Tottenham Hotspur 24/25: To Dare is to Didgeridoo
- Thread starter DJnVa
- Start date
I'm cautiously optimistic about the overall project, not so optimistic about the season but hoping we can sneak a cup trophy, and extremely unexcited for the rest of December.
The midfield play was so abysmal yesterday, and given their CB injury situation, they need Bissouma and Sarr to both be very, very good. Not only did they each give away bad penalties, but they were almost non-existent in terms of the offensive attack, finding it very difficult to string together progressive passes that would punish Chelsea for playing so aggressively. After the 30 minute mark or so, Chelsea really dominated the game, with Spurs unable to really find any sustained possession of the ball and instead conceding to Chelsea's pressure, as they hammered away for an equalizer and eventually a winner.
Missing Bentancur I think really hurt--out of the regular holding midfielders he is our best progressive passer and would have been a much better fit than either Bissouma or Sarr. I would have also gotten Madders into the game earlier--they desperately needed another player in the center of the pitch who could make a turn and move the ball forward without getting into trouble
I don't really blame Ange for anything, in general I find blaming managers to be too common of a case for fans, but the direction the team is heading in over the last month or so, taking away the historic City result, is not encouraging.
Missing Bentancur I think really hurt--out of the regular holding midfielders he is our best progressive passer and would have been a much better fit than either Bissouma or Sarr. I would have also gotten Madders into the game earlier--they desperately needed another player in the center of the pitch who could make a turn and move the ball forward without getting into trouble
I don't really blame Ange for anything, in general I find blaming managers to be too common of a case for fans, but the direction the team is heading in over the last month or so, taking away the historic City result, is not encouraging.
Copying from the other thread:
Some lower competition in Rangers and then Southampton could really help galvanize the group, or it could raise the alarms to new levels.
Son's pace is an issue, but it's really the quickness and decision-making that has me worried. Finishing skills never really go, but the ability to create a yard and the decision-making calculus that players make based on their abilities sometimes never adjust to their new realities. Son likely needs to move inside so he can become a 2-touch striker--receive and hit--to remain useful. His days receiving the ball wide, beating a defender, and then creating havoc and goals are likely numbered. That said, everyone looks bad right now, so I don't want to read too much into it.
Some lower competition in Rangers and then Southampton could really help galvanize the group, or it could raise the alarms to new levels.
It's funny with Son. The other Spurs site I frequent has a weird thing going where whenever he plays wing there's a sizable contingent of people convinced he absolutely can no longer play the wing, and when he's up top there is a similar contingent absolutely convinced he can't play up top, and meanwhile he continues to be near the top of the club's charts for G+A every year. He's certainly closer to the end of his time at Spurs than the beginning (they bought multiple young wingers for a reason), but he's still pretty indispensable to the team as it is now. That said, the same circumstances that are making the entire team look bad (thin squad forcing insufficient rest from the guys who are playing) is gonna hit the 30+ dude worse than most.
Rangers have a Cup Final against Celtic at the weekend which might mean some players are rested for that match. They're on 10 points in the EL standings, (same points as Spurs, a point ahead of Man Utd) and might look at the Spurs match as a free hit. There's no love for Ange in Govan so it could be a feisty encounter. Conversely i would have no problem if a few Rangers players hobble off with knocks on Thursday and Ange gets another one over The Kings 11.
I am keen to hear what new chants 50,000 royalists have for Ange.
I am keen to hear what new chants 50,000 royalists have for Ange.
1) The lack of depth is killing them. They have only four CBs in the squad and they're all injured right now, such that they've been playing an 18-year-old midfielder at CB. A lot of the players look exhausted, and the pressing intensity has notably dipped. Forster is solid shot-stopper but a mess with the ball at his feet. Etc.
2) There's not enough quality at several positions. They badly need a good midfield passer from deep; maybe Bentancur can be that, but between his injuries and suspensions he hasn't shown it yet. Udogie has regressed badly this season. Kulusevski and Maddison are their two best creative players, but both are natural #10s and it's tricky to play them both at the same time.
3) They're probably a bit better than than they seem right now. They've had a very weird distribution of results this year. All of their seven wins have been by 2+ goals, with 6 of them by 3+ goals. Meanwhile, 8 of their 9 losses are by 1 goal; they probably deserved to get at least some points from most of those games. It's been a very strange season.
