Player Watch - Tanguy Ndombele

[DiVaio]

A number of our recent signings have come up short in this respect. Ndombele and Aurier to name but two. Foyth and Sanchez are mentally weak too.

When you read about Bruno’s leadership and sheer determination at Sporting, with a mentality to train as soon as he signed that United contract rather than go out for dinner, you know you’re onto a winner. Speaks fluent English too, doing interviews straight away. Professional.

We will never get that from the likes of Aurier and Ndombele.

And how do you exactly know about that "weak mentality" of Davinson/Aurier/Foyth/Ndombele?

 

[Mr Pink]

For me it is simple, everything at the moment is speculation. I can understand why he hasn't played thus far, it would have been nice to see him come on but the games we have played and results we have got are promising and we have to say Jose made the right calls.

We will be playing 3 games in 6 days shortly, we will have a much clearer idea of his status under Jose then.

I am in the camp of he needs to earn the opportunities and cameos over the busy period are his best shot. Let's hope he makes the most of them if they arrive.

I agree. Have a sneaky feeling he'll be involved at Bournemouth away, sandwiched between Sheffield United and Arsenal.

 

[Spurrific]

I don't understand why there are calls for him to be picked. Well, I do....SC 'innit.

On the whole, he's hardly set the league alight and generally showed less effort and vim than asthmatic sloth smoking a fag who's trying to do the 100m in under sixteen hours whilst slipping Mrs Sloth one from behind.

Players who aren't being picked do this on SC. Somehow they magically get better for not playing.

There are a number of players who simply aren't good enough and until or unless he gets whatever it is that's causing all this sorted out, he's easily one of them.

I don't think it's anything to do with this. More that, as fans, we get excited by new players - especially big expensive bastards, and would like to see them play a few minutes of football every now and then. At 2-0 up and cruising is the opportune time to give them some minutes, imo.

 

[DanielJohnCosta]

JJ confirming on twitter that the rumour is rubbish

 

[SUIYHA]

I don't understand why there are calls for him to be picked. Well, I do....SC 'innit.

On the whole, he's hardly set the league alight and generally showed less effort and vim than asthmatic sloth smoking a fag who's trying to do the 100m in under sixteen hours whilst slipping Mrs Sloth one from behind.

Players who aren't being picked do this on SC. Somehow they magically get better for not playing.

There are a number of players who simply aren't good enough and until or unless he gets whatever it is that's causing all this sorted out, he's easily one of them.

Some of his passing has been an absolute joy to watch - perfectly controlled balls directly into the path of where the attacker wants it. When we've been struggling to create chances for a long time now, it might cross the mind of some people to start picking your most creative player.

 

[SamR]

I want to see him play as he looked so good before he joined. But we play to win and Jose picked the right team last night. He needs to give Jose no choice but to pick him because he is tearing up training and showing what we're missing. If he can't be arsed then we're better off selling him and using the funds to strengthen over the summer.
Jose, the players, the fans...we all want him to succeed and it's now down to the player and his appetite to make it happen now

 

[Mr Pink]

His pass for Son's goal against City encapsulates precise incision perfectly.

 

[Gassin's finest]

I don't think it's anything to do with this. More that, as fans, we get excited by new players - especially big expensive bastards, and would like to see them play a few minutes of football every now and then. At 2-0 up and cruising is the opportune time to give them some minutes, imo.

Agree. Its precisely because we saw how good he can be in his first few games, that we as Spurs fans would love to see him given the opportunity to get game time and grow into the league, if he can.

 

[Deleted member 27995]

No one's doubting the talent. It's the fact he hasn't been able to do the basics required of a player that plays centrally over the course of 90 minutes that is the problem.

He'll probably play over the course of the next three games look so good and the hand wringing will probably begin about fending off large offers from bigger teams.

 

[HedgieSpur]

I don't understand why there are calls for him to be picked. Well, I do....SC 'innit.

On the whole, he's hardly set the league alight and generally showed less effort and vim than asthmatic sloth smoking a fag who's trying to do the 100m in under sixteen hours whilst slipping Mrs Sloth one from behind.

