The Tottenham Hotspur 2020/21 thread

balaks

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Whisper it quietly but N'dombele is starting to show signs of life and looks a fantastic player.
 

Scroto Baggins

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Are Spurs this season going to be 4-3-3 or 5-3-2?

4-3-3 with Bale seems obvious but seems very un Mourinho like to have two full backs bombing on aswell. Will certainly expose the CBs much more especially as the CMs aren't the quickest.

3-5-2 seems more obvious to me but then Bale is just warming the bench like he did at Madrid and he's obviously come to Spurs to start vast majority of games, fitness pending of course.

Im not convinced about any of Spurs midfielders in a two. I think for a solid defensive foundation Hojbjerg and Winks sitting in, with a Lo Celso or Ndombele a little bit more advanced to provide that spark is where Jose will go for his three in midfield. The front three pick themselves when fit, Son, Kane, Bale.
 

GlastonSpur

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Im not convinced about any of Spurs midfielders in a two. I think for a solid defensive foundation Hojbjerg and Winks sitting in, with a Lo Celso or Ndombele a little bit more advanced to provide that spark is where Jose will go for his three in midfield. The front three pick themselves when fit, Son, Kane, Bale.
In the end I think Mourninho will settle on a midfield 3 of Hojbjerg, Ndombele and Lo Celso as his first choice, with either of latter two going forward when the opportunity arises and Hojbjerg staying back at all times.

Once Hojbjerg settles in at Spurs a bit more, and if Ndombele continues to show (as he has done lately) why we signed him, then that's a formidable 3-man midfield.
 

ti vu

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Whisper it quietly but N'dombele is starting to show signs of life and looks a fantastic player.
Me getting some popcorn.

The NDombele haters would show up in no time to say you wrong...
 

jackal&hyde

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In the end I think Mourninho will settle on a midfield 3 of Hojbjerg, Ndombele and Lo Celso as his first choice, with either of latter two going forward when the opportunity arises and Hojbjerg staying back at all times.

Once Hojbjerg settles in at Spurs a bit more, and if Ndombele continues to show (as he has done lately) why we signed him, then that's a formidable 3-man midfield.
Too attacking for Jose.
 

balaks

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I think that potentially a midfield 3 of Hojbjerg - Lo Celso - N'dombele is extremely strong. Hojbjerg is about snuffing out trouble and intercepting to regain the ball - Lo Celso is great at transitioning from midfield into attack and N'Dombele is starting to look like the player we had been told we had - a highly creative player with top quality ability. I'm still not 100% on N'dombele yet but he has come a long way in the past few weeks and I'm starting to believe the hype could be justified. We probably need another creative midfielder in the squad though as if either Lo Celso or N'dombele are out we are left with Winks or Sissoko and neither really fill me with any confidence when it comes to creating chances.
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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Jose playing the likes of Dier, Sissoko & Winks regularly is hurting them. With every one fit their side should be

Lloris
Doherty Toby Sanchez Reguilon
Hojberg
Ndombele Lo Celso
Bale Kane Son​

That’s a team that could get 3rd

Lucas or Bergwijn in for Bale when he gets his inevitable injury. They could do with a back up centre forward for when Kane gets his.
 

bond19821982

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If Bale and Kane are playing, Jose will certainly play one more DM which is not GLC or Ndombele.

Doherty and Reguilon aren't defensive minded either. They have a great attacking team . Its just that Jose is not the best one to get the most of it.
 

LilyWhiteSpur

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Jose playing the likes of Dier, Sissoko & Winks regularly is hurting them. With every one fit their side should be

Lloris
Doherty Toby Sanchez Reguilon
Hojberg
Ndombele Lo Celso
Bale Kane Son​

That’s a team that could get 3rd

Lucas or Bergwijn in for Bale when he gets his inevitable injury. They could do with a back up centre forward for when Kane gets his.
Dier is playing as a CB this season.
 

GlastonSpur

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Too attacking for Jose.
I don't agree. Both Lo Celso and Ndombele are very mobile. Lo Celso in particular is well-disciplined enough to stay back or drop back when/if Ndombele surges forward, and is perfectly capable of playing as a CM rather than an AM.
 

FootballHQ

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I don't agree. Both Lo Celso and Ndombele are very mobile. Lo Celso in particular is well-disciplined enough to stay back or drop back when/if Ndombele surges forward, and is perfectly capable of playing as a CM rather than an AM.
Yeah have my doubts about Hojbjerg but Lo Celso showed in the run in he is a pretty good tempo player and Ndombele is better than he's shown so far.

Of course the press will go after Mourinho for sidelining Winks given many of them and pundits like Jenas have built him up to be the second coming of Xavi in last two years. Neat and tidy but he dosen't have much else to his game.
 

