“Boring, boring Tottenham Hotspur” has been the overall assessment from all corners regarding Spurs’ start to the season, and in fairness it’s hard to argue against this. While Spurs have been amongst the league leaders in terms of possession, the goal return for this dominance has been almost non-existent. The only teams to post worse scoring […]
AVB’s Identity Crisis
“Boring, boring Tottenham Hotspur” has been the overall assessment from all corners regarding Spurs’ start to the season, and in fairness it’s hard to argue against this. While Spurs have been amongst the league leaders in terms of possession, the goal return for this dominance has been almost non-existent.
The only teams to post worse scoring records than Spurs currently dwell in the relegation zone. This worrying fact has led to much debate as to what the problems are with the team and tactics.
When watching the team play it is clear that there is still a lack of cohesion between players and uncertainty as to what our actually style of play is.
Are we a counter-attacking team focused on being defensively solid and breaking quickly?
Are we a possession based team focused on ball retention as defence and quick inter-changes and short passing in attack?
Does AVB want to be Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola?
Our performances so far would suggest the latter, but our formation and type of players we have brought in suggests the former.
Perhaps asking if AVB wants to be Mourinho or Guardiola is too simplistic, as each manager wants to be his own man, but even the best managers in the world have been influenced greatly by those who have come before them. AVB was undoubtedly influenced by Mourinho while working under him, as he himself has admitted in the past, but he has also said that Guardiola is a constant source of inspiration for him. After winning the Europa League final with Porto, he praised Guardiola stating:
“I should pay a compliment to Pep Guardiola. He was always an inspiration for me because of his methodology and the way Barca plays fantastic football. I had the chance to meet him this year. He is an inspiration every day.”
But how have these inspirations influenced the Tottenham side we’ve seen on the pitch this season?
Over the past two seasons, AVB has brought in players that would fit best into his system and the style of play which he envisioned.
The question has become, however, what is his style of play?
Bringing in big, physical midfielders such as Mousa Dembele, Paulinho and Etienne Capoue (not to mention Nacer Chadli on the wing) combined with the purchases of quick attacking players such as Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado led one to believe that we would set up this team in a Mourinho-esque style.
This entails powerful defensive midfielders who shield the defence and break up attacks and then quickly move the ball forward to our quick attacking players who would fire out on the counter. Very quick, very disciplined, and very direct, with possession not being a defining characteristic of the team.
However, we seem to have gone in the opposite direction, into a style of play that is much more Guardiola than Mourinho. This in itself isn’t a problem, but the team selection and set-up has to match the style we want to play. Currently we are lining up as a team that looks more suited to break quickly on the counter and play very direct, but our actual play is just the opposite, and it is clear that the team is not comfortable in it.
Could this just be that the players have not yet gelled?
Possibly. After all, transitioning seven new players into a team is very difficult, and despite what some might say, does not happen quickly. However, it is worrying that there has seemingly been little progress made in the teams’ gelling, though it’s still somewhat early to hit the panic button.
Where do we go from here?
If we are going to continue to focus on dominating possession, which I believe we will, then I would like to see the team set up along these lines:
Sandro will be the lone holding midfielder, freeing up Paulinho to play in a more advanced position where he has shown that he can be dangerous making passes and getting into goal scoring positions. It might even serve to play Lewis Holtby up along Eriksen, with the German being much more energetic in closing down opponents and defending.
With Lamela starting to hit form he needs to be given starts in the league. With his dribbling and shooting/passing ability he will provide much more on the right than Townsend, who in my opinion is more suited to playing in a true winger role than an inverted one, and he still has the strength in his right foot to come inside and shoot.
We desperately need to work on our movement within the box as too often have four stationary players just standing in the area or just outside. This is the main reason it becomes so compact and difficult to score, because we have no players moving to try and drag defenders out of position to open up space.
Despite the team’s shortcomings so far this season, we sit just five points off the scum with two massive fixtures coming up that provide us a fantastic opportunity to show our top four credentials. Despite what some believe, possession football can be very exciting and enjoyable to watch when it is played at a high level, and we have the talent to do just that.
I believe AVB can be a top manager and will really show his ability in the coming months. We are a young team with a young manager, and they will both make mistakes, but I have full confidence in both to improve greatly during the rest of the season.
[author name=”Ian Walker” tag=”IanWalker[/linequote]
All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.
