Player Watch: Georges-Kévin N'Koudou

[Blake Griffin]

our signings over the last three years -

wanyama
janssen
nkoudou
sissoko
gazzaniga
sanchez
foyth
aurier
llorente
moura

i don't know about anyone else but to me that's a pretty underwhelming return, we're just fortunate that we already had a relatively young squad full of quality already and with a coach who is able to get the absolute most out of them. there's only so long you can get away with poor player recruitment before it begins to catch up with you.

 

[ChristianBaler]

How long exactly does he need to get fit?

Seeing as he hardly played for PSG and again like we’ve told you there’s a difference between being fit and “Poch” fit he needed at least 2/3 months to be ready to play in our system

It’s the same reason Poch wanted players in early this summer

It’s not even just fitness though, you’ve got a new player to a new country, team, etc that all takes time to adapt too. Moura has said all this effective him in interviews

 

[RichieS]

our signings over the last three years -

wanyama
janssen
nkoudou
sissoko
gazzaniga
sanchez
foyth
aurier
llorente
moura

i don't know about anyone else but to me that's a pretty underwhelming return, we're just fortunate that we already had a relatively young squad full of quality already and with a coach who is able to get the absolute most out of them. there's only so long you can get away with poor player recruitment before it begins to catch up with you.

2 unqualified successes (VW, DS).
2 showing great promise (JF, LM).
1 who clearly has the manager's trust and has played a lot despite fans' irrational hatred of him (MS).
1 who in one league appearance saved us the points and was signed for the long term (PG).
1 who might turn out to be a flop but isn't done just yet (SA).
1 "been there, done that" seasoned pro that sadly hasn't worked out but really should have done (FL).
1 cheap punt youngster that hasn't worked out (GKN).
1 outright flop (VJ).

It'd be interesting to compare our list to those of our rivals (comparisons with United and Chelsea would be particularly illuminating).

 

[SdB]

Seeing as he hardly played for PSG and again like we’ve told you there’s a difference between being fit and “Poch” fit he needed at least 2/3 months to be ready to play in our system

It’s the same reason Poch wanted players in early this summer

It’s not even just fitness though, you’ve got a new player to a new country, team, etc that all takes time to adapt too. Moura has said all this effective him in interviews

Not quite sure how long you think it takes a player to get 'Poch' fit.
The wonder that is Moussa Sissoko joined on 1st Sept and started his first PL match on 18th Sept and played thereafter.
Was Moura so unprofessional that he joined so unfit it took months to get 'Poch' match fit?
It was perhaps more like Poch didn't quite fancy him to start with and was dealing with another player Levy was offered at the end of a transfer window deemed to be a bargain. As seems to be Levy's way.

In any case none of us know the facts so who knows who has got this right. I'm not arrogant enough to say I'm right but just have a gut feel on this given Moura's limited playing time last season.

Time will determine if my nagging doubt is right or wrong. Hopefully wrong.

 

[dtxspurs]

2 unqualified successes (VW, DS).
2 showing great promise (JF, LM).
1 who clearly has the manager's trust and has played a lot despite fans' irrational hatred of him (MS).
1 who in one league appearance saved us the points and was signed for the long term (PG).
1 who might turn out to be a flop but isn't done just yet (SA).
1 "been there, done that" seasoned pro that sadly hasn't worked out but really should have done (FL).
1 cheap punt youngster that hasn't worked out (GKN).
1 outright flop (VJ).

It'd be interesting to compare our list to those of our rivals (comparisons with United and Chelsea would be particularly illuminating).

United sign good players, they just pay too much for them and the manager doesn't use them correctly. Lukaku, Pogba, Matic, Bailly, and Ibrahimovic blow us out of the water.

I also don't see how VW can be classified as an unqualified success as he has now been injured/out of form more often than he has been in form. You count MS & PG seemingly as successes when they were both stupid purchases.

 

[Shadydan]

What don't you get exactly.

There is clearly something wrong at our club in terms of player recruitment as stated VJ, Clinton and GKN as evidence, who knows if Aurier will turn out to be another one.

I'm not saying categorically saying Poch didn't want Moura but he joined us in the Jan window and hardly played. How long exactly does he need to get fit? Seems more to me that Poch didn't trust Moura in the system. I still have a nagging doubt that it is the case. Time will tell who is right on this.

Moura for me is our most exciting player so I really hope he works out.

It is perfectly clear for anyone who looks at the Levy tenure that managers get players they didn't ask for or want.

Erm you kinda did say that Poch didn't/doesn't want him at the club hence the reaction...

It's been said many times before it takes players around 6 months to get up to speed to play in a Poch side, fitness levels, tactics, mentality etc...so it's not against the realms of possibility that Lucas himself may not have been 100% up to speed. It seems to me like he's starting to trust him now as he's started the last 2 matches and Lucas himself is looking more comfortable playing in this system.

