Chez

Obefemi will only be 20 in a couple of days, so plenty of time for him to blossom, however, if judged right now, on what we have seen then you'd have to say that his all round game is a little limited. I also don't see a player offering high work rate. He may have a laid back style, but that shouldn't prevent him getting round the pitch to press opponents a bit more - especially as that's our tactic. If you are not doing that at 19, just in the first team, you probably never will. His first touch isn't great. The number of times he receives a throw in and immediately turns over possession is not good. I don't think he holds the ball up well enough or provides enough as a target man. Those two areas might be something he can improve on, but if your touch is not great at 19, is it ever going to be? Because of that he doesn't look like a top flight player. However, the game is not always about neat and tidy feet and deft touch, there is still room for pace, power and most importantly finishing. He does look strong for his age and reasonably sharp, although I'm not so sure he's lightning quick and his finishing, well, from what we have seen so far it is a bit hit and miss. I think we need a larger number of games to assess that and i am mindful of a James Beattie struggling to notch before eventually becoming a league leader. He has two more years on his contract, and I suspect plenty of opportunities to show what he can do.

spitballing here, but could it be that when we play away, he opposing home teams try to play out from the back more and that is exactly what our pressing game needs to be effective. AT home opposing away teams play safer and maybe longer, which means they don't get caught in possession in their own third of the pitch very often.

so we win more games? Good plan. I quite like the current third kit and would be happy to roll with that. in general I have liked the predominantly white kits over the years such as the Hummel white and green number, the Umbro all white with pin stripe and the current kit. I wasn't a huge fan of the very popular sash kit and am not keen on this year's sash either. As others have said, anything will be better than this years horror show.

Keeping KWP on the books is just dead money for Spurs and that should be the starting point of any negotiations, assuming we see him as the answer. I wonder who else in the Prem would be chasing him. Burnley maybe? Cant see them offering Spurs a big fee or the player huge wages. We should drive a very hard bargain unless there isn't another half decent right back in Europe we can attract.

Pretty decent analysis. In my eyes PEH would not be replaced by Smallbone and should he leave we'd bring a senior pro in allowing Smallbone to keep developing, but not being relied upon.

even on free, will Celtic pay another £55k or whatever a week on top. That feels like a stretch to me. Champions league qualification for the league stage might play a part...

I agree with you that we are stuck with at least two of them, which is not great. All three keepers are less than inspiring and have two, or in the case of Gunn, three years left on their contracts. Players don't budge when they have years left on their contracts unless they can earn a shed more elsewhere. This is one of those times when you wish real life squad management was more like a computer game and we could shift players in and out easier to help revamp the squad.

The Sun report that Celtic are currently only paying Forster £15k a week: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/11971686/southampton-fraser-forster-celtic-ntcham/ I think its safe to assume his full wages are four or five times that. I therefore struggle to see how Celtic can afford to pay us a transfer fee AND then match his current wages. Something would have to give.

Like the stripe thickness, just remove the black shoulders, get rid of the shield, add some sort of nice weave/subtle toning, make the collar red or white, return to the navy shorts, and it's job done. Simple, classic.

Interesting that Craig Gordon is out of contract and could well leave. Sounds like they very much regard him as their second choice https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53135170

Dier has struggled for a year or more. He looks a little slow these days, maybe an injury has caused that. I honestly don't know if he would be a good signing for us, despite him being an England regular not so long ago. Something is not right there. He chases shadows and isn't sharp at all. What's Winks like? He impressed me when I first saw him, but he has fallen out of favour. I'm guessing that's because he isn't a giant, which Mourinho prefers.

I actually thought Foyth has looked promising, but he's a CB being played out of position at right back. I don't think Spurs are blessed with defensive cover, so you have to wonder of they are of the standard we require if Spurs are happy to offload. I know you can find some gems, but Im always of the opinion that you go out and find the players the big clubs will want to sign from you a year later, not sign the players the big clubs have already worked out are not good enough.