Traub

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Would Son and Bale do defensive work? If so, I can see Jose trying a bit more of an attacking midfield. We all know Jose to be a defensive coach, but maybe he is willing to try something more attacking now?
 

TheLord

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They will improve their points tally from last season look in the proper mix of five/six top teams vying for the third and fourth PL positions this season.
 

Scroto Baggins

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Jose playing the likes of Dier, Sissoko & Winks regularly is hurting them. With every one fit their side should be

Lloris
Doherty Toby Sanchez Reguilon
Hojberg
Ndombele Lo Celso
Bale Kane Son​

That’s a team that could get 3rd

Lucas or Bergwijn in for Bale when he gets his inevitable injury. They could do with a back up centre forward for when Kane gets his.
Close, Jose loves him some Dier, so it will be Dier and Sanchez as the main CB's for Spurs, with the older steady head of Alderweireld as backup to those two. And yeah im not sure about Lo Celso and N'dombele with both wing backs bombing forward I think Jose will go Hojbjerg, Winks, then either Lo Celso or Ndombele.

If Bale and Kane are playing, Jose will certainly play one more DM which is not GLC or Ndombele.

Doherty and Reguilon aren't defensive minded either. They have a great attacking team . Its just that Jose is not the best one to get the most of it.
I agree Jose can make his team more stable with Hojbjerg and Winks sitting with either Lo Celso or N'dombele as the attacking player in the midfield three. He will want some cover in behind the wing backs Reguilon and Doherty and a screen for the two CB's.

I think something like this, if they can get it to click and injury free it certainly looks good on paper.

Doherty - Sanchez - Dier - Reguilon
Winks - Hojbjerg
Ndombele
Bale - Kane - Son
 

Bwuk

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Jose playing the likes of Dier, Sissoko & Winks regularly is hurting them. With every one fit their side should be

Lloris
Doherty Toby Sanchez Reguilon
Hojberg
Ndombele Lo Celso
Bale Kane Son​

That’s a team that could get 3rd

Lucas or Bergwijn in for Bale when he gets his inevitable injury. They could do with a back up centre forward for when Kane gets his.
That line up won't finish 3rd.

Doherty isn't the best defender and Bale isn't tracking back. Ndombele is lazy too, and this would rely heavily on Hojberg.

I don't think they'll drop Winks, it'll be one of NDombele or Lo Ceslo ahead of Winks/Hojberg.
 

Teja

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He has been playing 4-3-3 a lot and i expect him to do it with Bale in for Lucas
Been pretty impressed with Moura whenever I watched him. Don't think Bale would start over him?
 

balaks

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Been pretty impressed with Moura whenever I watched him. Don't think Bale would start over him?
Lucas is a great squad player and Jose loves him mainly because of the work he does on the pitch - his actual output in terms of goals and assists is not great though and he can be quite anonymous in some matches. Bale if fit would definitely take his place in the team but having Lucas in reserve is a great option to have.
 

bond19821982

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Close, Jose loves him some Dier, so it will be Dier and Sanchez as the main CB's for Spurs, with the older steady head of Alderweireld as backup to those two. And yeah im not sure about Lo Celso and N'dombele with both wing backs bombing forward I think Jose will go Hojbjerg, Winks, then either Lo Celso or Ndombele.



I agree Jose can make his team more stable with Hojbjerg and Winks sitting with either Lo Celso or N'dombele as the attacking player in the midfield three. He will want some cover in behind the wing backs Reguilon and Doherty and a screen for the two CB's.

I think something like this, if they can get it to click and injury free it certainly looks good on paper.

Doherty - Sanchez - Dier - Reguilon
Winks - Hojbjerg
Ndombele
Bale - Kane - Son
When has Jose played two attacking Full backs, especially with a winger forward who won't defend?

If Bale is playing, Sissoko and Hojberg are starting.
 

Robbie Boy

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Whisper it quietly but N'dombele is starting to show signs of life and looks a fantastic player.
I mean, he came with a huge reputation and was being scouted by some elite clubs. He's definitely a good player but he needs to find some consistent form and cut out the idiotic moments which he's prone to.
 

LilyWhiteSpur

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I mean, he came with a huge reputation and was being scouted by some elite clubs. He's definitely a good player but he needs to find some consistent form and cut out the idiotic moments which he's prone to.
Its more his work off the ball and general attitude that is the problem.
 

Amadaeus

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Whisper it quietly but N'dombele is starting to show signs of life and looks a fantastic player.
:lol:
I give up. It was obvious he was going to be a class player. When fit, he looked brilliant under Pochettino. Then Mourinho came and there was a fall out. Most people including Spurs fan had given up on him, but once again I was the only one saying that he will turn out to be a brilliant signing. I admit, I had doubts under new management as NDombele only joined spurs because of Pochettino, but his innate footballing ability will only be hold back a bit by the conservative tactics of Mourinho.

