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Yeah talking about Spence and Mykolenko on the same breath is absolute madness.

Bluebridge wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 2:47 pm I’m sure Moyes will have sounded out Pickford about him.

Good point !

I wonder if I'm watching the same Spence tbh. 1 goal and 2 assists in 60 matches for Spurs.

37 matches last season (30 starts) and he's an xG of 0.9 and xA of 1.79.

He's really not an attacking improvement on Mykolenko, he's just quicker.

Shogun wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 10:12 am I wonder if I'm watching the same Spence tbh. 1 goal and 2 assists in 60 matches for Spurs.

37 matches last season (30 starts) and he's an xG of 0.9 and xA of 1.79.

He's really not an attacking improvement on Mykolenko, he's just quicker.

I think it's fine to have a good defensive full back who can overlap and brings pace to the team, even if he's not putting up good numbers for goal contributions.

Ideally we'd buy someone who brings the same level of defensive ability, but contributes multiple assists, but that kind of player is not only massively out of our budget but would have zero interest in joining us.

There's a world apart when it comes to Spence and Mykolenko as players, even if their attacking numbers look similar.

Why are we judging full backs just on goals and assists?

TheRam wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 10:26 am Why are we judging full backs just on goals and assists?

Please don’t do you your ‘full backs don’t exist anymore everyone is a cm or a cb’ thing again

Shogun wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 10:12 am I wonder if I'm watching the same Spence tbh. 1 goal and 2 assists in 60 matches for Spurs.

37 matches last season (30 starts) and he's an xG of 0.9 and xA of 1.79.

He's really not an attacking improvement on Mykolenko, he's just quicker.

I’ve watched very little of Spence, so don’t really feel solid in any opinion on him.

That caveat aside though, it’s a bit odd that everyone has been clamouring for new full backs who can overlap and attack and we’re happy with someone whose stats are not an improvement in that regard over a makeshift CB playing there.

The speed is nice for sure, but again based on limited viewing, I’m also kinda unsure how good he is from a defensive POV too? His England performances haven’t inspired a lot of confidence and he was part of a Spurs backline that’s been pretty dire too.

Pace aside, based on that limited info, it feels an odd one given we’d probably have to pay a decent premium for him.

AjaxAndy wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 9:37 am Yeah talking about Spence and Mykolenko on the same breath is absolute madness.

Why is it, this image indicates its a pretty fair comparison?

All 3 of them are woeful going forwards, with comparable defensive qualities. They all fit really well into the Moyes mould off defending well first, offering nothing going forward. The only real difference is speed, but in terms of what they will offer the team, I see it as being quite comparable.
If we want a defender that can defend ok, with emphasis on ok, (when you consider Spence got ruined by the Spanish second division player Brian Cipenga at the world cup), then any of them will do. But if the difference is circa 20m between AWB and Spence then we'd be absolutely insane going after the latter

Id prefer a solid right back thats actually a right back, and can get up and down, and that we spent big on a left back.

A top quality attacking left back to support Grealish, and get the best out of the only elite player in the team (if he signs).

The Doc wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 12:36 pm Id prefer a solid right back thats actually a right back, and can get up and down, and that we spent big on a left back.

A top quality attacking left back to support Grealish, and get the best out of the only elite player in the team (if he signs).

And that left-back will be called Vitalii Mykolenko, sorry to break it to you

How much did baines cost? Digne? There are players out there to be found, it depends on our scouting teams.
I won't mention Coleman because, well he was unique for that price .
So let's see how goodnight scouting system truly is.

How much did baines cost? Digne? There are players out there to be found, it depends on our scouting teams.
I won't mention Coleman because, well he was unique for that price .
So let's see how goodnight scouting system truly is.

Raptor wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 12:36 pm Why is it, this image indicates its a pretty fair comparison?

All 3 of them are woeful going forwards, with comparable defensive qualities. They all fit really well into the Moyes mould off defending well first, offering nothing going forward. The only real difference is speed, but in terms of what they will offer the team, I see it as being quite comparable.
If we want a defender that can defend ok, with emphasis on ok, (when you consider Spence got ruined by the Spanish second division player Brian Cipenga at the world cup), then any of them will do. But if the difference is circa 20m between AWB and Spence then we'd be absolutely insane going after the latter

So the thing that image shows is that Spence carries the ball far better, has more attacking prowess in terms of overlapping and just in general helping a team get up the pitch, and has comparable one v one defending.

I think the one thing everyone can agree on is that neither full back we currently have does anything at all to get the team up the pitch, either by dribbling or overlapping.

Just by virtue of having someone who can either progress the ball forward, or overlap and stop the winger being doubled up on would be transformative.

That player also having excellent recovery pace and being a very good one v one defender is then allowing a solid base to properly benefit from the added attacking ability they bring to the team directly and indirectly.

In an ideal world, and one where we could spend £40m+, that full back would also contribute 7-10 goal involvements too... but we aren't shopping in that bracket, and I think people have to be realistic that someone like Spence is probably the biggest upgrade we could afford and also attract.

Bornblue88 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 11:18 pm He was absolutely diabolical in the DR Congo game (Garner should have been picked instead but that’s a side issue) and quite how Pickford takes the blame for that goal I don’t know, but I have to give him the benefit of the doubt because he’s not really played in a team that has defensive discipline for a while at least. I think it would be a good signing but for the likely price I’d rather just pay the £40m for Doue especially because he’s nearly 5 years younger and has bags of potential on top of being ready to start. Doue probably doesn’t want to play here though.

Genuinely baffles me that anyone could blame Spence for the DR Congo goal.

There's multiple players out of position before he then has to leave his man to cover the central attacker. He doesn't wander out of position, he has to try and cover everyone else's mistakes.

If he didn't leave his man and just left the unmarked attacker, and that player had a free header everyone would be screaming murder at him for not covering.

Anderson is the one that creates the domino effect by being out of position initially, then the CBs fail to adapt quickly enough, and suddenly there's a completely free attacker in the middle of the box and a cross heading right for him.

He's probably the only one in that sequence of events who has no blame for the subsequent goal.