Radu Drăgușin

[Finney Is Back]

What's really interesting is he knows it ..

Quote from last night -> "I'm so happy they're at our football club and you know, in two or three years' time, I just pray to GHod I'm the beneficiary of their talent, mate, because if somebody else is getting it, I won't be happy."

Think I mentioned elsewhere, really good group, with probably 3-4 that the ceiling is extremely high on.

It is why we need some of our fans (about 23% on here judging by the poll) to sway away from their short-term mindset and embrace the medium term change this manager is trying to perform at this club. He doesn't want to bumble around between 5th and 7th interspersed with the odd 4th place finish. He wants to do something significant and win big trophies. He is even prepared to somewhat sacrifice his hard earned reputation to do this.

The only way a club like ours could do that is by almost ignoring the here and now and building for the future. Very few managers would be prepared to do what Ange is prepared to do at Spurs. If it works out it would be one of absolute most glorious things ever in football. If it doesn't work out then we're simply in the same position as we've been in the last quarter of a century plus.

 

[Raziel]

It is why we need some of our fans (about 23% on here judging by the poll) to sway away from their short-term mindset and embrace the medium term change this manager is trying to perform at this club. He doesn't want to bumble around between 5th and 7th interspersed with the odd 4th place finish. He wants to do something significant and win big trophies. He is even prepared to somewhat sacrifice his hard earned reputation to do this.

The only way a club like ours could do that is by almost ignoring the here and now and building for the future. Very few managers would be prepared to do what Ange is prepared to do at Spurs. If it works out it would be one of absolute most glorious things ever in football. If it doesn't work out then we're simply in the same position as we've been in the last quarter of a century plus.

Logic says you are a 100% correct, the challenge is everyone's view is tainted by history.

As example, you have some strong view of our ownership, if after all these years, they decide to stay the course, not pull the trigger too early, and continue to back in Jan window and summer, are you willing to wait till the end of next season?

And to be clear, not picking on you, as a fanbase in general, with stadium build, with the rise from BMJ days, it's felt so much an "almost" a project for 15+ years, and no one really wants to hear, we have done the right things (finally/this time) and you have to wait another 2/3 years.

It's one of the reasons I really hope Ange can pull off a trophy somehow this season, it will buy time/patience at a time when we need it.

 

[thfcsteff]

Logic says you are a 100% correct, the challenge is everyone's view is tainted by history.

As example, you have some strong view of our ownership, if after all these years, they decide to stay the course, not pull the trigger too early, and continue to back in Jan window and summer, are you willing to wait till the end of next season?

And to be clear, not picking on you, as a fanbase in general, with stadium build, with the rise from BMJ days, it's felt so much an "almost" a project for 15+ years, and no one really wants to hear, we have done the right things (finally/this time) and you have to wait another 2/3 years.

It's one of the reasons I really hope Ange can pull off a trophy somehow this season, it will buy time/patience at a time when we need it.

As you will have guessed, I agree wholly with Finney. In answer to your very valid question about public patience, I'd say that it is important people remember how utterly close to ultimate glory we were with Poch under extenuating circumstances, and how everyone's patience snapped when the 'chance' for an 'easy win' hitched their skirt. We saw how it turned out. Why not try the 'patience' path this time? The only rational reason I could see for not, is if somone simply does not like the style of football and actively missed a Conte-esque approach.

 

[billyiddo]

If you're pleading for patience and pointing towards the team being put together to develop over the coming seasons as a reason as to why then it needs to be given across the board - Ange isn't the one driving that approach after all, he will have been recruited in part because he was willing to work in those conditions, but it's the people above who are driving that approach be that Lange under direction from Munn or both under direction from Levy or a collective decision by the whole team.

Backing the manager over a long term approach only to be calling for the chairmans head any time we hit a rough patch isn't really having patience in the approach or the manager imho

 

[braineclipse]

Dragusin looks like our most natural and the best defender at the club right now. He is physically dominant, is taking up good positions, he is marking players well and attacking the ball at exactly the right time. Can you imagine if he had the meltdown some predicted in this 2 month period, especially after his EL blip. He's actually been immense for such a young guy.

If one of the 3 youngsters end up better then fair play, but right now I would say that we should never worry about playing the Dragu/VDV partnership in the league as a rotation option. The next step for these 2 players to build that understanding like we see with Romero/VDV. In some ways, ditto with Romero and Dragusin because there might be times when we want to move VDV over to LB.

Nice problems to have.

Defensively he's really good, as you say particularly for a player that young. And still relatively new to this system and quite a few of his games have come when we've struggled in general.

