L Holtby

Grrrr iphone! Pressed send before I finished! Was meant to say obviously if Parker gets injured then were buggered!

ok doovde, stop watching youtube and watch him play

Wtf?! I haven't even watched a single YouTube video, nor do any of comments suggest that I have. My comments have been purely based on what I've read from the Schalke fans. And to be honest mate, I think they're way more credible.

Let me dig out the link.

Right:

http://www.glory-glory.co.uk/showthread.php? 3518-*Official*-Holtby-to-join-in-July-thread/page6

" Hello all,

I'm an S04 fan so I figured I'd register to clear up some of your questions etc

Also, I follow Tottenham in England and have been to WHL several times to see them play, so as I'm resigned to losing him I hope that he does end up at Tottenham.

-Someone said that he has played as a winger for us, and this isn't true. He played in the DM last year as a ball winning mid / deep lying playmaker (to use Fifa terms), though he was used on the wing on occasion for Mainz. - He has been playing as AMC this year and been thriving in the role, but his favoured position is actually DM so Spurs could be signing him with a view to playing there (perhaps in the 4-3-3 formation - I have seen the website stating he is a good dribbler /likes to dribble and I don't know where this has come from, he is not a player who runs with the ball much. He is capable of beating a defender, but 9 times out of 10 he will play the pass or a through ball. -Many have been saying 'is he good enough to start' and 'is he an improvement on the current squad' and the simple answer is yes. I think it's likely that we will see Sandro/Parker, Dembele and Holtby playing behind Bale, Lennon and Defoe. -Don't expect Moutinho to sign as well they take up the same position. - His playing style is most similar (though I hate to say it) to Wilshere and Modric though he is a better ball winner than both of those - I would expect him to sign a pre-contract deal also given how much we all know Levy likes his bargains, plus Schalke don't want to be rushed into making signings in January and would rather take until the summer to scout out a replacement and January deals aren't common in the Bundesliga. - Also someone said that he didn't play well against Arsenal and isn't quick enough. Though he wasn't at his best he did still play well against them, at least in the second leg (2 assists - I was there - see attached picture

and sometimes a player who thinks quickly is better than a player who runs quickly and that is what Lewis offers.

Of course, Tottenham are the best team in England to watch without doubt, haven't missed a game in years. If I was to compare Holtby and Sigurdsson I would say Holtby is probably a lot more rugged and isn't afraid to do the 'dirty work' ie tracking back, putting in a challenge and doing his defensive duties. Holtby is able to play further back where as I would say Sigurdsson only really thrives in advanced positions. They're both good passers of the ball and that's probably their best attributes but I can see Holtby fitting into Spurs' lineup better than Sigurdsson has so far despite the fact he hasn't got premier league experience.

As someone else said, Holtby is perhaps more of a replacement for Parker, so though players like Parker and Sigurdsson will hopefully welcome the competition, it'll be difficult for them to get in the starting line up ahead of Lewis I would think - he is German under 21 captain after all

I just hope Freund's German connections will help see the deal through and though he hasn't coached Holtby directly I'm sure he's well aware of his talents, and apparantly Freund even said regarding Holtby - "By all means we are a club with great interest".

The biggest competition for his signatures I would imagine would be Everton because of his well publicised support of them but they're yet to make an offer I believe!

As for his wage, I don't think he rejected our €50,000 offer because he wanted more money. Schalke fans have been expecting him to depart at some point as he was quoted as saying that he wanted to play in England as soon as he was good enough and his progress has been very fast so this isn't a surprise. It's why I didn't get him on the back of my shirt but hopefully maybe I can get him on a Spurs one instead! "

According to this fan he's not a winger and plays DM as deep laying playmaker

I had another article somewhere that more or less said the same.

See I always thought that although Holtby is a versatile player, his strongest position is as a holding midfielder. But to be honest, I haven't seen enough of him so only time will tell how he plays for Spurs.

For the record on Modric when we purchased him he had just made tr transition from defensive midfielder (yes a real out and out holding midfielder) to the creative player we see today.

Very similar to the way holtby has progressed. Although If holtby becomes half as good as Modric ill be happy.

Holtby could easily play in a 2 and has done do for schalke on more occasions than he has been in the forward positions.

sandrothebeast.....................................The nearest comparison I have seen given out about Holtby, is that he is similar in style to Steven Gerrard when Gerrard was the same age. If he turns out anywhere near as good then we have a very good player indeed!!

well guys we will have to agree to disagree or this one, i make my opinions on players i see play, not on what other fans say about them., i just say what i see, and i see a very diffrent player to others obv. Time will tell what type of player he will be for us. Hopefully a very good one

by the way i have never said he was a winger, he could play wide left very much how dempsey plays when hes there, you do not have to be a "winger" to play wide.

looks like modric, any development on the pritchard situation? Would be a big loss for us to lose him, especially to liverpool! Also what do you know of the young lad akindayini, was speaking to someone last week who was raving about him