Xavi Simons

[thfcsteff]

Who would have thought that the man who was brought in partly because of his strong record in developing young players, and who helped to turn Christian Nørgaard into an excellent PL midfielder, could have helped Simons develop his game?

Can you explain to me what he has added to Xavi's game in terms of development skill-wise that was previously not part of the player's make-up?

BTW, I would question Nørgaard as having been turned into an 'excellent' PL midfielder. Had you said Damsgaard and turned it down to 'quality PL midfielder' I think I'd have agreed.

 

[thfcsteff]

I just find amusing that if Xavi isn’t playing well it’s on Frank (fact) and if he is it’s not Frank.

Admit it. Unless I keep my (admittedly often long) posts to a minimum, you lose interest and just assume 'Frank hater, I'll bang on that gong again in my reply' LOL!

 

[SpurMeUp]

Admit it. Unless I keep my (admittedly often long) posts to a minimum, you lose interest and just assume 'Frank hater, I'll bang on that gong again in my reply' LOL!

Yes you wraped it in nuance and gestured towards a broader picture, but at its core this is simply about bias. Xavi not hitting the ground running was black and white: Frank wasn’t using him correctly. You stated that was a fact. If you’re going to apply that kind of binary causation, then you have to apply when Xavi is playing well. The manager is ultimately accountable despite all the other variables, so fair enough, but be consistent. Credit where it’s due.

Most of the improvment is on Xavi himself imo, just settling in, but Frank and his team no doubt helped. You're introducing the defensive coach - anything - to try and move any credit from Frank Yes I think he is a big asset, but he's only just joined.

We're all happy Xavi is playing well. He is not thinking, was in his zone. And the beautiful thing was the synergy with the fans. He's a showman, and fed off the home atmosphere. He partly created the atmosphere by taking the game to City. And Frank and the team no doubt played a part too with the half time talk.

 

[thfcsteff]

Yes you wraped it in nuance and gestured towards a broader picture, but at its core this is simply about bias. Xavi not hitting the ground running was black and white: Frank wasn’t using him correctly. You stated that was a fact. If you’re going to apply that kind of binary causation, then you have to apply when Xavi is playing well. The manager is ultimately accountable despite all the other variables, so fair enough, but be consistent. Credit where it’s due.

Most of the improvment is on Xavi himself imo, just settling in, but Frank and his team no doubt helped. You're introducing the defensive coach - anything - to try and move any credit from Frank Yes I think he is a big asset, but he's only just joined.

We're all happy Xavi is playing well. He is not thinking, was in his zone. And the beautiful thing was the synergy with the fans. He's a showman, and fed off the home atmosphere. He partly created the atmosphere by taking the game to City. And Frank and the team no doubt played a part too with the half time talk.

Get your head out of your confirmation bias. Please. I am absolutely willing to give Frank credit when due, and indeed have done so. You might not notice.

As for some of your other accusations, come on, do better!
'Introducing the defensive coach to try and move any credit from Frank'? My friend, that's in your head! I was posing a question, that's all. In fact, you likely missed the bit where I then said that Frank deserved recognition for him being here regardless!!!

I am delighted that Thomas Frank has finally realized how to best deploy this immense talent in a way which makes us all happy (albeit I'd say knowing who your players are and what they need is a minimum requirement from a good coach).

Did you ever watch Xavi before he came to Spurs? Do you know the player?

 

[braineclipse]

Yes you wraped it in nuance and gestured towards a broader picture, but at its core this is simply about bias. Xavi not hitting the ground running was black and white: Frank wasn’t using him correctly. You stated that was a fact. If you’re going to apply that kind of binary causation, then you have to apply when Xavi is playing well. The manager is ultimately accountable despite all the other variables, so fair enough, but be consistent. Credit where it’s due.

Most of the improvment is on Xavi himself imo, just settling in, but Frank and his team no doubt helped. You're introducing the defensive coach - anything - to try and move any credit from Frank Yes I think he is a big asset, but he's only just joined.

We're all happy Xavi is playing well. He is not thinking, was in his zone. And the beautiful thing was the synergy with the fans. He's a showman, and fed off the home atmosphere. He partly created the atmosphere by taking the game to City. And Frank and the team no doubt played a part too with the half time talk.

What amount of credit does a manager deserve for us sometimes playing in a way that gets the best out of our most talented available attacking player?