For me his on the ball ability is a slight worry. Getting Kinsky (and in time Vic back) helps mitigate that. Hopefully the midfield will step up too.

Defensively he's up there. But Romero and VdV are also very good defensively in different ways. On the ball quality matters a great deal in my opinion, particularly playing this kind of system. Because of that he remains to me a clear second choice, but he's been really important for us this season and I'm glad he's here.

 

[braineclipse]

If you're pleading for patience and pointing towards the team being put together to develop over the coming seasons as a reason as to why then it needs to be given across the board - Ange isn't the one driving that approach after all, he will have been recruited in part because he was willing to work in those conditions, but it's the people above who are driving that approach be that Lange under direction from Munn or both under direction from Levy or a collective decision by the whole team.

Backing the manager over a long term approach only to be calling for the chairmans head any time we hit a rough patch isn't really having patience in the approach or the manager imho

Fully agreed.

No way of knowing how new owners or a new chairman would want us to operate. Can't assume all the good stuff would stay in place and all the bad stuff would be changed for the better.

Really like our setup right now, what we've seen from them at least. And perhaps a good thing to still have Paratici floating around if the roles and responsibilities are clear.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Logic says you are a 100% correct, the challenge is everyone's view is tainted by history.

As example, you have some strong view of our ownership, if after all these years, they decide to stay the course, not pull the trigger too early, and continue to back in Jan window and summer, are you willing to wait till the end of next season?

And to be clear, not picking on you, as a fanbase in general, with stadium build, with the rise from BMJ days, it's felt so much an "almost" a project for 15+ years, and no one really wants to hear, we have done the right things (finally/this time) and you have to wait another 2/3 years.

It's one of the reasons I really hope Ange can pull off a trophy somehow this season, it will buy time/patience at a time when we need it.

But the project is literally the only way we can do anything serious with the ownership we have and the ownership isn’t changing anytime soon as far as we can tell from the outside
Reading arsenal fans beating now that they won’t buy the players they need, and pool fans too saying they aren’t serious if they don’t buy Kava is making me laugh

 

[Muttley]

As you will have guessed, I agree wholly with Finney. In answer to your very valid question about public patience, I'd say that it is important people remember how utterly close to ultimate glory we were with Poch under extenuating circumstances, and how everyone's patience snapped when the 'chance' for an 'easy win' hitched their skirt. We saw how it turned out. Why not try the 'patience' path this time? The only rational reason I could see for not, is if somone simply does not like the style of football and actively missed a Conte-esque approach.

As I've said many times, the time to relieve Ange of his duties is when we can see where he can plateau in his role. The good news is that we probably will next season, and will get a load more clues in the final part of this season. By August, he'll have a squad where there can be no excuses for quality, depth, injuries etc. Then his tactical systems really get to be tested properly in this league. I don't think we'll ever complain about football quality with Ange, but the acid test will be whether the defensive system eventually loses the chinks in the armour that are so costly when we look at a league table.

Our bigger focus right now probably should be whether Ange can produce a minor miracle and close that 10-12 points gap in the league and get us back into UEFA contention. I think we'd all hate it if we have to go back to just the league and 2 domestic cups. It certainly wouldn't align to the squad development plan and budget expectations.

Our MO as fans should be enjoy the cup runs, and focus on moving up the table, not firing the manager.

 

[SpiderSpurs]

My favourite player.

Ange Postecoglou on Radu Dragusin: "I have said all along that some of our players, at times, are getting unfairly judged at the moment because of the situation we are in.
It’s not just that Radu is only 22 and still getting to grips with the Premier League.
He would be okay if he was surrounded by players who are playing regularly but he has got an 18-year-old who is not a centre-back next to him, three different goalkeepers, probably up to four, since he has been in the team, different full-backs... I just think Radu and Archie have been unbelievable for us considering the circumstances and we will get growth from that.
I really believe that. Radu was great the other night. He was really focused and disciplined in his organisation and along with Toni (goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky) making his debut and that is as solid as we have been as a back four/back five.
The midfield did a great job of working really hard against Liverpool. There won’t be many games where Liverpool create as little as they did the other night and I think that was a real strong collective effort.
We are happy with Radu and the way he is developing. He has had to battle. He had an illness last week and he was nowhere near 100 percent. He is probably one who does need a bit of a rest but we have no options there.
Every week he gets on with it."

 

[Not just a romanian]

My favourite player.

