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Sandro Tonali


The Prophet

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5 hours ago, 80 said:

This comment isn't ageing very well.

 

As someone who was supportive of Gordon in the early days though, it's fair to say Tonali hasn't had an auspicious start with us.

 

He almost looks like he's playing for a different team a lot of the time. It means there's a lot of room for improvement as and when he fully adapts, though. The club's track record with signings is so good over the past two years that I think it would be foolish to sour on this one any sooner than next season. But there are definitely questions to answer.

 

Yeah, I agree. We have to give him more time, but at the moment there are concerns. I was at the game today, so I was able to have a good look at him. He didn't really make things happen, seemed nervous on the ball, didn't tackle well, often passed to a player who was in a worse position than him. I'm not sure if the problem is physical, mental, or a question of getting used to a new playing environment, but there is a problem.

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Tonali has been at the club 5 minutes. Many players take time to bed in and find their feet. I'm sure Tonali will. He's not looking too bad as is but we can all see there's a hell of a lot more in his locker which will come to the fore over the season, I think.

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Someone earlier made a good point about the opposition he's faced. Yesterday was probably his "easiest" opposition that he's started against, and they're currently top 7. His other 4 league starts are all against teams in the top 6.

 

I know when you spend £55m people expect him to roll up and stroll this, but it's not like that. Would like to see him start the couple of league games after the break, might do him the world of good playing Palace and Wolves.

 

 

Edited by Optimistic Nut

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17 hours ago, OoOGazOoO said:

He's a quality player and I think he is getting better with each game but his attempt to get in the way of their equaliser was reminiscent of that goal we conceded earlier in the season where he was just ambling towards the ball. Certainly could have had more urgency about him and thrown his leg in the way.

Didn't watch the game. But I noticed that as well.

 

When he signed, I didn't expect a top passer. The stats bore that out clearly. But I did expect a bit more commitment defensively. It was late game and not a massive mistake. But he needs to sharpen that side of his game up. I was expecting a bit more of a "braveheart" midfielder but plenty of time to come on.

 

Re profile: Bruno is the only progressive *passer* in our midfield/attack. IMO we would benefit from having another passer in midfield or attack - someone that can take us up the pitch through the lines.

 

Tonali is more similar to the Joe's. He progresses more via carrying than passing. I think adjusting to life in Newcastle and the PL is the biggest hurdle for him that affects him on the pitch. On paper - his profile is similar to our existing 8s.

 

 

Edited by The College Dropout

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The only thing that could stop him being a success is if he doesn’t feel settled and wants away after a short time with us. We’ve seen every player improve under Howe, especially when they’ve had a full pre-season and time to bed in. That will be harder for Tonali than most given there’s no Italian speakers in our team and he’s left his boyhood club. If he manages to properly settle and love living here then we’ll see the best of him. There’s clearly a fantastic player in there but we’ve not seen much of it so far 

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His control of the ball and immediate turn toward the opposition goal is top class, I often thought yesterday that he didn´t have that many great options.

He made a few mistakes yesterday but was decent tbf...

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No doubt he will get there, taking time to adapt is normal. Paqueta looked hopeless most of last season for west ham before starting to come good towards end of the season, hopefully Tonali will get there sooner but we know working under Howe is physically demanding we are going to have to get used to players taking time to adapt. Grealish at City too took time, it happens all the time. It's clear he has the talent, hell he was part of the team that put PSG to the sword. 

 

 

Edited by Tiresias

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Why is the end of his chant 'he hates fucking sunderland' as if he'd probably even heard of them before moving here? :lol:

 

I like to avoid throwing this accusation out but especially when we haven't played them for seven years it feels so small time. 

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4 minutes ago, wormy said:

Why is the end of his chant 'he hates fucking sunderland' as if he'd probably even heard of them before moving here? :lol:

 

I like to avoid throwing this accusation out but especially when we haven't played them for seven years it feels so small time. 


Aye, it’s rubbish but fans will be fans. 

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Aye, completely agree. It’s like “hmm, we’ve got spaghetti in there so we’ve covered our bases on character development. What else do we need to include? I tell you what, a reference to hating Sunderland wouldn’t go amiss”

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31 minutes ago, Tiresias said:

No doubt he will get there, taking time to adapt is normal. Paqueta looked hopeless most of last season for west ham before starting to come good towards end of the season, hopefully Tonali will get there sooner but we know working under Howe is physically demanding we are going to have to get used to players taking time to adapt. Grealish at City too took time, it happens all the time. It's clear he has the talent, hell he was part of the team that put PSG to the sword. 

 

 

 

Paqueta is an odd-fit for Moyes tbf. Tonali should suit our system better. Paqueta is better at more eye-catching things too, Tonali is harder to judge as a player.

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34 minutes ago, AJ9 said:

That chant also annoys me that it’s not “he fucking hates Sunderland”. He hates fucking Sunderland sounds silly to me.

“He’s always arguing with his two sons and getting arrested.”

 

 That’s what my old Italian neighbours did.

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39 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said:

If we're going the Italian stereotype route for his chant then something like "and drives a Ferrari," would have fit perfect.

 

Fucking hell Wiki says he's from Lodi in Lombardy. :lol: If true its tailor-made.

 

Sandro Tonali (Sandro!) 

Sandro Tonali

He comes from Lombardy, he drives a Ferrari

He drinks Moretti, he eats spaghetti*

He's Sandro Tonaliii

1, 2, 3, 4..

 

*if we really must :lol:

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Just now, McCormick said:

Yeah, agree with that. Was genuinely world class at the back end of last season.

Tbf he’d be playing for Man City now if he wasn’t going to be getting a ban for gambling.

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Some players take a whole season to settle in but I'm convinced Tonali is improving all the time. He has a rather sad looking demeanor sometimes and people read that as he's unhappy. Moving your family to another country to a totally different environment is not easy. It's not like working away from home for a few months it's for 5 years

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1 hour ago, duo said:

Villa game showed us the player we had bought. Give him time

 

Just watched ‘IN FOCUS The best of Sandro Tonali on his Newcastle debut’. On the Newcastle United YouTube channel. He’s a quality player  just needs bedding in.

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