The Defensive Midfielder

[Spurs7891]

If Palace can get a midfielder like Cabaye there have got to be suitable players we can buy. What we gain in chasing last minute value at the end of transfer window we lose in points when we have not strengthened our team

I was thinking the same. Why didn't we try to get players like Cabaye ? It seems like Pochettino and Levy only want to play the home-grown youngsters now.

 

[richardanthonyc]

Tom Carroll performed the role admirably for Swansea ast season. Was rather disappointed he did not start

 

[Mumorn]

Tom Carroll performed the role admirably for Swansea ast season. Was rather disappointed he did not start

thought he was crap there personally. thought he looked better further forward.

 

[Mumorn]

I have been saying for a while that our CM is our biggest weakness and that we need to upgrade in that area, before anyone jumps in saying that Poch will not play a DM I will say again that is not what I am on about. What we need is a CM player who has a defensive mind set and will see players running in behind them etc, neither one of our present CM do that.

I watched Dier yesterday and seeing as it was his first real challenge in that position I thought he did well, I am not saying he will be the long term answer but he is better then what we have and deserves more games to grow into it. I am still hoping that we will upgrade but until we do than he should remain in the team.

dier was solid yesterday. first half he was doing the job of two midfielders due to bentalebs performance - but like you said, his first real challenge away at old trafford and he was fine, some great tackles in there too - im happy for dier to play dm when he needs to come in and do a job but as a starter? no thanks, i feel we need a genuine dm.

 

[Sandman]

I would still prefer to see Dembele play in that position. It was the reason we bought him in the first place that we he was playing so well as a Deep midfielder who could retain possession and pass it on. We we have done now is go back to the problem Fulham had before Jol changed is position. In that we can see he can beat people so we have moved him further upfield again. But he is not incisive enough in those positions bar the odd game here and there. Put him back in the centre. I really would like to see a midfield three of:

--------------Dembele----------------
----Mason---------------Benteleb----

 

[scaramanga]

That's too convenient for me. Man Utd, Chel53a, Real, Barca, City and l'arse are not competing with us for a defensive midfielder. I don't blame levy either, I doubt he is currently negotiating our transfers. I would suspect he has other things on his mind.

?
Utd bought the midfielder we were after.

Real bought a midfielder from us who was very good defensively.

Before that, Utd bought our defensive midfielder from us.

 

[NaijaSpurs]

I was thinking the same. Why didn't we try to get players like Cabaye ? It seems like Pochettino and Levy only want to play the home-grown youngsters now.

And although he is not a defensive midfield player watching Georginio Wijnaldum scoring against Southampton reminds me won the Dutch player of the season ahead of Depay last season. The fact that Saudi Sportswashing Machine signed him means that there are players available that can improve our team

 

[NaijaSpurs]

?
Utd bought the midfielder we were after.

But we never had a chance to sign him because the player made it clear he would not leave Southampton for a non CL side and with the wages we pay we could not tempt him money

 

[Robspur12]

?
Utd bought the midfielder we were after.

Real bought a midfielder from us who was very good defensively.

Before that, Utd bought our defensive midfielder from us.

Schneiderlin is not the only defensive midfielder. Don't see the relevance in bringing up the past.

 

[Robspur12]

And although he is not a defensive midfield player watching Georginio Wijnaldum scoring against Southampton reminds me won the Dutch player of the season ahead of Depay last season. The fact that Saudi Sportswashing Machine signed him means that there are players available that can improve our team

Didn't wait until the last week of the transfer window either.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

I would still prefer to see Dembele play in that position. It was the reason we bought him in the first place that we he was playing so well as a Deep midfielder who could retain possession and pass it on. We we have done now is go back to the problem Fulham had before Jol changed is position. In that we can see he can beat people so we have moved him further upfield again. But he is not incisive enough in those positions bar the odd game here and there. Put him back in the centre. I really would like to see a midfield three of:

--------------Dembele----------------
----Mason---------------Benteleb----

That's the system that's works for me unless we do buy someone

The problem yesterday was that our wide options were limited by lLamelllas lack of effectiveness on the right hence dembele being played out there

If we do sign a tidy wide forward we can put players in positions where there at there best

I was really impressed with Dier by the way. He ,ore than held his own and it will help his experience

 

[parklane1]

dier was solid yesterday. first half he was doing the job of two midfielders due to bentalebs performance - but like you said, his first real challenge away at old trafford and he was fine, some great tackles in there too - im happy for dier to play dm when he needs to come in and do a job but as a starter? no thanks, i feel we need a genuine dm.