Ange Postecoglou on Radu Dragusin: "I have said all along that some of our players, at times, are getting unfairly judged at the moment because of the situation we are in.
It’s not just that Radu is only 22 and still getting to grips with the Premier League.
He would be okay if he was surrounded by players who are playing regularly but he has got an 18-year-old who is not a centre-back next to him, three different goalkeepers, probably up to four, since he has been in the team, different full-backs... I just think Radu and Archie have been unbelievable for us considering the circumstances and we will get growth from that.
I really believe that. Radu was great the other night. He was really focused and disciplined in his organisation and along with Toni (goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky) making his debut and that is as solid as we have been as a back four/back five.
The midfield did a great job of working really hard against Liverpool. There won’t be many games where Liverpool create as little as they did the other night and I think that was a real strong collective effort.
We are happy with Radu and the way he is developing. He has had to battle. He had an illness last week and he was nowhere near 100 percent. He is probably one who does need a bit of a rest but we have no options there.
Every week he gets on with it."

Fair play to Ange, I think he is spot on and that should give Radu a confidence boost.

I did say he will be judged differently just because his nationality and because sometimes I see that you lot are an inpatient bunch (sometimes for good reasons, but sometimes without looking at the full picture). Karma is a bitch sometimes, you should probably learn to support your team no matter what..
My favorite team (Dinamo Bucharest) had to be kept alive during the last few years by donations of fans, relegated for the first time in it's history, had a miserable past 6-7 years, got in to the first league a couple of years back, barely stayed up, but now in 3rd place with very positive prospects for the future. And all this because of the fans. Without the fans, this team would have started from scratch. Anyway, I digress.

Back to Radu, please check his ratings for all the games this season. Despite:
- Italian football has a very low tempo - heck even the Romanian league plays with a higher tempo. Everybody needs time to adapt. Especially with a totally opposite style of play
- not being played in his regular position. Put Son on the right or Kulusevski on the left. Would they have the same level of passing, crossing, shooting? Probably not.
- passing as his weak point? Have not seen it before, he is normally very composed and has good/above average passing (when played in his regular position). Mind the points above, relevant for this.
Add the mistake he made with Qarabag after being only on the bench, his first game as a started, red card in the first ten minutes. Who wouldn't have his confidence shattered and be nervous on the ball after such a mistake?
- as Ange said, who has he played with? 4 keepers, an 18 year old midfielder (that's when he wasn't playing at LCB) and some regulars not available in defence.
- anyway, he has proven against city and pool that he is worthy

There might be other things on the list, but I just wanted to say this, because I've been shocked at the comments about loaning/selling/not good enough.
Cheers!

 

[Robspur12]

Fair play to Ange, I think he is spot on and that should give Radu a confidence boost.

I did say he will be judged differently just because his nationality and because sometimes I see that you lot are an inpatient bunch (sometimes for good reasons, but sometimes without looking at the full picture). Karma is a bitch sometimes, you should probably learn to support your team no matter what..
My favorite team (Dinamo Bucharest) had to be kept alive during the last few years by donations of fans, relegated for the first time in it's history, had a miserable past 6-7 years, got in to the first league a couple of years back, barely stayed up, but now in 3rd place with very positive prospects for the future. And all this because of the fans. Without the fans, this team would have started from scratch. Anyway, I digress.

Back to Radu, please check his ratings for all the games this season. Despite:
- Italian football has a very low tempo - heck even the Romanian league plays with a higher tempo. Everybody needs time to adapt. Especially with a totally opposite style of play
- not being played in his regular position. Put Son on the right or Kulusevski on the left. Would they have the same level of passing, crossing, shooting? Probably not.
- passing as his weak point? Have not seen it before, he is normally very composed and has good/above average passing (when played in his regular position). Mind the points above, relevant for this.
Add the mistake he made with Qarabag after being only on the bench, his first game as a started, red card in the first ten minutes. Who wouldn't have his confidence shattered and be nervous on the ball after such a mistake?
- as Ange said, who has he played with? 4 keepers, an 18 year old midfielder (that's when he wasn't playing at LCB) and some regulars not available in defence.
- anyway, he has proven against city and pool that he is worthy

There might be other things on the list, but I just wanted to say this, because I've been shocked at the comments about loaning/selling/not good enough.
Cheers!

I really like him don’t really understand the criticism he gets but tbh what’s being a fan if we don’t get to moan.. I thought he was Romania’s best player at last year’s Euros and I remember being excited that he was our player. Think he will be a big player for us in time.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Fair play to Ange, I think he is spot on and that should give Radu a confidence boost.

