It makes more sense if you think of teams that play with a single 'pivot', i.e a single player that plays just in front of the defence and is trusted with playing the ball about in any direction depending on the circumstances. It might sound like pretty much any player could fulfil this role, but actually it takes someone who can read the game really well to decide when to turn defence into attack, or whether to play keep-ball and knock it backwards to give his mates a breather. Everything revolves around this player. The trouble is it's relatively easy to combat this system by man-marking him. A double pivot is exactly what it says - two players who perform this role. It's more flexible and harder to combat when done well, but communication between the pair has to be spot on. That almost sounded like I know what I'm talking about, didn't it?
So in conclusion, after reading the posts and the articles it appears that double pivot is a fancy way of saying there are two defensive midfielders and if one goes forward the other one stays back. Pretty sure this idea has been around for many years, even in Sunday league football and was just called "covering". Sounds like an attempt to intellectualise football, much like the notion that you can only be a manager/coach if you learn about it on some UEFA money-spinning coaching course.
pfft. Do you even understand offside? Double divot is where a player kicks the ball so high and so hard that he kicks two lumps of turf out of the ground. It's a very good system.
"And today lads, we'll be playing a 4-twodefensivemidfieldersandifonegoesforwardtheotherstaysback-3-1." Neither player in a double pivot really gets forward, they'll shift across, support and switch the play, then cover the FBs. For example, Fabregas and Matic are a pair in a 4-2-3-1, but aren't a double pivot; Fernandinho and Toure sometimes play together, but aren't a double pivot, they aren't attached like a double pivot. It's not trying to be fancy, there are genuine differences.
Didn't we have a bid of £6M accepted for him a few weeks ago, around the time the Perotti rumours started? I just assumed it had all gone quiet as we couldn't persuade Stambouli to come here.
Yes, it's clearly easier to say "there are two defensive midfielders and if one goes forward the other one stays back". While we at it, we should stop using words to describe other football terms too. It's too intellectual. Goalkeeper = "player who is allowed to use his hands inside the clearly marked confines of the box, takes goal kicks, and attempts to stop the opposition scoring at all costs". Target man = "big lump of a ****er who meanders around in the opposition half contesting high balls or attempting to shield the ball from the opposition long enough for his team mates to arrive". Poacher = "quick little ****er who goal hangs whenever possible and attempts to run very fast past the last defender so that he can score while otherwise offering little to the team because he's a dirty little goal hanger". Clearly a massive improvement, on reflection.
Crikey! Spurs fans really annoy me! I don't know much about these two players other than what little I've seen of them and what more informed members have posted on here. I have just arranged a lesson for next week with a lovely chap I coach who is a Spurs fan.I thanked him for Capoue and Stambouli and he was very dismissive,inferring they weren't good enough for his team.This attitude persists in almost every Spurs fan I know,young,middle aged or old. Everytime I've been to White Hart Lane,watching us or as a neutral I've found their crowd very quick to condemn their players. I REALLY hope these two lads are fantastic for us and show these fickle nitwits a thing or two! Rant over,back to Morse!
White Hart Lane is pretty toxic - that's why I stopped going. Think us Spurs fans are a pretty entitled and spoiled lot really...:dismay: Think Cap and Benji will form a very solid and capable pairing for you - alongside hopefully a more creative presence - and might pop along to see a few of your games as you'll be my local team and see how they're getting on!
As Gomes said, Spurs have a habit of ruining careers. All the Spurs fans I spoke to laughed when we signed Gomes and said he was completely hopeless. With that in mind, I would dismiss the views of Tottenham fans over their outgoing players.
