Player Watch: Kevin Wimmer

[THFCSPURS19]

He was compared to Hummels at the beginning of the season, and now many think he is playing at a far superior level to Hummels. Bayern and Dortmund forums both talked about him. He's a phenomenal purchase.

Got a link to any of this talk?

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

He was compared to Hummels at the beginning of the season, and now many think he is playing at a far superior level to Hummels. Bayern and Dortmund forums both talked about him. He's a phenomenal purchase.

Mate, you only have to read the post that somebody made on here yesterday, it was a post that had the opinions of FC Koln supporters, to see what sort of player we've signed. Here it is, kindly whored by@Timberwolf in the Wimmer transfer thread.....

Did a bit of whoring over at a Koln forum, courtesy of Google Translate. Very positive stuff, indeed:

Super footballer and class type. A real flagship professional.
Too bad we can not keep people like you. I hope your attitude remains a lot to our team. Bye, mach et jut, Kevin Wimmer.

The farewell is painful. And I also think of parting is still pain for some time. To find a center-back, who has the potential to bring similar performance at a similarly constant level, is extremely difficult.
I wish him all the best in England. Should calm carry on as here. For me it was always a very likeable player. Hope he will remember back also some time at Cologne.

What I had prejudices against him.
failure Shopping, screw etc. were some remarks. Dear Kevin Wimmer, I'm sorry, I have a little abgelästert, and thank goodness you have shown and proved to me that one of its judgments not so should be hasty. did you become the absolute tower in our defense, for me together with Matze positive surprise. It is a pity that you are going, it is not easy to find a worthy successor, but understand your step you develop athletic to want to aim higher, with the FC is not yet possible to that. I wish you every success at Spurs. We fans will all keep you in good memory, as you the FC, the city of Cologne, and above all the Fans will hopefully not forgotten, and maybe you'll one day return to FC when playing internationally again. Take care!

Since he came into the team in Cottbus, he was here to stay.
One of the best defenders I've seen in FC jersey.
A type that you simply may need.

Now that it is fixed and officially, again hurts a bit. Model type that will leave a big gap. Judging also the interview on FC TV after, he seems to be a funny bird. On Facebook he posted a picture of times with a T-shirt "Dine, Wine, Sixetynine". Will miss him!

See my point? One of them has even said he was totally wrong, and went on to become an absolute tower in defence. As much as I want us to not sign a dud, so perhaps I'm failing to acknowledge potential shortfalls in this signing, we surely can't ignore such strong opinions from supporters of his previous club?

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

And then there was this really good little article which @Khilari kindly shared with us.............

Interesting article on FourFourTwo on him -
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/meet-tottenhams-new-stopper-bundesliga-whos-hit-ladies


The parts I particularly liked were these.......

Turning weaknesses into strengths is something Wimmer has prided himself on. Now, with a buffed-up chest and body built for purpose, the fast, robust and technically-gifted defender is one of the strongest players in the Bundesliga and rarely gets pushed off the ball.

Another strength off the pitch is his clear determination to succeed. He admitted in an interview with kicker: "I wasn’t surprised people said I should leave after how little I played. Some said I should go, but I was determined to take this chance. I knew my chance would come and that I had to take it." And so he did.

His style appears to suit the Premier League, with pace, power and technical skill all on show frequently.


At least we know we're getting someone who not only appears to suit the style of football in our league, but is also willing to work hard to not only succeed as a player, but also improve on weaknesses within his game. Mentality wise, he seems about as close to a Pochettino type player as we could get.

 

[TheAmerican]

Got a link to any of this talk?

It would be on kicker.de as that's normally what I read through on as it translated well in chrome.

 

[Sevens]

As is often the case a lot of Spurs fans will no doubt hype him up to be significantly better than he actually is and a lot of Spurs fans will be quick to write him off if he starts slowly.

In reality it's a no lose purchase. Young and cheap. I personally think this and signing older proven players starting their downward curve is the way forward for us. We aren't going to get great players in their prime. We either need to find them earlier or get them just afterwards.

But we do need experience and first team players this Summer. I can't see Wimmer walking straight into the first team.

 

[npearl4spurs]

He won't walk into the first team right away. I have no doubt he meant it when he said he was happy we qualified for Europa League - those and the other cup matches will be his only opportunities for the short term.

I do think he will perform quite well for us in those matches, however. Really looking forward to seeing him play

 

[Syn_13]

He won't walk into the first team right away. I have no doubt he meant it when he said he was happy we qualified for Europa League - those and the other cup matches will be his only opportunities for the short term.

I do think he will perform quite well for us in those matches, however. Really looking forward to seeing him play

Well, he's been plying his trade over on the continent and perhaps that might help us with the Europa games. I like the way German teams play, they tend to be quite adaptable, and hopefully he himself is adaptable. I don't honestly know whether it's down to the style of football where you have been playing, or whether it's down to the individual as to how well you adapt in new countries, but hopefully his experience will translate well with our team.

