Why Van Hecke and Senesi would bring a much needed pragmatism to Spurs

Coys1882 has the facts on his side

This team has been chronically short of leaders in recent times, in addition to which it has numerous holes and deficiencies to fill. Without the revenues from European football, as you say, we are not going to go out and splurge 300+ million quid on half a dozen retail-priced players. It’s not happening. However, there are always good value deals to be had, to fill in the gaps, topped off with a couple of marquee signings.

I think Robertson is an excellent signing on a free. Leadership, professionalism, a winner and he can still play. [Albeit, I’m not sure why one would then still resign Ben Davies to cover the same position?] Maybe RDZ is really emphasising the leadership angle. Senesi is an even better signing on a free. The #1 CB in the whole EPL for forward passes, with 1189, almost 200 more than Van Dijk in second place. He is also in the 97th percentile for possession won.

Interestingly, Van Hecke is the #3 most prolific forward-passing CB on that list and the #1 player in the entire EPL for progressive carries (Senesi is #3).

In fact, Van Hecke’s progressive carries stats are so extraordinary that he has carried the ball forward (by distance made) twice as far as any outfield player in the EPL, except for just two (Doku and Senesi). Hence, Senesi and Van Hecke are the top two CB’s in the league for progressive passes, and progressive carries as a combined stat.

It is fair to state therefore, that these two CBs are the perfect progressive CB pairing for RDZ’s system and are in fact the EPL’s two highest rated and best exponents of it. The acquisitions of Senesi and Van Hecke, provided they occur, suggest two things. One, that RDZ is being given players he has specifically requested for his system and two, that he is actually being backed by ENIC at all. If we can acquire one of these two players (Senesi) on a free, so much the better.

Now, these two deals still need to be consummated, but even for an inveterate cynic like myself, these are promising signs. Hiring RDZ has already paid huge financial dividends for the club, and if he is backed properly, it might ultimately turn out to be a master stroke. Senesi and Van Hecke, will, I believe, prove to be top defensive signings, but our most glaring weakness is up front. Now, if we similarly handle that problem, we just might surprise a few people next season.