I am a typical armchair critic. I think I know the answers, but rarely do. Having said that I will throw my hat into the ring and give my opinion on AVB' current tactics.
4-2-3-1
I don't necessarily have a problem with the formation in principle, but the way it is deployed. Spurs play with 2 holding/deep midfielders with 3 supporting/attacking midfielders and a striker. No problem so far. It's the next part Spurs struggle with.
Problem 1- Congestion
Generally speaking most teams will concede possession and put numbers behind the ball. This usually means the area on edge of the penalty area is populated by 8 or 9 opposition players. It would not be unusual to see 18 players in this area fighting for possession. There is no space for our attacking players to create chances. Yes Spurs have had more shots at goal than almost anyone, but how man actually inside the penalty area. It is not surprising that our last 4 goals have all been scored from outside of the penalty area.
Problem 2 - Slow Build Up Play
The pace at which Spur move the ball around will also determine the success of the team. Now the continental way is to slowly build up play, keep the ball, move it around. This may well work against ill disciplined, disorganised teams, but you are not likely to encounter to man of those n the Premier League. Another key is to have a playmaker who will have the vision, awareness and technique to pinpoint that killer pass. I don't believe Spurs have that player as yet.
Problem 3 - Inverted Wingers
This worked great last year when Bale played on the right and cut inside to score on his left, but that was then and Tottenham have no one near his quality at the moment. Spurs need their wingers to beat their man to the by line and put the ball in front of Soldado and co.
Solution - Pace
To me it is really simple. A few years back when Jol was manager, we used the pace of our team to counter attack with ferocity. We have some very quick players Walker, Lennon, Defoe, Lamela, Townsend. The ball should be distributed as quick as possible to these players to get in behind the opposition. Spurs have genuine ball winners in Sandro and Vertongen who should be able to get the play going quickly.
If Spurs encourage opposition teams onto them, there will be plenty of space for our faster attacking players to break into. The system is not so important as the deployment, I am not too fussed if we play 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-5-1 and so on. It is how we use the ball when in possession that counts
Friday 6 December 2013
Saturday 31 August 2013
Arsenal v Spurs: Win Lose or Draw, it's only 1 game
So again we come to the Bi- Annual North London derby. As has happened in the media so often in recent years, there is talk of the shift in power. With Tottenham's spending and Arsenal's lack thereof, it is expected Spurs will prevail this season over their North London rivals.
In my opinion, Spurs have been a better team than Arsenal for the last 3 years or so, unfortunately an inability to win when it counts has cost Tottenham. I do believe that while the result in one game in September or March for that matter makes little difference in one teams ability to secure enough points to achieve their overall seasonal aims, it does have a huge bearing in the psychology of both teams.
When Arsenal were sweeping all before them a decade ago, a win over Tottenham was merely just another three points, but a Spurs win over Arsenal or any other team in the top 5 or 6 is treated as historic, season defining.
Historically, Tottenham have had great successes over the leading clubs, however have followed those up with uninspiring performances. No matter what the result in tomorrow's game, Spurs must treat it as just another game. Tottenham cannot afford to take their eyes of the prize, that is a Top 3 finish this season, possibly the title itself.
If Spurs win great, but on to the next game. If Spurs lose, lets look at where the team went wrong and learn from it and move on.
Time has come for Tottenham to forget who our rivals are and work towards making this club a great club and putting aside the euphoria of a win or the infamy of defeat over Arsenal.
In my opinion, Spurs have been a better team than Arsenal for the last 3 years or so, unfortunately an inability to win when it counts has cost Tottenham. I do believe that while the result in one game in September or March for that matter makes little difference in one teams ability to secure enough points to achieve their overall seasonal aims, it does have a huge bearing in the psychology of both teams.
When Arsenal were sweeping all before them a decade ago, a win over Tottenham was merely just another three points, but a Spurs win over Arsenal or any other team in the top 5 or 6 is treated as historic, season defining.
Historically, Tottenham have had great successes over the leading clubs, however have followed those up with uninspiring performances. No matter what the result in tomorrow's game, Spurs must treat it as just another game. Tottenham cannot afford to take their eyes of the prize, that is a Top 3 finish this season, possibly the title itself.
If Spurs win great, but on to the next game. If Spurs lose, lets look at where the team went wrong and learn from it and move on.
Time has come for Tottenham to forget who our rivals are and work towards making this club a great club and putting aside the euphoria of a win or the infamy of defeat over Arsenal.