27 Comments
Would you like to write for The Fighting Cock?
13/11/2013 @ 4:15 pm
You believe Villas Boas ‘can be a top manager and will really show his ability in the coming months’ and you have full confidence in the team and the manager improving greatly. So what do you base this optimism on pal?
14/11/2013 @ 5:26 am
I agree with most of the team selection. The only change I would make is to drop Dawson and play Chiriches. Great article. COYS
13/11/2013 @ 4:26 pm
Great article! Def agreed on the formation, this is what I have been hoping to see (as soon as Rose is back). Even if Lamela & Eriksen don’t hit the ground running immediately I still think this line up will create far more & should still be pretty defensively sound. I guess the only other mention should be Chiriches who has been immense since he was brought in to the team, it may be controversial but I’d consider putting Dawson on the bench for him
13/11/2013 @ 4:37 pm
I agree with the article in general, however I still have a soft spot for Dembele, he was great last year and would love to see him over Paulinho, just because he was here longer. He is solid like a rock the way he holds onto the ball and the way opposition players seem to struggle to try to dispossess the ball from him.
Dont get me wrong, I also think Paulinho is a great player. More offensively oriented.
In the tougher matches I would pick Dembele and on the weaker sides I would pick Paulinho.
14/11/2013 @ 12:28 pm
Agree.. last season when we were flying we played Sandro and Dembele and we smashed up most teams.. this season, I don’t think they have played together once, due to Paulinho being first pick.. if we’re going play with three, i’d push him forward. He’s got skill, eye for a pass and can score goals..
13/11/2013 @ 4:42 pm
I play that formation on Football Manager too. Pity life is not like that.
13/11/2013 @ 4:47 pm
Dawson is way too slow and should be benched.Allowing for Rose’s return,difficult to play Vertonghen,A fit Kaboul and Vertonghen together in the same team at the same time,and yet all 3 deserve their starting place.
Sandro must be 1st player named in starting line up-Capoue should be his back up.Other than Lloris and probably Walker, not sure what our best starting lineup should be but Dembele should be kept far away from the squad.
What ever, AVB will for sure make the strangest decisions….
13/11/2013 @ 4:48 pm
I think other than swapping Eriksen for Holtby, you have the formation spot on !!
13/11/2013 @ 4:50 pm
Sorry,mentioned Vertonghen twice;one should read Chiriches.
13/11/2013 @ 4:58 pm
How Elouai can have a soft spot for Dembele is beyond me.For all his ability on the ball, never scores,never assists,rarely shoots(and he has a good shot on him), doesn’t drive forward, never harms the opposition and eventually always seems to lose possession.A total waste of time.
13/11/2013 @ 9:15 pm
100% correct.
13/11/2013 @ 4:58 pm
Interesting, I have these debates at work every day. At the time we were buying all these players I was happy as hell I cant deny, but in the back of my mind I thought we still weren’t buying the players we actually needed. It felt more like we had a shortlist of favourable buys and we were buying the ones available putting actual priority to the background. Only buy I thought made sense was Chadli because we had obviously just sold Bale. I felt AVB really wanted Paulinho as he does have tons on offer but only if you use him correctly, much in the way of Ramires at Chelsea. I said it then and I’m still saying it, Soldado was a panic buy. Missing out on Benteke and the feeling at the time that Adebayor and Defoe were on their way I feel we rushed him in. Eriksen seemed like the best No.10 at that time available too. Lamela was a good buy I felt in terms of that big marquee signing as well as Chirices as I saw the sense in that.
I always get the feeling that when you’re not buying the players you want it’s hard to play a very individualistic style. Were getting top players in but they’re not playing their natural game. Start of previous season number one priority was replacing Modric. Dembele I felt was bought to play further upfield but our failure to buy Moutinho on the last day of that window forced us to play Dembele deep where silky as he is, never looks a natural in that position. Of all the players we’ve got in we still have that Modric sized hole in midfield, the one guy who can GROW into that position is Holtby but AVB plays him behind the striker? That’s where the failure to break these teams down is stemming from because you’ve got to open them up from deep, that is in turn making me despise Dembele but he’s no playmaker at all, he’s just skilful.
Back to the manager, compromise has to be the key. You have to marry your ideologies with what you have at your disposal and what’s worked in the past. Were set up to be more aggressive and counter attacking so lets play that way. If you want to play build up, AVB should have pushed harder for those Moutinho, Pjalnic, Pirlo-esque type players.
