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"He is not a fighter"- Fulham boss criticises Lewis Holtby

scissor_gang

Well-Known Member
May 16, 2012
164
300
Looking forward to having him back. I think his preferred position is as a no. 10 but i'd like to see if a new coach could groom him as a deep lying playmaker (we have plenty of players who would like to be a no. 10) have him sitting back w sandro or capoue, finding forward passes and recycling possession. He's not world class but he is young, energetic, and has some raw talent that I think could be developed w good coaching.
 

Matthew Wyatt

Call me Boris
Aug 3, 2007
2,224
1,988
I always thought tenacity was one of Lewis' qualities as a player. Smacks of Magath looking for scapegoats, but singling out one player is poor form as a professional and as a man. As @TheChosenOne says, he can fuck right off, and Lewis can come back.
 

Rocksuperstar

Isn't this fun? Isn't fun the best thing to have?
Jun 6, 2005
53,289
66,758
He picked a loan player to blame, means he doesn't have to deal with any fallout from it other than fans disagreeing - it'll be forgotten by next year from their end, but it doesn't change how it must feel to be Holtby, getting plaudits from the fans, clearly putting in a great shift whenever he's able, but still getting relegated and then having the new manager try and shift some of the blame onto you - gotta sting a bit.

Magraths man-management skills obviously need work.
 

UncleBuck

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2003
9,186
11,149
There's only one person who shouldn't have joined the cottagers Felix...
He seems to have a touch of the Timmy's about him...
 

RButch

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2012
1,414
2,235
If I can remember correctly, the first 2/3 games Holtby was pivotal to Fulham's decent-ish run of form. I can see Lewis not fighting for his life as technically he didn't have to, but to say he is not a fighter is damn right moronic and erroneous.

I cannot wait to have Lewis back with us, under a manager who knows how to utilise attacking players, he, and we will be loving it.
 

CrazyHeart

Well-Known Member
Oct 26, 2013
3,702
4,288
What the hell! Holtby's been playing great for those losers! Some gratitude there Felix!
 

whitechina

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2012
4,225
9,094
He picked a loan player to blame, means he doesn't have to deal with any fallout from it other than fans disagreeing - it'll be forgotten by next year from their end, but it doesn't change how it must feel to be Holtby, getting plaudits from the fans, clearly putting in a great shift whenever he's able, but still getting relegated and then having the new manager try and shift some of the blame onto you - gotta sting a bit.

Magraths man-management skills obviously need work.


To add to this Holtby was with Magath previously and didn't get along then. Easy option to blame Holtby- I hope he's back with us next season.
 

GetSpurredOn

Well-Known Member
Jun 18, 2006
5,022
8,922
Yeah, strange. Holtby always struck me as a player with very good technical skills but also with a real tenacity to his game. I agree with Scissor_gang, I'd like to see him playing a slightly deeper role with us next year. In a 433, I think he'd be suited to the deeper three, has the engine and work rate to put the graft in winning possession, but also has the skills and vision to get the ball to the front three. Alternatively in as 4231 I think he could play in that advanced there if we opt for a Sandro/Capoue type pairing deep, and then drop into a deeper role if we decide to go more attacking.
 

rc1

Member
Dec 6, 2006
76
70
Going against the grain here but i can see a little what Felix is saying. I like Lewis, he's technically pretty sound,a nice passer, and he does work his socks off and run around a lot. But he's one of these players who just doesn't know how to tackle or get his foot stuck in. He'll run all day, chase back and shadow but ask him to tackle and i've never seen him make a good one. He's a bit like Soldado in this respect, who often comes on and gives away bad fouls, because he just doesn't do tackling properly.
Rafa Van Der Vaart was similar but due to his position playing as a number 10 it didn't matter if he didn't tackle so much. (But like the other two, if he ever did make a tackle i'd always be worried he'd get sent off!). The question is whether Lewis is good enough to play for us as a number 10. I like him but for me he isn't quite good enough. Sorry!
 

Oshi

Well-Known Member
Jun 27, 2011
2,747
4,109
Well that is 3 managers who have not rated him now, AVB, Sherwood and Magath.

What will the 4th think? :watching:
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,389
Cheap shot by Magath (who's a nutter anyway). We certainly missed Holtby's smile and enthusiasm around the place and I think he's an excellent squad player. Get him back home.
 

Geronimo897

Active Member
Jul 15, 2013
398
356
Sounds like Magath is trying to blame the relegation on Holtby. There were 10 other players on the pitch as well Felix.
 

Shea

Well-Known Member
Apr 5, 2013
7,711
10,930
I live not far from Craven Cottage so I know a fair few Fulham fans

Those I have spoken to about Holtby were not impressed either to be fair


I think they were maybe expecting more and had unrealistic expectations for such a young player still adapting to a new country and then having to adjust to yet another new club

I have to admit from watching Fulham highlights only I thought he'd done pretty well - he seemed to get the odd goal and assist, but I have to respect the views of those Fulham fans who've watched him for the regularly for 90mins

I'd be lying if I said I was not hoping for him to be more of a success there - but ultimately I don't care what he does for them I care about how his development there helps him perform for us. So I hope his time there was a good learning experience and the game time has benefitted him in a way that will result in him playing well for us (just like Carroll at QPR who's not played as well for them as I'd have expected either)

All that really matters is how well they go on to play for us - this is all part of a young players development, gaining experience and adapting to first team PL football in the long run to oerform to their best for us.

Who cares what Fulham's manager has to say?
 

Sweetsman

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2011
6,673
6,588
Going against the grain here but i can see a little what Felix is saying. I like Lewis, he's technically pretty sound,a nice passer, and he does work his socks off and run around a lot. But he's one of these players who just doesn't know how to tackle or get his foot stuck in. He'll run all day, chase back and shadow but ask him to tackle and i've never seen him make a good one. He's a bit like Soldado in this respect, who often comes on and gives away bad fouls, because he just doesn't do tackling properly.
Rafa Van Der Vaart was similar but due to his position playing as a number 10 it didn't matter if he didn't tackle so much. (But like the other two, if he ever did make a tackle i'd always be worried he'd get sent off!). The question is whether Lewis is good enough to play for us as a number 10. I like him but for me he isn't quite good enough. Sorry!
Maybe, that's because he was brought up in a footballing culture that isn't stuck in the Neanderthal obsession with tackling. Holtby is more likely to cut off the play at its start rather than fly in with a reactive tackle.
 

mawspurs

Staff
Jun 29, 2003
35,066
17,740
This is the second time he has spouted this crap, he did it a few weeks back too.

Holtby, for me, is only guilty of trying too hard on occasions. He definitely doesn't lack fight.
 
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