Monday 1 July 2013
Should Spurs revert to an old boy - Adel Taarabt
With news today confirming the deal for Paulinho is as good as done, and David Villa seeming a pretty good chance to join Spurs, there remains one position needing immediate filling.
Tottenham last season lacked an alternative to Gareth Bale. There were calls of Spurs being a one man team, and in my opinion they were partly right. With the lilywhite rank and file always looking for Bale and opposition defences marking him closely, there was a lack of real creative flow to Tottenham.
While I like Lennon, I fail to see how he will push Spurs to the next level. If Lennon and Defoe are to remain at Spurs, I would consider them as impact players, much the same as Siggurdson and Holtby for now.
The one player I believe we need who is able to carve up opposition defences and create chances is Adel Taarabt. He is a player that comes with baggage, but as a more mature player than previously at Spurs, I believe he would be a great alternative to Garath Bale.
Now this would be a very unlikely signing, but not a ridiculous one in my view.
Tottenham last season lacked an alternative to Gareth Bale. There were calls of Spurs being a one man team, and in my opinion they were partly right. With the lilywhite rank and file always looking for Bale and opposition defences marking him closely, there was a lack of real creative flow to Tottenham.
While I like Lennon, I fail to see how he will push Spurs to the next level. If Lennon and Defoe are to remain at Spurs, I would consider them as impact players, much the same as Siggurdson and Holtby for now.
The one player I believe we need who is able to carve up opposition defences and create chances is Adel Taarabt. He is a player that comes with baggage, but as a more mature player than previously at Spurs, I believe he would be a great alternative to Garath Bale.
Now this would be a very unlikely signing, but not a ridiculous one in my view.
Sunday 19 May 2013
Well done Spurs on a good but ultimately a dissapointing end to the season.
With all the will in the world, Tottenham again failed by the smallest of margins to overcome our nearest rivals. It seems bad luck follows Tottenham around season after season, perhaps we can balance the ledger when it comes to luck next season.
Tottenham have improved from last season as far as points are concerned, even after selling our two biggest drawcards from last season in Modric and Van de Vaart. The trouble of course is that Chelsea were able to spend silly money and leapfrog ourselves and Arsenal.
As I have mentiuoned in previous articles our failure to overcome the Premier league strugglers has been our downfall this season like most seasons. Our biggest wins this season against Manhcester United, Manchester City and Arsenal were followed up by dissapointing results, this is a trend which has to stop. We treat these games with more importance than those against Wigan, Fulham or Queens Park Rangers. But at the end of the day, aside from bragging rights, they are only worth three points and have the same worth as a win against Sunderland, Stoke or Southampton.
Tottenham have failed to break down sides at White Hart Lane this season, that is down to a lack of an attacking alternative (to Bale) and also a failure for our defence to release the ball quickly enough to counter attack.
First priority this summer must be to tie down Bale to a new contract but also to bring in two ro three players who will make a difference to our attacking third.
All in all I believe we have made prgress this season and sure our target must be to compete at the top next season.
As always, come on you Spurs!
Tottenham have improved from last season as far as points are concerned, even after selling our two biggest drawcards from last season in Modric and Van de Vaart. The trouble of course is that Chelsea were able to spend silly money and leapfrog ourselves and Arsenal.
As I have mentiuoned in previous articles our failure to overcome the Premier league strugglers has been our downfall this season like most seasons. Our biggest wins this season against Manhcester United, Manchester City and Arsenal were followed up by dissapointing results, this is a trend which has to stop. We treat these games with more importance than those against Wigan, Fulham or Queens Park Rangers. But at the end of the day, aside from bragging rights, they are only worth three points and have the same worth as a win against Sunderland, Stoke or Southampton.
Tottenham have failed to break down sides at White Hart Lane this season, that is down to a lack of an attacking alternative (to Bale) and also a failure for our defence to release the ball quickly enough to counter attack.
First priority this summer must be to tie down Bale to a new contract but also to bring in two ro three players who will make a difference to our attacking third.
All in all I believe we have made prgress this season and sure our target must be to compete at the top next season.
As always, come on you Spurs!
Monday 6 May 2013
Summer contemplations
As the season rolls down to a conclusion, even with a very important 3 games left for Spurs, my thoughts are moving towards our summer transfer activity. There have been deficiencies in our squad this year that will need to be addressed as soon as possible.
Each season it is getting harder and harder to stay competetive with the elite, and for the last 8 years or so, apart from the blip we suffered under the guidance of Juande Ramos, Tottenham have remained competetive.