2) There's not enough quality at several positions. They badly need a good midfield passer from deep; maybe Bentancur can be that, but between his injuries and suspensions he hasn't shown it yet. Udogie has regressed badly this season. Kulusevski and Maddison are their two best creative players, but both are natural #10s and it's tricky to play them both at the same time.
3) They're probably a bit better than than they seem right now. They've had a very weird distribution of results this year. All of their seven wins have been by 2+ goals, with 6 of them by 3+ goals. Meanwhile, 8 of their 9 losses are by 1 goal; they probably deserved to get at least some points from most of those games. It's been a very strange season.
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I thought yesterday they were very hesitant to give the ball away--understandably so given how frequently they are giving up goals on the counter at the moment. That is not Ange ball. There were several times during the game where I felt like a player got into a promising position with the ball, and had a chance to make an incisive pass, but instead resisted, held on to the ball for too long, and allowed Forest to get into a stronger defensive shape. It happened to Udogie several times. The result was a lot of fruitless corner kicks, which without Romero and Mickey, are not nearly as threatening.
They are also really lacking in winger/striker quality as well. The current healthy options (unfortunately including Son in his current form) are probably the worst I've seen at Spurs since I started following ~20 years ago.
Four CBs (counting Davies) is a problem that should have been known going into the season and simply wasn't resolved. It's a stroke of terrible luck that literally all of them are hurt, but I've been looking at other PL rosters and they all seem to have 5 - 6.
As for winger/striker depth, there are 3 guy meant to be on that depth chart who are all hurt as well. Richarlison being a lock for 2500+ minutes the three seasons before coming to Spurs and so far totaling that many league minutes in 2.5 seasons with Spurs has been an absolute killer.
Injury lists have always been weirdly underemphasized in European football coverage, and the injury list along with the questionable squad building decisions over the summer leaving a threadbare squad getting ground to paste over December is pretty much the entire story for me.
As for winger/striker depth, there are 3 guy meant to be on that depth chart who are all hurt as well. Richarlison being a lock for 2500+ minutes the three seasons before coming to Spurs and so far totaling that many league minutes in 2.5 seasons with Spurs has been an absolute killer.
Injury lists have always been weirdly underemphasized in European football coverage, and the injury list along with the questionable squad building decisions over the summer leaving a threadbare squad getting ground to paste over December is pretty much the entire story for me.
Yeah, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert were supposed to play major roles in the attack and they've both been hurt the whole season.
The squad is thin everywhere. It's bad luck that all the CBs are hurt at the same time, but Spurs don't have any positions where they can afford to fade a couple significant injuries. They did a good job over the summer getting a lot of dead weight off the books, but they didn't replace those bodies.
The squad is thin everywhere. It's bad luck that all the CBs are hurt at the same time, but Spurs don't have any positions where they can afford to fade a couple significant injuries. They did a good job over the summer getting a lot of dead weight off the books, but they didn't replace those bodies.
Bump for winning the first leg against Pool yesterday. Gives us a puncher's chance to reach the final, but Pool will bring it hard in the return leg at Anfield next month. Shout out to the new keeper--he's really going to push Vicario and I love having 2 excellent keepers. No way they can keep both beyond next season. I expect they'll do the 'cup keeper' approach, but the question is who gets the EPL! Hope Ben10 is OK--that looked awful.
Just looking at the schedule, I'm shocked the League put the NLD midweek. That's something the NFL--despite all of its awfulness--would never stand for.
Quite an important month coming up--FA Cup tie on the weekend (Tamworth from the 5th division National League), NLD next Wednesday, and then the remaining 2 UEL group matches (against Hoffenheim and Elfsborg). Spurs do need to push for a top 8 UEL finish to avoid adding to the fixture congestion, but I'm heartened a bit by the fact that Hoffenheim and Elfsborg have negative GD but both are also going to push to make the playoff and likely will treat these games as priorities too. Hoffenheim are in a relegation battle so maybe they'll focus on Bundesliga matches but Elfsborg is 7th in the Swedish league and I imagine advancing in UEL is much more lucrative to them.
Just looking at the schedule, I'm shocked the League put the NLD midweek. That's something the NFL--despite all of its awfulness--would never stand for.
