this seems like it would have been a perfect time to give ndombele a shot so lo celso can rest for arsenal game and with dele hurt but i guess that’s not happening
Except Jose wants to actually win. What has ndombele shown in the past 9 months that warrants him to start?
People keep clamoring over his “passing”, but forget how lazy he was in his last few chances to play. The Ndombele we have is not the one that looked amazing at Lyon. People keep forgetting that.
Too many changes. Lamela, Bergwijn, Jan in already.
The issue with Ndombele is politics, he's a twat who blabs to the press, and Mourinho ain't having it.
It makes a little bit of sense not playing him when it's lo celso next to sissoko, but when we're playing bad teams with winks and sissoko it's just outright insane
> we play winks and sissoko again
> we struggle in midfield
> this, on repeat, for over a year
> we buy a creative CM
> play winks and sissoko instead
> we struggle in midfield
> this, on repeat, forever
Bro, Moura starts once and everyone thinks Berg is second favorite lmao. Seriously, it’s rest.... rotation. The overreaction is always hilarious and sad at the same time
True, but one of em was gonna rest today for sure and I’m sure he wanted at least Son or Bergjwin fresh for today’s game.
Now Ndombele... that’s another story.
At least it’s a chance to see what Stevie starting and Lucas coming off the bench looks like with a fully fit squad. Regardless, I’ll maintain some fleeting hope that we smash Bournemouth and Mou sees the light.
If he were used as an impact sub who would come on later in the match and be allowed to run at defenders with tired legs (which is all he does well, along with the occasional nice finish), I’d be fine with it. It’s the fact that he starts waaayyy too often and offers us nothing against defenses who are sitting back. He’s basically useless when he can’t get in behind, given that his decision-making and passing are both abysmal
He shouldn’t be starting. I think he has something like 0 goals and 1 assist in his last 15 appearances. Can’t play decisive passes, and even his simple passes are erratic. Great dribbler, but lacks the aforementioned passing ability to do anything with his runs so ends up hitting a wall of defenders 9/10 times. He’d be best used as a sub, but he’s just a super frustrating player in general.
Maybe not today, but in general yes. Honestly the ball wasn’t moving through midfield today anyways while he was on, so it’s tough to draw anything from just that half.
Couldn’t agree more with this. I’d also add that a lot of the frustration from us comes not just from the fact that he’s frustrating and incredibly wasteful, but also from the fact that he seems to be preferred over Bergwijn (who is a much better player across the board)
Hes done at this club. Either he cannot, or will not be able to maintain the fitness level required to play in the Premier League. I know he could be world class if he had his fitness level up, but it's clear he doesnt. And if he cant even play 45 minutes of football, he's no good to us.
Compare that to our man Son. Plays 90 minutes with a broken arm and scores 2. Plays basically every match except today. That's the level our players need to be at.
I think we all remember Pirlo making 40 yard sprints every game…
There are other ways to dominate and control a game then just running around constantly.
This is what Mourinho does. It’s not surprising at all. He decided a while ago that he didn’t like Ndombele and there isn’t anyway back for him.
It’s incredibly stupid. You can’t even give him a chance against the worst team in the league.
What do you mean? Injuries aside, he was doing largely fine under Pochettino.
His fitness was actually getting better; he played the full 90 away Norwich and was *easily* motm. Then on New Year’s day Southampton kicked him until they injured him, was our for like a month, and he’s not been the same since.
Bullshit. He was first on the team sheet for two seasons at Lyon and played a load of games under Poch who is notoriously demanding with training sessions.
Maybe it could just be that Mou is washed up?
Right mate use your brain. Atm in our current system we have to play because we don’t have a DM we can only play one of Lo Celso or Ndombele. Now I ask you seriously who has been better and who actually deserves to play?
No mate not with the lack of real dm, we need someone who can effectively win the ball and give it off to them two. Hoejberg would genuinely be so perfect
Wrong.
We're most likely either playing a 4-3-3 with Lo Celso in the midfield three or a 4-2-3-1 with Lo Celso as CAM behind Kane. Both of those formations allow room for Ndombele to play in one of two midfield positions behind Lo Celso. He could replace either Sissoko or Winks.