We cannot at the moment compete financially with Chelsea and Mancehster City, nor can we match the prestige of Manchester United. In the transfer market our like for like competitors are Liverpool and Arsenal. That will always be our handicap in the current environment.
In analysing our last few seasons, there has been a rather common occurence. Just take a look at this season. We have beaten Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. We have also lost to Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool. That is something that is acceptable, if they were our only losses for the season. It is the other three losses that are a little harder to swallow. The home losses to Wigan and Fulham and away to Newcastle are typical of almost any Tottenham season.
The nature of this season has meant that if Spurs fail to win at Cheslea would make it unlikely that Tottenham will finish in the top 4 this seasn, even with victories in the final two games, leaving Spurs with at least 71 points, which would have meant top 4 in almost any other season.
So where have we gone wrong? Well I was never one for believing in the importance of the so called six pointers. However, this season more than every they have been important. We all love to see exciting, attractive, enterprising play, however we need to think about the big picture and perhaps Spurs need to learn to contain as much as to attack. Had Tottenham managed to avoid defeat this season against Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton, not only would Spurs be 5 points better off, we would also be in a more comfortable position now. In fact the table would look like this: Manchester United 85, manchester City 70, Tottenham 70, Chelsea 66, Arsenal 65.
But the big games are just one side of the equation. On the other side is what seems to be our perrenial problem of overcoming the teams in or around the relegation zone. This is a problem that has existed for many years now. The following teams have taken points from Spurs this season: Wigan, Fulham, Norwich, QPR, Newcastle and Stoke. That is 19 points dropped, which if combined with the losses against our rivals at the top, would have put Spurs top of the table.
It is easy to annalyse in such a way, but games are not won and lost by statistics. Football is played by humans not by numbers. The real problem we have is breaking down the opposition. Looking at the game against Southampton, their tactics were to close down and stifle us and not allowing Bale any time on the ball. This was not a parking the bus exercise but by winning the midfield battle. Spurs were unable to use their pace to their advantage and given the recent lack of width it is not suprising their was not a great amount of scoring opportunities.
I believe Spurs have the best options in central midfield with all players available, however there is a real lack of creative outlet. Bale has been superb this season, however we desperately need an alternative outlet otherwose if the opposition mark Bale out of the game there is no alternative. Holtby and Siggurdson have been very good this season, but I don't think they are necessarily the players unlock a defence.
There has also been a lack of goalscoring presence up front. Adebayor has been woeful this season and although Defoe has spent some time injured this season, his return has exactly sparked a goal scoring frenzy. I expect his better days are behind him, however I think Defoe is still a valuable asset for the club.
My wishlist for the summer, and might I add it should occur as early as possible, would be for two new strikers. I like the sound of Damiao, we need a regular goalscorer and someone who can get involved in the game unlike our current front men. I would also love to see Bentieke given a run at Spurs. Amongst midfield players I would love Tom Ince coming to spurs, he is a wide midfielder who scores goals. He would give us options in the final third.
Of players in the squad we should be looking for offers for or letting go would be: Adebayor, Livermore, Gallas, Naughton, Bentley and Gomes. I am hoping that Danny Rose, Andros Townsend and Tom Carroll will be involved in the first team next season.
I don't belive our defence needs additions, however we should always be on the lookout for good youngsters who can come in and put pressure on our current options.
All in all priority must be our strikeforce and alternative options for Bale.
Each season it is getting harder and harder to stay competetive with the elite, and for the last 8 years or so, apart from the blip we suffered under the guidance of Juande Ramos, Tottenham have remained competetive.
We cannot at the moment compete financially with Chelsea and Mancehster City, nor can we match the prestige of Manchester United. In the transfer market our like for like competitors are Liverpool and Arsenal. That will always be our handicap in the current environment.
In analysing our last few seasons, there has been a rather common occurence. Just take a look at this season. We have beaten Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. We have also lost to Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool. That is something that is acceptable, if they were our only losses for the season. It is the other three losses that are a little harder to swallow. The home losses to Wigan and Fulham and away to Newcastle are typical of almost any Tottenham season.
The nature of this season has meant that if Spurs fail to win at Cheslea would make it unlikely that Tottenham will finish in the top 4 this seasn, even with victories in the final two games, leaving Spurs with at least 71 points, which would have meant top 4 in almost any other season.
So where have we gone wrong? Well I was never one for believing in the importance of the so called six pointers. However, this season more than every they have been important. We all love to see exciting, attractive, enterprising play, however we need to think about the big picture and perhaps Spurs need to learn to contain as much as to attack. Had Tottenham managed to avoid defeat this season against Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton, not only would Spurs be 5 points better off, we would also be in a more comfortable position now. In fact the table would look like this: Manchester United 85, manchester City 70, Tottenham 70, Chelsea 66, Arsenal 65.
