Kevin Prince Boateng - the one that got away??

[jd1882]

After showing great promise as a youngster in germany he failed to make any impact during his time at spurs. Now holding down a regular place at one of the biggest clubs in the world, you cant help but wonder if KPB is 'the one that got away'. Personally I rate him higher than taarabt, check out these clips and make your own mind up.






check out his amazing footwork in this one

[spursman18]

He may have been the one that got away but he wanted out and wasnt getting games. Dont think you could fault the club for letting him go, one of the few who has actually done something since he's left the club.

He's 10 times the player Taarabt is.

[BlueCrew LA]

I had a feeling this would come up.... Repost from the Taarabt thread....

Yeah we said he wouldn't be the same player when he doesn't get the same time on the ball. I'm all for flair but only when it's practically used, C. Ronaldo for example (even though he has his moments). Taarabt and KPB are the two players 'Arry regularly gets criticized for selling which I don't think is fair. I would take KPB over Taarabt and I don't really want either, not just because of the ego. Prince is a good player and I think he found the best club for him in Milan, In that lineup he's very valuable. Milan have class all over the pitch but the one thing they don't have is athleticism and players with a high work rate short of Pato, Thiago Silva, Robinho, El Shaarawy. Of that list only Thiago Silva has a high defensive work-rate, KPB busts his ass on both offense and defense pressuring the ball. In that league, in any league really, but especially in Italy it will get you a long way. When people talk about Eto'o they always focus on his striking abilities but just as important with Sammy's game is his ability to lead the press from the front. Looking at the current Inter squad I think they're missing this more then the goals. A player that presses from the front as he does makes everyone's job easier winning the ball back.

To me Boateng is the better all around player, if anyone is upset about losing a player it should be him not Taarabt. Though I'm not too bothered that we lost Boateng, and I'm happy he landed at a good club.

Speaking of Boateng.....

[stroud_jm]

If he were still at the Lane, he'd be struggling to get games, I think. Good move for both clubs.

[BlueCrew LA]

If he were still at the Lane, he'd be struggling to get games, I think. Good move for both clubs.

Exactly, think of it this way with VDV, Modric and Parker, how could he get into the team and what would he offer? He's scored a few crackers lately but for Milan he's mainly a box-to-box midfielder. He's playing a little differently because of necessity, but that's normally his role, which is exactly what Parker does for us.

[jd1882]

Yeah he might not be a able to get in our current team but neither can Sandro and I wouldnt wanna see him shipped off to pompey for a measly 4 mil.

I'm Kinda pleased to see him doing well and obviously atm us spurs fans cant really have too much to complain about regarding our midfield options. But if there was a guy to be 'the one that got away' it is definitely him or at least we could of got a bit more dosh for him.

[deejbah]

I think he was one of those guys who coasted for a couple of years and then realised 'shit although I have a lot of ability a lot of people don't necessarily agree with me and I actually need to start doing something to make them realise it before I'm 30 plus and never done anything'. When you make thousands of pounds a week for not even playing, it's probably easy to do. There's a lot of people who never have that realisation (looking at you Taarabt).

[BlueCrew LA]

Yeah he might not be a able to get in our current team but neither can Sandro and I wouldnt wanna see him shipped off to pompey for a measly 4 mil.

On the second part though what does he offer? Completely healthy everything he does we have a midfielder that can give us a similar dimension. Sandro isn't analogous because I do think he offers us a different dimension and if we had an injury would be a valuable squad member. A couple injury scenarios....

Modric - We would change tactics slightly in put in Krancjar, Thudd, or Pienaar.
Parker - Sandro, Thudd and Livermore can do a similar job.
VDV - Change tactics and put Defoe up top with Ade, put Gio/Krancjar/Pienaar in the hole, or play a 3 man midfield with Modric/Sandro/Parker.

Basically what I'm getting at is we have options, so I respectfully disagree with the label 'the one that got away'. Especially when you factor in the other little things about his character, like he's a massive egotist. Milan are pros at handling those types of personalities (Zibra, Cassano, Robinho, etc), so he kind of found the perfect club for him. I just think we cut our ties and went another direction.

You can argue we should have gotten more for him but we're judging his value on current form, so it will always look like we settled for less then he's perceived to be worth now.

[nssmuckers]

I don't think getting rid of him ended up too poorly for us but the dude is special. Such a rare mix of size and power and pace and technique and skill.

I think he'd give VDV a run for his money...he's playing very well in that advanced role. I don't think he has the passing or vision of a true #10 but he can shoot like a mother****er with both feet and can definitely make goals out of absolutely nothing.

[BlueCrew LA]

I don't think getting rid of him ended up too poorly for us but the dude is special. Such a rare mix of size and power and pace and technique and skill.

I think he'd give VDV a run for his money...he's playing very well in that advanced role. I don't think he has the passing or vision of a true #10 but he can shoot like a mother****er with both feet and can definitely make goals out of absolutely nothing.

I've watched him an awful lot being a fan of Italian football and when he was at Spurs. I don't think you were making a direct comparison but he's nowhere near VDV in technique, who is one of the most technical players I've seen play for Spurs. He reminds me more of Parker then VDV, with a bit more technique and skill. His role for Milan is basically to add that extra bit of energy, because other players on the roster like Seedorf, Van Bommel, Cassano. Basically he uses his athleticism to cover the spaces left by other players and push the ball forward linking the midfield to attack, or hold the ball up letting other midfielders advance. Milan play a Diamond or the 4-3-3 most of the time, depends on who's available and who they're playing. When they're playing the Diamond Boateng will play at the point and cover left and right because Milan play quite narrow. When Milan play the 4-3-3 the preferred forward line is Robinho---Zibra---Cassano/Pato, one again very narrow and NOBODY wants to track back, lol. That's what makes him so useful and why it seems like he always finds himself in acres of space. He doesn't get regularly selected when Allegri opts for the 4-3-3 and if other players were healthy he wouldn't play much at all, when completely healthy he gets rotated. When Milan play a 4-3-3 they're solid in the midfield and they have a lot of time on the ball, so Boateng's best qualities aren't needed as much. The central midifeild will be some combination of Seedorf, Aqua, Flamini, Gattuso, Van Bommel, Nocerino.

I think he may develop into a first team player but probably not in an advanced role. At the time being if Milan are going to play someone in the hole and expect him to do something similar to VDV they'll play Aqua, Pato or Robinho. Also Milan have El Shaarawy who they think will fill that role eventually, not to mention they're still pursuing Ganso. If they do finally sign Ganso it may not be good for him. It's hard to imagine him getting in the team regularly if he impresses.

[BlueCrew LA]

Here's an example of how Milan's diamond works.....

[SuperPokeychenko]

He played superb at the worldcup and i did think then..Ooops why did we let him go!!But like others have said We've got parker/sandro and imo the strongest midfield in the premiership so i'm not complaining..
But the lad can play and them goals in the clips up there!!! wow seriously good striking

[Audere est Facere]

great player just doesnt fit into our team.

[P UNIT 1980]

Well..............Mehhhh!!!

[Kid Chameleon]

I had high hopes for him when he first came to us, but it didn't work out. I'm happy for him.

It could be worse. We could have sold Gareth Bale before he came to fruition or off-loaded Kyle Walker to QPR or Aston Villa.