England v Moldova U21

[Lufti]

I'm not sure there's much difference between an 'athlete' and a 'box to box' midfielder, both terms are virtually synonymous to me. Whatever Paulinho's strengths are, he's not a great passer of the ball. Sideways and backwards he's ok (though even then I have seen him struggle), but when it comes to playing clever through balls he's left wanting.

Capoue is a rock in centre mid, I'd be quite happy to see us line up with him as the anchor alongside a combination of Eriksen/Holtby/Carroll. We're horrible to watch 90% of the time, and AVB's taste for power over finesse in midfield has a good deal to do with that.

Agree with the latter but I'm not sure you're right about Paulinho to be honest

 

[Blake Griffin]

Paulinho has played 3 games - yes 3 games - for Spurs in his whole life! It takes time for a player to adjust to life in the EPL and gel in with the rest of the team (which is full of totally new players).

he hasn't impressed me for brazil either. i remember when watching oscar for the first time, long before he was known to english fans and i immediately saw that he was going to be a star. paulinho i watched five or six times for brazil and i saw nothing, perhaps i have a blind spot to his type of player but i still haven't seen anything to change my mind. people can call me miserable or negative but i know i'm just saying it how i see it, eriksen i'm super hyped about and think he's going to turn out to be the deal of the summer, i just don't see it in paulinho. modric looked like a £17m midfielder the moment i saw him, paulinho doesn't.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

he hasn't impressed me for brazil either. i remember when watching oscar for the first time, long before he was known to english fans and i immediately saw that he was going to be a star. paulinho i watched five or six times for brazil and i saw nothing, perhaps i have a blind spot to his type of player but i still haven't seen anything to change my mind. people can call me miserable or negative but i know i'm just saying it how i see it, eriksen i'm super hyped about and think he's going to turn out to be the deal of the summer, i just don't see it in paulinho. modric looked like a £17m midfielder the moment i saw him, paulinho doesn't.

It's about balance though, a team full of Modric's and Oscar's would look nice but would ripped apart quite often. If you had a decade to train it, at best it would just be Barca, which is a style you dislike anyway.

You need a balance of skills and temperament generally and that has to fit into an available criteria. I'm sure AVB wanted Moutinho, Modric or maybe Fernandinho. But he can't have them so what we can get is a brazilian (ie top quality national football team) regular who can play 4231 (as he does for Brazil) or 433, is tenacious, technically very competent, gets himself into the box constantly and should chip in with goals from midfield.

 

[theShiznit]

It's about balance though, a team full of Modric's and Oscar's would look nice but would ripped apart quite often. If you had a decade to train it, at best it would just be Barca, which is a style you dislike anyway.

You need a balance of skills and temperament generally and that has to fit into an available criteria. I'm sure AVB wanted Moutinho, Modric or maybe Fernandinho. But he can't have them so what we can get is a brazilian (ie top quality national football team) regular who can play 4231 (as he does for Brazil) or 433, is tenacious, technically very competent, gets himself into the box constantly and should chip in with goals from midfield.

This.

Plus Paulinho is tidy and has a very good technique and puts in a shift forwards and backwards, also he will show 'Brazilian' flashes, he played a lovely inside of the foot flick to a runnner through on the left wing against Espanyol (which commentators atributed to Chadli due to position)
And when he is familiar with those around him and vice versa I'm sure we'll see more of what he is capable of.
At the moment the midfield/forward play does look a bit deliberate, but i'm sure that's down to the getting to know you effect.

For me though a fully fit Sandro would be first name on the team sheet, and although Capoue's injury was bad for him, it couldn't have come at a better time in Sandro's recovery. And choose 2 more from Capoue, Paulinho, Dembele, Holtby and Eriksen...
And embarassment of riches.




As a side, is the U21 game on Monday being televised anywhere?

 

[coysjod]

Are we talking about the same Paulinho that was our MoM in his first two games and was voted the 3rd best player in Conf. Cup?

Let's talk more about this after x-mas when we have some more games to judge shall we?

 

[tiger666]

This.

Plus Paulinho is tidy and has a very good technique and puts in a shift forwards and backwards, also he will show 'Brazilian' flashes, he played a lovely inside of the foot flick to a runnner through on the left wing against Espanyol (which commentators atributed to Chadli due to position)
And when he is familiar with those around him and vice versa I'm sure we'll see more of what he is capable of.
At the moment the midfield/forward play does look a bit deliberate, but i'm sure that's down to the getting to know you effect.

For me though a fully fit Sandro would be first name on the team sheet, and although Capoue's injury was bad for him, it couldn't have come at a better time in Sandro's recovery. And choose 2 more from Capoue, Paulinho, Dembele, Holtby and Eriksen...
And embarassment of riches.




As a side, is the U21 game on Monday being televised anywhere?

No mate. It should be on a stream.

 

[Blake Griffin]

It's about balance though, a team full of Modric's and Oscar's would look nice but would ripped apart quite often. If you had a decade to train it, at best it would just be Barca, which is a style you dislike anyway.

You need a balance of skills and temperament generally and that has to fit into an available criteria. I'm sure AVB wanted Moutinho, Modric or maybe Fernandinho. But he can't have them so what we can get is a brazilian (ie top quality national football team) regular who can play 4231 (as he does for Brazil) or 433, is tenacious, technically very competent, gets himself into the box constantly and should chip in with goals from midfield.

the thing is, i like sandro, dembele and capoue. i just don't see it in paulinho. if anything, capoue has looked like the £17m midfielder.

 

[nedley]

Is England v Finland on tv anywhere?

 

[chrissivad]

Is England v Finland on tv anywhere?

doesnt look like it, and they are 1 down

 

[nedley]

doesnt look like it, and they are 1 down

That's shocking that.

God knows why I pay for Sky Sports.

It's certainly not for for 'Soccer Am's Bets Bits'.

 

[Lilbaz]

Strange title for a Paulinho thread.

 

[Shadydan]

the thing is, i like sandro, dembele and capoue. i just don't see it in paulinho. if anything, capoue has looked like the £17m midfielder.

Because he's gonna show his true value after 3 games right?