Player Watch Player Watch: Micky van de Ven

[JamieSpursCommunityUser]

It was a gamble, but I'm still fine with it for the following reasons.

• They wanted to build a CB pairing with lots of gametime = achieved
• They'd have looked at the likelihood of both 1st choice CBs being unavailable and concluded it was a risk worth taking (until Jan) - given we have Dier and Williams who can both play CB if needed. & in a pinch PEH and Davies can be rotated there too as temp cover.
• Dipping into the CB market in Jan was always going to happen, and I think this has shown it needs to happen.
• Sanchez really did need to go, as he would have got the same gametime as Dier up until now.. none. & we got a fee for him, and we needed to clear the decks further for non-homegrown.
• Dier isn't ideal, but capable as an understudy for a period.. and gives him minutes, get him in the shop window for a potential sale, if contract isn't run down.

I admire your optimism, but better planning really should have avoided this situation.

We went from fans demanding (unrealistically) VDV + Tapsoba. To VDV and Davies, Dier, or Hojberg can probably do a job in a pinch.

The likelihood that one of Romero or VDV would miss games was high.

Getting a 3rd choice CB was always said to be the plan - until we couldn't shift enough deadwood for the beancounters to be happy, and we aborted the plan on deadline day just as we did midway through the previous summer.

Sanchez needed to go which is why having him not upgraded after the deadline was still an undesirable outcome.

Surely weakening our sub-optimal 3rd choice CB when we couldn't replace for half the season made a bad situation even worse.

Either we could have sold Sanchez for less before the deadline, or in January once we'd baulked at doing the necessary business.

We're not talking about a £50m player - it's a routine £10-20m squad maintenance signing.

Again - total madness and a self inflicted wound that will cost us points.

In a brighter note good luck to Phillips if he gets the nod. Huge talent for the future, even if 18 is very young for the PL in this (or any) era.

 

[spursfan77]

A not so subtle video of Phillips in training

 

[spursram]

A not so subtle video of Phillips in training

I laughed at one of the comments:
"Is that all that's left of the squad"

 

[PaulThurston]

A not so subtle video of Phillips in training

I'd be amazed if Micky was OK for an early Saturday kick off. Even if he was OK though, we're still down Romero so we'd need a backup on the bench to replace Eric.

*edit* He's a big lad isn't he?

 

[Guernman]

We don’t hear from Matt Law for months while we are doing well and it’s all good news. The minute there is some bad news here he is. What a surprise!

Sod's Law....

 

[RuskyM]

Honestly a month or two is okay; it’s a game a week. I’ve faith no player being out for too long will completely disrupt us for the first time in donkeys years, and I’d rather Micky take a little longer and be confident in his sprints than bandaged up and wary.

 

[Mr Pink]

I laughed at one of the comments:
"Is that all that's left of the squad"

A mini group that hasnt played that many minutes.

 

[tommo84]

Honestly a month or two is okay; it’s a game a week. I’ve faith no player being out for too long will completely disrupt us for the first time in donkeys years, and I’d rather Micky take a little longer and be confident in his sprints than bandaged up and wary.

Not at this time of year. We’ve got 7 games in December. I always thought we were looking at 2-4 months out for VdV so January seems to be just some conservative guesswork from Matt Law. With the busy Xmas period this is often when teams with smaller squads struggle and ours is already looking a bit stretched.

 

[TheHoddleWaddle]

Given our doctors and their record with putting off surgeries only to have to do them in the end, still not filled with confidence. Fingers crossed, though, that he's not gonna be out too long.

Given the injuries that players Carried on with under mourinho and Conte, I wondered how much was the coach pushing players into avoiding surgery? Ange strikes me as being a medium to long term guy and wanting players to get properly sorted.

Conte got shirty over the medical team too, if I recall correctly?

Let's see how a few pan out under Ange's tenure. Hopefully a joined up approach with medical.staff. and in this case, the best approach to getting him back to full capacity no matter how long the lay off...

 

[RJR1949]

Like hell the fans could hear that

I was sitting as near as anyone to where he pulled up and there was no way anybody could have heard any noise.

 

[danielneeds]

Given the injuries that players Carried on with under mourinho and Conte, I wondered how much was the coach pushing players into avoiding surgery? Ange strikes me as being a medium to long term guy and wanting players to get properly sorted.

Conte got shirty over the medical team too, if I recall correctly?

Let's see how a few pan out under Ange's tenure. Hopefully a joined up approach with medical.staff. and in this case, the best approach to getting him back to full capacity no matter how long the lay off...