Using Lucas as an example is incredibly premature and pointless, you ought to wait a few months until it's abundantly clear said player hasn't worked out before you make judgements like that.

In regards to our scouting system, yeah there's been some poor ones but why are you ignoring, Son, Dele, Toby, Sanchez, Trippier? etc...

 

[ChristianBaler]

Not quite sure how long you think it takes a player to get 'Poch' fit.
The wonder that is Moussa Sissoko joined on 1st Sept and started his first PL match on 18th Sept and played thereafter.
Was Moura so unprofessional that he joined so unfit it took months to get 'Poch' match fit?
It was perhaps more like Poch didn't quite fancy him to start with and was dealing with another player Levy was offered at the end of a transfer window deemed to be a bargain. As seems to be Levy's way.

Poch said it himself that it takes about 6 months to adapt, in Sissoko's case he was already acclimated to the league. Perhaps, because he played in the Euros his fitness levels were already higher than Poch anticipated so therefore thats why he used him sooner.

Again, this goes back to Moura not playing for PSG regularly. Thats not his fault, but there's a difference between being match fit and just training 4/5 days a week.

You're looking too far into something that isnt there.

 

[spids]

Not quite sure how long you think it takes a player to get 'Poch' fit.
The wonder that is Moussa Sissoko joined on 1st Sept and started his first PL match on 18th Sept and played thereafter.
Was Moura so unprofessional that he joined so unfit it took months to get 'Poch' match fit?
It was perhaps more like Poch didn't quite fancy him to start with and was dealing with another player Levy was offered at the end of a transfer window deemed to be a bargain. As seems to be Levy's way.

In any case none of us know the facts so who knows who has got this right. I'm not arrogant enough to say I'm right but just have a gut feel on this given Moura's limited playing time last season.

Time will determine if my nagging doubt is right or wrong. Hopefully wrong.

It's not just about being 'Poch fit'. New signings also need to learn the pressing patterns and tactics. Poch himself has said it takes 6 months for new players to become fully embedded / immersed in his system.

And another reason Moura did not get many starts last year - the likes of Son, Dele and Eriksen had no fitness issues and were in-form, and we also had Lamela coming back to full fitness and champing at the bit.

Lastly, Poch picks his teams on merit - how well the players have trained, how well they are playing, how well they respect the group and are fully committed. It is pretty hard for any new signing to force their way straight in. Which really shows how well Sanchez did last season.

Taking all those things into consideration, it is evident that Moura has started the new season looking very fit, very committed to the high press, and has got first team starts as he has earnt them on the training pitch. If he keeps performing well then Son and Lamela will have a battle to get the shirt off his back. Competition - brings the best out in players.

 

[Navin R Johnson]

1 who clearly has the manager's trust and has played a lot despite fans' irrational hatred of him (MS).

It's not irrational if we think he's shit.

I'll accept that Poch sees stuff I don't, I'll accept that Poch is a better judge of players than me, I'll accept that MS is the third fastest battle cruiser in the Premier League, but ultimately to not see a single redeeming feature in a player other than work ethic does not make my opinion irrational. It makes it my judgement, you may disagree with my judgement but it's not irrational. I want every player in a Spurs shirt to be a world beater, to not want them to be the best they could be would be irrational. I want him to be succesful, I just can't see it happening.

 

[ebzrascal]

United sign good players, they just pay too much for them and the manager doesn't use them correctly. Lukaku, Pogba, Matic, Bailly, and Ibrahimovic blow us out of the water.

I also don't see how VW can be classified as an unqualified success as he has now been injured/out of form more often than he has been in form. You count MS & PG seemingly as successes when they were both stupid purchases.

VW has been a success injuries have hampered him but he has been very good for us.
MS has been ok not spectacular but not as terrible as Twitter would have you belive.
PG is a decent prospect but see no point in not going English for a 3rd Keeper

 

[yiddo]

Has the european window closed now?

Cant believe GKN, Janssen and to a lesser extent Sissoko are all still with us. We really have massively struggled to offload anyone this window.

 

[talbot64]

Has the european window closed now?

Cant believe GKN, Janssen and to a lesser extent Sissoko are all still with us. We really have massively struggled to offload anyone this window.

Janssen is injured
Sissoko is needed
GKN perhaps is being kept as who knows what mental state Son will be in if Korea lose today.

Last 2 in my opinion

 

[SdB]

Janssen is injured
Sissoko is needed
GKN perhaps is being kept as who knows what mental state Son will be in if Korea lose today.

Last 2 in my opinion

The only reason GKN is still here is because we couldn't shift him on either a loan or perm move.[/QUOTE]

 

[coys200]

Has the european window closed now?

