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Nacer Chadli relishing free role for Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs

elvis7754

Active Member
Nov 16, 2007
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Nacer Chadli has spoken at length about his position at Spurs – and his comments shed plenty of light of Mauricio Pochettino's plans for the team.

Read the full article at TheTottenhamWay
 

Gaz_Gammon

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2005
16,047
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“For me it’s better to come off the left wing and get into a central position when we have a cross because I can finish it off – or sometimes I can move out to the right. I think it’s good for me"


Sums up the system well, and for the life of me i just cannot see Lennon or Townsend offering the same movement and finishing that Chadli can.
 

beuller

Well-Known Member
May 10, 2005
1,533
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Sums up the system well, and for the life of me i just cannot see Lennon or Townsend offering the same movement and finishing that Chadli can.

Sadly I think this is true. Although I can still see townsend being useful in this system. Esp against tired defenders.
 

TimJ

SC Supporter
Dec 29, 2006
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Chadli certainly had a good game on Sunday and took his goals well. He clearly suits the flexible approach as he was pretty ineffectual in the more rigid structure we employed last season. However, Lennon and Townsend have their qualities too and I would also like to see them have the opportunities to play with more freedom as Chadli had.

Chadli's advantages is he is a big unit and a decent finisher. Lennon and Townsend have speed and the ability to beat a man. There is room for all three I think.
 

JonnySpurs

SC Veteran
Jun 4, 2004
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Love these quotes, fills me with so much confidence moving forward. It's fair to say that QPR were poor which is why we smashed 4 past them and could have had more.

When we face better opposition we can expect to play just as well, it just might not be as easy to cut through and score the goals.

As long as we maintain that style and continue to improve at the back then we can make a serious challenge for a top 4 finish.
 

matty182

Well-Known Member
Apr 15, 2006
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As long as we maintain that style and continue to improve at the back then we can make a serious challenge for a top 4 finish.

But if we continue to play like this but still not make the top 4 I think ill still feel a lot more happy than when the last 2 seasons have finished
 

slartibartfast

Grunge baby forever
Oct 21, 2012
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As long as we maintain that style and continue to improve at the back then we can make a serious challenge for a top 4 finish.
Oh dear. One good win against a piss poor side and we're fighting for top 4 again.
Was a good performance but let's keep our feet on the ground please.
 

JonnySpurs

SC Veteran
Jun 4, 2004
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Oh dear. One good win against a piss poor side and we're fighting for top 4 again.
Was a good performance but let's keep our feet on the ground please.

Pretty sure I didn't say that. What I said was IF we can maintain that style of play and improve at the back then we can make a challenge
 

Mullers

Unknown member
Jan 4, 2006
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Oh dear. One good win against a piss poor side and we're fighting for top 4 again.
Was a good performance but let's keep our feet on the ground please.
Come on dawg, you know this is the Tottenham way. One win mean challenging for CL football, one loss means midtable mediocrity or worse.
 

slartibartfast

Grunge baby forever
Oct 21, 2012
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Come on dawg, you know this is the Tottenham way. One win mean challenging for CL football, one loss means midtable mediocrity or worse.
Agree. Arsenal fans have been doing that for about 4 seasons. Win a game and they're gonna win something this year. Lose a game and Wengers a twat and should be sacked. God bless Talk Sport.
 

JonnySpurs

SC Veteran
Jun 4, 2004
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Which changes my point how exactly?

The reality is that our goal still needs to be trying to break into the top 4. Your suggestion is that I'm getting carried away with that idea but I'm not, I'm merely saying that if we maintain that level of performance then we should still be able to hit that target.

Just because we have a new manager doesn't mean that our ambitions should be less. Yes it's early days but Sunday's performance was a good indicator of the kind of football we can play under Poch.
 

slartibartfast

Grunge baby forever
Oct 21, 2012
18,320
33,955
The reality is that our goal still needs to be trying to break into the top 4. Your suggestion is that I'm getting carried away with that idea but I'm not, I'm merely saying that if we maintain that level of performance then we should still be able to hit that target.

Just because we have a new manager doesn't mean that our ambitions should be less. Yes it's early days but Sunday's performance was a good indicator of the kind of football we can play under Poch.
Agree for the most part but rather than suggesting you're getting carried away
I'm suggesting perhaps it would be better not to mention top four at all. At least not at this early stage.
Not a big deal.
Liked the rest of your original post.
Just the mention of top four made me sigh :(
Edit- While Sun was a good performance it was at home against a newly promoted team who frankly were piss poor so I disagree it was a good indicator. Promising at best but I'll take promising after what we've had to put up with since Harry left.
Man U will be a stronger force with Di Maria. Balotelli may go either way so we need to keep feet on the ground with setting goals and being realistic.
 