 

[SandroClegane]

Never thought I'd see Rene Rancourt on a Tottenham forum, but I'm all about it!

 

[shelfboy68]

And then there was this really good little article which @Khilari kindly shared with us.............

Interesting article on FourFourTwo on him -
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/meet-tottenhams-new-stopper-bundesliga-whos-hit-ladies


The parts I particularly liked were these.......

Turning weaknesses into strengths is something Wimmer has prided himself on. Now, with a buffed-up chest and body built for purpose, the fast, robust and technically-gifted defender is one of the strongest players in the Bundesliga and rarely gets pushed off the ball.

Another strength off the pitch is his clear determination to succeed. He admitted in an interview with kicker: "I wasn’t surprised people said I should leave after how little I played. Some said I should go, but I was determined to take this chance. I knew my chance would come and that I had to take it." And so he did.

His style appears to suit the Premier League, with pace, power and technical skill all on show frequently.


At least we know we're getting someone who not only appears to suit the style of football in our league, but is also willing to work hard to not only succeed as a player, but also improve on weaknesses within his game. Mentality wise, he seems about as close to a Pochettino type p
layer as we could get.

These reports are fantastic but you have to be able to cut it in the premier league which is where a lot of imports struggle,lets hope he is up to the mark.

 

[Spursidol]

Poch has tried a few CB combinations this season of which one of the most successful was Vertonghen/Fazio but this was followed by Vertonghen/Dier.

Could we see Poch actually planning for squad rotation with Vertonghen/Dier being one CB pairing with Fazio/Wimmer being the other (maybe playing more EL matches initially).

Both pairings have a more experienced player with a less experienced one - so a good way to give Dier and Wimmer good experience, whilsr both Dier and Wimmer contribute both pace and enthusiasm to the partnership.

Wimmer's weaknesses (per 442) is said to be positioning and heading - Fazio would be a good partner to learn from.

 

[Ledders Army]

Having never seen him play, the thing I liked most about that 442 article was the rating of 8 for pace as I think since the end of Ledders and Kaboul's decline our centre backs have struggled against genuine pace. Could therefore be a good partner for any of our current CBs. It's a shame he's left footed though as I would've thought we should be looking for someone to partner Vertonghen, not replace him so you'd think a right footer would be preferred. I'm sure we've played plenty of times with 2 right footed CBs though so maybe him and Jan could still work.

 

[Syn_13]

Poch has tried a few CB combinations this season of which one of the most successful was Vertonghen/Fazio but this was followed by Vertonghen/Dier.

Could we see Poch actually planning for squad rotation with Vertonghen/Dier being one CB pairing with Fazio/Wimmer being the other (maybe playing more EL matches initially).

Both pairings have a more experienced player with a less experienced one - so a good way to give Dier and Wimmer good experience, whilsr both Dier and Wimmer contribute both pace and enthusiasm to the partnership.

Wimmer's weaknesses (per 442) is said to be positioning and heading - Fazio would be a good partner to learn from.

This does make sense. Fazio has plenty of Europa experience. He's not a bad defender but has struggled at times with English football. I'm sure he will improve but I'm of the opinion that Dier is an excellent prospect and should be given more time to develop. He looks good alongside Vertonghen and compliments him well, in the way that Wimmer may complement Fazio.

Dier has had the fortune of playing abroad and picking up a different mentality that he can use to adapt his game. Being English, he still gets English football and doesn't look like he needs adapting to it at all. He's a very versatile lad.

This may also be Poch looking to the long term. I can't imagine Vertonghen wanting to stick around much longer, particularly if we don't progress. Wimmer is left sided, and if he develops well within his first year with us, and Dier continues to go from strength to strength, we may not be in as bad a position if/when Verts has had enough.

 

[13VanDerBale13]

Q&A With FC Koln Fan​

Firstly, thank you for offering to share your thoughts and knowledge on Kevin Wimmer. What has been the general feeling from FC Köln fans during his time as a player at your club?

He came into the club as an unknown quantity from LASK Linz in Austria and struggled to become truly established initially. It wasn’t until new coach Peter Stoeger (also Austrian) arrived at the club in the Summer of 2013 that Wimmer made a true impact and since then he has been like a rock in the back four alongside Slovenian Dominic Maroh.

He was a huge part of us gaining promotion in 2014 and consolidating our Bundesliga place last season. The club had the fifth best defensive record in the division which, for a promoted club, was excellent.

He is best known as a central defender, but has he played in other positions for FC Köln?

