The Curious Case of Fernando Llorente

Discussion in 'Tottenham forum' started by bigfran, November 3, 2017.

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  1. bigfran

    bigfran Member

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    When we signed the giant Spaniard for a reported 12m I asked myself the question ... Why?
    Where will he fit in? In what scenario will he start games? Or even get minutes?

    Two months into the season I'm scratching my head even more as to the logic of the purchase of a striker who will turn 33 in a few months. A like for like for Kane he ain't. A plan B some might say and yes I can 'get' that but were not really a side who go long or put cross after cross into the mixer so to speak. We play with either no wingers or inverted ones at that..
    Trippier the only genuine crosser but he tends to put the ball in early yet low and hard.

    So far apart from Madrid we have started with a sole forward and to my mind haven't ended too many with two forwards even when chasing games which is when he could be of value. Maybe he could be used to give Kane a rest once games have been put to bed but against Liverpool he was only introduced with 8 mins or so remaining and HK had strained his hamstring. The game was done and dusted and Harry should have been tucked up in bed by the time the injury occurred due to the lack of faith in the big cart horse as felon would say.

    He's had a few cup outings as would be expected but flopped in both being intact subbed off. When he has come on in more meaningful games the dynamic of the side has suffered with zero pace over the top. Against Madrid and Man Utd his intro invited the opposition back four to squeeze play due to his lack of work rate,pace and mobility and left us biting our nails v real and maybe cost us a draw v man utd.

    I don't see the logic in loaning out a 23 yr old 17m investment signing to spend another 12m flop with no resale value who will receive a similar amount of game time. At least Vincent works hard and runs channels with his pace.
    If we wanted a bean pole striker could we have got Peter Crouch on a free. Or if we wanted an impact Sub how difficult would it have been to tempt Defoe back on a short term deal if we wanted a stop gap striker who wasn't too fussed over starting games rather than waste millions.

    Son was touted as striker when we signed him at 20m, Janssen 17m and now Llorente 12m. That's almost £50m wasted on signing a back up striker. Would it have been wiser to spend the full amount on someone who can push Harry for a start or better still partner him. City Man Utd Chelsea etc don't keep signing players who are happy to back other players up. City signed Jesus to replace the untouchable Aguero and the results have been there for all to see. Aguero and City have gone from strength to strength.

    Hopefully Fernando will prove me wrong and grab a couple of goals at home to palace but Its more likely he only gets a couple of minutes.
     
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  2. Aaron Lennon Guest

    What on earth are you on about. Son is class! Jansen needs more game time. Llorente is far more experienced and astute at getting games over the line. (West Ham away and Real Madrid notably).

    He's played a handful of games and you're labelling him a flop its ridiculous!
     
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  3. Taharqa Guest

    Llorente is a viable option. His hold up play is worthy of a start in the absence of Kane. I wished he had started against Man United, with Son coming on in the latter stages of the game.
     
    burnt likes this.
  4. Hootspur Guest

    A bit harsh given the time that he has been given. Casting aspersions on Son is just not on - a great addition to the team ethos and has delivered. I'm afraid that I too have not lost faith in VJ in the same way as I stuck by Soldado! But a loan in Turkey might just give him the confidence back. I think that for £12m as a back up to HK and on wages we pay, I'm happy to give Llorente to prove his worth.
     
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  5. burnt Well-Known Member

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    His lack of pace is far from ideal in a team that lacks pace in general ... Has a beautiful touch tho and instead of swapping him with Son , maybe playing both is more the way to go with him sliding balls through for the likes of Son to run onto ... Was disappointed we didn't try this against the Mancs last Sat .. Also worked well with Kane in Madrid , he slid a few tasty ones through for Harry that night ... He'll have his uses throughout the year but I don't see him doing huge damage by himself due to a lack of mobility ... C.O.Y.S .....
     
  6. bigfran

    bigfran Member

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    I'm a big fan of Son. He's far from class.
    My point on him was he was touted to us as a CF which he clearly is not. I like his pace his movements his work rate and he plays off both feet scoring 20+ goals. I would have started both Son and Llorente v united. Fact is we didn't and when push came to shove llorente the natural striker was omitted.
    It's not too early to judge, he was brought into fill the void when Kane has been absent or in need of rest. Were nearly a third into the season and he's offered nothing. Unlike Janssen he's a seasoned pro with a full premier league season under his belt he ain't no rookie.
     