Quite an important month coming up--FA Cup tie on the weekend (Tamworth from the 5th division National League), NLD next Wednesday, and then the remaining 2 UEL group matches (against Hoffenheim and Elfsborg). Spurs do need to push for a top 8 UEL finish to avoid adding to the fixture congestion, but I'm heartened a bit by the fact that Hoffenheim and Elfsborg have negative GD but both are also going to push to make the playoff and likely will treat these games as priorities too. Hoffenheim are in a relegation battle so maybe they'll focus on Bundesliga matches but Elfsborg is 7th in the Swedish league and I imagine advancing in UEL is much more lucrative to them.
The less said about the Tamworth game the better. NLD on Wednesdsay.
FA Cup 4th Round draw is Villa away. Not easy at all, but we've matched up well against them in recent meetings. Man City lite if you will.
FA Cup 4th Round draw is Villa away. Not easy at all, but we've matched up well against them in recent meetings. Man City lite if you will.
Agreed. The thing I'll say is that the next 2-3 weeks of fixtures are much easier and the ship needs to get straightened out or Ange will get the sack.
@Everton
@Hoffenheim (currently in relegation zone in Bundesliga)
vs. LCFC
vs. Elfsborg
(2/2) @Brentford
Getting Richy back (on the bench anyway) is a boost. Ben10, Romero, VDV, and Davies are all expected back before the end of January. These next 5 fixtures are pivotal at many levels.
It's a lost league season with the injury crisis exposing the squad building errors that are even worse than typical Spurs squad depth issues.
As important players start getting healthy again, the minimum requirement is that league form goes from wretched to patchy, so things stabilize and the team can focus on trying to win a cup competition.
Much preferred would be an actual consistent run of league results, the whole project could really use another flash like the beginning of Ange's tenure.
As important players start getting healthy again, the minimum requirement is that league form goes from wretched to patchy, so things stabilize and the team can focus on trying to win a cup competition.
Much preferred would be an actual consistent run of league results, the whole project could really use another flash like the beginning of Ange's tenure.
Bournemouth have an injury crisis as bad as us (if not worse) and they haven't lost in 6 Premier League games. They even managed to get a result at Stamford Bridge the other night.
The only reason I would hesitate to sack Ange is that it likely means an extended run of Mason, so if that's the outcome, I would keep Ange until the end of the season. But I don't have much confidence he can turn things around. As of now we are on pace for Tottenham's worst season since we got relegated in 1977.
Spurs have plenty of good players. They just seem to under perform.
I don't understand it. I would put money on Everton but they are pretty unreliable this year too.
I don't understand it. I would put money on Everton but they are pretty unreliable this year too.
We need an update on your bet vel non.
I agree with people in the MW thread that no one out there is going to do better than Ange, but I have to think if he doesn't pick up 4-6 points against Hoffenheim and LCFC at home that he's gone. I'm all for patience, but Spurs can't be in a relegation scrap.
Yeah, the coach has to go, just for a change. But I don't think Ipswich will catch them, not yet anyway...
The following comment could apply to Man Unt/Anorim as well. You have a manager who’s basically saying My Methods are best regardless of the personnel on the field. Which strikes me as bizarre coming from any professional manager let alone a Premier League one.
I get that Spurs have huge injury issues which are a major factor when evaluating current form. I think that has to be kept in mind.
However, you can’t devise a completely inflexible playing strategy that only works if everyone is healthy. That’s a completely unrealistic scenario. I wouldn’t sack Ange right now as there’s no real point. Spurs arn’t making Europe until their health improves - regardless of the manager. If, on the other hand they get sucked into a relegation fight, then he has to go.
If I’m Levy and Ange survives I’d sit him down for a long talk - he has to compromise his principles in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
And I’d be having a long look around at replacements.
I get that Spurs have huge injury issues which are a major factor when evaluating current form. I think that has to be kept in mind.
However, you can’t devise a completely inflexible playing strategy that only works if everyone is healthy. That’s a completely unrealistic scenario. I wouldn’t sack Ange right now as there’s no real point. Spurs arn’t making Europe until their health improves - regardless of the manager. If, on the other hand they get sucked into a relegation fight, then he has to go.
If I’m Levy and Ange survives I’d sit him down for a long talk - he has to compromise his principles in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
And I’d be having a long look around at replacements.
Ange hasn't been completely inflexible tactically. Against Arsenal he played a more defensive lineup with three central midfielders. Against Everton he tried a back three. Neither worked very well.