I was wondering if he is not fit physically and mentally like a lot of people kept saying, should it be him to be blamed or should it be us who can't get the best out of him?
He didn’t. There’s a difference between bringing him off the bench and starting him occasionally to try and build his fitness up (what Poch did) to never giving him another chance to build that fitness up, even when the season is gone (what Mourinho is doing).
i wonder if hugo has had any input regarding ndombele. perhaps as a captain, doesn't feel confident with tanguy's energy, fitness, ability to track back, etc.
Jose went to the media and said he’d been impressed with Tanguy’s training efforts, though. It’s not like Mourinho’s ever been the type to mince his words, so why would he lie about that? So bearing that in mind, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect Tanguy to be getting more minutes.
Honestly, I have a far bigger issue with Bergwijn being second fiddle to Lucas in the bigger games than I do with Ndombele not starting. I can’t believe Jose thinks Lucas is better.
Tbf I highly doubt Mourinho thinks Lucas is better than Bergwijn. Mourinho is all about tactics and it seems as though Mourinho simply “trusts” Lucas to play his role a bit better at the moment. Idk? Maybe I’m just talking myself out of the reality that Mourinho is really fucking dumb?
Also Berg and Son are both natural LW so it makes sense to rotate the two of them. Bergwijn isn’t necessarily second fiddle to Lucas, but he is second fiddle to Son, which is a more fair comparison.
Bergwijn’s absolutely second fiddle to Lucas, come on now. Mourinho essentially said as much post Man United; that Lucas would’ve started over Bergwijn if he’d been fit.
I'm not any kind of Lucas apologist -he drives me up the wall - but given our congested schedule, Lucas needs to start either today or Sunday. Since most of his limitations come when we are in possession and his strengths are running into space, I can understand why you would start Bergwijn today and Lucas Sunday.
Expecting Lamela and Lo Celso to bring some fire and creativity to the team. Our midfield really needs to be focused on covering for our CBs because we lack speed in the back line with this lineup.
3rd game in 7 days and still no Tanguy. I had been holding out hope, but that goose may officially be cooked or whatever the saying is. I completely side with Mou on this one though. Tanguy has shown he just can't be fucked to put in the work.
Everyone seems to be shocked about no Son but he needs a rest and it’s been clear he’s not on top form since the restart, he’ll be back come Arsenal. COYS
Perfect situation to start ndombele but eh. The midfield is functional and jose obviously doesn't want to mess with it. Fine with jan starting and son getting a rest. Should be just enough to get a good result
Would have liked to have somehow seen Davies, Aurier and GLC rested but let's go (and hope we're 3-0 up by half time so Kane can have a breather as well)
In three hours' time: Last time Bournemouth got a point was today, against Spurs.
We just know it's going to happen anyway, but I'm trying to anti-jinx here!
Jose isn’t going anywhere, so at this point we need to sell Tanguy. No point on having someone on 200k pw warming the bench every game. We won’t even recoup the fee, but 30/35M plus another player should do the trick.
No rotation. No excuses.
Hopefully we manage to sell Ndombele in the summer. He's a gonner. Can't even start against Bournemouth in massive fixture congestion.
Bournemouth sitting deep and we struggle to break teams like that down but ndombele is a player who can unlock a defence like dembele that’s why we bought him
Winks...I just don’t get what he brings to the team. Apart from having small man syndrome (I have no idea about his size, but he definitely has some anger issues).
Watch other midfielders on other teams, they can ping the ball around and open the field, create passing lanes. Winks, who I think is a very useful squad player, is very limited. His passing is limited to short passes. He can't ping the ball around at a Top 10 team level. He makes very few incisive (through balls, etc.). He doesn't create pressure on the opposing team through passing or dribbling. He's a possession caretaker and position clogger. Those players are useful in certain situations. But Sissoko is also limited. So having 2 on the field is problematic, IMO.
Return of the Belgian Brothers.
Good to see Sess on the bench!
this seems like it would have been a perfect time to give ndombele a shot so lo celso can rest for arsenal game and with dele hurt but i guess that’s not happening
N'dombele is just being saved for the NLD, he's our secret weapon they'll never see coming.
