Lamela in heaven, defence in hell

Good banter my fellow spurs fans ! Not sure if Kaboul is the player he once was due to injury. Last season we had to revert to Daws as without him we were poor at the back. Jans attitude is suspect but maybe Poch can get the best out of him. I expect Poch to improve our players, Townsend to pass and work as a member of a four man attack. Eriksen to work harder when we dont have the ball. Dembele to take on opponents more and use his obvious ability to go past defenders quickly. I expect a Pochetinno spurs to be snappier in moving the ball forward and striking at goal. Possesion with intent to harm the opposition. It might be a bit AVB to start but hopefully Poch will have the intelligence and pragmatism to carry it through. Coys.

 

Still not sold on Townsend, he was part of the problem with last years lack of goals at the beggining. Townsend in particular along with Paulinho were lashing at everything from 30 yards and missing the target while Soldado had to stand there scratching himself. MP has his work cut out to put a football brain in young Andros's head that can match his football ability. I didnt think he had a great tour but im sure he will improve. Still a squadie for me until he can make a significant contribution.

 

I think your right about Townsend notnats but its Pochs brief to improve him. He has to play more cleverly, as does Lennon, or they just wont be part of the new Poch spurs. Our four attacking players will need to work together, unselfishly, to beat opposing defences. That does'nt mean we cant go more direct at times. It means we have options and Andros has to improve in his decision making or he will be moved on. What a player though if Poch can just settle him down a bit and get him to be part of an attacking unit. Coys

 

'My Dear', huh?...Careful, Steven, I could get use to that! lol

Look, if you read my initial post regarding the defence, again, you will see that I state that I am NOT against change when I say 'So, I'm NOT buying all this talk that Spurs 'need' another CB, although a replacement for Dawson (ideally) would be nice.' Emphasis on the ideally.

I WOULD replace Dawson, ideally, but to allude that the defence 'needs' change in personnel in order to be successful/stable is SIMPLISTIC, at best.

What we 'need' is for them to stay fit, and be coached/managed. Spurs were RAVAGED by injury last term. Decimated. The teams most complete defender has had unfortunate injury issues for the past 24 months, and was rushed back early. And the reason he was rushed back early was due to injuries to those around him.
The decision from BOTH our managers not to deploy a orthodox DM was naive to say the very (very) least.
And as a result the defence struggled. To be honest, it wasn't a surprise to me.

We didn't consistently press teams (as a unit, well). We didn't consistently play with a high tempo. We didn't consistently pass and move, well. etc, etc

Basically, we were a shambles/mess for large parts of the season, and the quality within the squad still secured a 6th placed finish. We had a nightmare with injuries, and still secured 6th. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the club finish only a few points of it's record points tally?

What I'm saying is, there is PLENTY of room for improvement within that squad, just from a teams balance, structure and organisation point of view.

Understand, I don't only look at a player for what he is today. I look at what he can be tomorrow...Sometimes, simply saying an individual is not good enough is too easy.

Look, hey, I want Pochettino to get money (and he will), to build his own team. But I know that squad has a LOT more ability than it showed, at times, last season.

 

Ramos, Ramos, We need another CB! Seriosly, one of Jan ( carrying an injury) or Kaboul gets injured we are in trouble again. we cant go thru another season with euro included relying on Dawson and maybe Chiriches who either has injury problems or attitude problems.

 

It is true that the team were badly mismanaged last season. Of course the players have to take responsibility, but too many players were out of position and didn't seem to know what was expected of them. We have quality players and whilst a new centre back would be welcomed, the main objective for Pochettino is to get last summer's signings playing at the top of their game. Lamela and Soldado are class players, we now need them to show that class week in, week out.
As for injuries, it is always hard to legislate for such things but last season I believe there were some serious failings with training methods and fitness regimes. The majority of our injuries seemed to come from off the field of play and that must be addressed.

 

Think were all in agreement that IF we can only sign one player this summer we would all want a centre half (left winger would be nice too) but if we signed no other player it wouldn't be the end of the world... Pochs 3 primary targets must be in this order 1 get us playing the Tottenham way 2 get the best out of last seasons signings namely lamela and soldado and 3 develop and integrate our young talent. If he can do that top four or thereabouts is achievable!

 

2 solid cbs and a big powerful striker are a priority and we could do with trimming the dross for more quality in key areas

 

I see, both, your point regarding Townsend, and I agree with both to a degree.

Andros, for me, was one of the few REALLY good things to come out of last season and although he can obviously still improve on what he does with the ball, I believe it will be what he does WITHOUT the ball that will determine how successful he will be plying his trade under a manager like Poch.

After watching his first 2 performances of this pre-season, I decided I would write to the player via twitter (which I only use as a tool to support my club...*Do NOT attempt to follow me as I walk upon hollow grounds*) to offer Andros the benefit of some of my expertises...I mean considered advice.

