Will we see a better Cheik Tiote this season?
When we signed him I remember questioning just why we needed a defensive midfielder, but he soon answered my question.
To me Tiote is one of the first names on the team sheet. He is a player that we can build around and, after a slow start, is once against starting to show his true worth to the team. In fact with two assists in the last two Premier League games there is an argument to be had that we are now seeing a better Cheik Tiote with more strings to his bow.
The improvement doesn’t end there for me though. My main criticism of Tiote was the fact that when he played the team would be guaranteed a yellow card. Put simply there would be no chance of sneaking in the Europa League by means of Fair Play with him in the side.
That isn’t the case thus far this season and we’ve seen a Tiote that is much less likely to pick up a booking. The nature of his game of his game is such that he will always be walking a tightrope with match officials, but it’s a case of so far so good for a very well behaved Cheik Tiote.
Tiote has been booked just twice so far this term. It’s early days of course, but if he averaged that throughout the season he would end up with only 12 bookings throughout the season. I say only, but it’s an improvement on last term anyway. Interestingly his two yellow cards thus far came at a time when he was a bit under weather in terms of his fitness. Now he is fully fit perhaps his average may drop further?
There is no doubt that he will be helped by having Yohan Cabaye next to him in the middle of the park. The Ivory Coast international has already said how he loves playing next to the Frenchman, and I can see why. Kevin Nolan was good for us, but he was always looking for that goal and struggled to waddle back into position which often meant that Tiote was left to hold the midfield together on his own leaving him vulnerable. He doesn’t have to do that any more as he has someone next to him who is willing to put a shift in.
So could we be seeing a better Cheik Tiote this term? Id like to hope so. I think with the help he is going to get from his midfield he won’t be left as exposed as last term with the result being that we’ll end up with a leaner, meaner and cleaner Cheik Tiote as a result.
Do you agree?
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81 Comments
Kevin Nolan struggled to waddle back…brilliant
Witters –
One bad thing at the minute – Each week can’t come round quick enough! The weeks seems to drag and drag as we’re playing well.
I kept a close eye on Tiote on the Blackburn game and although he gave a couple of cheap balls away I have to say he was the hardest working player on the field. His work rate was absolutely phenomenal!
Tiote is a class act but how long can we keep him, won’t be long be for Chelsea or Man U come in with a serious offer, that’s my fear.
Toonsy
Any reason why my home pc is still picking up the old server? The only person I can speak to there is Troy
JJ – Just time I’m afraid. It can take a while for everyone’s internet provider to pick up the new server. It’s taking longer than expected however
JJ….I ended up there for one comment yesterday morning somehow, Troy didn’t seem a happy bunny
@JJ
What you complaining about? You have me and my knowledge all to yourself.
Fill your boots.!
I’m back in the real world. Hilarious! I was left on one thread for 2 days!
I thought Toonsy was doing it purpose!
Hey Troy, welcome home
Hahahahaha…
To be honest Troy, the comical effect wouldn’t have been the same had it been anyone else
Great article! Kind of crazy to think that Tiote could be even better this season! One of my favorite stats from the Villa game was that Tiote had more touches on the ball than their center mid pairing combined
Rich @ 12 – True. Anyone else and it wouldn’t have been funny. I was going to tell him he was being segregated for selection for the new world order
Troy – Are you on a computer or your iPhone?
It’s funny how many wanted Tiote dropped after the first few games yet withinn 2 games he’s back to his best.
That’s why armchair managers should only voice their views in their own living rooms where no one else can hear them, apart from the dog who farts everytime you spout rubbish.
@toonsy
iPhone 5
Aye Troy we are all impulsive with our views at times. Players need a run of games to get their form back. Most of us knew that but there ate always a vocal view showering us with their shat. I personally think that the pre season was a joke which is why we are only now seeing some cohesion in the team. In hindsight do you think the club purposefully facked Joeys visa up?
Lace…I don’t think they fecked it up, it was just denied because of his criminal record.
People were still doing this with Obertan and others. We’ve got to give players and manager the chance to find their feet and make an impact….too often in the past owners have just sacked managers because they weren’t getting immediate results [and not just at the Toon]
I know contracts mean very little these days.
But if we sign Colo to a new deal, it will be refreshing to know that, Ben Arfa, Tiote, Cabaye, Jonas, Ba, Saylor, Obertan, Marveaux, Santon, and Krul all have at least four years left on the contracts.
Thats a pretty decent backbone tied to long deals.
Well the situation at the time stank of a balls up.
Whilst not in anyway trying to defend the club management I do think that they really are amateurs when it comes to running a football club and a lot of things they did were genuine mistakes rather than pure badness. Hopefully though they’re learning and if Ashley;ey is anything he’s certainly astute when it comes to business
Lace…I don’t know if they ballsed up Cabaye’s but Barton’s was just because he was a convicted criminal, he’d been there previously on a holiday visa but apparently it’s a different kettle of fish for a work one.
My dog farted when Jonas signed a new contract and I had been spouting they wouldn’t offer him one.
