Player Watch: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg

[dontcallme]

Honestly, I don't think he's that bad. I think he just comes up short for a top 10 Prem club, let alone top 6.

 

[wearetheparklane]

Feel like pure shite just want Dembele back

 

[yido_number1]

Feel like pure shite just want Dembele back

Or Sandro, or palacios, or Zokora compared to this clown. At least he had pace.

 

[Tottenhamboy85]

Or Sandro, or palacios, or Zokora compared to this clown. At least he had pace.

Just bentancur and Bissouma would do

 

[Japhet]

Honestly, I don't think he's that bad. I think he just comes up short for a top 10 Prem club, let alone top 6.

He's so ill equipped to play in a CM2, but then so are the majority of midfielders. They need to be absolute monsters with elite skill sets in every department to pull that off in the EPL. The problem stems from coaches like Mourinho and Conte who got used to playing at a much lower intensity and thought it could translate to the EPL. We've been using a pivot midfield for years and it's now way past it's sell by date in modern football.

 

[Flobadob]

He's so ill equipped to play in a CM2, but then so are the majority of midfielders. They need to be absolute monsters with elite skill sets in every department to pull that off in the EPL. The problem stems from coaches like Mourinho and Conte who got used to playing at a much lower intensity and thought it could translate to the EPL. We've been using a pivot midfield for years and it's now way past it's sell by date in modern football.

I don’t think they need to be elite at everything they just need to be great athlete’s and good at most things. A lot of ground needs to be covered in a 2 and when you’re outnumbered you need the ability to take players out of the game with ball carrying at times. Bissouma and Bentancur are more than good enough to perform well as a 2 with their skill set and neither are elite at everything. Bissouma fits what I described above very well though and Bentancur is elite defensively and in his press resistance. We don’t need machine’s in a 2 man midfield we just need much better than Skipp and Hojbjerg. I believe Bentancur and Bissouma are much better and much better suited as well

 

[SUIYHA]

If he was playing in Poch's old system alongside Eriksen, Dembele and Alli - he'd probably have done quite well. Now where he's expected to be the senior midfielder in a two man midfield...well we all have eyes.

Just goes to show how sucked in some people get when amongst big personalities - four managers now have made him automatic first choice and whilst our other midfield alternatives all carry their downsides he's hardly done enough to make himself an undisputed starter.

The defining player of the last 3 years. And that's not a good thing.

 

[Japhet]

I don’t think they need to be elite at everything they just need to be great athlete’s and good at most things. A lot of ground needs to be covered in a 2 and when you’re outnumbered you need the ability to take players out of the game with ball carrying at times. Bissouma and Bentancur are more than good enough to perform well as a 2 with their skill set and neither are elite at everything. Bissouma fits what I described above very well though and Bentancur is elite defensively and in his press resistance. We don’t need machine’s in a 2 man midfield we just need much better than Skipp and Hojbjerg. I believe Bentancur and Bissouma are much better and much better suited as well

Even with Bissouma and Bentancur I'd say 3 average midfielders should give them a very hard time. If you watch AV's first goal yesterday, Hojbjerg gets dragged out to right, they then switch to the other flank where Skipp moves out to cover Davies and there is a huge hole in the middle where they have Ramsey who scores. We've conceded so many goals to opposition midfielders in exactly this way. We did it in both games v Arsenal with Partey and Odegaard scoring.

 

[Flobadob]

Even with Bissouma and Bentancur I'd say 3 average midfielders should give them a very hard time. If you watch AV's first goal yesterday, Hojbjerg gets dragged out to right, they then switch to the other flank where Skipp moves out to cover Davies and there is a huge hole in the middle where they have Ramsey who scores. We've conceded so many goals to opposition midfielders in exactly this way. We did it in both games v Arsenal with Partey and Odegaard scoring.

I think we need a tactically flexible manager that will play 3 in midfield in the tougher fixtures, I agree with you there, I just don’t think generally we need the class of midfielder you describe to play 2 in this league. I’d quite like to see what Bissouma, Bentancur and a more creative 8/10 could achieve next season. I think under the right manager Lo Celso could be worth looking at again. The dream would be someone like SMS or Ruben Neves with those 2 though (both 1 year remaining)

 

[Freddie]

Even with Bissouma and Bentancur I'd say 3 average midfielders should give them a very hard time. If you watch AV's first goal yesterday, Hojbjerg gets dragged out to right, they then switch to the other flank where Skipp moves out to cover Davies and there is a huge hole in the middle where they have Ramsey who scores. We've conceded so many goals to opposition midfielders in exactly this way. We did it in both games v Arsenal with Partey and Odegaard scoring.

Agree. A lot of people saying that Bissouma and Bentancur will be a great midfield 2 but neither really want to hold. I think either of them alongside a proper DM would be great, with an AM ahead of them. Both of them with a DM would be OK but lacking in creativity. Personally I don't think a midfield 2 of Bissouma and Bents with or without an AM ahead of them really works. Feels like it's slightly deficient in both attack and defence.

Whenever we're linked with a proper DM the common response is 'not another one' but we don't actually have one. Skipp is the closest but he isn't good enough right now.

 

[punkisback]

They are both abject and utterly average

I think Skipp is a lot better defensively and I would trust him to hold with two Better technicians alongside him. But he is nowhere near a Rice that people say let alone a Gallagher. He might surpass Noble but time will tell.

 

[Now it's Spursonal]

 

[Scot-Spur]

I like PEH but he just isn’t mobile enough for what Ange likes. One that we should probably get decent value for.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I like PEH but he just isn’t mobile enough for what Ange likes. One that we should probably get decent value for.

Spot on.

 

[jpascavitz]

I like PEH but he just isn’t mobile enough for what Ange likes. One that we should probably get decent value for.

Yeah for me, Skipp is a similar player with a higher ceiling. Would love for us to target a different skillset of player for Ange's system and continue to allow Skipp to grow, while getting a decent fee for PEH that can help us with the rebuild.

 

[spursfan77]

He’d be one of the first out the door for me, mainly because we will get a decent fee for him and he has his limitations, which haven’t improved since he joined us. Plus I think he would have quite a few takers here and abroad, with the fee wed get being reinvested, I think selling him this window works for everyone.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

PEH is a great bloke and a good player for a Jose Mourinho / Conte style team, not the type of player we should be building our team around under Postecoglou and a high energy pass and move style of play so fine if we look to move him and Dier on.

 

[newbie]

The problem is his no

Dembele
Modric
Victor
Sandro

All different players but excelled and were great midfielders, for us, his kind of an all rounder, but not a dominating mid in any areas

I think Sarr could be a very good player in time.

 

[carpediem991]

Think Bissouma, Bentancur, Skipp and Sarr all have a more interesting and useful player profile while we still lack a quality CM who connects defense with offense on the pitch. Would be fine with letting Pierre go and replace him with such a player.

 

[Rob]

Decent bloke, limited footballer. He’s not the 6 or the 8 in Ange’s system and I think that means he has a good chance of going.

When rumours came out of Madrid wanting him a few seasons ago I’d have bitten their hand off. Now even more so.