Play to our strengths and the players will gel. I quite like your formation, Sandro is a must. Personally I’d go Holtby in there with Paulinho or Eriksen depending on the oppostion. Holtby for the guts and guile and Paulinho as the runner from deep as I can see that in his game or Eriksen doing similar. Lamela on the other flank and just let him rip, he is the potential world beater so we have to let him free to play whatever his natural game is. Left I’d go Townsend until Chadli is ready.
We do have to work on movement but you need passers to encourage runs and our midfielders ball hog until the runners are marked and once you’re picked up by a defender its hard to lose them. I heard someone once slate Modrics lack of pace, and the reply to that was “a quick killer ball forward is way more dangerous than a skills man running past four players.” Would you be so enthusiastic making gut busting runs if Townsend was flying down the right flank with the ball knowing he was going to cut inside and shoot? Or if Dembele has it but he’s missed your past three or four runs because he cant spot the pass? I was never Huddlestones biggest fan but those years back when he picked the ball up deep on the counter, the anticipation of his passing range always brought Lennon and Bale to life knowing the lung-busting sprint down the flank was worth the efforts.
AVB is a very intelligent guy but he needs to be more flexible and self analyse his losses or shortcomings. I’m tired of hearing people say were still up there in the league so we should be happy. Play to our strengths and we’ll be way more dangerous and the players will be sure of themselves. I mean, sometimes it sounds ridiculous blending a gang load of foreigners into a team when theyre not playing their natural game and the tactics are so rigid. I say we only need a left back as that’s our only weak position, we have to refrain from buying if we’re top gel as gelling is 2 year process not a 15 game one. If AVB is to succeed he has to utilise the players strongest weapons and adjust to the environment he’s in in the sense that the tactics might work in your head, but if they’re not working in reality you gotta go plan B. Sorry for the length of the post, once I get going to passion gets the better of me.
13/11/2013 @ 5:00 pm
You’re missing the point all of you: he should play so and so, or what’s-his-name should start. Doesn’t matter whether he’s got the best eleven players in the world on the pitch it won’t help if he’s getting them to play the wrong way. Wake up! the man’s a bore and that’s how he plays his football.
13/11/2013 @ 5:10 pm
Good shout, you’re dead right but I think that we always tend to debate starting line-ups etc because not only do the tactics stink but his teams selection at times also.
13/11/2013 @ 5:04 pm
…I still cant understand how Dawson gets in the team every week. Its criminal to have Kaboul benched while Dawsons getting run ragged on a weekly basis. Also, how about the idea of dropping Walker for a few games for Naughton who is thought of as a poor player cos he gets played at left back constantly? I feel sometimes the pressure gets to Walker at times, he needs a rest to recharge mentally. Anyone share that sentiment?
13/11/2013 @ 5:37 pm
I think what Daws lacks in speed he makes up for in his football intelligence. He always tends to read the game correctly, the mistakes he makes is one of timing, to make up for his lack of speed, but he always knows where he should be. Also he works great if you have Loris to back him up as a sweeper keeper. Otherwise whenever we use Brad Daws should go on the bench if we continue to play the high line.
13/11/2013 @ 6:09 pm
I’m not talking about speed, Vertonghen or Chiriches aren’t speed merchants but you don’t see them get torn apart how Dawson does. Dawson has no football intelligence, that’s how he gets himself into situations he cant get out of. The only thing I’d give him is that he’s a trier and he is one of the bravest. Remember the days when he’d fall apart without Ledley King next to him to marshall him through matches? He also has this suicidal 70 yard diagonal pass to the left flank that always ends up in row F that he insists on attempting. Non-ball playing defenders should play it to someone better suited. A match fit Kaboul is just as good a leader, doesn’t make any less the mistakes than Dawson does but is better on the ball and reads the game just as good or even better. Before Kabouls injury last season he was absolutely immense. Having a keeper who can sweep up is a luxury that were glad to have but it shouldn’t be a foil for an incapable centre half. I’ve seen many occasions this season where going central the opposition would be on an ‘Isolate Michael Dawson’ operation.
13/11/2013 @ 9:18 pm
With Sandro sitting and Lloris behind, Dawson is fine and we don’t concede, not a single league goal when these 3 have played together.
