Fair play to him. He scored some important goals that honestly kept us up
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Player João Palhinha
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We’d be going down if it weren’t for him. His name should not be forgotten
De Zerbi is spot on... A top team needs guys like Palhinha. It's not to say he starts every game, but his unyeilding determination and professionalism to be great every day in training and on matchdays is exactly why top teams are top teams because of characters like Palhinha. You need those who will die on the pitch for you.
7 huge goals, some utter bangers too from a tackle monster CDM who apparently isn't very good at anything else! Lots of bollocks has been said about Palhinha, but he is a huge part of why we stayed up
I'd very much like us to sign him, but hopefully also sign a technician too. We are very short on technical players in the midfield.
7 huge goals, some utter bangers too from a tackle monster CDM who apparently isn't very good at anything else! Lots of bollocks has been said about Palhinha, but he is a huge part of why we stayed up
I'd very much like us to sign him, but hopefully also sign a technician too. We are very short on technical players in the midfield.
Who is running down our players.
There is a reason we have just finished 17th again.
At £20/30 million it’s a no brainer. Sell Sarr and let Bissouma go and the room in the squad is there. Still need midfielders better on the ball to help him out but we need to keep the guy.
Where might fully fit Kulu, Kudus, Xavi feature in future plans?
And what might our forward line look like next season?
And what might our forward line look like next season?
Are you being serious? Doom funk claims he hates every single Spurs player. Countless posters say they would bin 90% of the squad. Our top scorer's thread is full of posts hoping he gets injured.
The reason we are 17th is Thomas Frank and injuries.
We got so used to having world class players that to many fans if you ain't world class you ain't no good.
We have many very good footballers. Lots more to come back from injuries.
We have a good, maybe even great manager.
Onwards and upwards.
I'm always serious. Ask yourself a simple question. Does Palhinha get into the Nomads, Bin Duippers or 115s midfield. No. He doesn't even get into Utd, Villas or Barcodes midfield. Of those six team he wouldn't even get on the bench for two or three of them. Look, he's decent and I love his passion but he's limited.
But at this moment we are light years away from them. Having him around is better than having Sarr,Biss,Gray and Bergvall. He’s contributed more than all of them put together this season. He won’t be a mainstay for us but he’s the type you need in a squad.
You are making my point superbly.
He is not world class but he is Champions League standard.
We may have a long wait for a new WC player but in the meantime Palhinha is a very good player for our squad.
He's the sort of player you want the likes of Gray to learn from, his determination and grit, and literally not afraid to takle a raging bull.De Zerbi is spot on... A top team needs guys like Palhinha. It's not to say he starts every game, but his unyeilding determination and professionalism to be great every day in training and on matchdays is exactly why top teams are top teams because of characters like Palhinha. You need those who will die on the pitch for you.
7 huge goals, some utter bangers too from a tackle monster CDM who apparently isn't very good at anything else! Lots of bollocks has been said about Palhinha, but he is a huge part of why we stayed up
I'd very much like us to sign him, but hopefully also sign a technician too. We are very short on technical players in the midfield.
Although skill and footballing wise, Gray will have a far higher ceiling, and with a manager who can actually coach it is looking promising.
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Palhinha is a cult hero this season and rightly a fan's favourite. We'd have been relegated without his presence the last few weeks. Big game player with some big goals. I'll be forever grateful to him! The passion he showed when he scored yesterday and at the full time whistle gave me goosebumps. He gets it.
However, and this will be an unpopular opinion, I don't think we should make his loan deal permanent. He's been perfect these few weeks where we played a short term approach of just aiming to win duals and turn every game into a battle. In these few games where we weren't obsessed with trying to keep the ball or play out, we could play direct and relied heavily on our midfield players to become ball winners. Palhinha is one of the best ball winners in the league!
But if RDZ is starting his proper project then I don't see how or where Palhinha fits in. His ball progression is very poor for a number 6 and I don't think we can accommodate him as one of the 8s. Do you sign him and pay him over 150k a week to be a squad player who comes in for some games? I don't think you do. I'd rather see us go all out to get Alex Scott. It only makes sense to keep Palhinha if you think he can be a regular starter next season. If we are serious about getting away from relegation and aiming for europe next season, then I don't see how we can make this perm.
