I had to look up the Faroe Islands and double check Azerbaijan (I was wrong). But, after looking at these clubs and where they're located, I'm positively shocked that Kazakhstan is allowed in UEFA. It's quite far from Western Europe.
You could tell me that half of these were made up and half were real, and I would have no idea which ones were fake and which were real.There is definitely an optimistic case to be made for things coming back together and clicking once again and I think you're right that N'Dombele would likely be key in that scenario. My football predictions have been awful recently so I'm loathe to double down too much on the contrary.
In other news....
View: https://twitter.com/DaleJohnsonESPN/status/1289641903244353536
Seems to have either undervalued Hojberg, overvalued KWP, or both.The Hoj-KWP swap looks likely to go thru, with 3M also going with KWP.
I was gonna go with "On the road to Kazakhstan" or "Watching Tottenham on a Thursday night!"Potential thread titles:
- Struggling for Fitness
- Sons of Heung min-Son
- Love for the Low Block
- It's Pronounced Jose (allusion to picture above)
- The North London Special / The Special Comes to North London
- We Have a Counter to That
Supposedly Everton offered more for Hojberg but he turned them down and wanted Spurs instead, which limited Southampton's' leverage.Seems to have either undervalued Hojberg, overvalued KWP, or both.
Fwiw, transfermarkt has them valued at £18 and £7.2, respectively.
Southampton and Tottenham have agreed a fee for Saints midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after weeks of negotiation.
Spurs initially fell short of Southampton's £25m valuation of the Danish international, who has one year left on his contract.
The two clubs have now finally agreed a fee that is less than that, but a lot more than Spurs' initial £15m offer.
Hojbjerg’s headline-grabbing statistic is the less-than-glamorous “ball recoveries” – winning back a loose ball, for example after a clearance or duel — and this past season he made 510, according to StatsBomb, more than any other player in the Premier League.
Often, he receives the ball under some pressure from the defence, shifts it back and moves to take a higher position between the lines to show as another passing option. So he’s good at keeping the ball moving, and busy when it comes to getting into position. Around a fifth of his passes are made under pressure (according to StatsBomb data) indicative of his role in keeping play moving in midfield before another player plays a more direct pass forward.
In some ways, the most exciting prospect is him playing alongside Giovani Lo Celso, who shows up extremely well in pressing metrics and moves the ball forwards in a similar way to Hojbjerg, but with more line-breaking ability. This would give Tottenham a dynamic, pressing double pivot, although perhaps without the sheer athleticism Mourinho wants in at least one of the deeper midfielders.
Although Tanguy Ndombele seemed to end the season out of favour, he too could work neatly with Hojbjerg, bringing similar passing numbers but greater ball carrying.
Promising kid, I'm glad he's going to get PT although I'm surprised they didn't find takers in the EPL.Oliver Skipp to Norwich on a loan:
View: https://twitter.com/cartilagefree/status/1295340448052129792
I think even if they found someone in the EPL who wanted him, it would have been a big risk that he didn't end up playing much.Promising kid, I'm glad he's going to get PT although I'm surprised they didn't find takers in the EPL.
Some of Spurs twitter thinks Jose is trying to see if he can play there in a pinch or if they need to purchase another guy.Gedson playing right back again today.
Yeah, I think it’s totally reasonable, didn’t have time to add any commentary. In general I think big clubs undervalue positional versatility. If Gedson Can play 500 minutes there that’s valuable and good to know.Some of Spurs twitter thinks Jose is trying to see if he can play there in a pinch or if they need to purchase another guy.
But, the reason CL winners can have attacking FBs is because they are so strong in the other areas of the pitch. You can afford to take the risks associated with pushing the FBs forward (and they, themselves, must do so intelligently).Windy from The Extra Inch always says he likes it when FBs are swords not shields. While that won't be true for every club, for the true elite I think it's very true. Think of all the UCL winners of the last 5-10 years. Most of the FBs are offensive weapons. Kimmich/Davies, TAA/Robertson, Marcelo/Carvajal, Alves/Alba, etc. If you have the workrate, are fast enough to cover speedy wings, and have decent ball-winning skills, it's a great spot on the field to attack from because you usually are playing facing goal around midfield or making runs in behind where you're less likely to be marked. In other words, the position has an attractive skill profile for wingers who may not be adept at playing with their backs to goal or shaking markers.
Hell to the yes. I already have Dempsey and Yedlin kits that aren't much good any more and was waiting to see if CCV made the squad, but now that green Alex Morgan jersey is going to be mine.I needed to replace my Eriksen Spurs jersey anyway; an Alex Morgan Spurs jersey may just be the way to do it.
CCV didn't even get a uniform number (nor did Rose).
Excited for Morgan, never been clear to me why Spurs don't elevate their women's team.
I'm about halfway through and really enjoying this, despite my dislike for Tottenham. It may be carefully curated but its a pretty interesting look at the inner workings of a team.Has anyone watched any of the Amazon doc yet? I haven't yet, hopefully tonight.
I have found myself really liking him after watching this. It is annoying, to be honest. He seems so much more like an American football coach than Pep did in the previous Amazon doc.Mourinho is narcissistic dick but also likeable at the same time.
Two observations, first, Kane is going to fit right in when he is some NFL team's kicker a decade from now. Second, it is really interesting to me that Kane is not the captain (Lloris wears the armband) but Harry feels the need to be the last one to speak every time. Several outlets / observers have noted that Kane is the second most powerful figure at Tottenham, and not Jose, but this documentary really seems to confirm this fact.Harry Kane's team talks were terrible and were reminiscent of every time I was on a team that made the best player captain even if he was unsuited to the role. Just somebody uncomfortably yelling what he figures he is supposed to be yelling.
I agree about Dier, who came across as very likeable and relatable too. The sequence where he gets subbed off after 29 minutes, the team comes back to win, but he is just miserable anyway in the post-game boot room was really powerful.Two observations, first, Kane is going to fit right in when he is some NFL team's kicker a decade from now. Second, it is really interesting to me that Kane is not the captain (Lloris wears the armband) but Harry feels the need to be the last one to speak every time. Several outlets / observers have noted that Kane is the second most powerful figure at Tottenham, and not Jose, but this documentary really seems to confirm this fact.
Eric Dier has been my favorite Spur for a while, and this doc really confirms that for me. Damn, I like the guy.