Player Watch: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg

[mill]

I just want to temper expeditions. If he comes in he won’t be the answer to all our problems.

One player is never gonna be the answer to all out problems anyway

 

[mill]

Not advocating for Sissoko being a regular starter for us but I don't think Wanyama for example was substantial better on the ball than Sissoko is, I wouldn't trust either of them to play passes over 25+ yards but Wanyama was still a great player for us. France went to the final of Euro 2016 with Sissoko as a starting midfielder and he was one of their best players over the course of the tournament, that's pretty strong evidence that you can challenge for major honours while starting Sissoko regularly.

wanyama was better on the ball than sissoko obviously he was no Xavi but still much better than sissoko

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Not advocating for Sissoko being a regular starter for us but I don't think Wanyama for example was substantial better on the ball than Sissoko is, I wouldn't trust either of them to play passes over 25+ yards but Wanyama was still a great player for us. France went to the final of Euro 2016 with Sissoko as a starting midfielder and he was one of their best players over the course of the tournament, that's pretty strong evidence that you can challenge for major honours while starting Sissoko regularly.

Wanyama was a much better passer than I expected him to be and definitely better than Sissoko. With regards to Euro 2016, I'm pretty sure he started as a RM which means he was less essential for build-up play.

 

[archiewasking]

I think a lot of our fans are just distracted when they watch us play tbh. Like they don't actually watch how we build up from the midfield and only pay attention to when something happens in the game.

If you actually watch us, you can't have that opinion about Sissoko, you just can't. There is no point to having Sissoko here for the money we could still get for him. If Hojbjerg comes in, that'll be at least 6 midfielders who are miles better than him in the squad.

That’s a bit harsh. How fat exactly are you saying Hojbjerg is???

 

[synththfc]

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

The comments in that are worth a read too. Lots of southampton fans saying all he is is a tackler and a negative passer of the ball. While we need to first bit, I don't think we need the second.

Also, it was Ancelotti who sold him at Bayern Munich interestingly enough.

They said the same about Wanyama tbf. Fans are always going to be bitter when a player wants to leave.

 

[sausage]

Not advocating for Sissoko being a regular starter for us but I don't think Wanyama for example was substantial better on the ball than Sissoko is, I wouldn't trust either of them to play passes over 25+ yards but Wanyama was still a great player for us. France went to the final of Euro 2016 with Sissoko as a starting midfielder and he was one of their best players over the course of the tournament, that's pretty strong evidence that you can challenge for major honours while starting Sissoko regularly.

He was better than Pogba in that tournament, that's for sure.

 

[JayB]

I've been watching Hojbjerg (when he plays) closely since the restart and have also been keeping tabs on Southampton match threads to see the commentary. I've got no doubt at all that he's their fans' current scapegoat in much the same way that players such as Jenas, Dele, or Eriksen (in his final 12 months at the club) so often have been the scapegoats on SC in the past. I've participated in much of that scapegoating and I think it's safe to say that it's just a case of venting frustration and doesn't really reflect the quality of the player.

Hojbjerg does occasionally try overly ambitious passes, giving rise to the "FFS Hojbjerg" impulse, but because he's Saints' scapegoat du jour what goes unappreciated in their match threads is the fact that he works his nuts off, covers loads of ground, wins everything in the air, constantly harries the opponent and is currently putting up the best ball-winning statistics in the Premier League.

He may not be a top class uber-DM like Zakaria or defensively sound regista like Partey, but if Jose can coax him into doing what he does best while keeping it simple and cutting out the unnecessary Hollywood passes he could easily give us the functional-if-unspectacular DM that we're absolutely crying out for.

 

[razzmaster]

They said the same about Wanyama tbf. Fans are always going to be bitter when a player wants to leave.

In fairness I wouldn't pay much attention to any set of fans. It was only last week that a number of people on here wanted to sell Kane.

It was also a good time to cash in on Son apparently.

Much better to watch a player with your own eyes and make a judgement than relying on random strangers.

 

[chrissivad]

While we desperately need a DM, we also need someone in cm who will take charge.

Would Hojbjerd provide this?

