Adama Traore

[WePlayWednesday]

I can understand the appeal of having a big, strong wing forward. The thing is, I can’t help thinking he suits the route 1 approach Wolves used against us and not much else. If that’s an option the coach wants, then let’s get him. Traore reminds me of Darren Bent, when he was the focal point for Charlton he looked good, by sheer volume of chances. When he was handed chances on a plate at Spurs, his composure let him down, Sandra.

I trust our coaching staff to do what they feel is right, but for me he’s a no.

 

[Donki]

why, what did he say? sorry not being lazy - in work .....

In a nutshell he says that if we get Traore there will be no striker. Last season Traore was deployed as a CF for a good chuck of games, which is worrying.

 

[Matthew]

In a nutshell he says that if we get Traore there will be no striker.

cheers ?

 

[Matthew]

I would prefer Lookman, he's quality.

look man, he's not great.

 

[hellava_tough]

I just don’t see how people can judge this as a good signing in isolation, Traore has a specific skill set, an exciting one at that but Spurs are lacking in other areas. If we make signings with a view to taking care of those areas and sign Traore then fantastic. If we sign Traore and don’t address those issues then it’s concerning.

Playing devil's advocate...

Nuno looks at our squad and thinks "Yeah, there are some big holes here, which need to be filled".

But he knows that it'll take 4 or 5 transfer windows to bring the players in that he needs.

And all the while he still needs to play games and maintain success on the pitch.

So with the players he has, he decides to play pressing, defensive, counter-attacking football, while he's sorting out the squad.

Bringing in Traore helps him with this short-term tactic and buys him some breathing room, to complete the rebuild.

It's basically Jose-ball, but with the required fitness-levels, motivation and a few more players who fit the system.

Ultimately, I don't know what Nuno's short, medium or long-term plans are for Spurs, but this could be one possibility.

 

[hellava_tough]

In a nutshell he says that if we get Traore there will be no striker. Last season Traore was deployed as a CF for a good chuck of games, which is worrying.

Yeah, that would be poor.

If we're playing with a 'lump' up front, I prefer my 'lumps' to be 6ft 6" and good at heading!

 

[Jamturk]

Playing devil's advocate...

Nuno looks at our squad and thinks "Yeah, there are some big holes here, which need to be filled".

But he knows that it'll take 4 or 5 transfer windows to bring the players in that he needs.

And all the while he still needs to play games and maintain success on the pitch.

So with the players he has, he decides to play pressing, defensive, counter-attacking football, while he's sorting out the squad.

Bringing in Traore helps him with this short-term tactic and buys him some breathing room, to complete the rebuild.

It's basically Jose-ball, but with the required fitness-levels, motivation and a few more players who fit the system.

Ultimately, I don't know what Nuno's short, medium or long-term plans are for Spurs, but this could be one possibility.

Good luck with that at a full WHL.

 

[DogsOfWar]

In a nutshell he says that if we get Traore there will be no striker. Last season Traore was deployed as a CF for a good chuck of games, which is worrying.

I don't mind playing Son as cover up front but then we lose him as a wide man. If we get Traore that solves that problem which is why we'd do this.

 

[Donki]

Yeah, that would be poor.

If we're playing with a 'lump' up front, I prefer my 'lumps' to be 6ft 6" and good at heading!

Agreed or he keeps Son as the dedicated striker and has Lucus, Bergwin, Gil and Traoe as the wide options? I would still take convicning.

 

[hellava_tough]

Good luck with that at a full WHL.

It's a high risk strategy for sure.

Generally speaking, if the team is winning, then it's all gravy.

But fans soon turn on the manager if you're losing and the football is duff.

 

[wrd]

Playing devil's advocate...

Nuno looks at our squad and thinks "Yeah, there are some big holes here, which need to be filled".

But he knows that it'll take 4 or 5 transfer windows to bring the players in that he needs.

And all the while he still needs to play games and maintain success on the pitch.

So with the players he has, he decides to play pressing, defensive, counter-attacking football, while he's sorting out the squad.

