Ex-Player Watch Player Watch: Kyle Walker

[PhezTHFC]

I love walker and would hate it if he left. However Trippier as our first choice and use our money we got from selling him to improve our squad to me thats a no brainer as I don't think walker is indispensable to us. I would hate it for it to be Rose as the one who wanted to leave though. I don't think Walker will leave.

 

[Disconosebleed]

I find so many aspects of this story unconvincing, baffling even.

On Walker's side, I'll pre-cursor everything I say with the old cliche that money talks. In that respect, you always have to accept that a player's head could be turned. However, you also have to weigh that up against a few other truths. Walker has only ever played for two (permanent) clubs - his hometown club, who he left with a heavy heart knowing he had outgrown them, and Tottenham where he has stayed for eight years. So we know he isn't a flighty character, someone who gets itchy feet every few years.

We also know that over the past eight years he's spent a lot of time as at best a player whose first choice status was flimsy, and at worst a clear understudy - and he's never angled for a move. Regardless of Pochettino's squad rotation policy, Walker's first choice status has rarely been as secure as it has been this season in the big games he has always played. Obviously we do have to take into account the past ten days or so, when this has been swapped on its head; it's too early to say for sure whether this was simply Poch sticking to the plan, or if something has changed.

Additionally, everything we know about Walker's time at Spurs is a player who is committed to the cause, and who loves the club. Barely a couple of weeks ago he felt comfortable enough in his position at the club to joke on a live stream about the possibility of leaving the club, saying "Tottenham for life" or something to that effect. Again, we have to take these things with a pinch of salt, but it would be an odd thing to say if there were any problems brewing.

Now, to repeat, on Walker's side that can all be changed by money. A footballer's career is short, and it's understandable that he might think, given he's reaching his late 20s, he might now have a smaller window to get the big move that would bump up his wages hugely, and we can't match what City offer.

But what is more interesting to me is City's side of things. For me, Walker simply doesn't fit the profile for a Guardiola player whatsoever. Nothing about his game is suited to the Guardiola way of playing, a style he has continued to stick to this season in good times and bad, and which he doesn't seem ready to drop.

City look to dominate possession high up the pitch, theoretically limiting Walker's use as a player who can get up and down all game. Guardiola also values flexibility and top-end technique, two other things Walker lacks. Look at the full backs he has bought over the years - Alves, Adriano, Bernat, Kimmich...these are not physically imposing players like Walker, and while all of them are pacy none of them are defined by their pace, they're all technically excellent and capable of playing elsewhere on the pitch if required.

I just don't see where Walker fits, either in terms of Guardiola's full back profile or on the pitch. For us, he offers an option out wide, but isn't really the key attacking threat on that flank the way Rose is on the left - if anything his use is mainly as someone who can keep the opposition full back wide, creating space for our attacking midfielders. Now that is something that transfers across to City, but Guardiola usually likes his full backs to really link up with the attack (I believe I'm right in saying under Guardiola, Alves was consistently Barcelona's furthest-forward player by average position on the pitch) and offer a legitimate threat in their own right.

Funnily enough, I think of all our four full backs, Walker is the least suited to playing for City. Trippier and Davies lack the same pace but have the technical proficiency that Guardiola admires, while Rose offers more of an attacking threat from wide. I've no doubt that Walker would improve the current City side given their options at right back at the moment are fading forces (Zabaleta, Sagna) or just crap (Navas), but there are endless options that would be better suited to City's setup, even if they are theoretically inferior players as individuals. Spending the best part of £50m on a player who doesn't really suit the system and has neither the natural qualities nor the youth to adapt to that system.

Maybe I've just written an essay for no reason and he signs tomorrow. But I just don't see that there's anything about this that makes sense from City's point of view, especially given the likely money required. Kimmich would make sense. Bellerin would make sense. Rafinha as a short term option would make sense. Walker doesn't make sense. All the qualities he has are the ones Guardiola values least, and all the ones he lacks are the ones Guardiola values most.