 

[For the love of Spurs]

I've been watching Hojbjerg (when he plays) closely since the restart and have also been keeping tabs on Southampton match threads to see the commentary. I've got no doubt at all that he's their fans' current scapegoat in much the same way that players such as Jenas, Dele, or Eriksen (in his final 12 months at the club) so often have been the scapegoats on SC in the past. I've participated in much of that scapegoating and I think it's safe to say that it's just a case of venting frustration and doesn't really reflect the quality of the player.

Hojbjerg does occasionally try overly ambitious passes, giving rise to the "FFS Hojbjerg" impulse, but because he's Saints' scapegoat du jour what goes unappreciated in their match threads is the fact that he works his nuts off, covers loads of ground, wins everything in the air, constantly harries the opponent and is currently putting up the best ball-winning statistics in the Premier League.

He may not be a top class uber-DM like Zakaria or defensively sound regista like Partey, but if Jose can coax him into doing what he does best while keeping it simple and cutting out the unnecessary Hollywood passes he could easily give us the functional-if-unspectacular DM that we're absolutely crying out for.

A ball winner changes everything for us. As we tend to be set up to counter a player constantly winning the ball back will give us much more counter attacking opportunity.

 

[Snarfalicious]

While we desperately need a DM, we also need someone in cm who will take charge.

Would Hojbjerd provide this?

I personally think if he's willing to lead the flock, Hojbjerd could do the job.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

While we desperately need a DM, we also need someone in cm who will take charge.

Would Hojbjerd provide this?

Everything I understand about him suggests he would, seems to be a real leader and a very committed player.

Khedira is the best comparison I’ve seen.

 

[yankspurs]

While we desperately need a DM, we also need someone in cm who will take charge.

Would Hojbjerd provide this?

He was the youngest captain in the Premier League so I think he is capable of taking charge.

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

He was the youngest captain in the Premier League so I think he is capable of taking charge.

And this is key. We need more bastards in this team. More characters willing to take responsibility and play with intent and aggression. That footage of Mourinho telling the squad they needed to play like c***s is exactly what a good Mourinho side has. I use to despise Drogba because he was such a bastard on the pitch, but he absolutely bought into the Mourinho insistence of being a nasty c*** on the field and he was insanely difficult to play against. If we can temper the Battle of the Bridge approach with more control, we can become an extremely difficult team to beat

 

[Buster18]

Not advocating for Sissoko being a regular starter for us but I don't think Wanyama for example was substantial better on the ball than Sissoko is, I wouldn't trust either of them to play passes over 25+ yards but Wanyama was still a great player for us. France went to the final of Euro 2016 with Sissoko as a starting midfielder and he was one of their best players over the course of the tournament, that's pretty strong evidence that you can challenge for major honours while starting Sissoko regularly.

Sissoko wasn’t playing midfield other than the group game v Switzerland, when they’d already qualified for the last 16.
He played in the same position Moura is playing now in the qtrs, semi & final

 

[Tiffers]

The only question from Jose about him is to ask if he’s going to be a **** when he’s playing

 

[DCSPUR]

It's quite funny to think that there is a very good chance that the Danny's big buy this summer will be PEH. Chelsea's next buy:

Chelsea close to agreement with Kai Havertz but no deal yet with Leverkusen

Chelsea are close to agreeing personal terms on a five-year contract for Kai Havertz, though a move may hinge on Champions League qualification and Bayer Leverkusen may want as much as €90m

www.theguardian.com

Remember when they were in big trouble according to high level intel and we were going to cruise past them?

 

[wrd]

It's quite funny to think that there is a very good chance that the Danny's big buy this summer will be PEH. Chelsea's next buy:

Chelsea close to agreement with Kai Havertz but no deal yet with Leverkusen

Chelsea are close to agreeing personal terms on a five-year contract for Kai Havertz, though a move may hinge on Champions League qualification and Bayer Leverkusen may want as much as €90m

www.theguardian.com

Remember when they were in big trouble according to high level intel and we were going to cruise past them?

Yerrrp

 

[dtxspurs]

It's quite funny to think that there is a very good chance that the Danny's big buy this summer will be PEH. Chelsea's next buy:

Chelsea close to agreement with Kai Havertz but no deal yet with Leverkusen

Chelsea are close to agreeing personal terms on a five-year contract for Kai Havertz, though a move may hinge on Champions League qualification and Bayer Leverkusen may want as much as €90m

www.theguardian.com

Remember when they were in big trouble according to high level intel and we were going to cruise past them?

Other clubs demises are almost always BS