I know your probably wondering what pearls of wisdom your 'Dear' Ramos had to impart upon Andros' young ears, so I'll tell you. Due to the limited number of characters available to use I kept my txt as short as possible, spanning over 2 messages. It read some along the lines of:


'Great goal. We all know about your ability. What is gonna impress Poch even more than that though is.....your intelligence ON, and OFF, the ball! Stay switched on, and ready to 'press' to impress. I want 2 c u start against WHU'

Now whether Townsend starts against West Ham is of little consequence to me. I couldn't care less, if truth be told. But it helps the (altered) ego take on board my message if my intentions appear to come from a place of support.

And to be honest, I do support Andros....probably more than most. I want Andros to succeed and to prove he is the potential superstar I know he can be.

Last season he was IMMENSE for the club before he got injured. Although, his stats my not support my claim, what I saw was a player who was of huge benefit to Spurs. I could go on to explain why Townsend was such an important player for, as I have in the past, but I'd rather focus on the reason behind the message I sent him.

I mean it's pretty self explanatory to be fair. But I feel the main part of Andros's game that will need to change is his work off the ball.

He has to prove that he is intelligent enough to be able to demonstrate that he is capable of (consistently) adapting and committing to the managers ideas/philosophy.
A manager will forgive you misplacing a pass, having a pop from range or going on a mazy run providing you work for the team, and follow his core/basic instructions/gameplan.

The high-tempo pressing game requires EVERY single player to work not only physically, but mentally, for the duration of the match in order to get the most effective results. One or two players who are not in-tune with the rest of the team can prove VERY costly, indeed, when it comes to the opposition being able to easily bypass your press - and in the process, a good % of your outfield playing staff.

Pochettino is as ruthless, as he is demanding. He won't think twice about discarding a 'star' player if the individual shows he is unwilling, or unable, to commit, to commit to his tactics.

Raul Tamudo was a icon at Espanyol. A player that Pochettino, himself, had performed alongside, during his spell at the club as a player. A hero to the fans.

Well all of that counted for nought upon Pochettino's return to the club as manager. He froze Tamudo out of the squad before selling him - unprepared to comprise the teams ethic in order to cater for the requirements of an individual.

The TEAM comes first for Poch, and it always will.

So after watching Townsends first couple of games, in which he scored a GREAT goal from range in one of them, I noticed Andros was slow in reacting when he did not have the ball. He wasn't sharp in instigating/following the press, and he stood out in a team where Lamela, Holtby, Ceballos, Lennon and Falque (players who operate in his area of the pitch) had been superb in that respect.

Now, I don't no if it was my message, or not, but there was a significant improvement in Townsends sharpness/reactions off the ball in the game against Chicago. Long may it continue....If Andros wants a long and successful career at Tottenham Hotspur, it's going to have to!

 

And this is the exact problem we may see again during stretches of the season if Soldado is used as the starter.

We have already witnessed this in the last game against Chicago. Many times the ball was played out wide and there was not a single soul for the wide man to aim at.

This is the problem we face when a defense has the time to get numbers back and set up their shape. They will pinch down the middle and Soldado will end up drifting out of the box to the perimeter. This forces us to go outside to cross the ball back into the box. And here lies the rub. Soldado is out of position and not an ariel threat. His runs come in late and is easily funneled off of his path. Soldado is very much a tiki-taka forward. Playing through the middle is where he will score his goals.

Relief will only come if we can count on one of our other offensive players becomes a goal threat. That man may very well be Lamela. Consistency is the obvious devil in the game. We must have one additional goal threat going forward in order for Soldado to be effective.

It's for this reason that Adebayor would still be my number one choice for striker out of the 3.5 we have on the roster. I will explain the .5 next. "Ade" holds the ball and gets it to teammates better as well as being an ariel threat if defenses get number behind the ball. His goalscoring was actually really food/good for us last season in which we relied on for sustenance. If AVB had instilled some measure of confidence and used him in the first half of the season he could easily have had 20+ at the end. No time to cry over spilled milk. I see Adebayor as the best full option we currently have in a single striker set up.

Now to get on with the .5 comment I made earlier. As I have said earlier we need a striker that can play through the middle like Soldado and can be an ariel threat like Adebayor. Other skills needed are the ability for hold up and getting the ball to the help that is coming. Now this is probably just a bit fanciful but I see all the qualities in this player that could make him, after time and experience, the possible answer to make the offense perform optimally. Nacer Chadli. I believe he has been played out of position throughout his career really. He was generally played out on the left as a winger but this does not suit his skill set and strength. I can remember many games before Adebayor came on that he was the lone target upfield for Lloris or the back line to aim at for long balls. His height is good as well as his physical strength to hold up the ball. He has pace and can play a pass. He can score but that old devil consistency has reared it's head.

I'm not by any means suggesting that he be thrown at the deep end full time. But it would benefit the club if he were to start training as a striker. It may even be of benefit to have him get some game time in one of the cup games. To me I see all the tools for him to become a reliable option as a striker. Of course many will say this is absurd and we already have the young blonde one. But I say with the depth in midfield we know that Chadli will not get much game time out wide anyway. He is certainly not in the starting 3 of attacking midfielders. Although I did qualify this idea as fanciful and that's probably all it is.

 

Interesting points, well made. Chadli is certainly a strong player as he showed at times in the World Cup.
We will need to play at pace without a doubt and Pochettino has promised to play the Tottenham way which must be fast, fluid attacking football.