 

[King of the Lane]

These were all just rumours before JJ got involved and said he personally thinks Walker will leave. I'm inclined to believe JJ but I hope he is wrong.

 

[SargeantMeatCurtains]

I really hope he is shown a lot of love in our final game at the Lane. That alone has kept players here before.

I can imagine it now, walker chants booming around the ground, Nkoudou, with a tear in his eye, will approach Walker and say:
Comment pouvez-vous partir? And Walker will reply:

What

 

[buckley]

pep;klopp;mourino;ancellotti all have one thing in common and that is they move from a club that Is almost certain to win a trophy every year to another club that is almost certain to win something every year with one difference that when they get to there new super rich club the are given anything from £100 to £250 million to spend and they have a cheek to call these moves from one uber rich club to another super rich club a challenge.
no no no getting the likes of Southampton or everton into the top four with limited resources is a challenge or keeping the likes of bournouth or stoke or burnley etc in the premier league with limited cash that is a challenge.
As for kyle my feelings since the 1950s has been the same if they want to go let them as we always under levy seem to get big bucks for the players that want out with the chance of enough transfer cash to buy two players to buy two to replace one

 

[Spurrific]

Fuck me. Trippier is not anywhere near as good as him. Hence why he isn't troubling the England squad and he isn't being linked with moves away. He'd be far cheaper to attain than Walker will be - so if he was as good, why isn't he the one that's being touted around?

It isn't just running fast that Walker excels in, B-C making that assertion is disingenuous and makes him look like a poop-nose to me.

Walker would be a huge loss. We'd take ourselves from having the best wing-back options in the league, to having pretty decent options. Davies has been an admirable stand-in, doesn't mean we can cope with selling Rose. Trippier is a very good back-up, but he'd be an average first choice, imvho.

 

[thebenjamin]

Fuck me. Trippier is not anywhere near as good as him. Hence why he isn't troubling the England squad and he isn't being linked with moves away. He'd be far cheaper to attain than Walker will be - so if he was as good, why isn't he the one that's being touted around.

It isn't just running fast that Walker excels in, B-C making that assertion is disingenuous and makes him look like a poop-nose to me.

Walker would be a huge loss. We'd take ourselves from having the best wing-back options in the league, to having pretty decent options. Davies has been an admirable stand-in, doesn't mean we can cope with selling Rose. Trippier is a very good back-up, but he'd be an average first choice, imvho.

Agree. Trippier is good at crossing but his defending is actually quite poor. Walker has developed into an absolute animal of a defender. It would be a substantial downgrade.

With this and Toby rejecting another contract it really does feel like this team is going to break up before it's had a chance to win anything. Very sad.

 

[archiewasking]

Last week there were reports Walker had talks with Poch on his future. If true & he wanted out , no way Poch is going to play him as a regular given Trippier has done well...

Given Walker did not start the most important game if the season, I have no doubt he is on his way out...I just hope he hoes outside PL.

May be time for Kyle Walker Peters to be in squad next season. If we buy Maguire, he can also play RB

Would love Maguire. He's class. And could play at CB alongside Toby and Jan as heir apparent to their throne. Allowing Dier to move back to DM, where, let's be honest, he's light years better.

 

[coy-spurs1882]

i can remember trippier was linked to everton when coleman suffered the injury

 

[spursfan77]

You are right, I have always been a Trippier fan. I was one of the very few that wanted him from Burnley, long before we were even linked. I do personally think he's every bit as good as Walker albeit in a very different way. City not the only potential destination though, and it's far from certain that he's going at all. As I posted yesterday he's the most likely first teamer to go, not that he is definitely going.

Yeah I agree. Like I've said before I can't see him agitating or playing up if he's not allowed to go.

Personally, I think we shouldn't entertain it whatever the price. The club and premier league football has move on a lot from that berbatov/Keane summer, let's not retreat back to it.