I was reluctant to remark on his meh performance for that exact reason, but the truth is I've thought and probably said he's average pretty much since day one of hi coming here. The Inter Milan game at the San Siro was a classic example. We got hold of the game, totally dominating but time after time Hoj passes were intercepted and momentum (and time) was lost. We played pretty well that day, Ive no idea how VVD didn't score and the team win, but one of the biggest memories is just how disappointing Hoj was in possession. He's just not good enough with the ball. He's not a bad player, their isn't a lack of effort, but if the side works its socks off to get the ball you can't then give it away cheaply two second later. I honestly do not care if he goes and thats rare for Saints players with a hundred games under their belt. Of course its then all about who replaces him. If we have £25m+ to spend I'd hope we could find someone as good if not better. We will see.

We were tad fortunate not to behind early on when Norwich got beyond the press and carved us to bits on the break, but not long after we too charge and it was all us. Our high press was very effective. Norwich overplayed right into our hands, turning the ball over time after time. Our tactics won the day. Armstrong makes such a difference. We tend to look flat without him. Great to get him back. Pleased to see Valery back. I just wish he was a little more busy and nasty. He's very comfortable on the ball, but too passive and very casual. I dont think he will change, but to me he just looks like he needs a rocket up his... Not many gripes. I've never rated Hoj. He gives the ball away far too much when not under any pressure. Poor ball retention kills you in this league. I struggle to see what he does well. I'm not an Obefemi fan either, just controlling the football is an issue and I wonder if he has the quality required. I guess if he puts the ball in the back a net enough the other attributes can be overlooked. The thought of playing Long and Obefemi up front, should Ings get injured, is not exactly inspiring.

except he has a EURO60m release clause. Dortmund had to include one (going against their own policy) in order to sign him. He might jump ship for Real, but I'd expect him to stay loyal to Dortmund for another season at least if anyone else comes calling.

the quality of design isn't.

He looks strong on his youtube showreel, but seems to spend a lot of time on his arse.

I really like his showreel. Obviously he can dribble, but he seems to strikes the ball well and gets his head up to pick a man out with a cross. If you had to make a decision only based on youtube video then its a yes from me. Anyone actually watched him at Bremen? He played for Vitesse in the UEFA game against us, but I don't remember anyone in their side other than Izzy Brown.

Equally I have watched so many games where we have turned the ball over cheaply because we have lacked composure or not had the players willing to risk passing it out from the back, eventually we got tired trying to win the ball back, the space opened up and we conceded a late goal. You might not be able to remember the specific hoofed clearance that caused the goal like you can with the examples above, but the end result is the same. We will have to agree to disagree with how we want the side to play. Hoof ball certainly isn't my idea of utopia.

You are basically describing Burnley. Safety first, second third, fourth...quickly, hoof it down the line, then chase it, pick the pieces, get it into the mixer and let strong forwards do the rest. It works, to a degree, but I simply don't want to see my £120m a year wage bill spent on a team that is coached to do this. I want defenders that get the ball down and keep possession not just turn it over. When you relieve pressure in this way (hoofing it), its amazing how quickly the ball comes back at you and you are stretched again. You won't hear a larger moan at SMS than when a defender hacks the ball away straight back to our opponents rather than show composure and keep the thing. We do have players like Bertrand, Stephens (and Cedric until recently) that are comfortable on the ball and can play it out from the back. I get it, you can over play, but its all about good decision making. I want my side to pass short, then get players between the lines with ability and pace and hopefully witness goals likes we saw at Spurs.

He got done all ends up by Saint-Maximim in the first half, who then put a chance on an absolute plate for Gayle. For me that was more worrying than the mistake for the goal. He was simply too slow to stay with him. Hopefully that is just down to match sharpness, but IMO he another that perhaps has needed half a season in the championship to hone his skills. I am not convinced KWP is the answer at that position, so we may need to look again in the summer.

I think Ashley has been leading potential buyers on a merry dance for years and maybe trying to to get £400m, which is why he's still at the helm. The shape of our squad and finances doesn't make us the most attractive club to buy at the moment, but there is always a buyer somewhere if the price is right.

hard to argue with that. He gets round the pitch so quickly and when in possession drives into space making things happen. We always seem a little flat and ponderous in attack when he doesn't play . I am not sure our press is all that without him either.

I'm not a big PEH fan, gives the ball away too cheaply too often, but if this clip is anything to go by, Ndombele isn't much of a defensive midfielder

yeah, they were beating Bournemouth at nottarfkrap in the FA cup a few years ago. It didn't last.