Nevertheless, back on topic of the thread, I feel that Mourinho might actually win you guys a trophy. The board is backing him and the signing of Bale will give the push the squad need to jump over that last hurdle. If the board backed Pochettino last season with Coutinho or Dybala, he would have won the champions league.
 
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Gotta love the sheer manic intensity that Reguillon plays every minute of every game with.


Error for the Chelsea goal, but managed to pull it back and have a very good game.
 

treble_winner

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I give up. It was obvious he was going to be a class player. When fit, he looked brilliant under Pochettino. Then Mourinho came and there was a fall out. Most people including Spurs fan had given up on him, but once again I was the only one saying that he will turn out to be a brilliant signing. I admit, I had doubts under new management as NDombele only joined spurs because of Pochettino, but his innate footballing ability will only be hold back a bit by the conservative tactics of Mourinho.

Nevertheless, back on topic of the thread, I feel that Mourinho might actually win you guys a trophy. The board is backing him and the signing of Bale will give the push the squad need to jump over that last hurdle. If the board backed Pochettino last season with Coutinho or Dybala, he would have won the champions league.
Sounds a bit like the story of Martial when Mourinho was here. People thought Mourinho didn't rate him and his career at United was finished. But the boy kinda raised up to challenge, although he still has much to work on regarding his consistency.
 

Sweech

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Lucas is a great squad player and Jose loves him mainly because of the work he does on the pitch - his actual output in terms of goals and assists is not great though and he can be quite anonymous in some matches. Bale if fit would definitely take his place in the team but having Lucas in reserve is a great option to have.
I’ve also never seen a more infuriating player in counter attacks. On the ball he’ll either run in to a cul de sac or a player can easily shepherd him into basically running the ball right out of play. Off the ball he almost always runs the same channel as someone else which just clogs everything up.

Jose loves him for the workrate but at this point he’s essentially a Brazilian Lamela.
 

André Dominguez

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About Carlos Vinicius:

He is a good striker tbh and has enough quality to be a backup for Kane. But he seems to need game time to gain momentum.
He's a good finisher and his expertise is to break the opposition defensive line. He's a powerful player, uses his strength well, he's composed, good header and he has a nice technique, but his passing is simple and clearly not his best attribute. His positionin sometimes is not the best, but he's aggresive and determined which helps the team.

Not a world class striker, but will do his job when called.
 

LilyWhiteSpur

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About Carlos Vinicius:

He is a good striker tbh and has enough quality to be a backup for Kane. But he seems to need game time to gain momentum.
He's a good finisher and his expertise is to break the opposition defensive line. He's a powerful player, uses his strength well, he's composed, good header and he has a nice technique, but his passing is simple and clearly not his best attribute. His positionin sometimes is not the best, but he's aggresive and determined which helps the team.

Not a world class striker, but will do his job when called.
Thanks dude, suited to the Prem? Is Benfica really in that much financial trouble?
 

balaks

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About Carlos Vinicius:

He is a good striker tbh and has enough quality to be a backup for Kane. But he seems to need game time to gain momentum.
He's a good finisher and his expertise is to break the opposition defensive line. He's a powerful player, uses his strength well, he's composed, good header and he has a nice technique, but his passing is simple and clearly not his best attribute. His positionin sometimes is not the best, but he's aggresive and determined which helps the team.

Not a world class striker, but will do his job when called.
Thanks mate - I dont really know the player at all but he looks like a big guy. Just delighted to have another striker in the squad to be honest. Hopefully we get this deal done.
 

scudetto_boy

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What do we think? Jose to show the world he's still a great coach or monstrous meltdown?

They've apparently signed Joe Hart today, which is nice.

A monstrous meltdown & for him to complete an Open University course on "How to behave in a Sportsman-like Manner".
 

Untd55

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They look to be pulling off some smart signings this year and covering areas of weakness. They will be a very difficult team this season.

Big top four rivals this season.
 

balaks

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They look to be pulling off some smart signings this year and covering areas of weakness. They will be a very difficult team this season.

Big top four rivals this season.
Yeah Im absolutely delighted with our business this window and if we can bring in Vinicius and Skriniar then this will probably be the best window we have had in many many years.
 

André Dominguez

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Thanks dude, suited to the Prem? Is Benfica really in that much financial trouble?
Totally yes mate: he's not afraid of physical challenges and he's a tough guy. In theory, Benfica's finances are good. In real life, not really due to a lot of shady deals with Jorge Mendes.
He was "forced" to leave the club, hence the reason he was not playing this season, because he refused to accept Wolves offer. But he was our top striker last season.

Thanks mate - I dont really know the player at all but he looks like a big guy. Just delighted to have another striker in the squad to be honest. Hopefully we get this deal done.
He's quite an aggressive and strong fella. He will do alright as a backup striker. I don't think he's good enough to be a starter, but how many good strikers would accept to join a club to be at the bench?