Alex Pritchard signs for Norwich

[Sandro30]

1. Dan Kilpatrick ‏@Dan_KP 3m3 minutes ago
   #thfc Pochettino says Bentaleb, Fazio & Pritch are not in his plans but Njie is! Says Cameroonian has a small injury so was left in London.
   
   
2. Poch: "Njie is injured - he is in london & not available to come. The situation of other 3 players is very clear. They are not in my plans"
   

 

[danielneeds]

Really sad about this, liked him as a player ever since I saw him play in our youth side, and was impressive at Brentford.

I wonder whether he kind of just assumed he would make it here after Brentford, and didn't put in the hard yards Poch expects, when rehabbing etc.

 

[oskathegobshite]

very surprised he would say that they are not in his plans. You would think we would remain ambiguous publicly to try and get the best transfer fees?

 

[Nigel Spinal]

Really sad about this, liked him as a player ever since I saw him play in our youth side, and was impressive at Brentford.

I wonder whether he kind of just assumed he would make it here after Brentford, and didn't put in the hard yards Poch expects, when rehabbing etc.

I'm not sure he has the energy/can do the pressing intensity for an AM in our system. I appreciate it took Eriksen and Lamela time to develop that, but perhaps the data shows Pritchard will never?

 

[jonnyp]

Very strange thing to say by Poch.

 

[double0]

However I doubt it'll effect any transfer fee...based on the myth that players entering their last year of contract will be sold cheaply still command high fees.

 

[danielneeds]

I'm not sure he has the energy/can do the pressing intensity for an AM in our system. I appreciate it took Eriksen and Lamela time to develop that, but perhaps the data shows Pritchard will never?

He was pressing well at Brentford thought - albeit at a lower level. He certainly looked like he could do it more than Chadli, for instance, who's never shown the willingness to really work off the ball.

 

[Cornpattbuck]

Very odd quote from Poch, who has almost always kept his cards close to his chest since joining the club. Definitely not taken out of context, right? I suppose it fits what we've basically been told.

 

[Flashspur]

Am I the only one not surprised that AP is not in his plans? The guy is going on 23, he is slow, lacks tenacity, not an aggressive presser and physically small. I think he will thrive under another manager but he is not a Poch player. Not designed for the system.

We've got a younger better version in Edwards who is much more tenacious. I think Poch prefers to concentrate on players like him. Why are you all surprised and upset?

 

[Nigel Spinal]

Very odd quote from Poch, who has almost always kept his cards close to his chest since joining the club. Definitely not taken out of context, right? I suppose it fits what we've basically been told.

Poch is more established now than he was in the battle vs Ade and Kaboul. He can be as ruthless as he likes now.

Perhaps it was a message to the players thinking they might sit tight and hang on to the wages for another year, whereas say Yedlin and Chadli are actively negotiating with other clubs?

 

[Nigel Spinal]

Am I the only one not surprised that AP is not in his plans? The guy is going on 23, he is slow, lacks tenacity, not an aggressive presser and physically small. I think he will thrive under another manager but he is not a Poch player. Not designed for the system.

We've got a younger better version in Edwards who is much more tenacious. I think Poch prefers to concentrate on players like him. Why are you all surprised and upset?

Nope. I think the pressing requirements for our system have long been the impossible barrier for him.

 

[am_yisrael_chai]

Ibe costing Bournemouth £15M.

Except for the fact Ibe actually played for Liverpool.....

 

[danielneeds]

Am I the only one not surprised that AP is not in his plans? The guy is going on 23, he is slow, lacks tenacity, not an aggressive presser and physically small. I think he will thrive under another manager but he is not a Poch player. Not designed for the system.

We've got a younger better version in Edwards who is much more tenacious. I think Poch prefers to concentrate on players like him. Why are you all surprised and upset?

Did you ever watch him at Brentford? Because they also played a pressing system under Warburton, and he thrived in it. He's not a big guy, but he was tenacious and hard working, like a yappy little dog. i suspect moving him on is more to do with his injuries, lifestyle and desire, than fitting the system. Or Poch just thinks he's simply not a good enough player, end of.

 

[FreddieYid]

He wouldn't be the first player to be good at Championship level and deemed not quite good enough for a club our size in the prem.

Poch obviously kept him around because he felt he had something, but maybe he just hasn't progressed. He's not 18 anymore

 

[tonyc]

I may be out of step here with the thread, but Alex also shone very brightly at U21 level internationally: it wasn't just with Brentford.

 

[Ledleys Knee]

I may be out of step here with the thread, but Alex also shone very brightly at U21 level internationally: it wasn't just with Brentford.

So did Seth Johnson and Lee Hendrie

 

[Buster18]

Absolutely gutted about this

 

[dave5150]

I think we could do with a "there, there, it'll be alright" rating for some posts.
It would look something like this:

And would mainly be used in the Pritchard and Bentaleb threads and also in breakup threads in the general chat section.

 

[UpTownSpur]

Am I the only one not surprised that AP is not in his plans? The guy is going on 23, he is slow, lacks tenacity, not an aggressive presser and physically small. I think he will thrive under another manager but he is not a Poch player. Not designed for the system.

We've got a younger better version in Edwards who is much more tenacious. I think Poch prefers to concentrate on players like him. Why are you all surprised and upset?

I think most of us would just like to have seen him get a few games at least to see what he could. It's just a shame he'll leave without ever having had a chance.

 

[tiger666]

I think most of us would just like to have seen him get a few games at least to see what he could. It's just a shame he'll leave without ever having had a chance.

He has had a chance.