Tottenham had a pretty thin squad to begin with and they currently have 10 first-team players out injured. Also, because of the injuries he can't rotate, so the players who aren't hurt are all exhausted. That means the pressing which is the foundation of Ange's approach isn't very effective. Sometimes it's just one of those years.
Tottenham had a pretty thin squad to begin with and they currently have 10 first-team players out injured. Also, because of the injuries he can't rotate, so the players who aren't hurt are all exhausted. That means the pressing which is the foundation of Ange's approach isn't very effective. Sometimes it's just one of those years.
This is such a key point with injuries in today's football with insanely packed fixture schedules. Its not just about who you're missing, its about the toll on the "healthy" players and also the tendency of this toll to lead to further injuries.
For teams in Europe, you need a huge squad, a lot of health luck, or both.
The problem for Ange is Djed Spence. What I mean by that is Ange ran Udogie and Porro into the ground, didn't put Djed on the UEL squad, and after Udogie went down injured Spence stepped in and has probably been our best player for 1-2 months. We were all clamoring for him BEFORE the injuries in the hope of establishing a rotation, and Spence's performance are a huge black mark on Ange's player selection bona fides. Bergvall and Gray weren't given tons of minutes before the crisis and they've stepped in admirably. Gray looks cool and confident and Bergvall is promising. Brave to a fault, but with technique surpassing most of the other MFs not named Maddison and Deki.
Ange cites the fact that he only has 10-11 fit players against Everton, but Lankshear and youth players should be given some run during this crisis, and should've been given minutes prior to the crisis. I don't know the academy that well but I think Leo Black and Tyrese Hall are held in high regard. I think Devine and Philips are out on loan, but where is Dorrington?
Against Everton specifically, it certainly feels like Gray should've been tried at DMF with Dragusin and Davies behind. Ange is flailing a bit, and it shows.
I'm still Ange in at least for the next 2, but it's slipping and that's beyond a doubt.
Ange cites the fact that he only has 10-11 fit players against Everton, but Lankshear and youth players should be given some run during this crisis, and should've been given minutes prior to the crisis. I don't know the academy that well but I think Leo Black and Tyrese Hall are held in high regard. I think Devine and Philips are out on loan, but where is Dorrington?
Against Everton specifically, it certainly feels like Gray should've been tried at DMF with Dragusin and Davies behind. Ange is flailing a bit, and it shows.
I'm still Ange in at least for the next 2, but it's slipping and that's beyond a doubt.
Dorrington and Lankshear both have had cameos and not looked super good, so I can understand why those players have not been relied on in a crisis.
Generally also desperately tossing kids in during a crisis seems like not the best way to get them breaking through. The teams that develop these kids properly rotate one or two of them into a more settled team to get them accustomed to playing the right ball the right way.
Really the one academy kid Ange was doing exactly this with, to some success, is Mikey Moore, who then promptly got mono or whatever happened and is only now just coming back.
Generally also desperately tossing kids in during a crisis seems like not the best way to get them breaking through. The teams that develop these kids properly rotate one or two of them into a more settled team to get them accustomed to playing the right ball the right way.
Really the one academy kid Ange was doing exactly this with, to some success, is Mikey Moore, who then promptly got mono or whatever happened and is only now just coming back.
Spurs get by Hoffenheim in Germany, 3-2, which puts them in a good position to get an automatic spot in the knockout stage, with only Elfsborg left at home and only one point needed to ensure advancement.
I did not watch the first half, but apparently Spurs were pretty good as Maddison and Son both scored to go up 2-0. The second half, which I saw, was pretty bad. Hoffenheim dominated and scored two goals thanks to terrible defense. Son did look like vintage Son and netted his second goal. The final ten minutes were incredible, in the sense that Spurs had mostly academy players in the game and they were beyond horrible--it was kind of a miracle they managed to not concede the lead.
I did not watch the first half, but apparently Spurs were pretty good as Maddison and Son both scored to go up 2-0. The second half, which I saw, was pretty bad. Hoffenheim dominated and scored two goals thanks to terrible defense. Son did look like vintage Son and netted his second goal. The final ten minutes were incredible, in the sense that Spurs had mostly academy players in the game and they were beyond horrible--it was kind of a miracle they managed to not concede the lead.
So how is everyone doing today?? Oh, not so good.