I did say he will be judged differently just because his nationality and because sometimes I see that you lot are an inpatient bunch (sometimes for good reasons, but sometimes without looking at the full picture). Karma is a bitch sometimes, you should probably learn to support your team no matter what..
My favorite team (Dinamo Bucharest) had to be kept alive during the last few years by donations of fans, relegated for the first time in it's history, had a miserable past 6-7 years, got in to the first league a couple of years back, barely stayed up, but now in 3rd place with very positive prospects for the future. And all this because of the fans. Without the fans, this team would have started from scratch. Anyway, I digress.

Back to Radu, please check his ratings for all the games this season. Despite:
- Italian football has a very low tempo - heck even the Romanian league plays with a higher tempo. Everybody needs time to adapt. Especially with a totally opposite style of play
- not being played in his regular position. Put Son on the right or Kulusevski on the left. Would they have the same level of passing, crossing, shooting? Probably not.
- passing as his weak point? Have not seen it before, he is normally very composed and has good/above average passing (when played in his regular position). Mind the points above, relevant for this.
Add the mistake he made with Qarabag after being only on the bench, his first game as a started, red card in the first ten minutes. Who wouldn't have his confidence shattered and be nervous on the ball after such a mistake?
- as Ange said, who has he played with? 4 keepers, an 18 year old midfielder (that's when he wasn't playing at LCB) and some regulars not available in defence.
- anyway, he has proven against city and pool that he is worthy

There might be other things on the list, but I just wanted to say this, because I've been shocked at the comments about loaning/selling/not good enough.
Cheers!

At the quarabag game there were 4 Romanians sat in front of me. Super proud with flags and taking photos
I felt so sorry for them with him lasting 6 minutes
I’ve seen quite a few Romanians since coming to the games

 

[monkeybarry]

Fair play to Ange, I think he is spot on and that should give Radu a confidence boost.

I did say he will be judged differently just because his nationality and because sometimes I see that you lot are an inpatient bunch (sometimes for good reasons, but sometimes without looking at the full picture). Karma is a bitch sometimes, you should probably learn to support your team no matter what..
My favorite team (Dinamo Bucharest) had to be kept alive during the last few years by donations of fans, relegated for the first time in it's history, had a miserable past 6-7 years, got in to the first league a couple of years back, barely stayed up, but now in 3rd place with very positive prospects for the future. And all this because of the fans. Without the fans, this team would have started from scratch. Anyway, I digress.

Back to Radu, please check his ratings for all the games this season. Despite:
- Italian football has a very low tempo - heck even the Romanian league plays with a higher tempo. Everybody needs time to adapt. Especially with a totally opposite style of play
- not being played in his regular position. Put Son on the right or Kulusevski on the left. Would they have the same level of passing, crossing, shooting? Probably not.
- passing as his weak point? Have not seen it before, he is normally very composed and has good/above average passing (when played in his regular position). Mind the points above, relevant for this.
Add the mistake he made with Qarabag after being only on the bench, his first game as a started, red card in the first ten minutes. Who wouldn't have his confidence shattered and be nervous on the ball after such a mistake?
- as Ange said, who has he played with? 4 keepers, an 18 year old midfielder (that's when he wasn't playing at LCB) and some regulars not available in defence.
- anyway, he has proven against city and pool that he is worthy

There might be other things on the list, but I just wanted to say this, because I've been shocked at the comments about loaning/selling/not good enough.
Cheers!

Then you clearly know f all about either London or Spurs fans.

Impatient? Yes
Fickle at times? Yes
Be very concerned when he puts in an Anthony Gardner type performance? Yes
Judge him based on being Romanian?! No. No. And NO.

He has started to look a lot more like a player the last couple of games (as he did in his first few games). Hopefully that's a sign that he just needed a bit of a run, and that some of our views were skewed by the recent situation of the past few months.
And to echo Ange, he is only 22.

 

[Lemonade Money]

Fair play to Ange, I think he is spot on and that should give Radu a confidence boost.

I did say he will be judged differently just because his nationality and because sometimes I see that you lot are an inpatient bunch (sometimes for good reasons, but sometimes without looking at the full picture). Karma is a bitch sometimes, you should probably learn to support your team no matter what..
My favorite team (Dinamo Bucharest) had to be kept alive during the last few years by donations of fans, relegated for the first time in it's history, had a miserable past 6-7 years, got in to the first league a couple of years back, barely stayed up, but now in 3rd place with very positive prospects for the future. And all this because of the fans. Without the fans, this team would have started from scratch. Anyway, I digress.

