Tactical Overload

The game against Newcastle summed up our season. We often have 60%+ of the ball but are failing to do the most important part in any football game, which is to put the ball in the back of the net. I know we have been great defensively, had a brilliant start after 9/10 games but not conceding goals will only get you so far.

In AVB it’s refreshing to have a manager who doesn’t make it all about him and makes it more about us. I agreed he had every right to comment about the lack of atmosphere and only look at this in a positive way that he is asking us to make some more noise, support the team that bit more when in attendance and hopefully give the team that extra 5% we often need.

I’m nowhere near old enough to have been able to have seen the “push and run” team of the 60’s, and although we played some pretty brilliant counter attacking football under Martin Jol and Harry Redknapp, I don’t always demand it.

I also remember nights under both these managers where we would struggle to beat or even draw with teams like Wolves, Wigan and Stoke. So some of the fans I see on twitter demanding the football under Harry back, are massively deluded. On our day under him we were superb but quite often it was the same as what we are watching now.

[linequote]Although we played some pretty brilliant counter attacking football under Martin Jol and Harry Redknapp, I don’t always demand it[/linequote]

The main difference now and the struggle that AVB has are teams turn up, particularly at WHL, and put 10 men behind the ball. Newcastle didn’t quite go to this extreme in the first half but most certainly did in the second. With the high line we play, it does invite the “smaller” teams to come to Spurs and play 10 men behind the ball and try hitting us on the counter.

They know we will have our last man on the halfway line and if they have any real player with pace, like Ravel Morrison, they have every opportunity to punish us.

With the newly named “inverted wingers” I keep reading about, we are narrowing the pitch and making it a lot easier for teams to block the space for any movement, through balls or space for players to run into.

We are basically narrowing the width of the pitch to the 18 yard box and playing in a 50 square yard space for most of the game. I can only think of one team who play in a similar way with no real width where teams come and “park the bus” and that’s Barcelona.

Admittedly some of the injuries we have had this season haven’t helped in the wide areas. Nacer Chadli has had a stop start season since joining due to 2-3 week injuries every now and then. Aaron Lennon has been out for a long time, came back and now can’t get minutes under his belt. Danny Rose has a”stubbed toe” that’s kept him out for 11 games now.

We all know we are short in real quality cover for the full back positions but we have no real excuse for the wide men of the three behind Roberto Soldado.

We have strength in those areas and in particular one of our new hero’s, young Andros Townsend. The way Andros has made a position in our first XI is quite something. We all love a young player coming through the ranks, making his mark in our team and rather importantly being one of us, a fan of Tottenham Hotspur.

I just feel, AVB needs to either take some of the pressure off him by giving him a PL game off every now and then or by making him switch wings to not get too one dimensional as he was on Sunday.

[linequote]We all know we are short in real quality cover for the full back positions but we have no real excuse for the wide men of the three behind Roberto Soldado[/linequote]

I don’t want this to read as if I’m having a pop at him, I’m really not. I like him and want him to do well as the next man but thought AVB could have helped him against Newcastle. On numerous occasions he had up to four players surrounding him when he had the ball. Surely if he didn’t realise this, someone (i.e. AVB, Steffen Freund or a senior player) should have told him to lift his head up and look for a team mate in space.

If he has three players near him it means he has two team mates unmarked. If he had played the ball to anyone else, another attack could have been made from the centre or the other wing. With Kyle Walker’s pace, he has the ability to get up and down the right wing on his own; Townsend should have helped Jan Vertonghen out down the left even if it was for 10-15 minutes.

A lot of people were calling for Erik Lamela to start on Sunday, and I agreed with them. The lad has had a bit of a rough time of it since he joined. Unable to speak the language, no family with him and not really given a chance to get out on the pitch.

[linequote]we weren’t able to hit Newcastle on the counter, they were parked in and around the box for virtually the whole of the 2nd half [/linequote]

The Europa League game against FC Sheriff was the start of it, he was brilliant. A good goal and a MOTM performance was proceeded with a role on the bench and unable to come on. AVB decided to bring Jermain Defoe on, a player who has made a career out of coming off the bench and getting a goal on the counter. The game against City at home last year is the best example I can think of for this. But we weren’t able to hit Newcastle on the counter, they were parked in and around the box for virtually the whole of the second half and so I couldn’t see the logic for that substitution.

I also don’t like the combination of Paulinho/Mousa Dembele in the same team. I think they are both extremely talented footballers, good enough to grace virtually any top team but they both play so much better when they have The Beast or The Tank sitting behind them.

The way Sandro lifts the crowd and by the look of it, his team mates he must start. Some will argue we don’t need an out and out DM on the pitch. I disagree. I think with one of them on the field, Walker, Paulinho/Dembele and Christian Eriksen/ Lewis Holtby all feel so much secure knowing they have the best ball winner in the league ready to pounce. It allows more freedom to those players and should allow them to express their natural talents going forward that much easier. With that in mind, opinion relates to Bobby Soldier.

I keep reading time and time again, “he’s not getting the service he needs”, “he needs through balls” etc. etc. well if team are parked on the 18 yard line these types of passes are just simply not available I read he only received 9 passes all game against Newcastle and none were from Townsend or Siggy. This would probably be a reason why he is not getting the service he needs.

I’m not proclaiming to be a Spanish football expert but from what I saw of Soldado and from his goals highlight reel his goals were scored either on the volley or in the box from crosses/layoffs. The difference is, in Spain only when Barca or Real Madrid turn up every team goes out pretty much try beating each other. At Tottenham he simply doesn’t have the luxury of space, but  i have no doubt he is a superb finisher, his goal at Villa Park emphasizes that.

Before people start criticising me for this, I have to say I am a bit fed up with people on twitter basically calling anyone who has an opinion a “negative” it’s a bit boring to be honest. No one has to agree with any of what I have said, this is simply my opinion on why we haven’t been creating enough “real” chances and more importantly scoring them.

[author name=”Matt Hull” avatar=”https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000727462195/1cf6ab2fb2f381d71b30c83ca2341e87_bigger.jpeg” twitter=”matthull5[/linequote]