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  7. Felon82 Well-Known Member

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    I have nothing against the Cart Horse he does have his qualities and has a proven record.
    It's just he doesn't fit in with the style of play we deploy, and even as mentioned as a plan b target man we don't play that way.
    So I'm in total agreement with u Fran and it was evident in both the Real and Utd game he offers no attacking threat and it allows teams to concentrate solely on coming forward.

    Now had we bought Hernandez this would've in my eyes been a much better purchase as he offers pace and goal poaching scoring ability, and before we have people crying about he didn't want to play second fiddle, well damn right he doesn't and neither do I want anyone coming to the club 'happy' to play second fiddle. Everyone should be chomping at the bit and making a case to start.

    The age and price thing doesn't help when he's probably less threat than Jannsen.
     
  8. johnnyhrvat Guest

    Still undecided - didn't know much about his style of play before he came to us.
    I would point out however, that three seasons ago, with our forwards misfiring, fans were crying out for us to sign a striker with experience, writing off the 'kid' Harry Kane because he had none. Now we question why we bought him!
    He did set up both Erickson and Kane for decent chances at the Bernabau, then on Wednesday, he expertly controlled and shielded the ball in the centre circle, when we needed possession, and at the end of the move he failed to even try for goal when he should have made it 4-1 - the goal would have given him cult status. I think that summed him up exactly so far.
     
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  9. Bazza47

    Bazza47 Well-Known Member

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    Not enough for me to go on thus far, so will have to wait and see. Defoe and Hernandez are probably not Poch's idea of a player that fits his ideal, whereas Llorente is.
    I thought he played well in Madrid, but should indeed have made it 4-1 on Wednesday, but pulled out early. Otherwise there has just been not enough game time to form a view.
     
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  10. bigfran

    bigfran Member

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    Played the bottom of league today with two up top and got 15min due to HK injury. Nuffsaid
     
  11. Pickleman1967

    Pickleman1967 Member

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    Yeah, he came on against Palace today and didn't really offer much. As was said in the OP he lacks pace and doesn't hold the ball as much as Kane, a man in his thirties maybe we shouldn't be too surprised at that.
    I suspect Poch bought him as we have a very young squad - the Tottenham way has been to buy promising talent rather than the "finished article". Maybe the thinking was bring in an experienced goal scorer for a change, one who wont be fazed by playing in the PL against the big teams. Clearly at the moment it isn't working but I haven't given up on him "clicking" with enough game time under his belt. Let's face it if Kane gets crocked again we are looking at Llorente or Son to step up. I rate Son but he isn't a centre forward like HK, FL might be the man once he breaks his duck with a goal in open play and gets a little sharper fitness wise. Lets not write him off too soon.
     
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  12. burnt Well-Known Member

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    Great 3 points after a pretty wretched performance today .. We've thrown away a few soft points so far this year but we prob got a couple more then we deserved overall today ... Injuries are fairly mounting up at the moment , international break coming at the right time ...

    I hope the media wankers were looking at the table of Moaninhos away results against the top 6 today and make as big a deal about it as they did about ours over the last week .. Im not justifying ours , it is shockingly bad but not many games are lost at home by any of the top 6 ... Ultimately that's why they're in it ... C.O.Y.S ....
     
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  13. burnt Well-Known Member

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    Am I allowed hate Eriksen for a few days .. lol , the B0ll1x ...

    Hope he saved one or two for Sat ...
    C.O.Y.S ......
     
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  14. Bazza47

    Bazza47 Well-Known Member

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    I'll second your Hope burnt....Sonny got a couple on Friday as well.
     
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  15. Felon82 Well-Known Member

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    Like to see him do it more in a Spurs shirt that's for sure
     
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  16. burnt Well-Known Member

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    If he got the freedom he was given the last night then im sure you would ... He could do whatever he wanted , it was a joke .. Some great finishing tho ...
     
  17. Big fran Guest

    Another poor showing from llorente again surely janssen would be worth another shout. At least he offers an out ball and actually runs.
     

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