Bringing in Traore helps him with this short-term tactic and buys him some breathing room, to complete the rebuild.

It's basically Jose-ball, but with the required fitness-levels, motivation and a few more players who fit the system.

Ultimately, I don't know what Nuno's short, medium or long-term plans are for Spurs, but this could be one possibility.

Entirely possible, all depends on what Levy deems as a success this season, if they're being patient and saying let's make sure we're in Europa next season then I think that's viable, if Levy is saying, no we Champions League, it's affecting sponsors and targets we want aren't willing to join then I think Nuno is being asked to get a hell of a lot out of what he's got.

Personally I don't want to see a fitter version of Jose ball consistently, happy with it away to wolves and knowing when it's going to be the best course of action vs certain teams, very happy to see a manager pick the right system for the right game instead of being obsessed with playing one way but I'm hoping that sunday against Watford it's more of a front foot style. However I do think with what you're hypothesising with Kane in your 11 then you can see us being close to those top4 spots if we look at our stats in terms of taking the lead last season but have superior fitness to cut out losing leads late on. I think that's very viable.

 

[hellava_tough]

Agreed or he keeps Son as the dedicated striker and has Lucus, Bergwin, Gil and Traoe as the wide options? I would still take convicning.

Agreed.

At the end of the day, decent strikers don't come cheap; you have to put your hand in your pocket and pay for quality and goals.

Or, of course, we could wait for another 40-odd years for our academy to produce a world-class talent

 

[Donki]

I don't mind playing Son as cover up front but then we lose him as a wide man. If we get Traore that solves that problem which is why we'd do this.

Problem is Traore isn't a goal scorer, he doesn't hold up the ball and cant play with his back to goal.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

It's a high risk strategy for sure.

Generally speaking, if the team is winning, then it's all gravy.

But fans soon turn on the manager if you're losing and the football is duff.

Agree with this. To slightly nuance the point...

I think you'd get more leeway if people can see effort, some attacking threat and a potential future with a young, improving squad

With Jose, there seemed a total lack of effort, fitness, belief, and actually a lack of young players coming through.

Let's see - really hard to break into the top tier in such a tough league as well

I do feel the club now has, to a degree, a longer term plan

 

[hellava_tough]

Entirely possible, all depends on what Levy deems as a success this season, if they're being patient and saying let's make sure we're in Europa next season then I think that's viable, if Levy is saying, no we Champions League, it's affecting sponsors and targets we want aren't willing to join then I think Nuno is being asked to get a hell of a lot out of what he's got.

Personally I don't want to see a fitter version of Jose ball consistently, happy with it away to wolves and knowing when it's going to be the best course of action vs certain teams, very happy to see a manager pick the right system for the right game instead of being obsessed with playing one way but I'm hoping that sunday against Watford it's more of a front foot style. However I do think with what you're hypothesising with Kane in your 11 then you can see us being close to those top4 spots if we look at our stats in terms of taking the lead last season but have superior fitness to cut out losing leads late on. I think that's very viable.

It's an interesting one.

16/17 saw our best team (in my opinion) for over 30 years. It had 2 very quick, attacking FBs, two classy ball-playing CBs, a press resistent (or even immune) Demebele in the middle and a great passer of the ball in Eriksen.

We certainly had options!

Our current squad, although not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, doesn't have the same options.

There's a lot of energy and commitment in the side, but no real ball-players or press-resistent players, and the full-backs don't give us a genuine attacking outlet (although I think Reggie will improve in this area, as the season goes on).

Anyway, I think what this means is that unless we sign some players with specific skill sets, this season we'll be playing fairly one dimensional football.

That's not to say it can't bring us success, but I don't imagine they'll be a whole lot of variation in our approach to games.

 

[wrd]

It's an interesting one.

16/17 saw our best team (in my opinion) for over 30 years. It had 2 very quick, attacking FBs, two classy ball-playing CBs, a press resistent (or even immune) Demebele in the middle and a great passer of the ball in Eriksen.

