Agreed with most of what you have said, but regarding Winks, how many chances does he need to prove himself? Same could be said of Dele. These two for me are the most disappointing players for a long time now.
Skipp has been fantastic and is really growing into the responsibility of the role. We even feel the loss when he's not starting. Hojberg needs to get worried because it's looking like he is the one in the medium to long term whose place will be under pressure.
Thats my hope to. Watching him for Norwich there were often times he could have played a more progressive ball but he kept it safer and more tidy. Back with us he seems to be trying a few more raking passes than he did at Norwich, so potentially he is beginning to feel comfortable and confident in his passing ability. This only bodes well as we do need a bit more in passing terms from the CMs.
He just ooozes maturity and leadership.
You have that backwards, PEH has Skipp beside him as an insurance policy. Skipp has been far the better of the two this season, probably the player of the season so far. PEH runs around like a headless chicken most of the time, his passing has been poor this season and it's Skipp covering for him with his defensive discipline.Hold on. Much the same was said of Winks, back in the day. And Winks faced tougher tests than Skipp has - including being trusted to play against Real Madrid's imposing, back-to-back CL-winning midfield in 2017, a role in which he bossed one of the greatest midfielders in history in Modric.
A lot of the fundamental deficiencies in Winks' game came from not having a clearly defined role or skillset - he was the ultimate 'circulator', able to keep and recycle possession, but his forward passing was always fairly limited. He could still make the occasional good forward pass in Poch's pressing system, because we would win the ball high up the field and passes into the danger area were usually pretty simple as a result. And his physicality was never anything to write home about, but in a high-pressing system, movement mattered more than strength - while he had others (Dembele, Wanyama, Sissoko) to do the heavy lifting in midfield for him.
When we switched from Poch's system to Mourinho's abominable ultra-defensive setup, all of Winks' strengths were nullified and his weaknesses were brought to the fore. He wasn't strong enough to win possession consistently, tall enough to win headers much (if at all), and wasn't a good enough passer to launch counter-attacks. And so he became a bit of a nothing player - not a DM, not a playmaker, but something in between.
Skipp is from the exact same mold that Winks came from - the same mold that produced Tom Carroll, Ryan Mason and Alex Pritchard before him. He's part of the class of players recruited under Alex Inglethorpe's approach to academy management - which was simply to find the players that other clubs in London were overlooking on account of their physical limitations, but who had the drive, technique and intelligence to succeed regardless.
It was the only way the Spurs academy were going to be able to compete against Arsenal in their pomp and Chelsea with their money. But the flip side was that it produced a lot of players from roughly the same mold of slight, technically-gifted but physically-limited central midfielders, and Skipp is very much one of them as well.
He's reasonably fast, reasonably strong, mentally tough, and has a wonderful character by all accounts - a keen learner. But to avoid being outmoded like Winks was, he needs to acquire one of two things - either the physicality to consistently win tackles and shield the backline by himself, or the passing ability to play long, accurate, consistent through balls to set counter attacks off and dictate play from deep.
If he could get both, we would have a superstar on our hands. Even if he only gets one, we'd be set. But so far, he's still to face some of the tests Winks faced - and so far, while he has been impressive, he's had Hojbjerg next to him acting as a sort of insurance policy in case he misses a tackle or misplaces a pass.
Can our Skipp become our Barella? Certainly. But the trouble is, he could also become another Winksy - so maybe we need to dial down our expectations a bit and just let him grow into his role, whatever that may be.
Hold on. Much the same was said of Winks, back in the day. And Winks faced tougher tests than Skipp has - including being trusted to play against Real Madrid's imposing, back-to-back CL-winning midfield in 2017, a role in which he bossed one of the greatest midfielders in history in Modric.
A lot of the fundamental deficiencies in Winks' game came from not having a clearly defined role or skillset - he was the ultimate 'circulator', able to keep and recycle possession, but his forward passing was always fairly limited. He could still make the occasional good forward pass in Poch's pressing system, because we would win the ball high up the field and passes into the danger area were usually pretty simple as a result. And his physicality was never anything to write home about, but in a high-pressing system, movement mattered more than strength - while he had others (Dembele, Wanyama, Sissoko) to do the heavy lifting in midfield for him.
When we switched from Poch's system to Mourinho's abominable ultra-defensive setup, all of Winks' strengths were nullified and his weaknesses were brought to the fore. He wasn't strong enough to win possession consistently, tall enough to win headers much (if at all), and wasn't a good enough passer to launch counter-attacks. And so he became a bit of a nothing player - not a DM, not a playmaker, but something in between.
Skipp is from the exact same mold that Winks came from - the same mold that produced Tom Carroll, Ryan Mason and Alex Pritchard before him. He's part of the class of players recruited under Alex Inglethorpe's approach to academy management - which was simply to find the players that other clubs in London were overlooking on account of their physical limitations, but who had the drive, technique and intelligence to succeed regardless.
It was the only way the Spurs academy were going to be able to compete against Arsenal in their pomp and Chelsea with their money. But the flip side was that it produced a lot of players from roughly the same mold of slight, technically-gifted but physically-limited central midfielders, and Skipp is very much one of them as well.
He's reasonably fast, reasonably strong, mentally tough, and has a wonderful character by all accounts - a keen learner. But to avoid being outmoded like Winks was, he needs to acquire one of two things - either the physicality to consistently win tackles and shield the backline by himself, or the passing ability to play long, accurate, consistent through balls to set counter attacks off and dictate play from deep.
If he could get both, we would have a superstar on our hands. Even if he only gets one, we'd be set. But so far, he's still to face some of the tests Winks faced - and so far, while he has been impressive, he's had Hojbjerg next to him acting as a sort of insurance policy in case he misses a tackle or misplaces a pass.
Can our Skipp become our Barella? Certainly. But the trouble is, he could also become another Winksy - so maybe we need to dial down our expectations a bit and just let him grow into his role, whatever that may be.
The best thing Winks had to his game when he first broke through was a confidence to be press resistant. Once he lost that confidence to resist the press whether that was due to injury or via usual loss of confidence reasons he lost the largest positive attributes his game had.
Skipp is from the exact same mold that Winks came from - the same mold that produced Tom Carroll, Ryan Mason and Alex Pritchard before him. He's part of the class of players recruited under Alex Inglethorpe's approach to academy management - which was simply to find the players that other clubs in London were overlooking on account of their physical limitations, but who had the drive, technique and intelligence to succeed regardless.
) Sorry for cutting your post down but the bit above was the one i wanted to highlight. As you say Skipp has come through the same mold that Carroll, Mason and Pritchard developed from but imo Skipp has shown more then the other three and i see more of a rounded player in him. I guesss time will tell.
As usual mate i usually agree with most of your posts ( except when you go on you rants against Levy
Fair enough, and I agree with that last bit as well - time will tell. Let's not rush it with the kid, is all I'm saying - his path to development into a superstar is harder than someone who is naturally built like a tank or extremely fast. Like it was with Winksy, Mason, Carroll and Pritchard, and like it will be with Harvey White.
No shame at all if he doesn't quite end up the midfield superstar we're all hoping he can be - and if we're grounded in our expectations of what the kid is capable of, maybe we won't be disappointed the way we were with Winks, and if he does become a star, the pleasant surprise will be all the better.
@braineclipse - agreed, mate. The signs are promising, but then, they were for Winks in a different way - he could start against Spam and start against Madrid and hold his own in both cases, so he clearly had something in him, once.
Skippy is talented and could be a superstar. He might not. Let's not pressure the kid by demanding perfection from him just yet.