I guess it depends how pissed off the manager is with him though. We know that once a line has been crossed with Poch that (rightly or wrongly) there's no way back.

 

[spursfan77]

I find so many aspects of this story unconvincing, baffling even.

On Walker's side, I'll pre-cursor everything I say with the old cliche that money talks. In that respect, you always have to accept that a player's head could be turned. However, you also have to weigh that up against a few other truths. Walker has only ever played for two (permanent) clubs - his hometown club, who he left with a heavy heart knowing he had outgrown them, and Tottenham where he has stayed for eight years. So we know he isn't a flighty character, someone who gets itchy feet every few years.

We also know that over the past eight years he's spent a lot of time as at best a player whose first choice status was flimsy, and at worst a clear understudy - and he's never angled for a move. Regardless of Pochettino's squad rotation policy, Walker's first choice status has rarely been as secure as it has been this season in the big games he has always played. Obviously we do have to take into account the past ten days or so, when this has been swapped on its head; it's too early to say for sure whether this was simply Poch sticking to the plan, or if something has changed.

Additionally, everything we know about Walker's time at Spurs is a player who is committed to the cause, and who loves the club. Barely a couple of weeks ago he felt comfortable enough in his position at the club to joke on a live stream about the possibility of leaving the club, saying "Tottenham for life" or something to that effect. Again, we have to take these things with a pinch of salt, but it would be an odd thing to say if there were any problems brewing.

Now, to repeat, on Walker's side that can all be changed by money. A footballer's career is short, and it's understandable that he might think, given he's reaching his late 20s, he might now have a smaller window to get the big move that would bump up his wages hugely, and we can't match what City offer.

But what is more interesting to me is City's side of things. For me, Walker simply doesn't fit the profile for a Guardiola player whatsoever. Nothing about his game is suited to the Guardiola way of playing, a style he has continued to stick to this season in good times and bad, and which he doesn't seem ready to drop.

City look to dominate possession high up the pitch, theoretically limiting Walker's use as a player who can get up and down all game. Guardiola also values flexibility and top-end technique, two other things Walker lacks. Look at the full backs he has bought over the years - Alves, Adriano, Bernat, Kimmich...these are not physically imposing players like Walker, and while all of them are pacy none of them are defined by their pace, they're all technically excellent and capable of playing elsewhere on the pitch if required.

I just don't see where Walker fits, either in terms of Guardiola's full back profile or on the pitch. For us, he offers an option out wide, but isn't really the key attacking threat on that flank the way Rose is on the left - if anything his use is mainly as someone who can keep the opposition full back wide, creating space for our attacking midfielders. Now that is something that transfers across to City, but Guardiola usually likes his full backs to really link up with the attack (I believe I'm right in saying under Guardiola, Alves was consistently Barcelona's furthest-forward player by average position on the pitch) and offer a legitimate threat in their own right.

Funnily enough, I think of all our four full backs, Walker is the least suited to playing for City. Trippier and Davies lack the same pace but have the technical proficiency that Guardiola admires, while Rose offers more of an attacking threat from wide. I've no doubt that Walker would improve the current City side given their options at right back at the moment are fading forces (Zabaleta, Sagna) or just crap (Navas), but there are endless options that would be better suited to City's setup, even if they are theoretically inferior players as individuals. Spending the best part of £50m on a player who doesn't really suit the system and has neither the natural qualities nor the youth to adapt to that system.

Maybe I've just written an essay for no reason and he signs tomorrow. But I just don't see that there's anything about this that makes sense from City's point of view, especially given the likely money required. Kimmich would make sense. Bellerin would make sense. Rafinha as a short term option would make sense. Walker doesn't make sense. All the qualities he has are the ones Guardiola values least, and all the ones he lacks are the ones Guardiola values most.

It's ironic from City's point of view that they probably have that player in their squad in Zablieta but he was that player 4 years ago.

 

[swarvsta]

Better at what though ? Crossing a ball ? Playing an incisive pass ? Better technique ? Better at Seeing a quick throw that sets us on an attack that gets us a goal ? Or just better at running fast and whatnot ?