If Colo signs then my dog will be blasting methane more than a volcanic spring .
Troy – neebody expected Jonas to be offered a new contract
Troy…3 days ago I would have chuckled at even the mention of Colo getting a new contract, now I’m reasonably confident it’ll happen.
Richie – just one more reason not to have played in the US. Certainly not a tour anyhow.
Lace…..maybe you were sort of right and they just went somewhere knowing he couldnt go, I think thre far east and U.S will be where our pre seasons will be in the future though.
Jonas’ contract goes against everything they’ve done so far by offering 4 yrs to a 28 yr old.
Has this got anything to do with the fall out between Pards and the regime.
Are they now seeing sense? Hopefully.
Troy – that’s good as I know it was your iPhone that was sending you to the old server. Could you do me a favour and see if your computer is sending you to this one or the old one???
Troy…..ot they wanted shot of the “players committee” first
I think Colo will be offered a three year extention, which will take him to 32. Depends on whether or not he accepts it.
On Jonas I think its purely political. By that I mean the difference between a new deal for Jonas and not for Joey at the same age.
If Barton hadn’t had run ins with tge board he’d gave got one I bet
Toonsy….he’s just got back and now you’re trying to get rid of him again
Toonsy
My PC is on it’s last legs and I rarely go on it now.
I’m not at home at the mo..
I know my bro uses his PC and he was on the old server last night.
Do we have evidence that the club policy is to buy cheap young prospects and to sell on when the either become valuable class acts or are too old to offer longer term deals to?…or is this just the stirrings of neggers?
I was surprised you didn’t think we needed a defensive midfielder mind Toonsy, we’ve been crying out for a proper CDM for years!
Toonsy,
I used my pc at home last night. It went to the old server.
TOONSY, spot on about nolan. i’ve never give nolan great credit for scoring load of goals cos all his goal were poachers goals. and we all should know that’s not a job for CM.
Also, not all 28-year-olds are alike…. Jonas’s fitness is exceptional. No worries about Colo either, but Nolan… a different story!
Of course Joey will be playing till he’s 40…. according to him
@joesoap
If they become class acts, then top clubs will come in for them and offer deals to the club and player we can’t refuse.
I don’t think anyone can refute that point. It’s premier football at this point in time.
@Troy 41….surely this depends on how well the Toon are doing at the time. Let’s just be totally ridiculous for one moment….suppose we finished 4th this season, wouldn’t players feel they could fulfil their ambitions here?…and if Ashley is half the business man I think he is then wouldn’t he see more kudos on profit from a winning club playing in the CL?
Joesoap – at this point in time I reckon Ashley has such faith in the recruitment team to replace any of our stars that he would sell anybody but only at a daft price. Like Troy says this is the way the Premier League is currently. The mega rich clubs are playing fantasy football but one day it will end in tears.
I’m not convinced…given the troubles currently at Citeh, and Chelsea’s & Arsenal’s possibly impending relative demise that merely chucking loads of cash at a club will always produce the required results. I beginning to think that shrewd appointments of players and managers could achieve the same levels of success if properly managed.
By relative demise I mean that things aren’t going all their own way in the CL which you might expect if you throw enough money round and once you start getting players on 250 grand a week deciding whether they’ll play or not then you’ve got big trouble
Yep unfortunately it’s the nature of the beast. Troy is right, but it’s not a bad thing and in a way the club can’t really be blamed for it. Losing players to bigger clubs has always been part and parcel of football. Part of the football food chain.
It’s just now we’ve dropped right down the foodchain.
@joesoap
Just read your post.
Yes, it is ridculous believing we will finish 4th and therefore ends your argument.
Wow! Emoticons as well !
It doesn’t get much better than this!
I agree on that and as you say Toonsy not necessarily a bad thing ….even Manu lose players look at Cronny…..But with shrewd manipulation of the resources you have and not just flogging off your best assets at the first wave of cash under your nose can still produce results….that’s what i meant about the owners making mistakes but they might just be quick learners. He certainly hasn’t done too much wrong since relegation, and I include the sacking of Hughton in that.
@joesoap
I’m lost with your viewpoint.
Surely you understand that the way forward for these clubs with mega rich owners is to buy their way to success.
The likes of us will have to be shrewd and buy as we have but you can’t expect anything other than mediocrity in the long run.
@troy
Well, I suppose that depends really. If Ashley is genuinely going to take back his £100M and then pump the money the club makes back in to players and wages we could be doing alright in a couple of season you know…
Difference between being set up to sell players, like my local team, Crewe ALex. And having bigger clubs coming in. We ain’t that far down the food chain.
Troy Stavers
September 29, 2011 at 10:05
Wow! Emoticons as well !
It doesn’t get much better than this!
_______________________________________
I was interested to see who would be first to notice
I read this article a while ago about Stoke’s financial set up and I saw similarities between them and our own model.
Once Ashley takes back the money the club owes him, any further profit he removes from the club would be heavily taxed. Re-investing in the club would serve as a tax write off for him, rather like somebody who owns rental properties spending the rental income on doing them up, rather than pocketing the cash and handing a big chunk to HMRC.
