Huddlestone

[diego_maradona]

Been saying for ages just play the big man. What else we got??

 

[thfcsteff]

I think a lot of people are getting carried away with him today. He came on when they were sitting back and had acres of space to hit a few passes. This wasnt a normal game situation. He still made one huge fudge up not covering during a rare Everton attack.
I think he's the last player we need against that high pressing Basel team.

Some decent points there...but a nice option for off the bench? I think this side will start on Thursday, bar the keepers I suppose, though I do wish Lloris would play!!!!!!

 

[braineclipse]

Huddlestone cant pass the ball quickly under pressure.
His passing skill is his ability to hit longe range balls whilst he is standing in acres of space.

I rather see passer like Carroll who doing the role you describe above, he has quick feet and can deal with the Basel pressing.

Hudd has his limitations, I don't think he's as limited as you make him out to be though.

He's a good short and mid range passer and a good one touch passer. His first touch is good and he's strong enough to hold off opponents when put under pressure.

Like I said, he has his weaknesses, not denying that. But I don't think he's completely wasted when playing against a high pressing team at all.

 

[DHSF]

A squad of players should contain players who are able to play against a variety of teams. For example Dawson is good against the Stokes of this world but may not be as adept against the likes of Chelscum with their speed and guile.

Ultimately we dont need to have 25 world class players but have players who can play against a variety of opposition. In Hudds case he is super to have against such awkward opposition.

Some players have strengths that others do not and vice versa - simples.

 

[SlumDilla]

I think a lot of people are getting carried away with him today. He came on when they were sitting back and had acres of space to hit a few passes. This wasnt a normal game situation. He still made one huge fudge up not covering during a rare Everton attack.
I think he's the last player we need against that high pressing Basel team.

was this ur first spurs game? With the exception of 4 or 5 teams/games, we've had to deal with teams sitting back absorbing pressure giving us space to pass. if u are not a fan of hudd just say so, but don't try and make it seem like his performance wasn't good or that he has nothing to offer the team.

 

[ringo]

Huddlestone's passing was great today, and it really makes a difference. It is not just his range of passing, it's that he sees the runs, and the angles, and passes the ball into the right spaces. And if there is no pass he just moves the ball on. There are very few players in our side that would have played the pass into Ade - and Ade should have timed his run better.

After watching the ball go from side to side to side and then back to the keeper it's good to the ball go forward. Not a bad cameo for someone who has hardly had any first team football this season.

 

[parklane1]

15 minutes against a team who sat back to defend their lead and never got in his face, the problem with Hudd is that has soon as players get at him he disappears, i still think he will go in the summer.

 

[thfcsteff]

Again looks like he was played at the right time. There have been some good points made about how little pressure he was under, but he was a nice passing option today so 'maybe' he has a role off the bench?

 

[Spur of the moment]

Huddlestone cant pass the ball quickly under pressure.
His passing skill is his ability to hit longe range balls whilst he is standing in acres of space.

I rather see passer like Carroll who doing the role you describe above, he has quick feet and can deal with the Basel pressing.

Don't judge Thudd on his early season form, that simply was not the Huddlestone we know and love. Form is temporary, class permanent and all that.

The man is quite simply better at passing the ball quickly and accurately under pressure than any other member of the squad - and by some distance at that.

 

[PochettinoPochettinoPochettino]

Im not Hudds biggest fan, but he played well yesterday considering the position we were in and also the lack of games he has had due to injuries and just being dropped. As DHSF said and others he will be good against different teams. Against fast teams not so good but when we need a killer pass or a long ball that is accurate he is your man.

 

[AdamB]

Still think he'll go in the summer however would be tempted to play him rather than Holtby in the midfield 3 with Parker and Dembele on Thurs. We didnt use the ball well yesterday and he would improve that

 

[braineclipse]

If Huddlestone is not suited for a start against Basel because of their pressing doesn't that imply that both Dembele and Parker are better than him against teams that press us?

If that is the case why didn't we perform better than we did against Basel at home? I'm struggling to remember how we played through their pressure and created problems for them with the space they were leaving in other areas of the pitch because of their pressing.

