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Player Watch - Tanguy Ndombele

GutBucket

Well-Known Member
May 26, 2013
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He has 2 goals and 4 assists in limited appearences while trying to adjust to the new league, lifestyle and 2 different coaches. His stamina and defensive work aren't good at all but he had some great games for us and his worst performances aren't worse than some that Dele, Winks, Sissoko etc had. But if his attitude is bad then it's on him.
 

homer hotspur

Well-Known Member
Dec 7, 2014
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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.
D
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.

What about 2 games in 4 days like we just had ?
 

SpartanSpur

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2011
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What about 2 games in 4 days like we just had ?

Jose has explained himself pretty well on why Tanguy didn't play. He used 3 different players across the two games in CM and three different number 10s. Neither game particularly developed in a way where he was suited to come on. Had we not scored when we did against West Ham he may well have come on.

Also 2 games in 4 days is pretty common for sides that play European football, 3 games in 6 is not (outside of Xmas).
 

WiganSpur

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
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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.
Yes. For this reason there's no chance he's going to play against Sheff United (a battling side) unless we're chasing the game later on.
 

WiganSpur

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
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Mourinho is very honest. We all know he wouldn't be afraid to state if there was a problem with Ndombele. @Timberwolf explanation is the one that makes the most sense, and the fact we haven't seen any public criticism since Burnley means i'm strangely quite hopeful about the situation.

I'd be very surprised if he wasn't used as an impact sub if we ever get into a situation where we are chasing a result late in a game this season.
 

Timberwolf

Well-Known Member
Jan 17, 2008
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Mourinho is very honest. We all know he wouldn't be afraid to state if there was a problem with Ndombele. @Timberwolf explanation is the one that makes the most sense, and the fact we haven't seen any public criticism since Burnley means i'm strangely quite hopeful about the situation.

I'd be very surprised if he wasn't used as an impact sub if we ever get into a situation where we are chasing a result late in a game this season.
Perversely his best chance might be if we have a couple of stinking results and 5th place is completely out of reach. This could lead to Jose being a little more experimental and giving players like Ndombele and Skipp more of a chance.

Either that or he'll be even more desperate to tighten up and get a win at all costs and he'll be less likely to start...

EDIT: @FibreOpticJesus I don't actually want us to lose obviously. Just talking about Ndombele's chances of getting a game.
 
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WiganSpur

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
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32,682
Perversely his best chance might be if we have a couple of stinking results and 5th place is completely out of reach. This could lead to Jose being a little more experimental and giving players like Ndombele and Skipp more of a chance.

Either that or he'll be even more desperate to tighten up and get a win at all costs and he'll be less likely to start...
I can't see Jose letting up in that regard unless we do as badly as to be out of the Europa League equation with two or three games to spare. I'd be surprised if that happened so early though considering 6th place might do it if City are banned.
 

Timberwolf

Well-Known Member
Jan 17, 2008
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I can't see Jose letting up in that regard unless we do as badly as to be out of the Europa League equation with two or three games to spare. I'd be surprised if that happened so early though considering 6th place might do it if City are banned.
Yeah you're probably right. Maybe getting Europa would be Tanguy's best chance to shine next season then...
 

HedgieSpur

Well-Known Member
Jan 21, 2020
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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.

People are (rightly) lauding Dier for his displays at CB but Poch ostensibly played him as a DM. So rather than us simply bemoaning the fact that "he's not an 8, we bought him to be an 8!", we'd be better served looking at how we get the best out of his attributes, which lend themselves far better to being a 10 (much more so than Lamela or Dele imo)
 

hellava_tough

Well-Known Member
Apr 21, 2005
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12,382
As unpopular an opinion as it may be, and despite the fact that I personally don't want it to be true...

...perhaps he's just not good enough.

He's never played for an elite club, in an elite league for an elite manager before.

And now he's being asked to do so and appears to be failing.

It might just be as simple as that.
 

Cochise

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2019
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12,519
I think in Jose's midfield he is in competition with Winks and GLC. Sissoko seems to be the only one trusted to anchor the midfield whilst the other two have been picked to run things.

As much as we are all annoyed that he's not played, Tanguy has two very good players to compete with to get a game and the question marks surrounding him negate what he can do better than those two. I'd love to see him in ahead of Sissoko, but realistically I'd not risk it unless we were in a cup game.

We have too much to lose at the moment to risk it.
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
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81,935
As unpopular an opinion as it may be, and despite the fact that I personally don't want it to be true...

...perhaps he's just not good enough.

He's never played for an elite club, in an elite league for an elite manager before.

And now he's being asked to do so and appears to be failing.

It might just be as simple as that.
Not sure about that. He clearly has a lot of ability.
 
Aug 9, 2008
4,910
8,415
Tanguy needs to just get fitter in terms of lasting 90 mins with full work ethic apying himself and not be lazy watching the ball go past him, if he can do that tbe guy is a world super star as he has all the talent , skills n attributes going for him, just his apllucation n desire essential is the issue.
 

hellava_tough

Well-Known Member
Apr 21, 2005
9,429
12,382
Not sure about that. He clearly has a lot of ability.

Yeah, he's got ability, but at the highest level you have to have consistency and adaptability to your manager's game plan.

Part of having 'ability' is having those things as well.

I don't know...it'll probably all come out in the wash in a couple of years time.
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
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Yeah, he's got ability, but at the highest level you have to have consistency and adaptability to your manager's game plan.

Part of having 'ability' is having those things as well.

I don't know...it'll probably all come out in the wash in a couple of years time.
I agree. Whether he has enough of an all round game to compete at the top is yet to be seen.

Personally I am more of a sit back and wait before judging kind of a fan.
 

SargeantMeatCurtains

Your least favourite poster
Jan 5, 2013
11,764
61,758
What rumours? Been on the beach all day bronzing my temple so hopelessly out of touch with rumours
Allegedly Ndombele found a spy camera that Jose planted in his fruit bowl after becoming suspicious of the fact that Jose knew he’d sat and ate an entire tub of Ben and Jerry’s the night before the United match.
 
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