Players who aren't being picked do this on SC. Somehow they magically get better for not playing.

There are a number of players who simply aren't good enough and until or unless he gets whatever it is that's causing all this sorted out, he's easily one of them.

There wouldn't be calls for him to be picked if we were rolling teams over, playing swashbuckling free flowing football. We've been playing turgid football for around 18 months, in which time our ability to unlock defences has been shockingly bad and our football has been characterised by sideways, slow buildup and trying to do 1-2s on the edge of a congested penalty area.

Most people don't deny his talent, he looks like he's a lot leaner than previously and he's had the benefit of extra sessions with Jose. It's hardly splitting the atom stuff to suggest he should get a 20 minute run out against tired legs is it?

 

[Twizzle]

Sissy was out on his feet at the and it would have been the ideal time to give Ndom a run, he has to get a run at some stage, he has done some very good things when we first bought him but we haven't seen much of him since

Very frustrating knowing what he is capable of.

 

[Timberwolf]

I can see why Jose is leaving him out. Even CR7 had to be disciplined and do his share of the work under Mourinho - if Jose doesn't think Ndombele is either fit enough or willing enough to put in a shift then he won't start anytime soon.

However, like so many have already said, Ndombele is hugely talented and you could make a strong argument that unlocking his potential is one of the key ways of shortening the gap between us and the teams above us over the coming season. He has a rare ability and there was a reason signing him was seen as a huge coup. With our lack of money and slight decline, I struggle to see us tempting any similar talents soon. Unlike United or Chelsea we can't afford to cast away our record signings and drop another 50 million on the next flavour of the month.

If we ever want to win anything we will require some true talent in addition to the organisation and graft. We have that in Lo Celso, Son, Kane but a lot of our current squad don't have such a high ceiling.

Ndombele does. Can we afford to waste that?

 

[Timberwolf]

There wouldn't be calls for him to be picked if we were rolling teams over, playing swashbuckling free flowing football. We've been playing turgid football for around 18 months, in which time our ability to unlock defences has been shockingly bad and our football has been characterised by sideways, slow buildup and trying to do 1-2s on the edge of a congested penalty area.

Most people don't deny his talent, he looks like he's a lot leaner than previously and he's had the benefit of extra sessions with Jose. It's hardly splitting the atom stuff to suggest he should get a 20 minute run out against tired legs is it?

I think Jose is just desperate to solidify the team, get them organised and get wins and clean sheets. He doesn't care who he offends or alienates long term - he just wants that shit sorted now and he's not going to risk anything in the slightest.

Even if Ndombele has been looking great in training, if Jose is concerned our defensive shape will suffer and there's an increased chance of West Ham scoring with him on the pitch, he won't bring him on.

 

[TimNiceButDim]

The tweet about not wanting to play for Mourinho is clearly a load of rubbish.
I imagine there are very few footballers who would have the arrogance & sheer stupidity to tell a manager of José’s ability that they didn’t want to play under him. You can think the guy is an asshole, I sure do, but his record speaks for itself. He’s also managed the biggest & best of the last 15 years so clearly knows how to handle an ego.

I think this is a classic Mourinho test of character, and he’ll claim all the glory if it works out. Tanguy will be kept on the bench until he’s working his nuts off in training and is absolutely gagging to play, at which point he’ll be given the chance to show it. If he shines, Mourinho’s a genius, has reintegrated him in the team and played it perfectly. If he flops, the guys lazy and doesn’t have what it takes, it’s not on Mourinho.

I have a feeling he’ll turn it around but maybe needs the solid DM next to him to really shine.

 

[hellava_tough]

What position did he play for Lyon?

Number 8?

 

[Jenko]

Dead man walking (or, not warming up in this case). Biding time til the summer I would guess. Jose's in a position where he has to lie to protect the players reputation so we can get the required fee for Levy to agree a sale.

No matter who the manager is we have to back his decision, either way. The player we bring in to replace will also have talent so I'm not worried about it. New player would probably be a better fit for this team anyway, positionally and personality.

 

[SpartanSpur]

I can see why Jose is leaving him out. Even CR7 had to be disciplined and do his share of the work under Mourinho - if Jose doesn't think Ndombele is either fit enough or willing enough to put in a shift then he won't start anytime soon.