I've had an extensive trawl of Spurs message boards today, and while there are a few people saying both players are useless etc, there's a lot of positivity too, and a feeling it's a good deal for us. On one forum a Watford fan had posted some very good comments about how pleased he was about this deal, and received a good response to them. In summary.. Capoue was seen as a very good player at first, including a stand-out performance against United 'a Vieira in the making') , but went off the boil after injury, failed to get back into the side because Sherwood had come in, and was then frozen out after Christmas under Poch. Some talk of a bad attitude, and a fall-out with the manager. Not blessed with much speed, but praise for his tackling and his distribution in the Spurs half of the pitch. Alot of posters said he has a lot of potential and were sad Spurs couldn't get the best out of him. Stambouli..a lot of fans said he deserved more of a chance. There was a theory that Poch wanted Schneiderlin, Levy signed Stambouli as a 'second best' and Poch wasn't happy. Described as a neat footballer, a good tackler, again a good passer in Spurs half but not seen as much of an attacking force. Played a game in central defence. Again a lot of talk of Spurs failing to get the best out of him and a move to another club maybe succeeding in doing that. I've always said defensive mid is the most unheralded, unglamorous position in a team, but quite a few posters were astute enough to realise the 'dirty' job both did at times for Spurs, in order to release the attacking talent further up the pitch..the likes of Eriksen, Lamela, Chadli and last season Kane. I think to sign two PL experienced such players, for 10 million, both not yet at their prime, is a good deal, and if they can find their old form and play well as a pairing, winning the ball and releasing the likes of Abdi, Vydra and whoever our star winger is going to be, we'll have done great business!!!
Worrying to hear some of the comments from Spurs fans. Sounds like we're signing two duds. Who would know better than the fans who've seen them play week in and week out for the last season or two? Seems like a desperate move, probably prompted by our failure to persuade our top targets to sign.
Personally, if we forked out on these two (eventually) I'd be pissed off if they were here at the expense of Getting Adlene G If he was available.
Imho Moog simply needs to revise his sarcasm to serious ratio which is currently running at about 20:1.
Genuine question - a lot of people are making comments along the lines of signing these two would be a real statement of intent, that they are very good players and they'll really improve the squad. Can anyone tell me what they're basing that on? Neither have made any real impact on the Premier League so they're not the proven Premier League performers that we'd all like to bolster the squad. Is it based on their performances in Ligue 1, YouTube videos, computer games stats or something else? I am happy to admit I have no idea if they're any good at all but am curious as to why so many people see this as a really positive step. Personally, for £10 million I would want a couple of players whose careers are on an upward trajectory and have just come off the back of a really good season, not two who have made a negligible impact on the league we're looking to compete in. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with us taking a gamble on players who have something to prove and need to get their careers back on track, it's just the pricing and the consensus that they will both be really good signings that confuses me. I'd be grateful for anyone's reasoning as to why I should be more optimistic about these two!
Mate all £8mill gets you is Mings, and to be honest having heard all the hype, I made a point of paying him particular attention during the games I saw him in, and what I saw of him, I was less than impressed.
Both outstanding at their clubs before spuds Capoue looks a bit like a grown up version of Chalobah (or rather one where he doesn't end up ruined) Failure at spuds is no measure - Gomes was outstanding last year for us (as he had been for PSV Eindhoven) but wasn't given the time of day there (!?) The Udinese scouting team I imagine will have viewed video after video in the magic TV room at Friuli and given the thumbs up (pretty sure I've read in TFTV they capture and record all football broadcast from major markets worldwide on an almost continuous basis and then can sort and filter by player to review a heap of material) Capoue (according to twitter) has been at the training ground so assume QSF likes what he sees £10 mill doesn't get you much these days in football terms - they look decent value for money Both young and still not at their peak
The pricing isn't that outrageous really, the Premier League and the club has changed since 2006 and 10 million for a couple of players is nothing extravagant. My excitement about these signings isn't based on their performances for Spurs. If it were I'd be pretty negative. Instead, I look at there performances before they arrived at White Hart Lane. Capoue was a star for Toulouse and Spurs had to beat a number of top clubs for his signature. Stambouli was less in demand but still played very well for Montpellier. If we were signing both of these players before they joined Spurs then we would be parting with 15m at the very least. Just because they haven't made a big impact at Spurs reflects the club and not the players. They have an awful record of signing talented players and completely ruining them. Whether that's the fault of the coaches or the demanding fans, I don't know, but I think the club have correctly identified Spurs as a place where talented players have gone to die. If we can take those players away from that environment into one where they can develop properly with regular game time and support from the stands, then 10m isn't a huge investment considering how good these two could be.
