Player Watch: Nabil Bentaleb

[UpTownSpur]

Even before a ball was kicked this season he was in the naughty book already with me for coming out with crap like this:
"I’ve been working really hard and it’s normal for me to want to get rewarded," Bentaleb told the Telegraph. "We’ve been negotiating for nearly nine months now, since September, and it’s getting really long and, of course, I’m getting a little bit tired of it."

"But I still work hard. It doesn’t change how hard I work. I will still be the same person. But sometimes it is annoying when you don’t feel treated as you should be.

"This season was a really good season for me and I’ve had some interest from big clubs (he's implying we are not a big club by saying that), from Champions League clubs. I’m really flattered."

When you gob off like that you have to go out and perform on the pitch, not repeatedly give the ball away in dangerous areas, invite pressure and ultimately cost your team the match.

I don't want to see him the starting line up for a while until he's learned his lesson, which he blatantly hasn't. YOU DON'T GIVE THE FUCKING BALL AWAY IN YOUR OWN FUCKING HALF! EVER!

 

[Barry Mead]

Wow! Hope you didn't take your head of your shoulders the way your knee must have jerked up.

Isn't it a bit hard to do that if it takes about a year for a knee to reach your head, sorry but I find Bentaleb a player not up to the level we need as a regular CM starter, I don't really see any great qualities other than a decent work rate. You might think differently but why the knee jerk comment? that's been my opinion for a long time, you might not be aware of that but if you aren't why make assumptions?

 

[Black]

lol you guys are funny

 

[Larryjanta]

Isn't it a bit hard to do that if it takes about a year for a knee to reach your head, sorry but I find Bentaleb a player not up to the level we need as a regular CM starter, I don't really see any great qualities other than a decent work rate. You might think differently but why the knee jerk comment? that's been my opinion for a long time, you might not be aware of that but if you aren't why make assumptions?

Ok, fair point, been so much knee jerking today I assumed you'd caught the bug as well. Apologies.

still though, it strikes me that you were just waiting for a poor performance to come and knock him which I think is really poor form - do you give him credit in those games where he has looked the best player on the park. Also, he's 20, can you name 10 better 20 year old CMs over the last decade?

 

[bat-chain]

Poor from him but there were always going to be days like this, he's 20.

Key now is Pochettino working out why it happened and helping Nabil any way he can.

He's so good this will only be a blip, indeed it may help him.

 

[DaSpurs]

Isn't it a bit hard to do that if it takes about a year for a knee to reach your head, sorry but I find Bentaleb a player not up to the level we need as a regular CM starter, I don't really see any great qualities other than a decent work rate. You might think differently but why the knee jerk comment? that's been my opinion for a long time, you might not be aware of that but if you aren't why make assumptions?

I think he's a good player and has a great future ahead of him, but I agree that he's tremendously overrated by Spurs fans, and I don't think he currently provides what many think he does or even can.

 

[fortworthspur]

somebody get a rope...

 

[Bensonrecon]

I'll never understand how we can have such an amazing away fan base yet some of the absolute worst everywhere else. At times the only thing putting us above the tossers down the road is that we don't have idiots wearing protective headgear and a lower percentage of FKWs.

 

[mckenz]

Probably been said already but don't lets destroy a 20 year old for playing a bad match... Yep he was bad but for f##ks sake young players will go up and down.

He might get dropped but lets not give upon him yet?

 

[tooey]

I think that the problem is two fold. The first being that a lot of fans don't really see what the hype was ever about with him and have been, rightly or wrongly made to feel like arseholes by the flip side, who won't hear a bad word said about any of the players who have made their way from the academy. His performance today has given a lot of the apprehensive fans ammunition to say "I told you so", I must admit that I'm probably in that group, I think he's been over hyped and isn't going to become the player a lot of fans hope he will.

The second issue is that an awful lot of fans would have liked/expected a new CM by now and it hasn't come to fruition as of yet, I think today really bought home how weak we are in that area. Will a midfield 2 of Mason and Bentaleb be good enough in 3 years time? Maybe. Is it good enough today? No chance.

