Ndombele (signed for Spurs)

[mosssideblue]

I think that Ndombele is neither the first nor the second option for Pep, since he does not care if another club in winter buys it, is not doing something to avoid it, Pep will play all his cards in the summer with De Jong , if the Dutchman comes to prefer Barcelona and Ndombele has already been sold, I think we would be in the oven due to the stubbornness of our coach, and even more so if we are sanctioned with 1 year without being able to sign, I do not know what we are going to do with Fernandinho with 34- 35 years.
The best thing that can happen to us is that Lyon qualify (as second) to the knockout stages of the Champions League and to distance the big clubs until next summer, so that we can have a good option in case the Dutch option fails.

Sorry but that is simply speculative bolloccks from you

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Sorry but that is simply speculative bolloccks from you

I raise your speculative bolloccks and give you specculative bboollloocckkss!

 

[Andrew___K]

Happened to watch the Lille-Lyon game on Saturday.

Lyon used 3-4-1-2 formation with 2 CMs - Aouar and Ndombele - which performed identical roles on each halves of the pitch. Both were sitting deep and had the same function as Pep's usual 'double pivot' in front of the back 3 - initiating moves and catching oppo's counters. Most of the time they stayed on the same line, occasionally one of them roamed further up the pitch - usually it's far more creative Aouar - but I wouldn't say that one of them is more 'defensive' than the other.

I tried to follow every action of the midfield duo and oh boy, Aouar is probably the first youngster in years that's screaming 'Xavi' for me. Looked the best midfielder on the pitch, on par with Lyon's number 10 Depay. His passing and ability in tight spaces are as close to young Xavi as it gets. And he's very intelligent, does only the bare minimum needed to complete a team move.

I can see why he's gone a bit under radar of the press:
- he's playing quite deep, and pressing barely exists in the French league, so the opportunities to show his technique are rare
- CMs are not meant to do a lot in attack in the current Lyon setup
- he has fantastic close control but isn't flashy, looks even awkward when you watch him for the first time
- I guess his breakthough has happened only in the last few months. When I watched CSKA-Lyon last season, the midfield duo was all over the place.


Ndombele, on the other hand, didn't do anything of notice. I reckon his skillset - tackling, aggression, dribbling, ability to hold the ball under pressure - stands out against better teams that dominate possession and press all over the pitch. It's no coincidence that Ndombele's most praised performances were against PSG and ManCity.

But when his team becomes a protagonist, Ndombele looks far less useful, he's below par as a deep lying playmaker. Avoids the press very well, but rarely makes creative passes afterwards. IMO Kovacic as Madrid's DM is a good comparison, the main pattern of play is the same: get the ball under pressure, dribble 1-2 opponents (even when it's not necessary), then make a simple pass.

Think Ndombele would be a good 8 or 6 for pressing teams focused on fast transitions, like Liverpool. I'd prefer City to avoid him and focus on more creative solutions.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

Happened to watch the Lille-Lyon game on Saturday.

Lyon used 3-4-1-2 formation with 2 CMs - Aouar and Ndombele - which performed identical roles on each halves of the pitch. Both were sitting deep and had the same function as Pep's usual 'double pivot' in front of the back 3 - initiating moves and catching oppo's counters. Most of the time they stayed on the same line, occasionally one of them roamed further up the pitch - usually it's far more creative Aouar - but I wouldn't say that one of them is more 'defensive' than the other.

I tried to follow every action of the midfield duo and oh boy, Aouar is probably the first youngster in years that's screaming 'Xavi' for me. Looked the best midfielder on the pitch, on par with Lyon's number 10 Depay. His passing and ability in tight spaces are as close to young Xavi as it gets. And he's very intelligent, does only the bare minimum needed to complete a team move.

I can see why he's gone a bit under radar of the press:
- he's playing quite deep, and pressing barely exists in the French league, so the opportunities to show his technique are rare
- CMs are not meant to do a lot in attack in the current Lyon setup
- he has fantastic close control but isn't flashy, looks even awkward when you watch him for the first time
- I guess his breakthough has happened only in the last few months. When I watched CSKA-Lyon last season, the midfield duo was all over the place.


Ndombele, on the other hand, didn't do anything of notice. I reckon his skillset - tackling, aggression, dribbling, ability to hold the ball under pressure - stands out against better teams that dominate possession and press all over the pitch. It's no coincidence that Ndombele's most praised performances were against PSG and ManCity.

But when his team becomes a protagonist, Ndombele looks far less useful, he's below par as a deep lying playmaker. Avoids the press very well, but rarely makes creative passes afterwards. IMO Kovacic as Madrid's DM is a good comparison, the main pattern of play is the same: get the ball under pressure, dribble 1-2 opponents (even when it's not necessary), then make a simple pass.