I didn't watch the game closely, but I did rewatch the first 10 minutes of the second half when it fell apart. What was very apparent is how disjointed the team is right now. The MFs didn't know who was going to press and who was going to cover when Everton began breaking. Porro also didn't do anyone any favors. Whether through returning from injury (Ben10), fatigue (Porro), or other reasons, the team doesn't have a good plan in all phases of the game right now.
This is a serious injury crisis no doubt, but Ange isn't dealing with it particularly well. Whether he caused it in part is another question. But IIRC, when Newcastle were ravaged by injuries a couple of years ago, they still managed to finish 11th. I guess Spurs could make up the 7 points on Brentford to catch them for 11th this season, but it doesn't feel like it ATM.
I didn't watch the game closely, but I did rewatch the first 10 minutes of the second half when it fell apart. What was very apparent is how disjointed the team is right now. The MFs didn't know who was going to press and who was going to cover when Everton began breaking. Porro also didn't do anyone any favors. Whether through returning from injury (Ben10), fatigue (Porro), or other reasons, the team doesn't have a good plan in all phases of the game right now.
I think the counter to this is that running a fatigued Porro, Deki, or Son out there repeatedly isn't getting much out of them either. The comparison isn't Dorrington vs. peak Romero, but rather current Porro. In the Porro case, it would be to bring in Dorrington to allow Gray to slide outside. That said, with Djed and Madders out with injuries yesterday, it's likely a case of rearranging the deck chairs.
This is a serious injury crisis no doubt, but Ange isn't dealing with it particularly well. Whether he caused it in part is another question. But IIRC, when Newcastle were ravaged by injuries a couple of years ago, they still managed to finish 11th. I guess Spurs could make up the 7 points on Brentford to catch them for 11th this season, but it doesn't feel like it ATM.
I certainly agree with this, players look dead on their feet, but I also strongly suspect this is two bad options and kids is just the one that hasn't been tried yet. Grass might well be greener over there though, who knows?
Agreed also on the disjointed nature of the defending, but that also seems so hard to fix when everyone's exhausted, there's never a full week to prepare and the lineups can't stay consistent.
The summer/winter transfer windows are also shaping up to be a truly horrifying combo. The decision to prepare for Europa League, traditionally the most squad stretching European competition IMO by making the squad smaller and less experienced has, uh, not paid off, and waiting all of January to sign any outfield players (if indeed any are signed at all) after watching the squad collapse in December seems full-on negligent.
It's very reminiscent of the year without signings that marked the beginning of the end of the Poch era and very frustrating because it feels like the club for all the new shiny data-driven recruitment department they are trying to build is also just repeating its old mistakes.
With the increasing ambition and competence of the EPL middle class I am pretty worried that the "there is a tier of bigger clubs and Tottenham is in it" era might be ending. They have the revenue to make a mockery of that thought but seem only fitfully interested in using it.
I'm not sure that Tottenham entered the season with a particularly small squad. Looking at Transfermarkt, I count 9 senior defenders, 6 senior midfielders, and 6 senior attackers, then add in a few academy players like Moore, Lankshear, and Scarlett.
Liverpool has 8 senior defenders, 7 senior midfielders, and 6 senior forwards. Arsenal entered the year with 9 senior defenders, 5 senior midfielders, and 6 senior attackers, plus Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly. Take out the youth players who are in the Moore/Lankshear bracket and United have 10 senior defenders, 6 senior midfielders, and 6 senior attackers. City entered the season with 7 senior defenders, 7 senior midfielders, and 6 senior attackers. Chelsea is a crazy club, not even going to count what is going on with them.
Basically, all these sides went into the season with 20-22 senior outfield players and a few academy players as "break glass in emergency" options.
Squads have stayed more or less the same size for the last 10 years for a variety of reasons (squad size rules, managers not wanting unhappy players on the bench, money in the game leveling off, etc) but the fixture list keeps getting busier and the game keeps getting more intense. A run of injuries is really a killer in this context, as it puts so much load on the other players. Ange should be doing better and deserves the sack IMO, but I don't think its really a squad construction issue so much as a combination of bad luck, his tactical style maybe being conducive to causing injuries, and his tactical style definitely not being conducive to coping with an injury crisis.
Liverpool has 8 senior defenders, 7 senior midfielders, and 6 senior forwards. Arsenal entered the year with 9 senior defenders, 5 senior midfielders, and 6 senior attackers, plus Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly. Take out the youth players who are in the Moore/Lankshear bracket and United have 10 senior defenders, 6 senior midfielders, and 6 senior attackers. City entered the season with 7 senior defenders, 7 senior midfielders, and 6 senior attackers. Chelsea is a crazy club, not even going to count what is going on with them.
