Sandro Tonali

[Lazarus]

19 minutes ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

Did you really need to bring up the Pirlo Gattuso thing again?  

 

First Ive heard of it - whats that all about?

[gbandit]

His first touch has been really poor at times, I agree on that and have raised it before. He’s also shown to have a very good touch at times as well. 
 

Im putting it down to his adjustment to a new league and taking a confidence hit due to everything being new and having to totally re-establish himself. I didn’t watch him at all for Milan but there’s no way we’d have signed someone who wasn’t technically good enough. Think Bruno adjusted remarkably quickly, very unusual and that’s maybe due to his incredible confidence. Whereas Tonali is a lot more reserved. It might not be until the end of the season that we see the very best of Tonali and then he returns from summer he’ll light it up 

[STM]

32 minutes ago, gbandit said:

His first touch has been really poor at times, I agree on that and have raised it before. He’s also shown to have a very good touch at times as well. 
 

Im putting it down to his adjustment to a new league and taking a confidence hit due to everything being new and having to totally re-establish himself. I didn’t watch him at all for Milan but there’s no way we’d have signed someone who wasn’t technically good enough. Think Bruno adjusted remarkably quickly, very unusual and that’s maybe due to his incredible confidence. Whereas Tonali is a lot more reserved. It might not be until the end of the season that we see the very best of Tonali and then he returns from summer he’ll light it up 

 

 

Spot on, especially the bit about characters. He's the polar opposite to Bruno and probably needs time to mix and feel comfortable.

 

Language is a huge part of that.

 

I think it's worth mentioning, we've beaten PSG and City with him in the side and it wasn't as if we were carrying him.

[The College Dropout]

A lot of people have compared him to Paqueta. But I always thought Paqueta looked top technically - it was just a question of whether he could adapt to Moyes and the league.

 

With Sandro it's a bit different. We knew he wasn't a technician, but at times he's been super sloppy with the first touch and his passing. I expected a super committed player but haven't seen that consistently either.

 

I'm hoping that a lot will change as he adjusts to the city and the league. I try to remember how Rodri and Gundo looked when they first joined. It can take a player a whole year to settle in.

 

But yeh I'm hoping with Tonali. Think he has pushed the local lads to be even better which is a bonus of competition.

[The College Dropout]

11 minutes ago, STM said:

 

 

Spot on, especially the bit about characters. He's the polar opposite to Bruno and probably needs time to mix and feel comfortable.

 

Language is a huge part of that.

 

I think it's worth mentioning, we've beaten PSG and City with him in the side and it wasn't as if we were carrying him.

Aye a lot of what he's good at - isn't flashy so it's difficult to pick up. My memory is bad but I don't think he was great in either game but he had qualities for sure and I'm maybe missing tings.

 

I didn't watch the West Ham game but I was glad his pass completion % was 90+. In a lot of games he's been loose in possession but the opposition has been tough and on our toes. I assume West Ham let us have it with less pressure.

[Shelveys Hair]

It sometimes takes time for players to settle, more so it seems with Italian players.

 

Also a lot of his numbers at Milan came from the fact he took corners and freekicks, something he doesnt get to do at Newcastle for obvious reasons.

[gbandit]

16 minutes ago, Shelveys Hair said:

It sometimes takes time for players to settle, more so it seems with Italian players.

 

Also a lot of his numbers at Milan came from the fact he took corners and freekicks, something he doesnt get to do at Newcastle for obvious reasons.

This is a very good point. His dead ball delivery is fantastic and we’ve not had a chance to see any of it. If Trippier wasn’t playing he’d take the vast majority of that on and become key 

[Cronky]

1 hour ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

Did you really need to bring up the Pirlo Gattuso thing again?  

 

1 hour ago, Lazarus said:

 

First Ive heard of it - whats that all about?

 

Apparently, in the early stages of his career, he drew comparisons with Pirlo, but he insisted that his role model was Gattuso. 

 

My impression is that neither make a good comparison, because he doesn't seem to be a great tackler or defensively minded, and or that great technically.

 

There are mental and physical adjustments for him to make in this new environment, but assuming that those can be sorted in time, I've started to wonder who we're going to get. In my post, I was speculating that Dyer may be a good comparison.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Dyer wasn't even a CM, kind of a weird comparison. 

[gbandit]

Dyer? Doesn’t remind me of Dyer at all. I think what we’re getting is a player who can play a lot of different positions flexibly and who is competent at most things. I think his pace will be a weapon and I think his long-ball passing, crossing and dead ball delivery will all be excellent. Think he’ll get a lot of assists but not a lot of goals 

[Theregulars]

I see a player who isn’t confident that he knows what he’s doing or where he fits, so he’s second guessing himself instead of playing his natural game. Being generous, it’s a sign of a good player that they’re able to fit in well enough despite that. 

 

I also reckon the training is on a different planet to what he’s experienced before (I think Eddie said that he wasn’t training at the start as otherwise he’d be gassed?)

[SUPERTOON]

I still think he’s played more than Howe would have liked due to the injuries we have had to longstaff and Joeltinon this season.

[The College Dropout]

27 minutes ago, Cronky said:

 

 

Apparently, in the early stages of his career, he drew comparisons with Pirlo, but he insisted that his role model was Gattuso. 

 

My impression is that neither make a good comparison, because he doesn't seem to be a great tackler or defensively minded, and or that great technically.