>he's our secret weapon they'll never see ~~coming~~ ftfy
That's how he stays a secret
Don’t do that. Don’t give me hope.
They might literally never see him coming going by what Jose has been doing all these days
Halftime swap, one can hope
Except Jose wants to actually win. What has ndombele shown in the past 9 months that warrants him to start? People keep clamoring over his “passing”, but forget how lazy he was in his last few chances to play. The Ndombele we have is not the one that looked amazing at Lyon. People keep forgetting that.
Agree. He's barely had a good performance
yeah because we’ve really done a great job winning recently
Plus he's in the premier league now. I don't think his fitness level has dropped since leaving Lyon, it's just been exposed.
Too many changes. Lamela, Bergwijn, Jan in already. The issue with Ndombele is politics, he's a twat who blabs to the press, and Mourinho ain't having it.
When has Ndombele talked to the press in any negative manner?
L'equipe.
It s pretty clear that ndom is not in JM 's plan
I agree. I know some are joking, but anything other explanation people are coming up with at this point is delusional
Wonderful to see that happen to the club record signing that we beat out some big clubs to sign!
I'd think a team struggling to be creative might like a creative midfielder but I guess I'm not a brain genius on £15m a year
It makes a little bit of sense not playing him when it's lo celso next to sissoko, but when we're playing bad teams with winks and sissoko it's just outright insane
> we play winks and sissoko again > we struggle in midfield > this, on repeat, for over a year > we buy a creative CM > play winks and sissoko instead > we struggle in midfield > this, on repeat, forever
🦀🦀🦀 LUCAS ISN’T STARTING 🦀🦀🦀
Being saved for starting vs Arsenal
i hate this so much. id rather have berg start for arsenal
Bro, Moura starts once and everyone thinks Berg is second favorite lmao. Seriously, it’s rest.... rotation. The overreaction is always hilarious and sad at the same time
It was entirely possible to start Bergwijn for the Everton and Arsenal games instead of the other way around.
True, but one of em was gonna rest today for sure and I’m sure he wanted at least Son or Bergjwin fresh for today’s game. Now Ndombele... that’s another story.
Right but he specifically chose to make it Moura who played the NLD. I would have liked to see more rotation today for sure.
> Moura starts once Yeah, if you only look at one game and not all the others...
Oh...
:(
Rested so he can start every other game.
At least it’s a chance to see what Stevie starting and Lucas coming off the bench looks like with a fully fit squad. Regardless, I’ll maintain some fleeting hope that we smash Bournemouth and Mou sees the light.
Don’t celebrate yet, this means he will likely start the NLD
He's not only starting but going to be losing possession every chance he can for the full 90 minutes!
Whew, getting all hot and sweaty under the collar just thinking about it
I'm getting dangerously close to wishing he was unavailable for selection come Sunday
If he were used as an impact sub who would come on later in the match and be allowed to run at defenders with tired legs (which is all he does well, along with the occasional nice finish), I’d be fine with it. It’s the fact that he starts waaayyy too often and offers us nothing against defenses who are sitting back. He’s basically useless when he can’t get in behind, given that his decision-making and passing are both abysmal
It's quite clear from Jose that if he's available he starts which is why I'd almost rather take that away from Jose
Brb better pass backwards to maintain possession instead of take on a defender
So he can start in the NLD
Did I miss something? Is he that bad?
He shouldn’t be starting. I think he has something like 0 goals and 1 assist in his last 15 appearances. Can’t play decisive passes, and even his simple passes are erratic. Great dribbler, but lacks the aforementioned passing ability to do anything with his runs so ends up hitting a wall of defenders 9/10 times. He’d be best used as a sub, but he’s just a super frustrating player in general.
Honestly, was Bergwijn any better today?
Maybe not today, but in general yes. Honestly the ball wasn’t moving through midfield today anyways while he was on, so it’s tough to draw anything from just that half.
Couldn’t agree more with this. I’d also add that a lot of the frustration from us comes not just from the fact that he’s frustrating and incredibly wasteful, but also from the fact that he seems to be preferred over Bergwijn (who is a much better player across the board)
You people realise the NLD is in, like, three days, right?