Some credit, sure. But us sometimes functioning as a cohesive attacking unit to me is down there amongst the bare minimum of requirements for a manager at this football club. If we can do that at least fairly consistently, most games, most halves, most game states then we can start talking about getting credit.

 

[SpurMeUp]

Get your head out of your confirmation bias. Please. I am absolutely willing to give Frank credit when due, and indeed have done so. You might not notice.

As for some of your other accusations, come on, do better!
'Introducing the defensive coach to try and move any credit from Frank'? My friend, that's in your head! I was posing a question, that's all. In fact, you likely missed the bit where I then said that Frank deserved recognition for him being here regardless!!!

I am delighted that Thomas Frank has finally realized how to best deploy this immense talent in a way which makes us all happy (albeit I'd say knowing who your players are and what they need is a minimum requirement from a good coach).

Did you ever watch Xavi before he came to Spurs? Do you know the player?

You have been giving Frank credit, don't get me wrong. My point was if you are going to be binary about the manager not getting the most from a player, do the same when they do come good.

All good, the open point re. Heitinga is an interesting one. I think he was a bit of a coup. Was the first team manager at Ajax? Clearly a big asset.

 

[Mikey10]

What amount of credit does a manager deserve for us sometimes playing in a way that gets the best out of our most talented available attacking player?

Some credit, sure. But us sometimes functioning as a cohesive attacking unit to me is down there amongst the bare minimum of requirements for a manager at this football club. If we can do that at least fairly consistently, most games, most halves, most game states then we can start talking about getting credit.

Our most taleneted available attacking player who was clearly struggling at the start to adapt to the league, and who has had a lot of additional pressure (notwithstanding his transfer fee) heaped on him due to others being out injured.

The clear narrative established for many of our supporters (as has been the case since a few weeks into his tenure) is that anything that goes wrong is Frank's fault, anything that goes right is down to other factors.

Has he got things wrong? Yes. He's new to the job and is learning and adapting.

Has he got things right, and are there now quite a few signs that he is beginning to successfully adapt? Yes.

 

[SpurMeUp]

The silver lining of a year of injury crises is that it’s forced the younger players to step up. Gray, Bergvall, Odobert, Simons and Tel have done. Without the responsibility of first-team football, how many of them would have been sent out on loan, or barely seen any game time to properly develop?

We beat the goons to a promising youth player yesterday, and for players like him, he must see the way we're using players a year older than him in the PL and CL, week in and out! Credit to Ange and Frank here, they've effectively fast tracked them, and helped to make them more relaible players.

 

[glorygloryeze]

I can imagine the likes of Muani, Odobert and especially Solanke benefit most from Xavi being in the line-up.
But who starts in the team that Xavi benefits most from?
In particular, if Xavi also had a better second half on Sunday (i didn't watch the game and am making an assumption here) what change occured in which player's positioning etc that brought more out of Xavi?

 

[Raziel]

I can imagine the likes of Muani, Odobert and especially Solanke benefit most from Xavi being in the line-up.
But who starts in the team that Xavi benefits most from?
In particular, if Xavi also had a better second half on Sunday (i didn't watch the game and am making an assumption here) what change occured in which player's positioning etc that brought more out of Xavi?

Went from 3 CBs to 4 atb with Romero sub, brought Sarr into lineup.

This gave us the extra man and legs in midfield, and combination of Gallagher/Sarr or in other matches Gray/Bergvall puts players that are more progressive, that move the ball forward even if only by carrying, and legs/tempo. That running upset City because they had Silva and Rodri in midfield who were overrun by the change, all those things benefit Xavi.

 

[braineclipse]

Our most taleneted available attacking player who was clearly struggling at the start to adapt to the league, and who has had a lot of additional pressure (notwithstanding his transfer fee) heaped on him due to others being out injured.

The clear narrative established for many of our supporters (as has been the case since a few weeks into his tenure) is that anything that goes wrong is Frank's fault, anything that goes right is down to other factors.

Has he got things wrong? Yes. He's new to the job and is learning and adapting.

Has he got things right, and are there now quite a few signs that he is beginning to successfully adapt? Yes.

I'm not really interested in arguing for or against a perceived narrative.

Yes he was struggling at first, many factors as just about always. A significant one the style of football we were playing imo.

I agree that there have been some positive signs. Long may that continue.

 

[parklane1]

He is only 22 and already looking a star, you can usually tell how good a young player is/going to be by his attitude on the pitch. Of course it could all go wrong but this kid looks like he really is going to be a STAR. Keep it up son.