Think Ndombele would be a good 8 or 6 for pressing teams focused on fast transitions, like Liverpool. I'd prefer City to avoid him and focus on more creative solutions.

Interesting - thanks Andrew.

That's probably what Pep saw too when he commented after our last game with Lyon.

 

[GX Blue]

Happened to watch the Lille-Lyon game on Saturday.

Lyon used 3-4-1-2 formation with 2 CMs - Aouar and Ndombele - which performed identical roles on each halves of the pitch. Both were sitting deep and had the same function as Pep's usual 'double pivot' in front of the back 3 - initiating moves and catching oppo's counters. Most of the time they stayed on the same line, occasionally one of them roamed further up the pitch - usually it's far more creative Aouar - but I wouldn't say that one of them is more 'defensive' than the other.

I tried to follow every action of the midfield duo and oh boy, Aouar is probably the first youngster in years that's screaming 'Xavi' for me. Looked the best midfielder on the pitch, on par with Lyon's number 10 Depay. His passing and ability in tight spaces are as close to young Xavi as it gets. And he's very intelligent, does only the bare minimum needed to complete a team move.

I can see why he's gone a bit under radar of the press:
- he's playing quite deep, and pressing barely exists in the French league, so the opportunities to show his technique are rare
- CMs are not meant to do a lot in attack in the current Lyon setup
- he has fantastic close control but isn't flashy, looks even awkward when you watch him for the first time
- I guess his breakthough has happened only in the last few months. When I watched CSKA-Lyon last season, the midfield duo was all over the place.


Ndombele, on the other hand, didn't do anything of notice. I reckon his skillset - tackling, aggression, dribbling, ability to hold the ball under pressure - stands out against better teams that dominate possession and press all over the pitch. It's no coincidence that Ndombele's most praised performances were against PSG and ManCity.

But when his team becomes a protagonist, Ndombele looks far less useful, he's below par as a deep lying playmaker. Avoids the press very well, but rarely makes creative passes afterwards. IMO Kovacic as Madrid's DM is a good comparison, the main pattern of play is the same: get the ball under pressure, dribble 1-2 opponents (even when it's not necessary), then make a simple pass.

Think Ndombele would be a good 8 or 6 for pressing teams focused on fast transitions, like Liverpool. I'd prefer City to avoid him and focus on more creative solutions.

Good post mate. Nice to hear someone talk about what they have seen themselves rather than what they have heard others say.

 

[aguero93:20]

I think that Ndombele is neither the first nor the second option for Pep, since he does not care if another club in winter buys it, is not doing something to avoid it, Pep will play all his cards in the summer with De Jong , if the Dutchman comes to prefer Barcelona and Ndombele has already been sold, I think we would be in the oven due to the stubbornness of our coach, and even more so if we are sanctioned with 1 year without being able to sign, I do not know what we are going to do with Fernandinho with 34- 35 years.
The best thing that can happen to us is that Lyon qualify (as second) to the knockout stages of the Champions League and to distance the big clubs until next summer, so that we can have a good option in case the Dutch option fails.

I agree. We should take Guardiola off transfer duty and get someone dedicated to do it.
Any ideas?

 

[asahartford1]

I agree. We should take Guardiola off transfer duty and get someone dedicated to do it.
Any ideas?

Ed Woodward is the only one that comes to mind,

 

[Trunks_citizen]

I agree. We should take Guardiola off transfer duty and get someone dedicated to do it.
Any ideas?

If we are punished next summer, the absolute responsibility of not having a replacement for Fernandinho will be Pep, knowing that he could sign in January and he did not. With Mendy's injury, we had a small squad in the midfield as Delph became the first option for the left back. Chelsea has 6 central midfielders, united has 6, liverpool 6, and we only Fernandinho and we have to improvise players who are not specialists and that in a definitive stage of Champions, level teams make you pay dearly, as we saw against liverpool last season in champions where our midfield could not counteract the physical exuberance of them and this year happened with Lyon.
Ndombele will go to Madrid or London in winter and if De Jong chooses Barcelona we will be left with only options for second-order players.

 

[aguero93:20]

If we are punished next summer, the absolute responsibility of not having a replacement for Fernandinho will be Pep, knowing that he could sign in January and he did not. With Mendy's injury, we had a small squad in the midfield as Delph became the first option for the left back. Chelsea has 6 central midfielders, united has 6, liverpool 6, and we only Fernandinho and we have to improvise players who are not specialists and that in a definitive stage of Champions, level teams make you pay dearly, as we saw against liverpool last season in champions where our midfield could not counteract the physical exuberance of them and this year happened with Lyon.
Ndombele will go to Madrid or London in winter and if De Jong chooses Barcelona we will be left with only options for second-order players.

So who do you think we should put on transfers?

 

[lightning Rodri]

I still think this guy's could be Fernandinho with dribbling skills.
What Aour does, Bernardo already does for us.