How to get Robert the soldier firing

Spurs’ abject attacking displays and startling lack of goals has provoked much debate across fans and the media in recent months, with several explanations and solutions to the problem offered. One of the more straightforward theories frequently suggested blames the man assigned to score the goals, Roberto Soldado.

The logic goes that Spurs are producing many shots (the most in the league, in fact, at nearly 18 per game) and yet missing all of them, ergo their £26 million new striker must be to blame.

This is, of course, a major oversimplification. Anyone who has watched Spurs regularly this season will know that Soldado hasn’t been missing sitters, and that most of those missed shots have come from midfielders chancing it from outside the box.

A look at Soldado’s career shows him to be both a reliable and prolific goalscorer. In each of his four previous seasons in La Liga he managed more than 15 goals (20 if you include cup competitions) at a rate of over one every two games. Compare that with Jermain Defoe – the Spaniard’s main rival who some sections of the media are still bemused doesn’t start more – who fluctuates between prolific runs (18 goals in 31 starts in 2009/10, 11 in 11 starts and 14 sub appearances in 2011/12) and dry spells (4 in 16 in 2010/11, 11 in 27 last season).

[authquoteleft text=”A look at Soldado’s career shows him to be both a reliable and prolific goalscorer[/linequote]

Some may dismiss these impressive stats on the basis that they were achieved in La Liga, but this would be to perpetuate the myth held by some that the Spanish league is easier to score in than the Premiership.

A quick look at those who have played in both refutes this; Juan Mata, Santi Cazorla and Michu all enjoyed their most prolific seasons to date in last year’s Premier League campaign, as did Sergio Aguero the season before, while Fernando Torres, remembered as being unstoppable for Liverpool, only went at a rate better than one goal every two games in one of his five seasons in the top flight.

So there can be no doubting Soldado’s quality, especially when we recall his superior intelligence and link up play compared with Defoe. But the question of why he has thus far failed to replicate his Valencia form in a Spurs shirt remains.

Below is a video of him in such form, showing all 24 goals he managed in last year’s La Liga.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xj-XhTAmvag

Two aspects of Soldado’s attributes as a forward are highlighted here. Firstly, that he is a Javier Hernandez style poacher through and through. A remarkable 9 of these 24 goals were scored inside the 6-yard box, while the compilation features not a single effort from outside the penalty area or defensive splitting dribble.

Secondly, over half of his goals involve him converting crosses from wide areas. Whether it be slotting in a low cross, improvising a volley from a more awkward delivery or heading in a corner, Soldado appears to be at his most potent when he is targeted from the wing.

[authquoteright text=”Whether it be slotting in a low cross, improvising a volley from a more awkward delivery or heading in a corner, Soldado appears to be at his most potent when he is targeted from the wing[/linequote]

In most of league games he has started this season, Andros Townsend has lined up on the right, and either Gylfi Sigurdsson or Aaron Lennon on the left. They have been used as inverted wingers, the idea being that they tuck in to offer guile and goals while the full backs overlap and provide width.

This ploy however has been unsuccessful; Sigurdsson has managed a few goals but no assists, Lennon meanwhile  looks lost on the left wing, and Townsend, for all his obvious talent, has alarmingly only one goal and not a single assist to his name in thirteen games.

Surely the solution lies with playing either Townsend or Lennon, or both, as orthodox wingers. Lennon has impressed on the right in recent weeks, setting up chances for Defoe while Soldado waits on the bench, while Townsend devastates defenders without offering any end product from the right.

His tendency to shoot typifies a team more ready to shoot from distance than set up its best finisher; for Valencia last year, Soldado had more shots per minute than any other player, but Paulinho, Sigurdsson, Townsend and Defoe have all tried their luck more regularly this season at Spurs.

By changing the emphasis from hopeful long range shots and crowding the middle to pacey wing play, Spurs are more likely to get the best out of their most potent goal threat, Roberto Soldado. The creativity of Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen must also be catered for in the future, but for now at least one of Lennon and Townsend must be deployed on their orthodox wing to create the sort of chances Soldado is most suited to finishing.

[author name=”Stephen Puddicombe” avatar=”https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000474812363/492467fba7e9dd716bf0f53e5e829c00_reasonably_small.jpeg” website=”http://21stcenturyspurs.wordpress.com/” twitter=”s_puddicombe[/linequote]