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After a difficult year at Bayern Munich, João Palhinha is returning to the Premier League with Tottenham. A mere 12 months ago, he was coming out of a final season with Fulham where he'd undeniably been the Premier League's best ball-winning midfielder, so what went wrong in Germany? Adam Clery looks at how he thrived one year, struggled the next, and why he'll have be a vital piece in Thomas Frank's tactical jigsaw
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00:00Right, hello there everybody, my name is Adam Cleary, welcome to the Adam Cleary Football Channel and it's the transfer
00:06video you've all been waiting for.
00:10Jao, Maria, Lobo, Alves, Paleres, Costa, Paulina, Gonzalez to Tottenham.
00:17Why was he so good at Fulham? Why did it not even so lightly work at Bayern Munich and what
00:22exactly does Thomas Frank want with him?
00:25It's video time!
00:27Time! Need a better catchphrase.
00:32Right, so, Jao Paulina at one point easily the best pure defensive midfielder in the Premier League, but has just
00:39limped through 12 months at Bayern Munich where, by the end, he was getting so little pitch time, he probably
00:46wouldn't have even bothered washing his socks.
00:49Like, what are those last ones? Five minutes? Seven minutes? I wouldn't give a shit, me. I'd have them straight
00:55back in the draw.
00:56But that being said, let us not forget, my friends, if we row this all the way back up the
01:01River Thames to Craven Cottage, this man was absolutely imperious.
01:07He was literally leading the Premier League for tackles across two entire thirds of the pitch and hardly disgracing himself
01:14at the top end as well.
01:15Nobody was taking the ball off dribblers more successfully or more frequently than he was.
01:21He was making clearances, he was making blocks, and there's your stat.
01:25No man in the Premier League had more combined tackles and interceptions, and this is literally just 12 months ago.
01:33But why is that so good? Well, as I said before, he was pretty much the last pure lone number
01:39six in football, which basically meant he was doing all of the dirty work in front of the back four.
01:45And that meant that at Fulham, you could have both Tom Kearney and Anders Pereira pretty much in the same
01:51team.
01:51You relieve the other pivot of all of their defensive responsibility, and all of a sudden, this two here morphs
01:58very easily into this two here.
02:00And that is risky, it can leave you absolutely wide open on transition, but for Fulham that season, it was
02:07absolutely worth it.
02:08There were actually loads of fun to watch, because if you look back at most of the goals they got
02:12that season, from quick, direct attacks and turnovers,
02:15you will see them just throwing, throwing players forward, safe in the knowledge that Paulinha would be behind them to
02:23protect this central space.
02:24They just leave these enormous gaps between the defenders and the attack, and both midfielders, they could go.
02:30Anthony Robinson, he could go, and that's all down to the trust they would have in a lone number six.
02:37Most teams can't do that.
02:38Basically, it's just having the mindset of, oh, well, if we all go forward and this goes tits up, and
02:43us five or us six end up giving it away,
02:46doesn't matter, because we've got the best ball winner in the league right behind us, and he will effectively wipe
02:52our arses.
02:53And if we look at his heat map from that season at Fulham, you will see how weirdly spread, and
02:59that's not an arse joke, by the way,
03:01that's just the correct word to use, how evenly spread that is across his own half.
03:07I've gone.
03:08This is a man, I'm going to get it under control here, this is a man who was not just
03:11sitting in front of the back ball waiting for something to happen,
03:13and this is a man who was proactively pushing out to the flanks and pushing up into the opposition half
03:19to go and get that ball back for you.
03:21It's aggressive defending.
03:23Like, I managed to find this old octograph.
03:25It's from the February of that season, right after they played Chelsea, so it's maybe like 20, 21, 22 games
03:31into the season,
03:32and these were all of his defensive contributions, the most in the league by a distance, by the way, that
03:39he'd done already.
03:40You can see he's winning headers and putting in clearances when it's in his own box.
03:44He's protecting his back four, he's shielding that defence, he's stopping teams playing through the middle of the pitch,
03:50and on the rare occasions he has needed to do it, either because there's a gap or because they're pressing,
03:54he's getting right the way into the opposition third to make a contribution.
03:59And honestly, really do take a second to have a proper look at this,
04:02because for one player to be contributing this many defensive actions and covering this much of the pitch across a
04:09season is honestly, like, that is brilliant.