Cant believe GKN, Janssen and to a lesser extent Sissoko are all still with us. We really have massively struggled to offload anyone this window.

Astonishing not one of nkoudou janssen llorente sissoko alderweireld dembele rose have left this window. Imagine the odds on that in may.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

our signings over the last three years -

wanyama
janssen
nkoudou
sissoko
gazzaniga
sanchez
foyth
aurier
llorente
moura

i don't know about anyone else but to me that's a pretty underwhelming return, we're just fortunate that we already had a relatively young squad full of quality already and with a coach who is able to get the absolute most out of them. there's only so long you can get away with poor player recruitment before it begins to catch up with you.

Have you considered that maybe that's why we haven't signed more players?

Obviously 0 signings in a summer window will be an exception, not the norm. Everyone has been expecting us to sell several key players each window, ever since Poch took over, so it could be argued that we're punching above our weight in the transfer market just by hanging on to our key players.

 

[LeParisien]

United sign good players, they just pay too much for them and the manager doesn't use them correctly. Lukaku, Pogba, Matic, Bailly, and Ibrahimovic blow us out of the water.

I also don't see how VW can be classified as an unqualified success as he has now been injured/out of form more often than he has been in form. You count MS & PG seemingly as successes when they were both stupid purchases.

Let’s ignore signings made this season because we have none and Man Utd’s need time. For £50m Fred will have to be one heck of a player though to be a good signing.

Players signed in past 2 seasons by Mou and in brackets those signed three years ago by van gaal.

Success

Lukaku (despite not scoring enough in big games for a £75m striker - i wouldn’t put him in this category if we spent this much on him).
Ibra - a winner

Yet to be worth the money:

Matic - £40m
Pogba - £96m of World cup winning superstar who has rarely found top gear and wants out. And those agent fees!
(Martial - £55m - could cone good with the right manager)

Unlikely to be worth the money

Lindelof - €35m
Sanchez - Seriously underwhelming on those wages.
Mkhirtzrian - £38m - ouch
Bailly - £34m - behind stalling smalling and jones for big games
(Schneiderlin - 32m ouch)
(Depay - £30m ouch)
(Darmian - £16m ouch)
(Scweinsteiger - £8m)


So the richest club in the world that plays at the top end of the market has wasted hundreds of millions on dross. DO NOT ENVY UNITZD MY FRIENDS - they are a shit show.

Their only successes have been a player who can’t scorenin the big games and an aging superstar. Most signings have been serious expensive and SERIOUSLY underwhelming

 

[dtxspurs]

Success

Lukaku (despite not scoring enough in big games for a £75m striker - i wouldn’t put him in this category if we spent this much on him).
Ibra - a winner

Yet to be worth the money:

Matic - £40m
Pogba - £96m of World cup winning superstar who has rarely found top gear and wants out. And those agent fees!
(Martial - £55m - could cone good with the right manager)

Weren't you just slagging off Dier saying Matic is a better player? They have the money who the fuck cares, he's a good player. Pogba is a damn good player, we would all kill to have him. Same with Martial, all these players are held back by Mourinho. Lukaku is a good player just not a great one.

Matic, Pogba, Ibra and Lukaku is massively better than what we've done over the past 3 years. Hence why they finished above us last year, and won 2 trophies the year before and made the cup final last year. Mourinho is in full meltdown mode but theres no doubt they've acquired better players than we have the last few years.

 

[bubble07]

Jorginho, keita, kovacic - just 1 from those 3 would have done

 

[LeParisien]

Weren't you just slagging off Dier saying Matic is a better player? They have the money who the fuck cares, he's a good player. Pogba is a damn good player, we would all kill to have him. Same with Martial, all these players are held back by Mourinho. Lukaku is a good player just not a great one.

Matic, Pogba, Ibra and Lukaku is massively better than what we've done over the past 3 years. Hence why they finished above us last year, and won 2 trophies the year before and made the cup final last year. Mourinho is in full meltdown mode but theres no doubt they've acquired better players than we have the last few years.

If you’re saying that a club which earns £250m more than us EVERY YEAR can sign a higher calibre of player than us then yeh I agree.

If you’re saying a greater percentage of their signings are successes - clearly not.

I thought this was a conversation around quality of recruitment. If that’s the case then the latter is more relevant than the former.

Agree Mourinho is a factor in that but that only serves to highlight that success in the transfer market is only a piece of the puzzle. And that even signings top tier players is no guarantee of success.

You’re thinking of someone else less talented and good looking than me - I would rather have Dier than Matic. And if you factor in transfer fee and wages then no contest.

 

[bat-chain]

N’Koudou is a good pacey alternative to Moura and son for lesser games, I think he'll get two or three matches before the window opens again, up to him to show he can offer something to the squad.