 

[AdamB]

If Huddlestone is not suited for a start against Basel because of their pressing doesn't that imply that both Dembele and Parker are better than him against teams that press us?If that is the case why didn't we perform better than we did against Basel at home? I'm struggling to remember how we played through their pressure and created problems for them with the space they were leaving in other areas of the pitch because of their pressing.

Doesnt make sense does it? Surely people who are less able on the ball are more vulnerable to teams who press you.

as mentioned in the OMT for the Basel game, for the Basel game I would pick whatever line up he's going to play against Man C given that the formation and personnel are different to that which we're used to. I'm not at all convinced Bale and Lennon will be back for the Man C game so I would use the Basel game to bed the team down. Given our poor ball retention on Sunday and Holtby's minimal contribution, I'd be tempted to play Thudd in both, though still dont see him having a long term future under AVB

 

[Spursalot]

Don't judge Thudd on his early season form, that simply was not the Huddlestone we know and love. Form is temporary, class permanent and all that.

The man is quite simply better at passing the ball quickly and accurately under pressure than any other member of the squad - and by some distance at that.

He hasn't consistently shown his 'class' since 09/10 though. At what point does that make it good form?


He's a good passer, that's never been under question. I wouldn't start him against Basle though, the pace of their side will see the game pass him by.

 

[Mumorn]

Personally, I thought he looked slimmer, lighter and was moving around the pitch well, his passing was great, has good vision, he is EXACTLY what we need when playing those tough defences and we have Bale and Lennon fit, the ability to get it out to our wingers quickly to penetrate. He's a great asset to have, not many teams can say they have someone with Hudds passing ability and technique to bring off the bench.

Other than probably Man Utd with Scholes.

 

[spurspinter1]

Didn't see the game but appears he played well from the comments on here. Think that's fantastic news, with either Hudd or Carroll surely we've got the option to actually not start with the Dembele/Parker pairing that has been ran in to the ground in 2013.

 

[elltrev]

If Huddlestone is not suited for a start against Basel because of their pressing doesn't that imply that both Dembele and Parker are better than him against teams that press us?

If that is the case why didn't we perform better than we did against Basel at home? I'm struggling to remember how we played through their pressure and created problems for them with the space they were leaving in other areas of the pitch because of their pressing.

If you're talking about the period towards the end of the game, I think the biggest problem was that we were just too deep as a team. When you have ten players so close to your own penalty box, it's difficult to play your way out when you win the ball back. And when we did win possession back we looked too quickly for the difficult long pass, and gave them the ball straight back.

I do think Dembele and Parker are both quite good at escaping the press, but then Parker's problem is that his passing isn't very good, and Dembele's is that he doesn't make himself available with enough urgency IMO. I actually think Holtby will excel at playing against pressing teams due to his tendency to come deep and thus add another body in midfield, and his very quick (often one-touch) and accurate passing.

 

[Spur of the moment]

He hasn't consistently shown his 'class' since 09/10 though. At what point does that make it good form?


He's a good passer, that's never been under question. I wouldn't start him against Basle though, the pace of their side will see the game pass him by.

That conveniently overlooks the long-term injury and its inevitable repercussions to weight, fitness and recovery to full match sharpness which admittedly has taken much longer than anticipated.

But to answer your question, it would seem from Sunday's outing that the long wait is finally over. And whilst I'd agree his lack of speed is a concern, the team that played against Basel last Thursday didn't exactly cover themselves in glory either. Whereas if there was one thing that game was crying out for more than anything once Dembele went off, it was someone exactly like Hudd who can spray the ball about to good effect!

 

[WestBerkshire]

Didn't see the game but appears he played well from the comments on here. Think that's fantastic news, with either Hudd or Carroll surely we've got the option to actually not start with the Dembele/Parker pairing that has been ran in to the ground in 2013.

Came on for 15 min when Everton just put men behind the ball no one pressed him at all very different to if he was starting a game and playing for 90min.

 

[Spur of the moment]

Came on for 15 min when Everton just put men behind the ball no one pressed him at all very different to if he was starting a game and playing for 90min.

Sigh. Exactly the sort of re-introduction he needed then. Kudos to AVB for that.

Given he played such a key role in helping us qualify for our first ever season in the CL, the dismissiveness on this forum towards a player of Tom's class is dismaying to say the least.