Player Development at Spurs...

[Snarfalicious]

As we all know, it's been a rather tough year all things considered. Top 4 is gone (been that way for awhile now), we look to be losing the race for what I would consider a majority of the fanbase's preference for our next manager (LVG) and the signings we have brought in haven't come close to replacing the void left by Gareth Bale.

Now that that is out of the way, the purpose of this post is to discuss something that is truly bothersome for me: Player Development. It's been a season full of wasted opportunities and generally just a waste overall. But the thing that really has irked me is the lack of being able to look at even a handful of players and say "well, they got better over the course of the season."

In all honesty, the only player I would argue has done much to improve their stock is Christian Eriksen. The other 6 signings from the summer have either struggled with injury, consistent playing time, consistency in their performance or in a majority of their cases a combination of all three.

The problem doesn't start and end with the new signings, however. I look at our squad as a whole and it is incredibly hard to name other guys that were here last season that have made strides.

I think it's easy to really say "these players are shit" or "not good enough," etc. But, when it's a wholesale issue we've got to really look at the whole picture, not just the players. We routinely see teams playing better than the sum of their parts. Liverpool, Everton, etc. I look at our side against Everton's and I'm baffled to see them above us. Steven Naismith is an awful player but somehow he looks like he is useful for Everton.

I'm personally not convinced that the shortcomings of this side and the performance of the players should be placed primarily on their shoulders. We've seen it for awhile now in their lack of cohesion, the lack of an identity and a general lack of focus. I'm incredibly excited to see what might happen should we have a coach that does have a vision, utilizes tactics and can put a singular modus operandi into the squad.

 

[wiggo24]

Completely agree. Was thinking of starting a similar thread.

As you said, it's been a complete waste of a season for so many players.

The one I feel has been affected the most is Lamela. His reputation (in England anyway) has plummeted, and if he'd been handled better, I think he would have excelled in the second half of the season.
As it is, he'll just have to continue adapting to the PL and basically be a new signing for next season...

 

[Snarfalicious]

Completely agree. Was thinking of starting a similar thread.

As you said, it's been a complete waste of a season for so many players.

The one I feel has been affected the most is Lamela. His reputation (in England anyway) has plummeted, and if he'd been handled better, I think he would have excelled in the second half of the season.
As it is, he'll just have to continue adapting to the PL and basically be a new signing for next season...

Yeah, it's basically going to be that way for a lot of our players. And, with the World Cup occurring, a lot of our players won't be around for those formative training sessions. It could take awhile, but if we can bring in the right coach, the first month or so of the season may be tough, but hopefully as that vision becomes a little more clear we will see the team kick on. We have so much talent on this squad, and it is devastating to see it wasted right now.

 

[Yid-ol]

A few have taken a step back this season, but let's hope they go forward again next year.

With lamely hopefully fit, Kabul looking better each game also it could be like having 2 new players already for the start of next year.

 

[nedley]

As we all know, it's been a rather tough year all things considered. Top 4 is gone (been that way for awhile now), we look to be losing the race for what I would consider a majority of the fanbase's preference for our next manager (LVG) and the signings we have brought in haven't come close to replacing the void left by Gareth Bale.

Now that that is out of the way, the purpose of this post is to discuss something that is truly bothersome for me: Player Development. It's been a season full of wasted opportunities and generally just a waste overall. But the thing that really has irked me is the lack of being able to look at even a handful of players and say "well, they got better over the course of the season."

In all honesty, the only player I would argue has done much to improve their stock is Christian Eriksen. The other 6 signings from the summer have either struggled with injury, consistent playing time, consistency in their performance or in a majority of their cases a combination of all three.

The problem doesn't start and end with the new signings, however. I look at our squad as a whole and it is incredibly hard to name other guys that were here last season that have made strides.

I think it's easy to really say "these players are shit" or "not good enough," etc. But, when it's a wholesale issue we've got to really look at the whole picture, not just the players. We routinely see teams playing better than the sum of their parts. Liverpool, Everton, etc. I look at our side against Everton's and I'm baffled to see them above us. Steven Naismith is an awful player but somehow he looks like he is useful for Everton.

I'm personally not convinced that the shortcomings of this side and the performance of the players should be placed primarily on their shoulders. We've seen it for awhile now in their lack of cohesion, the lack of an identity and a general lack of focus. I'm incredibly excited to see what might happen should we have a coach that does have a vision, utilizes tactics and can put a singular modus operandi into the squad.