If I’m honest I can’t recall Kevin being played ‘out’ of position in the last couple of seasons. I would view him as a pure defender and as such would like to see him concentrate on that role. I do believe, however, that he played as a midfielder earlier in his career at youth level.

What are his main strengths?

He is well-built to be a central defender and his solid, no-nonsense approach makes him a pure player in this role. You won’t see Wimmer messing about with the football at the back. He also has decent pace which we all know for a player in the Premier League will be vitally important.

Does he have any weaknesses which he still needs to develop?

For me he isn’t the best footballer technically but, as I have said previously, he is a no-nonsense defender. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t expect him to just ‘hoof’ the ball out at every opportunity, but you will see few risks taken.

How does he compare to better known central defenders in the Bundesliga, such as Jerome Boateng of Bayern Munich, Mats Hummels of Borussia Dortmund and Naldo of Wolfsburg? Do you feel that he has the potential to get to that sort of level?

I would say that of the names mentioned, Hummels would make the best comparison with Wimmer. I am confident that he will become a great player in years to come; I just hope he gets off to a good start in the Premier League as, from experience, it can be an unforgiving place to play football.

Are there other central defenders who Tottenham Hotspur fans may be familiar with who compare to Kevin Wimmer?

From established defenders it is very difficult to make comparisons at the moment. A similair-styled up and coming player is Kurt Zouma at Chelsea.

It is often said that it takes time for overseas players to adapt to the Premier League. From your knowledge of this league, do you think he is ready?

Yes, he is ready for action without doubt, but the Premier League by experience can be like a shark tank and the fans can be quite unforgiving early in a player’s career. That is my main concern for Wimmer moving to England, although I do believe he will perform very well.

Are FC Köln fans surprised that he has joined a club such as Tottenham? Would you feel he could have gone to a ‘bigger’ club, or is the level of Tottenham Hotspur well suited?

If he had moved to another club in Germany it would have been one of the top six clubs that would have shown an interest. I think Europa League level is about right. The majority of fans are pleased to see him progress and it shows the good work that has gone in at Cologne in the past few years that our players are attracting attention from clubs in the CL and EL.

http://windycoys.com/2015/05/wimmer-a-qa-with-an-fc-koln-supporter/?

 

[Ironskullll]

I disagree, unless we manage to get the balance right this summer. Don't let that one position in the table fool you, the gap between us and the current four is very disproportionate from that one rank in the table. Meanwhile, there are sides in the final and even winning it which we should be capable of beating. We don't lack the quality to compete for that tournament, we've just lacked the will, depth, and balance.

An extra seven points last season would have been much easier to have achieved than winning through the round of 16, the QF, SF and Final, even if we had somehow beaten Fiorentina. Given a similar scenario next year, and all other things being equal, an extra seven points against three of the poorer teams in the Premiership would be an easier challenge than beating no less than five European clubs in the rarified stages of the EL from the round of 32 onwards, when the cream begins to rise to the surface.

 

[Spursidol]

This does make sense. Fazio has plenty of Europa experience. He's not a bad defender but has struggled at times with English football. I'm sure he will improve but I'm of the opinion that Dier is an excellent prospect and should be given more time to develop. He looks good alongside Vertonghen and compliments him well, in the way that Wimmer may complement Fazio.

Dier has had the fortune of playing abroad and picking up a different mentality that he can use to adapt his game. Being English, he still gets English football and doesn't look like he needs adapting to it at all. He's a very versatile lad.

This may also be Poch looking to the long term. I can't imagine Vertonghen wanting to stick around much longer, particularly if we don't progress. Wimmer is left sided, and if he develops well within his first year with us, and Dier continues to go from strength to strength, we may not be in as bad a position if/when Verts has had enough.

Yup, I didn't say in my original post, but if Spurs are thinkimg long term - ie next season or beyond - having both Dier (RCB) and Wimmer (LCB) played a season alongside the experienced Vertonghen or Fazio would give a young experienced CB duo who in turn could be the nucleus to bring through other young CB's such as Milos Veljkovic, Dominic Ball and Cameron Carter-Vickers, the dream scenario !

 

[Mr Pink]

The bit about positioning and heading being a weakness are concerning.

Should slot in quite nicely then.

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

Q&A With FC Koln Fan​

Yes, he is ready for action without doubt, but the Premier League by experience can be like a shark tank and the fans can be quite unforgiving early in a player’s career. That is my main concern for Wimmer moving to England, although I do believe he will perform very well.
.http://windycoys.com/2015/05/wimmer-a-qa-with-an-fc-koln-supporter/?

Oh man, I can't believe, out of all of the FC Koln supporters that could've been interviewed, we end up with one that's frequently checking in on here

 

[DaSpurs]

An extra seven points last season would have been much easier to have achieved than winning through the round of 16, the QF, SF and Final, even if we had somehow beaten Fiorentina. Given a similar scenario next year, and all other things being equal, an extra seven points against three of the poorer teams in the Premiership would be an easier challenge than beating no less than five European clubs in the rarified stages of the EL from the round of 32 onwards, when the cream begins to rise to the surface.

