created the atmosphere by taking the game to City. And Frank and the team no doubt played a part too with the half time talk.

Get your head out of your confirmation bias. Please. I am absolutely willing to give Frank credit when due, and indeed have done so. You might not notice.

As for some of your other accusations, come on, do better!
'Introducing the defensive coach to try and move any credit from Frank'? My friend, that's in your head! I was posing a question, that's all. In fact, you likely missed the bit where I then said that Frank deserved recognition for him being here regardless!!!

I am delighted that Thomas Frank has finally realized how to best deploy this immense talent in a way which makes us all happy (albeit I'd say knowing who your players are and what they need is a minimum requirement from a good coach).

Did you ever watch Xavi before he came to Spurs? Do you know the player?

 

[braineclipse]

Yes you wraped it in nuance and gestured towards a broader picture, but at its core this is simply about bias. Xavi not hitting the ground running was black and white: Frank wasn’t using him correctly. You stated that was a fact. If you’re going to apply that kind of binary causation, then you have to apply when Xavi is playing well. The manager is ultimately accountable despite all the other variables, so fair enough, but be consistent. Credit where it’s due.

Most of the improvment is on Xavi himself imo, just settling in, but Frank and his team no doubt helped. You're introducing the defensive coach - anything - to try and move any credit from Frank Yes I think he is a big asset, but he's only just joined.

We're all happy Xavi is playing well. He is not thinking, was in his zone. And the beautiful thing was the synergy with the fans. He's a showman, and fed off the home atmosphere. He partly created the atmosphere by taking the game to City. And Frank and the team no doubt played a part too with the half time talk.

What amount of credit does a manager deserve for us sometimes playing in a way that gets the best out of our most talented available attacking player?

Some credit, sure. But us sometimes functioning as a cohesive attacking unit to me is down there amongst the bare minimum of requirements for a manager at this football club. If we can do that at least fairly consistently, most games, most halves, most game states then we can start talking about getting credit.

 

[SpurMeUp]

Get your head out of your confirmation bias. Please. I am absolutely willing to give Frank credit when due, and indeed have done so. You might not notice.

As for some of your other accusations, come on, do better!
'Introducing the defensive coach to try and move any credit from Frank'? My friend, that's in your head! I was posing a question, that's all. In fact, you likely missed the bit where I then said that Frank deserved recognition for him being here regardless!!!

I am delighted that Thomas Frank has finally realized how to best deploy this immense talent in a way which makes us all happy (albeit I'd say knowing who your players are and what they need is a minimum requirement from a good coach).

Did you ever watch Xavi before he came to Spurs? Do you know the player?

You have been giving Frank credit, don't get me wrong. My point was if you are going to be binary about the manager not getting the most from a player, do the same when they do come good.

All good, the open point re. Heitinga is an interesting one. I think he was a bit of a coup. Was the first team manager at Ajax? Clearly a big asset.