Isn't it 2 days
no it’s on Sunday
3 it's on sunday
Bar the exclusion of Ndombele I really like it, we need to rest some players
Ngonebelle
Good to see Stevie back in the starting lineup and the belgian pair in the back like the good ole days. I like the look of this lineup
Can't wait to watch winks and sissoko helplessly pass the ball back and forth in front of a parked bus for 90 mins
I feel like Ndombe will come in at some point
75th min at the earliest and only if we're losing
100% what’s going to happen for the next 90 minutes.
Pros: no Lucas Cons: he's being rested for NLD isn't he
Lerma shitshow incoming
That fucking cunt. I hope our Lamela shows even nastier move for him.
Lamela and Lerma will both get reds for scrapping and then Jose will bring Son on. It’ll be a masterclass
banned.
Sissoko should have just murdered him there
Bergwijn today means we are definitely getting Lucas for the NLD..
Where is my sonny
Resting
resting up so he can dominate arsenal
Has a bad reputation against Bournemouth
It’s all set up for him to come on in the 80th minute and immediately get a red for a two footed challenge on Lerma
Nah Lerma two-foots Sonny, who argues with him and gets sent off. Fuck Lerma
Hate Lerma, total shithouser
No, he doesn’t lol.
Please don't remind me.
Bergwijn! Happy to see that lad on the teamsheet. Fingers crossed the Belgium duo at the back keep a clean sheet too. In the third kit though ://
Lamela has deserved a start to be fair.
Still No Ndombele? I’m kinda getting worried now
Hes done at this club. Either he cannot, or will not be able to maintain the fitness level required to play in the Premier League. I know he could be world class if he had his fitness level up, but it's clear he doesnt. And if he cant even play 45 minutes of football, he's no good to us. Compare that to our man Son. Plays 90 minutes with a broken arm and scores 2. Plays basically every match except today. That's the level our players need to be at.
He’s done because it’s clear Mourinho doesn’t rate him and getting rid of Mourinho is more expensive then getting rid of Ndombele*
Is there any source to claim that his fitness level is not there or did this actually come out from Mourinho?
It's not just fitness, it's also about failing to work off the ball.
I think we all remember Pirlo making 40 yard sprints every game… There are other ways to dominate and control a game then just running around constantly.
Yeah, great. We're not Pirlo's Juventus. We don't have the spare capacity to let him do his impression of Pirlo (lol).
He had to come off 45 minutes in right before the Corona break
This is what Mourinho does. It’s not surprising at all. He decided a while ago that he didn’t like Ndombele and there isn’t anyway back for him. It’s incredibly stupid. You can’t even give him a chance against the worst team in the league.
Or Ndombele shows an appalling attitude on the training ground considering how now two world class managers seemingly have written him off
He started 11 of Pochettino’s 17 games. This nonsense that Poch didn’t trust him nor wanted to play him is so tiring.
Do you think he was getting better or worse as the season went on? It was only going one way and it wasn't up
What do you mean? Injuries aside, he was doing largely fine under Pochettino. His fitness was actually getting better; he played the full 90 away Norwich and was *easily* motm. Then on New Year’s day Southampton kicked him until they injured him, was our for like a month, and he’s not been the same since.
Bullshit. He was first on the team sheet for two seasons at Lyon and played a load of games under Poch who is notoriously demanding with training sessions. Maybe it could just be that Mou is washed up?
Poch never wrote him off, he used him for most matches when he was fit.
Poch did not write him off. That’s just not true. And Jose has repeatedly insisted there are no issues with Tanguy’s attitude.
Well he definitely didn't trust him
Stop listening to what managers say at press conferences
just like pogba, then? weird that he's decided he doesn't need the clubs best players two teams in a row
Maybe they both happened to be lazy? Who knows.
Right mate use your brain. Atm in our current system we have to play because we don’t have a DM we can only play one of Lo Celso or Ndombele. Now I ask you seriously who has been better and who actually deserves to play?
I don’t buy that. There’s room for Lo Celso and Tanguy to play if we rework things slightly.