Yeah, it was clear both Conte and Jose put pressure on the medical team. You could see as much with the latter in ALL Or Nothing. There has been a long history of our medical team doing it, though and messing up players' careers. Which is strange as I'm sure there have been many different people involved over the years.

 

[montylynch]

It would probably hurt us more if we were languishing near the bottom, but we're not. Sure it s a shame, but what a chance for the youngster. Get him in, get him playing, carry on the feel good factor and chant his name, make him feel he's one of us. Win Saturday with a makeshift back four and that will really get everyone going.

 

[Trix]

Given the injuries that players Carried on with under mourinho and Conte, I wondered how much was the coach pushing players into avoiding surgery? Ange strikes me as being a medium to long term guy and wanting players to get properly sorted.

Conte got shirty over the medical team too, if I recall correctly?

Let's see how a few pan out under Ange's tenure. Hopefully a joined up approach with medical.staff. and in this case, the best approach to getting him back to full capacity no matter how long the lay off...

Happens at all clubs. A lot of players just play on if there's a chance if it healing over time despite being told surgery is the best option long term.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

I was sitting as near as anyone to where he pulled up and there was no way anybody could have heard any noise.

 

[mil1lion]

A not so subtle video of Phillips in training

The way he moves backwards he already looks world class

 

[onthetwo]

It was a gamble, but I'm still fine with it for the following reasons.

• They wanted to build a CB pairing with lots of gametime = achieved
• They'd have looked at the likelihood of both 1st choice CBs being unavailable and concluded it was a risk worth taking (until Jan) - given we have Dier and Williams who can both play CB if needed. & in a pinch PEH and Davies can be rotated there too as temp cover.
• Dipping into the CB market in Jan was always going to happen, and I think this has shown it needs to happen.
• Sanchez really did need to go, as he would have got the same gametime as Dier up until now.. none. & we got a fee for him, and we needed to clear the decks further for non-homegrown.
• Dier isn't ideal, but capable as an understudy for a period.. and gives him minutes, get him in the shop window for a potential sale, if contract isn't run down.

who on earth is Williams?

 

[Japhet]

I admire your optimism, but better planning really should have avoided this situation.

We went from fans demanding (unrealistically) VDV + Tapsoba. To VDV and Davies, Dier, or Hojberg can probably do a job in a pinch.

The likelihood that one of Romero or VDV would miss games was high.

Getting a 3rd choice CB was always said to be the plan - until we couldn't shift enough deadwood for the beancounters to be happy, and we aborted the plan on deadline day just as we did midway through the previous summer.

Sanchez needed to go which is why having him not upgraded after the deadline was still an undesirable outcome.

Surely weakening our sub-optimal 3rd choice CB when we couldn't replace for half the season made a bad situation even worse.

Either we could have sold Sanchez for less before the deadline, or in January once we'd baulked at doing the necessary business.

We're not talking about a £50m player - it's a routine £10-20m squad maintenance signing.

Again - total madness and a self inflicted wound that will cost us points.

In a brighter note good luck to Phillips if he gets the nod. Huge talent for the future, even if 18 is very young for the PL in this (or any) era.

We were repeatedly told that we wouldn't get everything done in one window, and this is something that didn't get done. We're unlucky that things have panned out as they have and we could just as easily made it to January without any problems.

 

[JayB]

We were repeatedly told that we wouldn't get everything done in one window, and this is something that didn't get done. We're unlucky that things have panned out as they have and we could just as easily made it to January without any problems.

I don't think you can say it's unlucky when everyone had identified it as the biggest risk coming out of the summer. We should have signed another CB during the transfer window -- it was obviously part of the plan and we simply failed to execute that plan. Having failed to make the signing, we then took an absolutely massive gamble by selling Sanchez anyway, and we lost the bet. It's not bad luck, it's recklessness.

 

[JamieSpursCommunityUser]

We were repeatedly told that we wouldn't get everything done in one window, and this is something that didn't get done. We're unlucky that things have panned out as they have and we could just as easily made it to January without any problems.

There's no denying we got a lot right.

But on this position it was clear at the time that we massively dropped the ball.

Ange even went as far as to state publicly that we needed another CB.

That was BEFORE we sold Sanchez.

I can accept that a starting quality LWF or CF could take several windows until the right player becomes available.

But this role wasn't even that difficult or expensive to solve for a club our size.

Even Lenglet on loan would have done.

If we'd gotten away with it and avoided suspension and injury - it still would have been bad planning.

Because hoping to get away with it isn't a viable plan. Certainly not for an elite club.

 

[offside_ruel_fox]

The way he moves backwards he already looks world class

He’ll need to do that a lot covering for Dier