 

[littlewilly]

Probably been said already but don't lets destroy a 20 year old for playing a bad match... Yep he was bad but for f##ks sake young players will go up and down.

He might get dropped but lets not give upon him yet?

Nabil's a very good player who had an unusually poor game. I'm sure he'll be as determined as ever in training this week.

 

[IGSpur]

Woah I think he has played a couple of poor games but the reaction is steep. He was our 2nd name on the teamsheet all last season, he isn't suddenly not good enough to be in our first team, just needs to get his head together. It's the first game of the league

 

[nssmuckers]

I'm afraid to look at the past few pages, but I've seen some stuff other places where people are saying we should loan him out and shit...it's lunacy.

It's really unfortunate that the one mistake that this guy makes with regularity involves gifting the opposition huge chances that cancel out any good that he does during a match. I think he's definitely on the verge of being dropped for a game or two if this keeps up, but he's still a special talent and you'd have to be blind to not see it.

You don't develop young players by yanking them when they inevitably make mistakes. You have to accept that shit like this is going to happen. Yes it's happening too much with Nabil, but let's not overreact.

 

[Drexl]

Haven't written him off just yet but he was complete dog shit today, had better up his game and quickly

 

[TheGreenLily]

Woah I think he has played a couple of poor games but the reaction is steep. He was our 2nd name on the teamsheet all last season, he isn't suddenly not good enough to be in our first team, just needs to get his head together. It's the first game of the league

Wasn't for me... And if he was on there, then that is down to shit alternatives, not because he deserved it. The CB pairing of Mason and Bentaleb was awful last year.

And it was not all mason.

Also goes to show how many people like to wear rose tinted glasses when it comes to players, Dembele is another one.

 

[Drexl]

I'm afraid to look at the past few pages, but I've seen some stuff other places where people are saying we should loan him out and shit...it's lunacy.

It's really unfortunate that the one mistake that this guy makes with regularity involves gifting the opposition huge chances that cancel out any good that he does during a match. I think he's definitely on the verge of being dropped for a game or two if this keeps up, but he's still a special talent and you'd have to be blind to not see it.

You don't develop young players by yanking them when they inevitably make mistakes. You have to accept that shit like this is going to happen. Yes it's happening too much with Nabil, but let's not overreact.

The guy demanded parity with Lloris etc in his recent contract, and got it, so with such high wages it is not unreasonable to criticise him today

 

[CJMurray]

The guy demanded parity with Lloris etc in his recent contract, and got it, so with such high wages it is not unreasonable to criticise him today

And you know this how? You don't.

 

[nssmuckers]

The guy demanded parity with Lloris etc in his recent contract, and got it, so with such high wages it is not unreasonable to criticise him today

Errrr, what?

A) Even if what you say is true about wages (and let's face it, you're probably wrong) I don't give a fucking fuck. I don't pay them, so I will critique them based on how well they played.

B) I want you to read the post you quoted again carefully and tell me where I insinuated that Nabil shouldn't be criticized for his performance today. I urge you to pay special attention for the bit where I said if this continues much longer he could find himself on the bench.

 

[Drexl]

And you know this how? You don't.

ITK's said at the time of his contract renewal few weeks back that he was looking to be one of the top earners in the team, if not the top earner, no issue with that as long as he is playing like our top player, atm he is anything but

 

[seanyboy]

I think fans get way too caught up in youth. I blame Football Manager games personally.

Almost all really quality players are already better at 20 in their position than pros who have played their all their career. There are very few that come out of the woodwork later in life and when it does happen there is usually an obvious reason for it (Drogba playing as a full back!).

If an 18 year old professional footballer is a poor passer or crosser than he will still be a poor passer or crosser at 21, 25, 30 etc. The basic skills improve by minute fractions past a young age. It's decision making that improves with SOME players.

It's why when you look at the very best players most of them were already high international class by the time they were 21.

And you're claiming it was his passing that let him down today? Go back and look at the plays. The pass would have gone straight to Davies but Bentaleb made the wrong DECISION. He will improve.

I'm as mad about the result as anyone given we outplayed them over the full match, and to lose by that mistake is regrettable. But a game + preseason doesn't prove he's a flop, get a grip.