04:13So it begs the question, why did all of this just miraculously turn into a sack of shit as soon
04:20as he got to Bayern?
04:21Well, I personally think that you are smart enough that if I just show you the difference in his heat
04:28maps
04:29from Fulham to Bayern, you will immediately figure it out.
04:33So when he was a monster truck in West London, it was like this.
04:36But then when he looked like a bit of a competition winner in Munich, it looked like this.
04:43And can you spot the big problem here?
04:46Well, I know obviously, like, you can.
04:48You're handsome, you're intelligent, and you've had...
04:50Have you? Have you had your hair cut?
04:51Yeah, you have. I thought so. It looks really nice.
04:53By the way, I know you can do it, but for everybody else, right, the problem is this bit.
04:59Bayern's playing style is wildly different to that of Fulham's.
05:03Who would have thought it?
05:04And your lone number six is no longer spending most of his time in this area of the pitch,
05:09being combative and helping out everybody else.
05:11He's now expected to be doing a lot of work on the ball in this half.
05:16So you compare his numbers from Fulham to Bayern,
05:19and just a heads up, the green bars here will mislead the hell out of you
05:23because he's still getting in to, like, the top percentiles.
05:26But look at the actual per-90 numbers.
05:29Half as many tackles per game, half as many shots blocked,
05:33a third as many interceptions.
05:34There is simply no real need for a player like João Paulinha
05:39in a team that dominates teams and dominates games
05:43and dominates possession as much as Bayern Munich do.
05:47So instead, he basically had to become a passer of the ball,
05:52a progresser of the ball, which he can do, but it's not a strong suit.
05:56And when you compare his numbers for doing those from Fulham to Bayern,
05:59then, yeah, obviously, they jump right the way up.
06:02But look at the ones that will really matter to you if you are Bayern Munich.
06:06Assists, expected assists, key passes, passes into the penalty area,
06:10a fractional, marginal, barely perceptible improvement between them
06:16after he moved between the clubs.
06:18I mean, passes into the final third have obviously doubled
06:20because that's just where his teammates are now.
06:22But everything else that makes any significant difference in the final third,
06:26he wasn't doing it.
06:27And worse still, the problem now is that when his team lose the ball,
06:32the opposition can usually take him out of the game with the very first pass.
06:36But you go and look at a lot of the goals they conceded when he was on the pitch.
06:39This is just against Benfica at the Club World Cup.
06:42The guy would have probably gotten a nosebleed this high up at a goal kick
06:46when he was at Fulham.
06:47And now he just has to be there to back everybody else up.
06:50He's not on the halfway line, able to proactively go and engage.
06:53And the first ball out on the counter-attack gets past him.
06:57And from there, he's just trying to pelt back to help get on the cover.
07:01And Paulinho is athletically very impressive.
07:04He covers the ground brilliantly, but sprinting 100 yards back,
07:07chasing tricky wingers with the ball, no good, no use for him.
07:12And so after a pretty spotty start to Bayern, where quite tellingly,
07:16he doesn't start against Leverkusen, Frankfurt or Freiburg,
07:20he gets a bad injury, misses a chunk of the season and never gets back into the team.
07:25And that Benfica clip I just showed you,
07:27they hooked him at halftime for Joshua Kimmich.
07:30And that will probably be the last time he ever kicks the ball for them.
07:33But now, as a clever segue that will neatly tie us back into the end of the video.
07:38Yes, I'm really good at this.
07:40Who do you think Thomas Frank's most important player was when he was at Brentford?
07:46Because it wasn't Mbuemo, it wasn't Tony, it wasn't Damsgaard, it wasn't...
07:51I'm struggling here.
07:53Rico Henry, right?
07:54It was Christian Norgard.
07:56And you look at Norgard's heat map from last season and you see the exact same pattern to João Paulinha
08:03at Fulham.
08:04Helping to defend in the box, check, screen in the back four, check,
08:08making the centre of the pitch difficult to play through, check,
08:10but also aggressively pushing out into these areas to cover for your teammates and initiate a counter-press.
08:17Check, check, to check, check, check, check, check, check.
08:19Norgard enabled Brentford to play with freedom in transition,
08:23could back up the press on the occasions where they would want to do one,
08:27because it wasn't all the time.