I know RDZ has said he wants to keep him and all that but RDZ is ruthless. He knew he needed him these few weeks to stay up. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back on that word. Unless I'm missing something I don't see where he fits in. If we had Europe and extra games then I'd get keeping him. But you can't be paying someone nearly 200k a week if they aren't going to be a regular starter. And I guarantee you RDZ will want a ball playing 6 and I don't see him accommodating Palhinha as an 8 if we wants his teams to be dominating the ball next season.
However, and this will be an unpopular opinion, I don't think we should make his loan deal permanent. He's been perfect these few weeks where we played a short term approach of just aiming to win duals and turn every game into a battle. In these few games where we weren't obsessed with trying to keep the ball or play out, we could play direct and relied heavily on our midfield players to become ball winners. Palhinha is one of the best ball winners in the league!
But if RDZ is starting his proper project then I don't see how or where Palhinha fits in. His ball progression is very poor for a number 6 and I don't think we can accommodate him as one of the 8s. Do you sign him and pay him over 150k a week to be a squad player who comes in for some games? I don't think you do. I'd rather see us go all out to get Alex Scott. It only makes sense to keep Palhinha if you think he can be a regular starter next season. If we are serious about getting away from relegation and aiming for europe next season, then I don't see how we can make this perm.
I know RDZ has said he wants to keep him and all that but RDZ is ruthless. He knew he needed him these few weeks to stay up. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back on that word. Unless I'm missing something I don't see where he fits in. If we had Europe and extra games then I'd get keeping him. But you can't be paying someone nearly 200k a week if they aren't going to be a regular starter. And I guarantee you RDZ will want a ball playing 6 and I don't see him accommodating Palhinha as an 8 if we wants his teams to be dominating the ball next season.
Part of the issue is what we've been paper thin for so many years at every position that we have lost the concept of having quality depth and squad players in order to rotate. We have for many years not valued the quality of the second man at a given position.
Would I be encouraged to see Palhinha as a nailed on starter in the league next season? Not without significant improvements everywhere else, but he is a quality player who can contribute for us.
Cult hero status for keeping us up.
If you're saying that without Palhinha we wouldn't have finished 17th in the league then I absolutely agree.
Without Palhinha, we'd have finished 18th or 19th instead, and been relegated.
If you honestly think Palhinha is even partly responsible for our woes this season, you need to give your head a wobble.
Or alternatively
You have banged the hate drum against him from day one, and don’t want to look to be even sillier on the internet than you already do.
Palhinha has by an absolute distance been our best and most important player this season.
Not sure 30m for a player of his age is great value for money, but there are about 20 players in this squad I would rather not be here than him next season, and I am sure there will be some negotiation on the fee, assuming he wants to ply his trade with us next season.
If all our players had same attitude, application and ability that he showed during season, we would have been nowhere near the relegation zone.
Seriously if we keep him, would make him captain.
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I agree with most on here that Palhinha is fairly limited on the ball, and probably doesn't suit a team looking to dominate possession.. that being said can we take a moment to appreciate how good of a tackler this man is? He's probably the best tackler in world football and having someone like that in the squad is always a plus.
Just for reference, Joao completed the 3rd most tackles in Europes top 5 league, whilst playing nearly 1/3 less minutes than the top two:
1. James Garner (119 tackles in 3,413 mins)
2. Iglesias (114 tackles in 3,185 mins)
3. Palhinha (110 tackles in 2,199 mins)
Btw that's 9 less tackles than Garner in over 13 fewer matches..
Just for reference, Joao completed the 3rd most tackles in Europes top 5 league, whilst playing nearly 1/3 less minutes than the top two:
1. James Garner (119 tackles in 3,413 mins)
2. Iglesias (114 tackles in 3,185 mins)
3. Palhinha (110 tackles in 2,199 mins)
Btw that's 9 less tackles than Garner in over 13 fewer matches..