Are you allowing the Dimwoodites in this thread?

 

[Lufti]

Walker looked good again under AVB having had a poor season last year

 

[SlickMongoose]

It's been a messy season, no doubt. Hopefully some of the imports will have adjusted properly by the start of next season.

Difficult to apply this to Lamela as he's been injured.

 

[beats1]

Its why I think LVG is perfect, coincidently I think he isn't the man for Man Utd. He will get criticism and he WILL clash with those people at United

 

[KenilworthSpur]

I think Naughton's stock has improved recently. I'm not saying that he's a world-beater by any stretch but he's not done a bad job covering for Walker.

 

[Yid-ol]

I think Naughton's stock has improved recently. I'm not saying that he's a world-beater by any stretch but he's not done a bad job covering for Walker.

He has done well, for a back up we can't complain. Makes a huge difference playing him in his natural position.

 

[mpickard2087]

Agreed, and for me it has to come from the manager and the framework that has been put in place. That is why I think it is crucial to get in someone who completely understands tactically how they want to set up and what he wants from the players. Get a settled structure and style of play across to the team, give individuals some understanding about what you want from them in the role they are playing and I think we see improvement. Add to that good 'coaching' day in, day out and you can improve certain aspects of their game from a technical point of view.

Unfortunately we have recently had Redknapp, who favoured 'ready made' players and was good at the confidence stuff, which is fine in the good times, but probably lacking with the structure and giving direction to players, which meant when times were tough... Player development is the main area where I was completely fucked off with AVB, it was specifically mentioned upon his arrival how one of the criteria was that he was going to work with the young squad and develop them. Well I didn't see much evidence of that from a technical point of view and tactically he seemed unable to get his style of play across in a coherent fashion. Now with Sherwood, I think its fair to say he would like to improve players, particularly the academy graduates, but there is no structure and direction in place for players to work with and get used to.

Lets see who's next through the door...

 

[Snarfalicious]

Its why I think LVG is perfect, coincidently I think he isn't the man for Man Utd. He will get criticism and he WILL clash with those people at United

I agree. It's also a reason why I like FDB should we not be able to bring in LVG (All the three-letter manager acronyms are belong to us).

His Ajax is not only great at bringing along the youth but also getting a team to play as a unit. We could use a lot more of that around here.

 

[beats1]

Its why I think LVG is perfect, coincidently I think he isn't the man for Man Utd. He will get criticism and he WILL clash with those people at United

Also worth noting that our team is the only team that is a blank slate in the sense it has no way of playing and is a mish mash of systems. Whereas United never played LVG's way and it may take time to adjust.

I agree. It's also a reason why I like FDB should we not be able to bring in LVG (All the three-letter manager acronyms are belong to us).

His Ajax is not only great at bringing along the youth but also getting a team to play as a unit. We could use a lot more of that around here.

I think De Boer would be great and heard good things about him, but regarding his youth programs I don't know if its propaganda or not as there are people saying LVG harmed the academy by taking away the individual training

 

[dontcallme]

I think we have a very unbalanced team and this breeds poor individual performances.

Daniel Sturridge struggled at Chelsea and Man City being played as a wide forward but put into the team correctly has become a star at Liverpool.

Utd have always been known for their whole team working hard whether they're a star player or not. It didn't surprise me that Veron struggled.

What we have right now is a team of misfits.

We have a creator in Eriksen but a midfield without much passing ability. We are playing an inexperienced centre back alongside 2 full backs who likes to constantly get forward and wonder why our defence isn't a connected back four.

Under AVB we could see that we were playing a high possession game. Without good passers in midfield it wasn't really working. Well at least not to the quality of the individuals we have.

Sherwood is allowing a less rigid system but if we go with a more gung ho style then we need a up-tempo destroyer and Sandro doesn't play.

We need to stop collecting large quantities of players. It's a mess and I'm sure a lot of players who have joined us in the last 2 seasons are thinking they made a mistake.

 

[Snarfalicious]

I think we have a very unbalanced team and this breeds poor individual performances.

Daniel Sturridge struggled at Chelsea and Man City being played as a wide forward but put into the team correctly has become a star at Liverpool.

Utd have always been known for their whole team working hard whether they're a star player or not. It didn't surprise me that Veron struggled.

What we have right now is a team of misfits.