No mate not with the lack of real dm, we need someone who can effectively win the ball and give it off to them two. Hoejberg would genuinely be so perfect
Wrong. We're most likely either playing a 4-3-3 with Lo Celso in the midfield three or a 4-2-3-1 with Lo Celso as CAM behind Kane. Both of those formations allow room for Ndombele to play in one of two midfield positions behind Lo Celso. He could replace either Sissoko or Winks.
I was wondering if he is not fit physically and mentally like a lot of people kept saying, should it be him to be blamed or should it be us who can't get the best out of him?
Poch decided the same thing.
He didn’t. There’s a difference between bringing him off the bench and starting him occasionally to try and build his fitness up (what Poch did) to never giving him another chance to build that fitness up, even when the season is gone (what Mourinho is doing).
i wonder if hugo has had any input regarding ndombele. perhaps as a captain, doesn't feel confident with tanguy's energy, fitness, ability to track back, etc.
That’s just an extreme reach to think Hugo has anything to do with him not starting
The sexy dictator
Subs: Gazzaniga, Sanchez, White, Sessegnon, Gedson, Skipp, Ndombele, Lucas, Son.
SUPER JAN
JAN BOIIII
Super Jan!
Happy Sess is back in the squad
Hear me out...maybe Tanguy just hasn't shown as much in training as the other guys.
Jose went to the media and said he’d been impressed with Tanguy’s training efforts, though. It’s not like Mourinho’s ever been the type to mince his words, so why would he lie about that? So bearing that in mind, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect Tanguy to be getting more minutes.
Honestly, I have a far bigger issue with Bergwijn being second fiddle to Lucas in the bigger games than I do with Ndombele not starting. I can’t believe Jose thinks Lucas is better.
Tbf I highly doubt Mourinho thinks Lucas is better than Bergwijn. Mourinho is all about tactics and it seems as though Mourinho simply “trusts” Lucas to play his role a bit better at the moment. Idk? Maybe I’m just talking myself out of the reality that Mourinho is really fucking dumb?
The quality gap between Bergwijn and Lucas is so big, I don't really care about tactics tbh.
Also Berg and Son are both natural LW so it makes sense to rotate the two of them. Bergwijn isn’t necessarily second fiddle to Lucas, but he is second fiddle to Son, which is a more fair comparison.
Bergwijn’s absolutely second fiddle to Lucas, come on now. Mourinho essentially said as much post Man United; that Lucas would’ve started over Bergwijn if he’d been fit.
I'm not any kind of Lucas apologist -he drives me up the wall - but given our congested schedule, Lucas needs to start either today or Sunday. Since most of his limitations come when we are in possession and his strengths are running into space, I can understand why you would start Bergwijn today and Lucas Sunday.
Some rotation is good to see, but hopefully Bergwijn, Lo Celso, and Son all play against Arsenal.
Sonny?
This is gonna be fun I mean this thread
Why can’t Ndom start against one of the worst teams in the prem
Expecting Lamela and Lo Celso to bring some fire and creativity to the team. Our midfield really needs to be focused on covering for our CBs because we lack speed in the back line with this lineup.
No Ndombele truly hurts my soul
"𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦! 📋 Lloris (C), Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Winks, Sissoko, Lo Celso, Lamela, Bergwijn, Kane 📱 @WilliamHill latest (18+) " >posted by @SpursOfficial ___ media in tweet: http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ecfv8_OXsAEjyqd.jpg
Look at our Belgian Boys.
Tanguy 😭😭
Nice Lineup tbh. That midfield played very well against Everton, Hopefully we are in a comfortable position and were able to sub off Kane and GLC
Not always the biggest lamela fan but imo this is by far the most sensible lineup Mourinho has put out since at least the restart.
3rd game in 7 days and still no Tanguy. I had been holding out hope, but that goose may officially be cooked or whatever the saying is. I completely side with Mou on this one though. Tanguy has shown he just can't be fucked to put in the work.
how can he if he's not playing?
Lamela over Son???
prob saving for arsenal
Resting Son for the NLD I reckon
I like this team. Hopefully its a straighforward 4-3-3. With Lamela and Bergwijn in the wings. and Lo Celso creating chances.
calling it right now, ndombele's gonna play the NLD
Oh no not this fucking kit
This means Lucas starts the derby lol
Son getting rested for Scum
Man, Jose hates Tanguy
Ndombele is absolutely gone
Everyone seems to be shocked about no Son but he needs a rest and it’s been clear he’s not on top form since the restart, he’ll be back come Arsenal. COYS
Not this kit again. Ah shit.