Back to Radu, please check his ratings for all the games this season. Despite:
- Italian football has a very low tempo - heck even the Romanian league plays with a higher tempo. Everybody needs time to adapt. Especially with a totally opposite style of play
- not being played in his regular position. Put Son on the right or Kulusevski on the left. Would they have the same level of passing, crossing, shooting? Probably not.
- passing as his weak point? Have not seen it before, he is normally very composed and has good/above average passing (when played in his regular position). Mind the points above, relevant for this.
Add the mistake he made with Qarabag after being only on the bench, his first game as a started, red card in the first ten minutes. Who wouldn't have his confidence shattered and be nervous on the ball after such a mistake?
- as Ange said, who has he played with? 4 keepers, an 18 year old midfielder (that's when he wasn't playing at LCB) and some regulars not available in defence.
- anyway, he has proven against city and pool that he is worthy

There might be other things on the list, but I just wanted to say this, because I've been shocked at the comments about loaning/selling/not good enough.
Cheers!

We at Spurs like to think we're equally impatient and fickle with all nationalities.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

We at Spurs like to think we're equally impatient and fickle with all nationalities.

We are
We do judge on fees paid though

 

[braineclipse]

Fair play to Ange, I think he is spot on and that should give Radu a confidence boost.

I did say he will be judged differently just because his nationality and because sometimes I see that you lot are an inpatient bunch (sometimes for good reasons, but sometimes without looking at the full picture). Karma is a bitch sometimes, you should probably learn to support your team no matter what..
My favorite team (Dinamo Bucharest) had to be kept alive during the last few years by donations of fans, relegated for the first time in it's history, had a miserable past 6-7 years, got in to the first league a couple of years back, barely stayed up, but now in 3rd place with very positive prospects for the future. And all this because of the fans. Without the fans, this team would have started from scratch. Anyway, I digress.

Back to Radu, please check his ratings for all the games this season. Despite:
- Italian football has a very low tempo - heck even the Romanian league plays with a higher tempo. Everybody needs time to adapt. Especially with a totally opposite style of play
- not being played in his regular position. Put Son on the right or Kulusevski on the left. Would they have the same level of passing, crossing, shooting? Probably not.
- passing as his weak point? Have not seen it before, he is normally very composed and has good/above average passing (when played in his regular position). Mind the points above, relevant for this.
Add the mistake he made with Qarabag after being only on the bench, his first game as a started, red card in the first ten minutes. Who wouldn't have his confidence shattered and be nervous on the ball after such a mistake?
- as Ange said, who has he played with? 4 keepers, an 18 year old midfielder (that's when he wasn't playing at LCB) and some regulars not available in defence.
- anyway, he has proven against city and pool that he is worthy

There might be other things on the list, but I just wanted to say this, because I've been shocked at the comments about loaning/selling/not good enough.
Cheers!

I'm not sure if my posts are among those who have shocked you or not. My impression on here is that most posters have been quite positive about Dragusin.

Defensively he's had some poor moments, but as you say changing team, still in his first year here, young. Overall I think he's been really good defensively. Also no questioning his attitude, mentality, willingness to get stuck in and his appetite for defending. Obviously stand out as a box defender, but I also like what he does when opponents have the ball on the ground against him. Perhaps struggling a little bit with getting used to the high line, as should be expected.

On the ball I do think he's struggling a fair bit. I agree that his passing is fine in isolation, as long as he's not under real pressure. Even put in some really good passes. Also a fairly strong carrier of the ball. He's not comfortable under pressure on the ball imo. Hopefully he can develop on that side of the game.

Comes down to how important people see that aspect of the game for a centre back. I think it's really important for us, playing the way we do. I think he has to improve on that or we'll look for other options at some point. But still young.

I don't think he's a great profile fit (on the ball stuff) , but brought in anyway because we were desperate for another starting level CB. Not on him that he's not a great profile fit.

Very happy we have him. But we've also really missed Romero who offers so much more on the ball.

If that is shocking that's fine. Not a nationality thing for me I think.

 

[LutonSpurs]

He plays the offside trap very well, he is quick. A monster in the air. So young. Can tackle. Has a few errors but it is not an easy system for any CB let alone a kid thrown in with even younger kids. He is gonna be fine in my view.

 

[Yiddo]

I Think he should keep his place, him and VDV when VDV is fit.

 

[Muttley]

I Think he should keep his place, him and VDV when VDV is fit.

I'd like to think Ange will now rotate his 3 senior centre halves. Some would argue he should be including Gray in the rotation as well.

Happy days.

 

[Yiddo]

I'd like to think Ange will now rotate his 3 senior centre halves. Some would argue he should be including Gray in the rotation as well.

Happy days.

I hope we buy a 4th CB i would rather play Gray in the number 6 where he is blatantly natural in that position.