08:28And, stop me if you've heard this all before, was a really, really good ball winner.
08:33And you put those numbers side by side, and again,
08:36you've got one of the best in the league for interceptions,
08:38for blocking shots, for tackling any little divvies who try and dribble around you.
08:43Norgard always allowed Frank to win the ball back really quickly,
08:47wherever on the pitch that might be.
08:50And if you actually look at what Tottenham have already been doing in pre-season,
08:53you can see in pretty much every single phase of play,
08:56they're keeping everybody really close together.
08:59But that is honestly some of the best structured play you're ever likely to see,
09:02and it is night and day from the way Ange wanted the entire team
09:06to stretch the pitch front to back,
09:08so that you could move it really quickly through all the different thirds.
09:12Like, this is keeping as many players around the ball as you possibly can,
09:16to give you far more considered options when you've got it,
09:18but also to stop you getting carved open when you don't.
09:22And in circumstances such as that,
09:25having a really aggressive, proactive ball winner
09:28in your third, the middle third, and the final third
09:31is a huge, huge advantage to have.
09:34Now, don't get me wrong,
09:35João Paulinho's ball progression is what stops him being in, like,
09:39the elite, elite tier for this position.
09:42Like, Rodri will still do all the same stuff off the ball,
09:45but allow you to move it up the pitch and play around the box really well.
09:48Martin Zubermendi's going to be great at that for Arsenal.
09:51Sorry, Tottenham fans.
09:52Bruno Guimaraes at Newcastle, he's really good.
09:55João Paulinho doesn't have that,
09:57but he is so good at winning the ball,
09:59it does give you a few other options.
10:01You could have, say, a James Madison dictate tempo from a lot deeper
10:05and then push forward,
10:06knowing the space behind him was going to be protected.
10:09A Papsar or somebody like that can carry it forward more worry-free.
10:13And if you are, say, Mohamed Koudish,
10:15you haven't got to spend so much time thinking
10:17about the full-back getting into the area behind you,
10:19because, again, you know someone is aggressively, proactively,
10:24and, that's the word I want, goodly, that'll do,
10:28going to cover it for you.
10:29So, yeah, just to word that another way, right,
10:31João Paulinho is anywhere from, like, a 5, 6, 7,
10:35maybe even 8 out of 10 signing, right?
10:37He's not going to blow your socks off,
10:39but he does enable you very easily
10:41to get more out of all the other players in your side.
10:45I really like it.
10:47And also, can't we just discuss
10:49what a really un-Tottenham signing this is?
10:53The guy's 30 years old,
10:55he's really experienced in English football,
10:57he's on fat, fat wages,
10:59and a total bastard to play against.
11:02Like, you go and get Thomas Frank,
11:03because you want to sign, cheap, develop,
11:05and then sell incredibly expensively,
11:07but obviously he's gone straight into that club
11:09and said, well, yes, we can do that
11:11with some of the players we've got now
11:12and probably will get in the future,
11:14but I do note a distinct lack of arsehole in this team,
11:18and for all the good stuff they did play under Ange,
11:21they did also get bullied quite easily,
11:24and Paulinho fixes that almost immediately.
11:28So, yeah, there you go.
11:29That's certainly killed another day
11:31until I've got to bite the bullet
11:32and do the Alexander-Isak to Liverpool video,
11:35but let me know what you made of it all
11:37in the comments down below,
11:38and, of course, forget to like, share, and subscribe.
11:39Tottenham fans,
11:40feel like we didn't give you enough love this summer.
11:42I was on holiday when you signed Kudus,
11:44so I missed that,
11:44but don't worry,
11:45we'll be looking at you next season
11:47and how you play in Thomas Frank's first couple of games.
11:49I'm very excited about the possibilities here,
11:52so please do feel free to subscribe to us
11:54here at ACFC.
11:55Don't even feel free,
11:56do it as a matter of urgency,
11:57would be my advice,
11:58and you can get me across all the social medias,
12:00at Adam Cleary,
12:01C-L-E-R-Y,
12:03and until next time,
12:04this has been the video that you have watched,
12:07that I made,
12:08and that concludes our business for the day.
12:11Goodbye.
12:13Bye, goodbye.
12:14Goodbye.
12:15What should my catchphrase be?