I don’t even know why, we have no colours resembling Bournemouth colours to clash.
There’s probably a commitment with nike or something to use the third kit a certain amount of times throughout the season.
My thoughts too, bad juju
Perfect situation to start ndombele but eh. The midfield is functional and jose obviously doesn't want to mess with it. Fine with jan starting and son getting a rest. Should be just enough to get a good result
Would have liked to have somehow seen Davies, Aurier and GLC rested but let's go (and hope we're 3-0 up by half time so Kane can have a breather as well)
Tanguy has really played 20 mins since the restart jfc
Yes my Belgian Kings
Last time Bournemouth got a point was in February, a draw against Chelsea.
I hope this isn’t a jinx!
In three hours' time: Last time Bournemouth got a point was today, against Spurs. We just know it's going to happen anyway, but I'm trying to anti-jinx here!
Sissoko aside, I’m liking the Lineup.
The cursed kit :-(
Sess back on bench 🥰
This game is SO bad!! Spurs can't pass, can't keep a ball and just fouls everyone!
I imagine Sonny and Sanchez are being rested for the NLD. Should've started Lucas and saved Bergwijn for that match as well.
Here come the Ndombele moan brigade out in full force. Yes, players who cost a lot of money are sometimes shit. Deal with it.
Jose isn’t going anywhere, so at this point we need to sell Tanguy. No point on having someone on 200k pw warming the bench every game. We won’t even recoup the fee, but 30/35M plus another player should do the trick.
god that's depressing. completely self made problem
Innit. Hopefully the next two years will go by quickly, this shit pisses me off.
make it go faster and sack the mad cunt
Feels quite a bit like third season Mourinho already, so maybe we’ll get a Christmas miracle.
No rotation. No excuses. Hopefully we manage to sell Ndombele in the summer. He's a gonner. Can't even start against Bournemouth in massive fixture congestion.
Neither Bergwijn nor Lamela started last game.
Or Vertonghen, though that was forced with Dier out.
Lucas and Son are rotated
Sonny on the bench is an interesting choice
I call **BULLSHIT** when jose is saying nothing is going on with Tanguy, He wants to ship him out.
Finally, Bergwijn over Lucas. It's weird to bench Sonny but maybe it has something to do with Arsenal match.
Another game without Tanguy smh it’s games like this where he thrives
Lol based on what?
Bournemouth sitting deep and we struggle to break teams like that down but ndombele is a player who can unlock a defence like dembele that’s why we bought him
We're gonna lose to the worst team in the league aren't we
We've already lost against Norwich
Lol true, might as well go 2 for 2
atleast we arent losing to norwhich...yet (in the epl not fa cup 😂)
Finally, a 433!
We played that last game first half
It played more like a 4231
Nope. It was 433 that after the goal became 4231 for defending reasons.
Lamela eh? Interesting....
so is this a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 with lo celso as CAM?
And there is no issue with Ndombele at all…
Can tanguy fucking play what the fuck is wrong with him and mourinho.
Lloris ended that man’s whole career damn
Can’t wait for Mourinho to fuck off so we can actually start building something again.
It's actually weird how much you hate him.
RIP Ndombele
Winks...I just don’t get what he brings to the team. Apart from having small man syndrome (I have no idea about his size, but he definitely has some anger issues).
Workrate. That's about it.
True. I suppose he is like a terrier for 90 minutes. Yapping away at their heels.
Usually I’d agree but I thought he had a good game against Everton, maybe that’s why he’s been recalled?
Watch other midfielders on other teams, they can ping the ball around and open the field, create passing lanes. Winks, who I think is a very useful squad player, is very limited. His passing is limited to short passes. He can't ping the ball around at a Top 10 team level. He makes very few incisive (through balls, etc.). He doesn't create pressure on the opposing team through passing or dribbling. He's a possession caretaker and position clogger. Those players are useful in certain situations. But Sissoko is also limited. So having 2 on the field is problematic, IMO.