I disagree. That looks easier on paper, but when you take into account that run of games in the winter in which we were relying on late game heroics from Eriksen and Kane, and had no game winners off the bench, that gap looks a bit wider. Man U were also in a massively transitional season, and Liverpool had a most laughable collapse, so that also makes our final position look a bit more generous.

Our failures to progress in the Europa has been an illusion that we aren't good enough. Fact is, since Redknapp's departure, we've been knocked out of the tournament by lesser teams albeit with better balance three years running now. The difference in balance it would take to overcome those European opponents is not as difficult as the degree required to get into the top four. Plain and simple, continental sides have simply run circles around us. We address our lack of pace, we're suddenly not so much at a disadvantage, and can bring our advantage in quality to bear. In the EPL, that won't be enough.

 

[Ironskullll]

I disagree. That looks easier on paper, but when you take into account that run of games in the winter in which we were relying on late game heroics from Eriksen and Kane, and had no game winners off the bench, that gap looks a bit wider. Man U were also in a massively transitional season, and Liverpool had a most laughable collapse, so that also makes our final position look a bit more generous.

Our failures to progress in the Europa has been an illusion that we aren't good enough. Fact is, since Redknapp's departure, we've been knocked out of the tournament by lesser teams albeit with better balance three years running now. The difference in balance it would take to overcome those European opponents is not as difficult as the degree required to get into the top four. Plain and simple, continental sides have simply run circles around us. We address our lack of pace, we're suddenly not so much at a disadvantage, and can bring our advantage in quality to bear. In the EPL, that won't be enough.

An extra seven high pressure games towards the end of the season would make the winter run of games you refer to look a little like child's play. Something would have to give, and if the EL was being prioritised at the expense of league places then that in turn would bring even greater pressure, particularly if and when the league results begin to suffer. The presence of a single one of the PL's gang of four dropping down from the CL would be bad enough but aren't there eight teams drop down from the CL? Making the EL a pretty high class competition once the dross is removed. I still don't buy the notion that the EL is somehow a better route to the CL than a league place. Not that I would advocate prioritising against it - I'm the greedy sort and want everything now. I see the EL as being a training ground for the CL - I don't see how our experiences in it can be seen as anything but good even given how they've gone, because they've primed the whole club for the realities of European football running in parallel with domestic football. There hardly seems much point in aspiring to the CL with a team that can't even compete effectively in the EL, but in my opinion that means looking to compete effectively in both.

 

[DaSpurs]

An extra seven high pressure games towards the end of the season would make the winter run of games you refer to look a little like child's play. Something would have to give, and if the EL was being prioritised at the expense of league places then that in turn would bring even greater pressure, particularly if and when the league results begin to suffer. The presence of a single one of the PL's gang of four dropping down from the CL would be bad enough but aren't there eight teams drop down from the CL? Making the EL a pretty high class competition once the dross is removed. I still don't buy the notion that the EL is somehow a better route to the CL than a league place. Not that I would advocate prioritising against it - I'm the greedy sort and want everything now. I see the EL as being a training ground for the CL - I don't see how our experiences in it can be seen as anything but good even given how they've gone, because they've primed the whole club for the realities of European football running in parallel with domestic football. There hardly seems much point in aspiring to the CL with a team that can't even compete effectively in the EL, but in my opinion that means looking to compete effectively in both.

Likewise, I don't buy the notion that we can only prioritize one or the other because it's what our merry-go-round of managers fail to do while limping forward with squads they didn't build. That isn't sufficient proof to me that we can't do it, but is rather indication to me just how important stability, an idea for a squad, and depth in that idea is. With more depth and more balance, we should have no excuse beating a side such as Dnipro (who we knocked out last season ourselves) and possibly even Sevilla. Hell, there's no excuse for losing out to the sides who have knocked us out in recent years. We've simply played weakened squads bred from turnover and largely consisting of squads with players having played on weekends and players not at all suited to the manager's wishes.

As a result, we've assembled a squad with very little balance indeed. We are fully capable of building a squad of depth and balance, even if it isn't the quality of those in the top four, capable of competing on multiple fronts. We just simply have to afford Poch the time to get rid of the players he doesn't want and bring in players willing to come in and compete, as well as promote youth who are capable. Getting rid of players who aren't suited and are clogging up places such as Paulinho, Dembele, Soldado, Chiriches, etc would be extremely beneficial for our cup runs as we get rid of the dross and bring in a) better players and b) players more capable of establishing a balance such that inferior teams aren't outplaying us.