Basically, all these sides went into the season with 20-22 senior outfield players and a few academy players as "break glass in emergency" options.
Squads have stayed more or less the same size for the last 10 years for a variety of reasons (squad size rules, managers not wanting unhappy players on the bench, money in the game leveling off, etc) but the fixture list keeps getting busier and the game keeps getting more intense. A run of injuries is really a killer in this context, as it puts so much load on the other players. Ange should be doing better and deserves the sack IMO, but I don't think its really a squad construction issue so much as a combination of bad luck, his tactical style maybe being conducive to causing injuries, and his tactical style definitely not being conducive to coping with an injury crisis.
In what has been a lousy season, some feel-good moments today against Elfsborg.
- Dane Scarlett returned to the side after Ragusin went off injured (what more can you say, lol) and scored his first ever goal for Spurs to put Tottenham ahead 1-0.
- Damola Ajayi, an academy player, scores his first ever professional goal about two minutes after coming into the game (and it was a lovely goal!).
- Dane Scarlett returned to the side after Ragusin went off injured (what more can you say, lol) and scored his first ever goal for Spurs to put Tottenham ahead 1-0.
- Damola Ajayi, an academy player, scores his first ever professional goal about two minutes after coming into the game (and it was a lovely goal!).
Looks like Spurs have agreement with Bayern to buy Mathys Tel for €60M. He plays his minutes split equally between CF and LW, with a splash of RW to boot. He's 19 years old and French. He's 6' and pretty good in the air. Short passing, dribbly, and finishing calling card. Not a great hold up player.
Spurs are paying for the potential here, as Tel has played less this year after a decent/good run last season. Not sure if there's injuries here, or if someone can provide more context.
Worryingly, the ESPN report indicates that the player hasn't agreed to terms, and other EPL clubs are sniffing around.
It's not the signing I expected, but the youth movement clearly continues!
Spurs are paying for the potential here, as Tel has played less this year after a decent/good run last season. Not sure if there's injuries here, or if someone can provide more context.
Worryingly, the ESPN report indicates that the player hasn't agreed to terms, and other EPL clubs are sniffing around.
It's not the signing I expected, but the youth movement clearly continues!
Did you watch the game yesterday @Jimy Hendrix ? DOes that change your opinion at all? FWIW Elfsborg's wages are below that of the Championship and even the second divisions of Italy and Spain, but nevertheless, Scarlett and Ajayi looked good!
It does and it doesn't. It does in the sense that I had a great time watching that, the vibes were incredible, and it rocked.
It doesn't in the sense that Elfsborg were truly an inferior team so who knows how that translates.
I genuinely don't know much about Ajayi, so I find it hard to say what they should or shouldn't do with him.
Moore has already had a role, will continue to have a more significant one, and would be even further along if he didn't get sick, that kid is a talent who is ready to contribute.
Scarlett is where it gets interesting of the three. There's a striker sized gap in the roster (amongst the many) even when Dom is healthy again. Ange seemed pretty unconvinced by Lankshear and was giving him minutes to match (and is seemingly sending him on loan soon). Scarlett has not exactly torn up the football league, but the guy has over 70 senior appearances and if he will ever be a contributor at Spurs, now's the time to find out.
Ultimately, this match was only a bit above a dead rubber in terms of how it needed to be approached, and I don't know how many more matches or match situations like that there will be for Spurs. I hope they actually put together some effective performances such that by minute 70 it looks like a good idea to get that many academy kids on the pitch again.
Mathys Tel from Bayern to Spurs on loan, no obligation to buy. Romano 'HWG' official.
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1igpwnt/romano_mathys_tel_to_tottenham_on_loan_here_we_go/
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1igpwnt/romano_mathys_tel_to_tottenham_on_loan_here_we_go/
based on something like 30 minutes of football on Thursday and Sunday, Scarlett looks much more top flight ready from a physical standpoint than Lanksheir. He just seems to bounce off of defenders much better and actually force his way through the senior players much better than Will at this point. Small sample caveat acknowledge, bit swapping the two on loan sees smart.
This clearly dings Scarlett's minutes... but the upside is big.
I read not option, let alone obligation... but if he has a successful stint, can we negotiate a perm? -- Does that happen in Europe?