If they didn't count for anything and scouting is everything why are clubs now employing analysts and analytics ?

Do you still use a fucking mangle ?

I go to a lot of games and use my eyes to judge players. Much like Poch does. Like all the great managers of the past have.

You are more of an AVB stats, spreadsheet and PowerPoint man. There's nothing wrong with that.

You are using stats compiled by different statisticians, watching a game that is largely subjective. If you cannot see how flawed that is, then I can't help you.

In a game of opinions, how many Spurs fans would say Trippier is better than Walker? How many pros? How many managers? A very small percentage.

How many clubs would think Trippier is worth £50million?

Maybe they would if they relied on useless stats like 'key passes' or 'tackles made'.

I could argue the very best defenders make fewer tackles, for example.

You are so deluded, it's scary.

I think I will move on from this now, it's tedious.

 

[Gassin's finest]

If it's about the moolah that Citeh can offer him, then just pay the man... Walker is arguably the best RB in the league this season, and certainly England's first choice.

 

[yiddopaul]

Who's to say that he'd be as good elsewhere? Personally, I think it's the Poch influence that's making the difference. Just as Fergie made average players win titles. With a different coach, who knows how he'd perform.

 

[tiger666]

If it's about the moolah that Citeh can offer him, then just pay the man...

Not as simple as that though is it.

 

[Lilbaz]

Yeah I agree. Like I've said before I can't see him agitating or playing up if he's not allowed to go.

Personally, I think we shouldn't entertain it whatever the price. The club and premier league football has move on a lot from that berbatov/Keane summer, let's not retreat back to it.

I guess it depends how pissed off the manager is with him though. We know that once a line has been crossed with Poch that (rightly or wrongly) there's no way back.

Can't be that pissed off as he has played a part in the last 3 games. Townsend etc... didn't even get to train with the first team.

 

[Kiedis]

Guardiola has been struggling old and poor full backs the entire season. He's been lamenting their inability to get up and down the line and has tried numerous tactical tweaks, such as having them tuck into midfield to free the CMs to attack wide spaces, and playing 3 at the back with Sterling and Navas as wingbacks.
If Pep wants Walker, he has a plan for him, and it'll probably be to have him play like he does with us. Provide width and shut down his entire side of the pitch defensively. He wont have him play full back the way the geriatric duo of Zabaleta and Sagna have this season.

If he goes there, I suspect he'll do very, very well.

 

[fletch82]

I go to a lot of games and use my eyes to judge players. Much like Poch does. Like all the great managers of the past have.

You are more of an AVB stats, spreadsheet and PowerPoint man. There's nothing wrong with that.

You are using stats compiled by different statisticians, watching a game that is largely subjective. If you cannot see how flawed that is, then I can't help you.

In a game of opinions, how many Spurs fans would say Trippier is better than Walker? How many pros? How many managers? A very small percentage.

How many clubs would think Trippier is worth £50million?

Maybe they would if they relied on useless stats like 'key passes' or 'tackles made'.

I could argue the very best defenders make fewer tackles, for example.

You are so deluded, it's scary.

I think I will move on from this now, it's tedious.

I would say Kieran is better actually.








But I am he's mum.

 

[danielneeds]

Can't be that pissed off as he has played a part in the last 3 games. Townsend etc... didn't even get to train with the first team.

To be fair Townsend wasn't an automatic starter anyway. Walker is much more high profile, and we're involved in a title race. Leaving Walker out of the squad would have caused a hoo-hah, and more questions for Poch. Leaving him out of the semi and NLD said enough, to me, anyway.

 

[dagraham]

If it's about the moolah that Citeh can offer him, then just pay the man... Walker is arguably the best RB in the league this season, and certainly England's first choice.

Depends exactly much moolah he's being offered. Unless you're advocating making Walker our highest earning player, which I'm sure you're not, because that's barmy.