 

There are mental and physical adjustments for him to make in this new environment, but assuming that those can be sorted in time, I've started to wonder who we're going to get. In my post, I was speculating that Dyer may be a good comparison.

This does tease the question. What is he meant to be good at for us in midfield?

 

In my mind - it's a bit of everything. Similar to Longstaff - but better.

 

We should use him more for decoys in our setpieces. Like against Villa. 

[Cronky]

3 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

This does tease the question. What is he meant to be good at for us in midfield?

 

In my mind - it's a bit of everything. Similar to Longstaff - but better.

 

We should use him more for decoys in our setpieces. Like against Villa. 

 

Well that's the question. My speculation is that his main qualities are his stamina, his enthusiasm, pace and quick feet. I don't think he weights his passes very well, but he can pass the ball quickly and wrong foot the opposition that way. 

 

I think he'll be most useful in the final third of the field, but he needs to get better at coping with the pace and physicality of our league. 

[prefabtoon]

Howe and the teams judgement on potential signings in the past have been spot on.

And I dont believe we would have bought Tonali if there was any doubts about his ability.

And if any manager can get Tonali up to his pre Newcastle form + at lease 20% then its Howe.

We just need to have patience.

[The College Dropout]

1 hour ago, Cronky said:

 

Well that's the question. My speculation is that his main qualities are his stamina, his enthusiasm, pace and quick feet. I don't think he weights his passes very well, but he can pass the ball quickly and wrong foot the opposition that way. 

 

I think he'll be most useful in the final third of the field, but he needs to get better at coping with the pace and physicality of our league. 

This is stereotypical but he reminds me of those Italian midfielders of yesteryear who played for the top Italian clubs - intelligent, athletic, hardworking and solid but unspectacular technically.

 

I've never watched these players in detail I must add. But the likes of Conte, Gattusso, Ambrosini, Marchisio, Perrotta. They provided a solid base to allow the more talented players to shine. Tonali needs to settle in properly to do that. That type of player doesn't scream £60m star midfielder but that's not Tonali's fault. 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I'm not convinced we can judge him as 'not good technically' like. Would be quite strange for a guy who's a mainstay for Italy and Milan, a set-piece specialist and one of the most promising CMs of his age anywhere in Europe. 

 

I know he made some mistakes so far but you could easily put that down to nerves, settling into a new league, getting to know his teammates, fatigue etc. 

[samptime29]

I'm not worried about him. Just needs time. More time on the training ground, more time playing. 

[The College Dropout]

6 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

I'm not convinced we can judge him as 'not good technically' like. Would be quite strange for a guy who's a mainstay for Italy and Milan, a set-piece specialist and one of the most promising CMs of his age anywhere in Europe. 

 

I know he made some mistakes so far but you could easily put that down to nerves, settling into a new league, getting to know his teammates, fatigue etc. 

has anyone said he’s ’not good technically’? 

[Abacus]

I'm not totally sure what his role is, maybe he isn't either. Which is not meant as a criticism - I wasn't sure on Gordon's role either at first and now he's got to be one of the first names on the team sheet. Most of the team are pretty versatile.

 

Originally, a few people thought he might be a Longstaff upgrade, but now Longstaff looks to be pretty indispensable too.

 

Anyway, I've seen enough from him to think he's going to be a real player once he has adjusted properly to the league.

 

It's going to be a (good) problem to have once Willock and Joelinton are back and firing on all cylinders too. I couldn't pick our midfield then.

 

Bruno is probably the one essential in terms of creativity, but after that it's hard to pick a team. Unlike a couple of years ago under that total clot when the main issue was who I didn't want to see playing.

[timeEd32]

6 hours ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

It was talked about quite a bit over the summer that he has a lot pace.

 

Yeah, I just never took that to mean he is among the fastest players in Europe.

[buzz]

4 hours ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Dyer wasn't even a CM, kind of a weird comparison. 

 

Dyer played in CM loads.

[SiLvOR]

Think he's absolutely class, me. Will only get better as well as he gets more intergrated with his teammates.

[TRon]

8 hours ago, gbandit said:

His first touch has been really poor at times, I agree on that and have raised it before. He’s also shown to have a very good touch at times as well. 
 

Im putting it down to his adjustment to a new league and taking a confidence hit due to everything being new and having to totally re-establish himself. I didn’t watch him at all for Milan but there’s no way we’d have signed someone who wasn’t technically good enough. Think Bruno adjusted remarkably quickly, very unusual and that’s maybe due to his incredible confidence. Whereas Tonali is a lot more reserved. It might not be until the end of the season that we see the very best of Tonali and then he returns from summer he’ll light it up 

 

Yep. No doubt his first touch has been hit and miss, but that might just be surprise at how quickly he is surrounded in the PL as compared to the Italian league where I don't think they press high as a rule. I'd not be making any judgements one way or the other this early in his Newcastle career. If he's still making the same mistakes by Christmas then there might be reason for concern.

[AJ9]

From what I’ve seen so far I think some of his strengths are instinctual first time passes, carrying the ball and surging/finding the spaces between fullback and defender. He’s also very strong on the ball. His passing when he has time to take a touch is not amazing, and his confidence is clearly not there to take risks. I think he will be class for us but will take a season. Remember Milan basically thought he was shite in his first season there.