doherty's move to spurs is sad confirmation of the overarching philosophical transition that's taking them away from being the exciting, innovative, talent developing club they were under poch to a limited mourinho side with an unclear transfer strategy

A STATS-BASED THREAD:

preface: claiming a player is good and claiming a player is a bad signing are not *mutually exclusive*

while yes, doherty has been instrumental in wolves' two 7th place finishes, he did this playing an extremely different role to the one mourinho will inevitably force him into

taking a look at doherty's underlying numbers from 19/20, he clearly excels in attack (92nd percentile for npxG+xA), with an actual output of 7 G+A

only taa, robbo, alonso, saka, willems, and chilwell rank above him in G+A/90 as fbs

however, this was in a wb role which required less from him defensively and in which his starting position was incredibly high compared to those in a back 4

of his 6.8 xG+xA this season, only 25% is xA

0.05 xA/90 puts him at the 60th percentile for all DEFENDERS (including cbs) and of fbs in the top 8, only bellerin & davies ranks below

PLUS, he's playing with arguably the best target man in the pl, which should be ideal for fbs

but is this really a problem? if he's contributing goals, it's ok, right? not necessarily.

doherty attacking contribution is predominantly due to wolves' back 3 and his incredible freedom to roam forward, often finding himself on the end of crosses, which yes, he is very good at

BUT, will he have this freedom at spurs? probably not, especially as mou doesn't have the personnel for a back 3 with the only cbs at the club being an aging alderweireld, foyth (who he's shown no confidence in), dier (nuf said), and tanganga

and no rumors of any additions

furthermore, would mourinho even want to play a back 3?

at utd, he played with a back 3 on only 6 occasions in 16/17 and 17/18, while having 6+ first team cbs

and at chelsea in 13/14 and 14/15, didn't set up in a back 3 ONCE

even taking into account mou's lopsided defense, doherty would still have less freedom to attack the box in a back 4, as his starting position would be much deeper, as demonstrated by the fact that 27% of aurier's touches came in the def. 1/3, while only 22% of doherty's did

why sign a fb who played hasn't played in a back four since 16/17? (where he actually played on the left)

seems an unnecessary risk to hope a he's good there, especially as he's shown no real signs of being a prolific creator, as shown with xA numbers and the fact that he ranked 22nd in shot creating actions for defenders in the pl, not exactly groundbreaking stuff

sure, his defensive numbers are fine, as he wins 1/2 of his defensive and aerial duels and is average w/regards to tackles + interceptions, pressures, and pressure regains

but why buy a 28 year old who hasn't played at the top level in the position you'll be playing him?

seems an illogical signing, especially as their current rb is arguably better going forward from a creative sense, which is what the fbs would be used for in a back 4

while his knack for goalscoring has been very important to wolves, it would be generally irrelevant in spurs sys

and they should look elsewhere at younger, more promising talent that first of all has demonstrated potential in a back four

two potential suggestions (while more costly) being emerson and mbabu, who are both compared to doherty below:

IN SUMMATION:

yes, spurs need a right back.
yes, doherty is good.
but, doherty is good at playing a position he won't play at spurs.
additionally, doherty is already 28.

and while yes, i'm sure he'll get some goals off set pieces, i think they should look elsewhere