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davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
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The reality is that our goal still needs to be trying to break into the top 4...

Just because we have a new manager doesn't mean that our ambitions should be less...

I think this exchange points up the difference between ambition and expectation, both for the fans and also for those inside the club. I've certainly detected a difference of tone this summer on SC, with the cadre who 'demand top 4, nothing less' conspicuous for their silence and the doleful 'we'll never be in the CL again' club making more noise than in recent years, or at least not being contradicted as often.

The league is not the same as it was when 4 clubs had the CL places sewn up over a decade-long period. Dynasties do not last forever and now we have a league in which any one of 7 clubs, given a good manager and a favourable run with injuries, has a strong enough squad to qualify.

That includes us, but the realisation seems to have dawned collectively at SC this summer that we are still the 6th most powerful club financially and have a stadium that is considerably lower down the rankings than 6th. Expectation has thus been tempered by reality, after 4 consecutive years of 'nearly': that everything has to go right for us to qualify.

So a 'challenge' for the top 4 would be exciting, but even that isn't a gimme. I've been more hopeful than some here, because I rate our players, individually speaking, substantially higher than many people at SC. I think we have mainly been suffering from too much churn, some forced (Modric/Bale) and some self-inflicted (Redknapp/AVB/Sherwood/Pochettino and the seven-signings-at-once last summer).

The resulting chaos and insecurity amongst the squad has made our players look worse than they are. If we can cultivate a period of stability, managerially and in terms of injuries, I expect many of our players who joined last summer, plus a good few more who are routinely subjected to scorn here (think fullbacks...) to step up their games.

Still, the underlying principle is that we will be aspirants to an occasional sojourn in the CL, as opposed to habitués in the top 4, until we have completed and successfully refinanced the NDP.
 

chinaman

Well-Known Member
Jul 19, 2003
17,974
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Chadli certainly had a good game on Sunday and took his goals well. He clearly suits the flexible approach as he was pretty ineffectual in the more rigid structure we employed last season. However, Lennon and Townsend have their qualities too and I would also like to see them have the opportunities to play with more freedom as Chadli had.

Chadli's advantages is he is a big unit and a decent finisher. Lennon and Townsend have speed and the ability to beat a man. There is room for all three I think.


When was the last time Lennon beat his man?
 

chinaman

Well-Known Member
Jul 19, 2003
17,974
12,423
Love these quotes, fills me with so much confidence moving forward. It's fair to say that QPR were poor which is why we smashed 4 past them and could have had more.

When we face better opposition we can expect to play just as well, it just might not be as easy to cut through and score the goals.

As long as we maintain that style and continue to improve at the back then we can make a serious challenge for a top 4 finish.


Then the 48 passes in one movement will be useful.
 

diamondlight

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2006
1,263
1,326
Which changes my point how exactly?

I'll explain.

You said: One good win against a piss poor side and we're fighting for top 4 again.

JonnySpurs said (in effect): If we carry on playing this way we'll be fighting for the top 4.

The difference between the two statements is like the difference between The river is bursting now and if it keeps on raining the river will burst.

Big difference, if you live near a river (or support Spurs).
 

JonnySpurs

SC Veteran
Jun 4, 2004
5,345
12,398
Agree for the most part but rather than suggesting you're getting carried away
I'm suggesting perhaps it would be better not to mention top four at all. At least not at this early stage.
Not a big deal.
Liked the rest of your original post.
Just the mention of top four made me sigh :(
Edit- While Sun was a good performance it was at home against a newly promoted team who frankly were piss poor so I disagree it was a good indicator. Promising at best but I'll take promising after what we've had to put up with since Harry left.
Man U will be a stronger force with Di Maria. Balotelli may go either way so we need to keep feet on the ground with setting goals and being realistic.

Fair enough :)
 

Gaz_Gammon

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2005
16,047
18,013
Sadly I think this is true. Although I can still see townsend being useful in this system. Esp against tired defenders.


I don't disagree with Townsend ability to use pace, but his finsihing is woeful. Last season he scored a single goal (meant as a cross) and provided a single assist. Whichever way you look at that stat, it's simply not good enough at this level of football. Lennon being pretty much a smaller quicker option from what i have seen of him over the past half a dozen seasons.

With Eriksen, Lamela, Chadli, Dembele, and Holtby all able to play acroess the midfield i do think that Lennon and Townsend are now surplus to requirements. Lennon especially looked well out of place during pre-season.
 
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