I hope we bring one in as well, however if for some reason we fail we should give Dier the job because he is already better then Mason in that position ( imo).

 

[parklane1]

I would still prefer to see Dembele play in that position. It was the reason we bought him in the first place that we he was playing so well as a Deep midfielder who could retain possession and pass it on. We we have done now is go back to the problem Fulham had before Jol changed is position. In that we can see he can beat people so we have moved him further upfield again. But he is not incisive enough in those positions bar the odd game here and there. Put him back in the centre. I really would like to see a midfield three of:

--------------Dembele----------------
----Mason---------------Benteleb----

I still think that Dembele will be gone before the end of the season, he promises much but very rarely delivers.

 

[Gutter Boy]

While Bentaleb's mistake caused the goal, I believe Levy and our scouting staff need to be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. If Poch was able to identify that both Capoue and Stambouli were going to be sold be it for footballing or non footballing reasons then I really think a replacement should have been identified, and if not why not?

It is all well and good Levy looking for a last minute bargain, but I find it hard to believe that there is not a suitable defensive midfielder available somewhere in the footballing world that would improve us and would want to sign for us if we offered the right money.

We have known for a while that our first match was away to Utd, you would have thought that would focus the mind of our management team, but obviously not

Capoue and Stambouli played about 8 league games between them last season, and only when Mason or Bentaleb were injured/at ACN. They contributed almost nothing.

 

[DublinSpur]

Capoue and Stambouli played about 8 league games between them last season, and only when Mason or Bentaleb were injured/at ACN. They contributed almost nothing.

We all see different things when we watch football, so we all end up with different subjective opinions. But you really can't expect to be taken seriously when you just make brick up to suit your position. Capoue and Stambouli featured in a total of 24 matches between them (in the league). Admittedly Stambouli was mostly used as a substitute; but between them they still spent 1,364 minutes on the pitch in the premier league which equates to a total of almost 15 and a half matches (or about double your estimate).

And that ignores the fairly significant role Stambouli played in our cup side. I get that you don't rate either player, and I get that you clearly don't see much value in the cups; but I don't get how you can casually halve the amount of time they spent on the pitch in the league just because it supports your argument.

 

[NaijaSpurs]

Capoue and Stambouli played about 8 league games between them last season, and only when Mason or Bentaleb were injured/at ACN. They contributed almost nothing.

But that does not detract from the fact that our central midfield has a soft underbelly

 

[scaramanga]

Schneiderlin is not the only defensive midfielder. Don't see the relevance in bringing up the past.

It shows that we are competing with these teams at times.

The number of players in each position in the "good enough to get us 4th, not good enough to interest the top 4" are tiny.

 

[the dza]

I didn't see much of pre-season, but I thought Dier did quite well against Utd. He could grow into the position imo.

If you think of him as a new midfielder, Carroll coming back and Ali being signed, then they pretty much replace Capoue, Stambouli and Paulinho.

 

[Robspur12]

It shows that we are competing with these teams at times.

The number of players in each position in the "good enough to get us 4th, not good enough to interest the top 4" are tiny.

At this point in time I don't think that provides a good enough explanation as to why we haven't signed a decent defensive midfielder or striker.

 

[Yoof]

At this point in time I don't think that provides a good enough explanation as to why we haven't signed a decent defensive midfielder or striker.

Poch doesn't want one and we want Ade and/or Soldado out first.