We certainly had options!

Our current squad, although not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, doesn't have the same options.

There's a lot of energy and commitment in the side, but no real ball-players or press-resistent players, and the full-backs don't give us a genuine attacking outlet (although I think Reggie will improve in this area, as the season goes on).

Anyway, I think what this means is that unless we sign some players with specific skill sets, this season we'll be playing fairly one dimensional football.

That's not to say it can't bring us success, but I don't imagine they'll be a whole lot of variation in our approach to games.

Which goes back to what I was saying, I just don't see how people can say Traore will be a fantastic signing or it be concerning that that's the biggest chunk of our business when we're lacking so many other skill sets as you mentioned. We're going to be limited in how we can get our full backs to play, limited because our centre backs though have turned the corner clearly need additional protection, limited in the style of midfield we can play, limited in our options for whose going to be the ones who put the ball in the back of the net. Yet people are focused on an upgrade to two players we already have in Moura and Bergwijn when we're already stacked for wingers when you include Gill and Son. Perhaps Traore versatility can fix a couple of those things namely the limited fullbacks on the right side.

I just don't see improving on Moura and Bergwijn as the thing that's needed, as I say if we're going to try and address those areas I mentioned and then be able to also add Traore to improve on Moura and Bergwijn then fantastic but if that's all we end up doing then I think we've severely limited what Nuno will be able to do this season.

I take your point that perhaps this season will be one where we play the one style and it gets us through the transitional season, admittedly think that's a bit of a shame because it sounded like we were going to be able to be a bit more aggressive this window due to teams struggling financially and us being in a good position. Still a week to go though so important to remain hopeful.

 

[mil1lion]

Sissoko has never moved very fast and had the explosive pace that Adama has.

They're completely different players IMO.

If anything Traore is more like Lennon - just a lot stronger.

I only compared one aspect of his game to Sissoko.

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

What was the point of signing Gil?

Options? Squad depth? Planning for the long term?

 

[tierhause]

Which goes back to what I was saying, I just don't see how people can say Traore will be a fantastic signing or it be concerning that that's the biggest chunk of our business when we're lacking so many other skill sets as you mentioned. We're going to be limited in how we can get our full backs to play, limited because our centre backs though have turned the corner clearly need additional protection, limited in the style of midfield we can play, limited in our options for whose going to be the ones who put the ball in the back of the net. Yet people are focused on an upgrade to two players we already have in Moura and Bergwijn when we're already stacked for wingers when you include Gill and Son. Perhaps Traore versatility can fix a couple of those things namely the limited fullbacks on the right side.

I just don't see improving on Moura and Bergwijn as the thing that's needed, as I say if we're going to try and address those areas I mentioned and then be able to also add Traore to improve on Moura and Bergwijn then fantastic but if that's all we end up doing then I think we've severely limited what Nuno will be able to do this season.

I take your point that perhaps this season will be one where we play the one style and it gets us through the transitional season, admittedly think that's a bit of a shame because it sounded like we were going to be able to be a bit more aggressive this window due to teams struggling financially and us being in a good position. Still a week to go though so important to remain hopeful.

Yup, we're still in desperate need of a passer in the modric/eriksen mould. Someone who can take the ball under pressure, spread the play, split the lines and has eyes in the back of their heads. Ndom was supposed to be that player but...
I feel that we have enough tricky dribblers running into blind alleys. We don't appear to be able to pass and move quickly so need someone with expansive passing ability.

 

[rawhide]

Funnily enough Spanish football fans I know couldn’t understand why he was in the squad.
Their chosen replacement? Bryan Gil

Tbh I don’t have an issue with this transfer if it means we would also get Odsonne Edouard.
Not confident that we will but can totally see the positives to bringing him in.

Not aimed at you specifically, but just throwing out an observation - do people know that Edouard is being criticised for basically the same things that Ndombele is currently getting a kicking for in the ITK thread? Lazy, unmotivated, unfit, etc. Do we want to risk another situation like that?