But the big games are just one side of the equation. On the other side is what seems to be our perrenial problem of overcoming the teams in or around the relegation zone. This is a problem that has existed for many years now. The following teams have taken points from Spurs this season: Wigan, Fulham, Norwich, QPR, Newcastle and Stoke. That is 19 points dropped, which if combined with the losses against our rivals at the top, would have put Spurs top of the table.
It is easy to annalyse in such a way, but games are not won and lost by statistics. Football is played by humans not by numbers. The real problem we have is breaking down the opposition. Looking at the game against Southampton, their tactics were to close down and stifle us and not allowing Bale any time on the ball. This was not a parking the bus exercise but by winning the midfield battle. Spurs were unable to use their pace to their advantage and given the recent lack of width it is not suprising their was not a great amount of scoring opportunities.
I believe Spurs have the best options in central midfield with all players available, however there is a real lack of creative outlet. Bale has been superb this season, however we desperately need an alternative outlet otherwose if the opposition mark Bale out of the game there is no alternative. Holtby and Siggurdson have been very good this season, but I don't think they are necessarily the players unlock a defence.
There has also been a lack of goalscoring presence up front. Adebayor has been woeful this season and although Defoe has spent some time injured this season, his return has exactly sparked a goal scoring frenzy. I expect his better days are behind him, however I think Defoe is still a valuable asset for the club.
My wishlist for the summer, and might I add it should occur as early as possible, would be for two new strikers. I like the sound of Damiao, we need a regular goalscorer and someone who can get involved in the game unlike our current front men. I would also love to see Bentieke given a run at Spurs. Amongst midfield players I would love Tom Ince coming to spurs, he is a wide midfielder who scores goals. He would give us options in the final third.
Of players in the squad we should be looking for offers for or letting go would be: Adebayor, Livermore, Gallas, Naughton, Bentley and Gomes. I am hoping that Danny Rose, Andros Townsend and Tom Carroll will be involved in the first team next season.
I don't belive our defence needs additions, however we should always be on the lookout for good youngsters who can come in and put pressure on our current options.
All in all priority must be our strikeforce and alternative options for Bale.
Monday 4 March 2013
Do Spurs deserve to be third?
It is interesting warching Spurs from the journalist point of view. Tottenham rsrelt receive positive coverage and most of the stories seem to be about Gareth Bale leaving rather thanwhat we are doing on the pitch. Whenever Spurs are mentioned as far as Champions League qualification, it is always can we sneak into fourth.
I am the sort of supporter who always thinks anything is possible. Okay winning the league title is not going to happen this season, but why not second. My opening question, so Spurs deserve to be third, well I would say we deserve to be second.
Tottenhams last 16 games have amased some 37 points, second only to Manchester Unuted, and nine points clear of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea. Extrapolate that over the seaon and you get around 88 points which would have left us 1 point from winning the league last season.
There are some big games to come, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City. This victory tonight wins us nothing, but there is hope of a great nd to this season and a great future ahead.
I am the sort of supporter who always thinks anything is possible. Okay winning the league title is not going to happen this season, but why not second. My opening question, so Spurs deserve to be third, well I would say we deserve to be second.
Tottenhams last 16 games have amased some 37 points, second only to Manchester Unuted, and nine points clear of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea. Extrapolate that over the seaon and you get around 88 points which would have left us 1 point from winning the league last season.
There are some big games to come, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City. This victory tonight wins us nothing, but there is hope of a great nd to this season and a great future ahead.
Monday 25 February 2013
Did you notice?
I wont go into details of this game fantastic game beweeen Spurs and West Ham at Upton Park, but did anyone notice that amongst the Spurs team that finsihed the game included Carroll, Livermore and Caulker. All products of our youth set up. Not to mention the likes of Lennon, Bale, Walker and Dawson. Its good to see that Tottenham are getting into the habit of promoting British talent.
This reminds me of the early Premier League years at Manchester United withe the likes ofthe Neville brothers, Giggs, Scholes and Beckham to name a few. Lets hope we will see this continue and establish a new Great British team that can be of benefit to the Rngland and Welsh teams of the future.
This reminds me of the early Premier League years at Manchester United withe the likes ofthe Neville brothers, Giggs, Scholes and Beckham to name a few. Lets hope we will see this continue and establish a new Great British team that can be of benefit to the Rngland and Welsh teams of the future.
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