If Ashley follows this model, and I reckon he might, we wouldn’t be too far down the chain at all, and it’d all be above board and sustainable. Due to the size of our stadium and whatnot we’d certainly make more than Stoke are quoted as making in this article…
Here’s the article anyway: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/sep/21/stoke-city-finances-caborn-ferguson
Good to see the blog running again. Would be nice to see tiote pick up a few less cards but I think he will be back tohis old way at wolves and who can blame him.
Saw Leon Best yesterday and got his autograph, he’s at least 6ft 2, or 6ft 3. Didn’t think he was as big.
He’s not that big, 6ft 1
He friggin is richie, im 6ft 2 and he was at least as big as me and built.
Throwing money about is not really working though is it….ManCity are finding that there’s more to success than spending power ..Real Madrid have found the same…the clubs that are the most successful are Manu & Barca and the like who, yes have money, but are more shrewd in how they go about spending it. The rest of the clubs must find a way to compete because if they don’t then really football is dead, and I don’t think that’s in anyone’s interest….after all these super rich clubs need someone to beat don’t they?
DJG – The ‘blog has been running all along. It’s just the internet that has taken it’s time to update
Funny you mention about players size and how easy it is to sort of guess a height. I had an image of Shearer being tall but when I met him I towered over him
6ft 1 according to official site mate, he wears heels on a weekday though……or you’re a short arse and no ones told you yet
He doesn’t look one of the biggest in our team compared to Krul, Ba, Taylor ect. thats why I mention. And when Judas was here he seemed to tower over him. Footballers must be getting bigger. I thought Best was sort of Shearer height but he’s not he’s bigger in real life.
Toonsy
Ant and Dec are dwarfs in real life.
Thats cos those 3 are all an inch taller
Sir les was a deceptive short arse i got his autoraph in me teens and i was still a bit taller than him, Used to remember him towering above players like pallister and adams when heading the ball had an impression he was 6″2 or more same with Shearer both were under 6″ and were immense in the air.
BTW if people are dropping names i saw phil dowd walking his poodle last week…
My mackem mate said ‘looks thats Nyron Nosworthy, he’s got a 3 grand watch on’. I said, ‘who?’
I didn’t recognise him like, mackem players mustn’t be famous enough.
DJG…Bramble’s becoming famous though
If I had been in the other day I would have seen Tim Krul, wish I got his autograph.
CC
September 29, 2011 at 10:46
“BTW if people are dropping names i saw phil dowd walking his poodle last week”
You give him a thump and I’ll rape his poodle
Apparently Krul’s bird is absolutely stunning by the way.
I thought Dowd was one of the better refs to us, especially after the Arsenal 4-4 game where he gave the penalties. Would rather have him than Howard Webb
never gives us anything.
DJG – I just don’t like refs in general
Dowd has been half decent to us recently sending off the pennywell pouncer at SJP last season and the pens in the 4-4.
I’m 5ft 1 in and I had a 12 in ruler in my pocket when i saw him last weekend. He’s exactly the same height as me with the ruler placed on my head and we were both wearing high heals.
@joesoap
Success is what to you?
Winning trophies? Competing in the CL?
We will never achieve either of those under Ashley.
Any of the big spending clubs are always capable of doing either.
You have to accept that we are always going to be a run of the mill club under Ashley. Maybe one of the best run of the mill clubs but that’s about it.
Unless you are seeing something I’m missing.
That must have been too hard to answer
I think you’re missing something, Troy.
@Troy..75. I’m not sure what I’m seeing [possibly expectations of flying pigs] but I don’t think we really know what Ashley’s game plan is. everyone’s convinced he’s basically asset stripping just wanting to use the club as a vehicle to advertise his other business interest. But I think he’s more astute than that, and if I were in his shoes I would think that a successful club is a much more powerful advertising vehicle than a mediocre one…..just look at ManU…investor don’t go there because they ‘love the club’ they see it as a worldwide brand to hang onto by the coat tails. Whilst I’m not suggesting the we could become a huge brand equal to them, I do think that Ashley will realise that the more successful the club is the more positive exposure he can exploit for his other band names
Hmmm. Do you not believe he hasn’t realised that from the outset but realises it costs a fortune to invest?
Blatantly obvious really.
The facts are, he’s not rich enough to take us to the next level and the best we can hope for is the best of the middle of the road clubs.
The best of the middle of the road clubs will not break into the champions league.
On top of that, a club such as spurs who have invested heavily to break into the CL are in a very dangerous position as they must ensure they qualify every season or they struggle with the huge wage bills that come with it.
That was our downfall when we fail to qualify back in 2004. We went on a downward spiral therein
2004 was the beginning of our demise. That and suspect purchases – ie deals that stunk of bungs
Yes well….I suspect you may be right troy, although my eternal optimism wants to believe otherwise. I just think that he MUST see that he could be onto a small goldmine here and probably one of the few remaining clubs which could cash in, surely he didn’t get to be a billionaire by being a business numpty?
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