14/11/2013 @ 8:23 am
I’m not wrong, nobody’s wrong. It’s a matter of opinion here. What do your limited stats suggest? That if we play Sandro, Lloris and Dawson we wont concede a single goal for the rest of the season? I always say to people to quote stats to back it up with something. If for example, we play Townsend up front in a emergency for three minor games and he scores a goal each game and we win all three, does that mean the stats suggest we drop all of our strikers for a winger up front if we want to get top 4? If Dawson is the best centre half at the club in your opinion, there’s not much I can say except we cant agree on everything mate. No hard feelings.
13/11/2013 @ 5:18 pm
it does ‘t matter what you lot think, its all down to avb and there lies the problem.And as for saying there is no need to push the panic button, total crap, it is obvious that this manager does not seem to know what he’s doing! Been an advocat of this guy until now, instead of being obsessed with the two bob europa league, be obsessed with getting into the c/league! Can only see us getting 6th at best, not good enough yet again!!!!
13/11/2013 @ 7:05 pm
Ronny, I couldn’t have put it better myself.Up until recently I liked AVB, but now realise why Cheatski got shot of him.He is making the exact same mistakes with us.He is a stubborn,self opinionated t…. Doesn’t have a plan B,C or D or come to think of it a plan A.Of course he makes mistakes,we expect that and we all do, but he doesn’t learn from them and what is serious, doesn’t appear to want to.If he thinks differently to 35000 Spurs fans at the Lane, he is right and all the others wrong.Not the sign of a clever man.
13/11/2013 @ 8:43 pm
spot on ronny
13/11/2013 @ 8:46 pm
As a neutral football fan, it seems really obvious to me who spurs should play. I’d go for a starting 11 of
lloris
chiriches, vertonghen, Dawson
Walker, Paulinho, sandro, rose
Lamela, Erikson
Soldado
I know most fans don’t really like 3-man defences, but for me looking at the spurs squad, there are very few other players good enough and I think that walker and rose aren’t really good enough defensively, so playing them as proper wing-backs will mean they have less defensive responsibility. I also think the three centre backs will play better without having to rely on the full backs, and with a sweeper keeper they can still play the high line. It will mean Paulinho will have to play slightly more defensively but with lamela and eriksson behind the striker and the wing backs getting crosses in there should be enough chances. I know it’s pretty unconventional but I think this would be the best option.
14/11/2013 @ 1:14 am
Good Lord,there are people out there who think like me,avb is pretty clueless.Quite where he got his reputation from is beyond me.Master tactician,ddont make me laugh,we see his so called tactics every week and pretty useless they are too.Unless he keeps bribing refs with free holidays in Portugal,for a dodgy penalty,I dont see as doing much this season
14/11/2013 @ 5:29 am
I agree with most of the team selection. The only change I would make is to drop Dawson and play Chiriches. Great article. COYS
14/11/2013 @ 12:57 pm
We simply have to work out a plan against teams that come and get all 11 behind the ball, because that is basically what EVERY team (outside the top 6 side) are going to do when they come to the Lane. Sadly we have brought that on ourselves, with the West Ham, Hull and Newcastle results.. Teams can see it works, so we are in for a whole season of this boring football.. Look how effective we are away, when teams are expected to push out… for a start, at home we only need one holding midfielder.. that is Sandro, end of, with Capoue as back up. Then push forward 3 of Dembele, Paulinho, Holtby, Ericksen. Who’s job should be to win the ball back up field. Let Lamela run wild, much like Bale did and stick with Roberto up top as you don’t get to be Spain’s main striker for nothing. then have lennon, townsend on the other side to balance it out. I do then like the 3 at the back idea with Chirches, Vertongen and Kaboul as a back three. All really strong, lightning quick as over on the ground, immense in the air, can all play out from the back, and with Hugo sweeping behind I think that’s the perfect solution for this high line AVB seems to want to play..
15/11/2013 @ 10:48 am
It’s time to make a stand. It may be all about opinions now but in six months time who’s opinions are correct?
All Very Boring will prove to be a massive failure. He’s young, he’s got no experience and he think’s he will be the one to make the difference and not the players – the ‘special’ one V.2
We have got ourselves a dud………..
I pray he gets a knee in the head in training and wakes up thinking he’s Argentinian and called Mauricio.