However, like so many have already said, Ndombele is hugely talented and you could make a strong argument that unlocking his potential is one of the key ways of shortening the gap between us and the teams above us over the coming season. He has a rare ability and there was a reason signing him was seen as a huge coup. With our lack of money and slight decline, I struggle to see us tempting any similar talents soon. Unlike United or Chelsea we can't afford to cast away our record signings and drop another 50 million on the next flavour of the month.

If we ever want to win anything we will require some true talent in addition to the organisation and graft. We have that in Lo Celso, Son, Kane but a lot of our current squad don't have such a high ceiling.

Ndombele does. Can we afford to waste that?

Totally agree with your posts. At the end of the day it's down to Tanguy to force Jose's hand just like Lo Celso did. That's by application in training and taking his chances on the pitch. GLC won Jose over with effort as much as his quality early only. Tanguy has shown plenty of the latter but little of the former. I don't think this can be pinned on Jose just yet, especially when we are still in with a chance at 5th.

He'll surely get a chance with 2 games coming up in 6 days.

I think it's definitely worth considering using him as a 10 in the coming games, I think he could surpass both Lamela and Dele there pretty easily and Lo Celso is playing well in the deep role.

 

[Timberwolf]

Totally agree with your posts. At the end of the day it's down to Tanguy to force Jose's hand just like Lo Celso did. That's by application in training and taking his chances on the pitch. GLC won Jose over with effort as much as his quality early only. Tanguy has shown plenty of the latter but little of the former. I don't think this can be pinned on Jose just yet, especially when we are still in with a chance at 5th.

He'll surely get a chance with 2 games coming up in 6 days.

I think it's definitely worth considering using him as a 10 in the coming games, I think he could surpass both Lamela and Dele there pretty easily and Lo Celso is playing well in the deep role.

I think so too. Especially against certain opposition.

However, as poor as Dele has been recently, when we're in a 442 out of possession he will at least put in a shift covering passing lanes and running about a bit. I don't know if Tanguy can be relied on to do that at the moment. Not to the level Jose demands at least.

His best position IMO would be the most attacking of a midfield 3 so will be interesting to see what happens if we try a 4-3-3 at some point.

 

[thebenjamin]

Sissy was out on his feet at the and it would have been the ideal time to give Ndom a run, he has to get a run at some stage, he has done some very good things when we first bought him but we haven't seen much of him since

Very frustrating knowing what he is capable of.

I understand Jose's position here though. You're trying to see out a clean sheet, would you bring on Ndombele in a midfield 2 with a primary job of being defensively responsible, tracking his runners etc? I wouldn't. I'd sooner bring on Skipp for that job.

And this is the issue with TN - people say play him as a 10 - fine, but he isn't a 10. And even though he's got a lot of creative ability, that doesn't mean he can automatically play there. Also you'd be shoehorning him into a position at the expense of another player, just because you can't trust him to play in his actual position.

Also the 10 in this team needs to work very hard without the ball to close down the opposition's playmaker. Will TN have the discipline to do that? Everything we've seen so far suggests he absolutely would not.

Or do you change the entire team's formation so you can give him a free role and let him off his defensive job while everyone else has to make up for his laziness? I wouldn't do that either. It's a tricky one for a manager.

Until TN can be trusted to play in his actual position, which means doing a lot more work without the ball than you do with it, he isn't going to play. And that's how it should be imo. Everyone else is working hard.

 

[Deleted member 27995]

I understand Jose's position here though. You're trying to see out a clean sheet, would you bring on Ndombele in a midfield 2 with a primary job of being defensively responsible, tracking his runners etc? I wouldn't. I'd sooner bring on Skipp for that job. And this is the issue with TN - people say play him as a 10 - fine, but he isn't a 10, and never has been. Even though he's got a lot of creative ability, that doesn't mean he can automatically play there. Also you'd be shoehorning him into a position at the expense of another player, just because you can't trust him to play in his actual position. Or change the entire team's formation so you can let him off his defensive job. It's a tricky one for a manager.

100%.