We have a creator in Eriksen but a midfield without much passing ability. We are playing an inexperienced centre back alongside 2 full backs who likes to constantly get forward and wonder why our defence isn't a connected back four.

Under AVB we could see that we were playing a high possession game. Without good passers in midfield it wasn't really working. Well at least not to the quality of the individuals we have.

Sherwood is allowing a less rigid system but if we go with a more gung ho style then we need a up-tempo destroyer and Sandro doesn't play.

We need to stop collecting large quantities of players. It's a mess and I'm sure a lot of players who have joined us in the last 2 seasons are thinking they made a mistake.

I really do agree. I think it's time to downsize but also keep in mind quality squad depth. We have a lot of deadweight, either with us currently or on loan. I see quite a few sales happening this summer, a lot being players coming back from loan but also ones that are currently at Spurs. It'd be prudent to determine what players we view as versatile enough to add depth across many positions against those that are considered to be expendable and also offer serviceable depth at maybe one position (for instance: Aaron Lennon).

Finding a way to bring in a manager and then let him decide what types of players he wants would be incredibly smart and seems obvious, but we've learned over the past couple of seasons that the coach is simply that at Spurs. They're expected to make do with the players handed to them. It needs to change and I'm not sure it ever will.

 

[Snarfalicious]

I think Naughton's stock has improved recently. I'm not saying that he's a world-beater by any stretch but he's not done a bad job covering for Walker.

Yeah, he's really been a big contributor for us. He doesn't get up and down the pitch like we may want out of our fullbacks, but as a backup who can play either fullback position he's good to have around. I'm personally hoping we keep him around and just revamp our LB position (Young player with big upside with a cheaper, solid veteran). Rose can go as far as I'm concerned.

 

[newbie]

There will bea lot of sales as we have mason, Carroll, Pritchard, hall, Holtby and a load more coming to us who are all over 21 yrs old and we have a really strong unders 18s so why do we need such a big squad. We could sell 3 mids and not notice if 3 of sig, Paulino, Holtby, Carroll, capoue, would we really notice

 

[tobi]

The only player that recently improved is Bale and that's only because he requested it and AVB made him the focal point of the team (for better or worse).

Players like Walker and Eriksen haven't improved, Walker is currently a result of consistent playing time (Naughton too recently). Given time Eriksen is settling well in a new league but still isn't on the same wavelength as the others (not his fault).

Even when healthy Dembele hasn't shown any signs of improvement, for me he isn't a good fit and should be sold.

On the pitch chemistry is a big issue for this group, most players aren't playing as well as they could/should be, some have gone backwards and some just aren't good enough.

 

[Legend10]

Some players have clearly developed and other players not surprisingly haven't, when players hit a certain age they don't improve much more technically and of course physically either, obviously experience, know how and familiarity with team mates etc becomes the improvement.

I look at players like Sandro and wouldn't expect him to improve or as the thread says develop further now as a player, his form is the question rather than development, and his form is helped by playing in a system that suits, with players that suit and are familiar and the confidence that is born out of that. It's the same for many players we have.

The ones i would expect to develop in the main have, they are the younger ones, Kane, Townsend pre his hamstring was developing even if a bit hit and miss, Bentaleb come in and was developing almost by the game, Fryers has looked better almost every time he has payed and Eriksen has improved as the season has gone on, all young players. The player who is young and i haven't seen develop in a Spurs shirt at all is Holtby, he's been a major disappointment, i don't know if he just isn't quite good enough or it's that he never found a position ir even if there has been a position in the way that we pay that suits him.

I'm actually looking forward to next season, if we can muster 6th and maybe 72 points in a season where we've been all over the place and have been decimated by injuries it tells me the player pool isn't bad. 3 defensive signings and a more disciplined approach i think could see us have our best ever Premiership season next year.

 

[mark87]

It's all about being coached properly, just look Liverpool under Rogers.

Under AVB it seemed to be too complicated and with Tim it appears to me that its gone to the other end of the spectrum and not being coached enough and not being able to motivate the players to consistently put in decent performances combined with effort.

The Spurs job has come a few years too soon for Tim, you can't just come straight into a top 6 PL club especially with the ego he's got.

Tim clearly has his favourite players and is intent on playing them no matter how they play, which is clearly the wrong way to go about things.

Unless he learns how to manage players and develop a good understanding with them, which I doubt will happen over the summer, then I feel we need a more experienced manager to come in and put things right.

Just my onion though.