Mental adjustment seems all Stambouli needs

Player Assessment: Benjamin Stambouli

The third of our defensive midfield players is 24-year-old Benjamin Stambouli who arrived from Lique 1 unknown to Spurs fans and has struggld to get games.

Benjamin Stambouli

Benjamin Stambouli  gave a telling interview in January to the Evening Standard and in it he talked about the mentality of football in the Premier League.

“If you’re 2-0 down in France, you carry on playing but you don’t think you can win the game, but here, the players always think they can win. 

“If you’re two goals down with only three minutes left, the teams here think they can score three times in the last three minutes. That isn’t the case in French football. 

“We are not believers in France like you are in England. Maybe our football has more tactical discipline, maybe it is more organised, but the spectacle is not like it is here. In France, the results are often 0-0 or 1-0 and the football is very tactical. In England it is about the show. 

“Even if you’re winning the game here, you’ll still attack all the way to the end. You might lose the ball, concede a goal and end up drawing the game, but still the fans are happy because they have seen goals. It’s a big difference. 

“The first game I played in the Premier League was at Sunderland in September. We took the lead after two minutes, but Sunderland equalised two minutes later. It was incredible – something I had never seen in France.”

His interview highlights just how important the mental side of the game is and how important concentration is. You are constantly subjected to attacks and that has a wearing effect, both physically and mentally. If you are used to going through the motions almost in French football and he says, to have to play without switching off is draining.

I don't quite know what to make of Stambouli. He looked OK in his cameo at Sunderland and was up and down in the Europa League, he did some excellent defending but then passes a ball without looking. The technique is there, he has the ability on the ball, but he may not have got up to speed mentally.

Only 469 Premier League minutes, equivalent to just 5.21 games, is a telling statistic, even with Bentaleb playing you would have expected him to get more game time. Is he up for sale? If the right offer came along I'm sure we would listen but I don't see us giving him away just t get rid of him, we have Étienne Capoue and Paulinho to replace first. We have always had a group of players we will listen to offers for but are equally happy to keep and he may well fall into that category.

His pass completion statistics are good, he looked to move the ball forward, did well in the tackle, is good in the air and beat his opponent 71% of the time. He was looked on in France as a future captain so has leadership qualities and Marseilles have enquired about taking him on loan. Naturally that was turned down, a loan offers us no benefit.

Premier League Games Only

Benjamin Stambouli
Played: 12
Minutes: 469
Total Passes: 283
Pass Completion: 84.45%
Forward Passes: 63.96%
Key Passes: 3
Key Pass Time: 1 every 156.33 minutes
Chances Created: 3
Chance Creation Time: 1 every 156.33 minutes
Shots: 2
Shot Accuracy: 0%
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Positive Attacking Action: 1 every 58.63 minutes
(Total Minutes divided by Shots, Goals, Assists, Key passes, Chances Created combined)
Tackles: 41
Tackles Won: 56.10%
Blocks: 1
Interceptions: 8
Clearances: 11
Take On Success: 71.43%
Heading Success: 47.06%
Defensive Action: 1 every 23.45 minutes
(Total Minutes divided by Blocks, Clearances, Interceptions)
In France he broke into the Montpellier side as a centre-half and he played there against Sydney FC. He has the physical attributes and in France was an excellent reader of the game, he seems to have all the playing skills to succeed in the English game but has he adjusted the speed of his thinking, hi decision making. With less time and more attacks you are constantly having to make fast decisions, again and again and again.

He is a family man, he likes his family around him and this is his first time away from them, is he home sick? There is a better player inside him than we have seen and I have no doubt he could do well in the Premier League. He has had a season to adjust so if his mentality is right and he stays he could well kick on next season.

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