White Hart Yawn

Another game done and another dull and stagnant performance from Tottenham. This time it was the Europa league team who huffed and puffed very hard but seemed content to play counter attacking football, or at least try to.

High pressing opposition

Besiktas played a high pressing game last night and worked tirelessly to get the ball back from Spurs. I thought that Pochettino's philosophy was a high pressing game, but it would appear not. I keep hearing that we don't have the players to play the high pressing game but that is a pathetic argument. These are professional footballers who have the ability to adapt to differing styles of football, but seem to lack the endeavour to put it into practice.
If some of you do agree that we don't have the right players, then what were Baldini and the chairman doing all summer? We have money to spend because we sold bale and even though we bought seven players, we were still well within budget. So why not buy the type of players that can play the way the manager wants?

Oi! We play in the White!!

Playing counter attacking football is all very well, but if you are going to do so, you need to have good ball retention when you get the ball and be able to pass to someone in a white shirt. It really does help. Some of the passing last night was abysmal and as for Paulinho, well, I am starting to wonder if he is actually a real footballer. Even Jason Dozell had a better impact on Spurs than this clown!
Another essential part of a counter attacking plan is that you have a reliable defence. Against Arsenal, we seemed to have it, but last night, Besiktas got past the back line with far too much ease, and only poor finishing and a World Class keeper in Lloris kept the game as a draw.

Attack!

Teams will have watched the last few Spurs games and be thinking just how easy we are to play against. Yes, we worked hard for a point against arsenal, but without Lloris we would have got stuffed. Sorry, but that is the crux of the matter.
We need to do away with inverted wingers for a start. I keep banging on about this but inverted wingers go past their man, have the opportunity to cross to a player running onto the ball, but instead of doing so, they turn back and then cross, allowing all of the defence to get back into position. I have said it before, and here I go again, it is simply bad management.
Get Townsend or Lamela out left and Lennon out right and attack down the flanks. Soldado scored the majority of his goals in Spain from inside the six yard box, much like Clive Allen. Without wide players getting to the by line and putting the ball in, he just isn't going to get the goals he needs to improve his confidence. Goal scoring is all about confidence. Look at Kane last night. He was strong on the ball, and his finish was superb for a young lad, who still has time to get better and better.

Saints are marching in

Sunday sees a high flying, confident Southampton come to the lane and if we try to play on the counter attack, we had all better hope that Lloris is still in the form we have seen in the last two games, because if not, the Saints could find themselves teaching their old master a rather big lesson.

Let's start to see Tottenham play football and get rid of this boring and stagnant football we have seen over the last few games.

As ever, and in hope more than expectancy......COME ON YOU SPURS!!!!!!!

 

Its time to dump a few dead beats. Last night showed that we should pick our strongest 11 and play them, rotate a few in to rest the main guys. Last night proved the following, Chiriches is a great player in Romania (Send him back) Paulinho was invisible last night (Bench him) Kane is a goal scorer (Play him) Soldado scores goals in Spain (we are in the Premier League - replace him with Kane) Saturday Adebayor was also invisible why do we keep playing him, he is living on the back of the end of last season, AVB got ot right, Ade only plays when he wants to, unfortunately its not very often. My strongest team available would be
Lloris Naughton Rose Capoue Kaboul Vertonghen Lamela Mason Kane Eriksen Chadli

 

Good observation, Matt.
Regarding inverted wingers. True, they are not efficient when it comes to crossing, but is the crossing itself being an efficient way of play? Not anymore. It used to be, but now most advanced clubs employ quality defenders who are as good and often even superior in the air to most strikers. How to overcome that? You need to throw the ball behind them making it out of reach in the air for a running in forward to head it in the frame or redirect the ball in any other way. That is where inverted wingers are better than straight ones. They can do diagonal throwing delivering ball to the box behind CBs, they can hit the target on the run being off-center with better chance, they can place the ball in far corner with more accuracy naturally.
The problem with our wingers is not the system, but quality of the personnel on hand. Our wingers may look adequate against MLS club or QPR, but they are not top 4 or elite class, except for Chadli, Lamela but even them were quite marginal at times. The process of improvement can only be accelerated by transfer. But if not, then home grown talent must be promoted, like we see that in Ryan Mason.
I agree that our 2nd squad inverted wingers make very little sense but we can only have one system for first XI and second.

 

Middle of the pitch we are pretty decent but final passes are nothing short of abysmal....seriously it is either behind the player that wants it every-friggin-time or its too slow so gets intercepted..when we go wide "eventually" why are we nit whipping in a decent ball...the moves always die down......its getting a real drag to watch and Pochitino and spurs im afraid have a massive barrier to overcome if we want to think top 4...right now we are country miles away from achieving an accolade like that.....penny for your thoughts (please buy a world class striker!!!!)