Let's talk about pace

Pace at the back when you play a pressing game with a high line on a big pitch is essential

I'm sure that's why Poch has concentrated on central defenders with pace at Wembley and he'll look to go 3 at the back

We get exposed at Wembley time after time with our lack of pace at the back

Same old problem with Eriksen, Dele and Son (and Sissoko and Lamela) - all like to come short for the ball.

It's fine for Eriksen to do that but ultimately; the system should see Kane pulling into a false 9 to draw central defenders out with Alli and Son storming into the pockets behind the defence.

We were doing this at the end of last season and blitzing everyone in our path.

It's not a lack of pace - I believe it's a fact of too much conditioning work pre-season and not enough tactics work and working with the ball.

Poch pretty much said it himself during the pre-season interviews; football doesn't matter as long as the team are getting match fitness.

I blame the England team for some of it too - you can see it in our English players everytime they return from the International camp. Just not enough running off the ball to stretch defenders.

We are missing a player that is quick in the legs and the mind.

When you buy just pace you end up with a Sissoko type player,

When you buy intelligence you end up with an Eriksen type player,

When you buy a player with both you have hit the jackpot

ohh_when_the_spurs said:

When you buy a player with both you sell them to Real Madrid

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EFA

ohh_when_the_spurs said:

We are missing a player that is quick in the legs and the mind.

When you buy just pace you end up with a Sissoko type player,

When you buy intelligence you end up with an Eriksen type player,

When you buy a player with both you have hit the jackpot

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Need an Insigne not a Walcott, basically.

Shame he'd cost 60m+

wiggo24 said:

Need an Insigne not a Walcott, basically.

Shame he'd cost 60m+

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Angel Correa would be another option. He is quick, a great dribbler, creative and intelligent for his age.

THFC_SWE said:

1. Yes, pace can work in our game plan. Both Man City and Liverpool plays possession football, and they have a lot of pace.
2. A player can have pace in both their head and in their legs, e.g. Mane.

A team working togheter as a unit is the most important thing in football, but sometimes you need a player like Mane or Hazard when the unit is broken. Eriksen is not a good dribbler and isn't that fast. The same goes for Alli. Son got some pace, but he's not a good dribbler. We need our own Mane or Hazard, a player with pace and dribbling skills. It would make us less one dimensional. Because sometimes we can be a little one dimensional.

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Liverpool don't play a possession game, they play a counter attacking game, this is why they struggle when teams come and sit deep against them looking to frustrate.

Does pace or having someone with pace make a difference?

The weird and most basic answers are both yes and no, as some have already stated we don't play counter-attacking football (except we actually do if/when we win the ball higher up the pitch) but tend to play a much more Spanish/Italian style building from the back and grinding the opposition down.

Pace along the front line is pointless when a team is sitting back, not only is it negated because there's no space behind but also the space between the midfield and back line will continue to be congested. Pace in the front line creates space against other footballing teams who play a highish line as the CD (who tend to be slower) give themselves an extra metre (so as not to be caught out in behind) and drop off from the ball playing midfielders creating both more difficult passing (building from the back) and more space for the CF and AM's in the gap between the two opposition central lines.

Dembele has been for the past couple of seasons the reason that we don't struggle with a lack of pace, this is because he can dribble past his man and break the line of midfield, this tends to turn around the opposition midfield and draw out defenders from the back line creating space for Alli, Eriksen and most importantly Kane. Dembele is our key player and probably why Pochettino wants Barkley who also has this ability (or has the attributes that can certainly be developed). Unfortunately against Newcastle (for the 1st half) Dembele was helping cover for KWP and then against Chelsea and Burnley where they packed the midfield and double upped on him he was unable to break the midfield lines.

Why pace is so dangerous on the front line is not only because it creates the aforementioned space but also with searing space it can be easy to beat your man, you just knock the ball past them and beat them in a foot race. Sissoko can do this, unfortunately, he's a terrible footballer and his close control to create the half yard to knock it past the opponent is sorely lacking and is why he keeps pushing the ball against the defender and hoping to use the rebound as a way of pushing the ball past the defender and ultimately turning them round. So in reality what we really need is a skilful winger a la Bale/Ronaldo with the ability to dribble with close control and push the ball past the defender and the pace to then beat him.

Football really is a simple game and it really comes down to winning/beating individual battles on the pitch. You can do this with passing and movement (our preferred and current method) or with skill and pace (what we currently lack). We do actually possess these players in Lamela and N'Koudou but one is injured and the other either not trusted or deficient in the skill department. We also don't have the money for Bale/Ronaldo and maybe not even Martial/Lemar who fill this gap in our squad.

Sorry, this turned into a bit of an essay but I'm a geek and a bit of a football geek, do we need a pacey winger type no, would it be nice to have to give Poch the options both in formations and depth from the bench and also to push Sissoko/Lamela and N'Koudou yes. Which is why according to all the ITK for the past 4/5 windows we are looking at these players and signed both N'Jie and N'Koudou but the finished and sometimes even the potential articles are very very expensive ie Martial going for £50m and Ousmane Dembele for over £100m.

The end

Pace is important when you play counter attack or rely on wing play but we don't do either. Players of the mould of Edwards and Sancho who have good close control and can carry the ball can be more effective than explosive pace against what we usually face.

We do need alternatives in this squad though and at times we do lack a plan B. Let's hope we can reinforce the forward line with another player like Son that has good movement and makes the runs others don't.

"All we are saying is give pace a chance" nearly John Lennon's words!

whitestreak said:

"All we are saying is give pace a chance" nearly John Lennon's words!

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I still have that Aaron Lennon tshirt lol

Pace is an important factor in a successful team. I believe we are pretty quick (more powerful though) when we decide to play that way however we have our of style aggressive possession and power.
Liverpool are the current talk along with Manchester United having watched how they've destroyed teams with pace. In Liverpool's case their a counter team imo nothing at all wrong with that , but I think you could easily negate them if you are clinical in possession and be mindful of the high line ...stop Mane and Salah from that predicable ball behind defence or match them we quick defenders to equalise the threat -easier said-. If you apply enough possession pressure their defence is very questionable.

eViL said:

Same old problem with Eriksen, Dele and Son (and Sissoko and Lamela) - all like to come short for the ball.

It's fine for Eriksen to do that but ultimately; the system should see Kane pulling into a false 9 to draw central defenders out with Alli and Son storming into the pockets behind the defence.

We were doing this at the end of last season and blitzing everyone in our path.

It's not a lack of pace - I believe it's a fact of too much conditioning work pre-season and not enough tactics work and working with the ball.

Poch pretty much said it himself during the pre-season interviews; football doesn't matter as long as the team are getting match fitness.

I blame the England team for some of it too - you can see it in our English players everytime they return from the International camp. Just not enough running off the ball to stretch defenders.

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Brilliant analysis this is totally correct, I do not think we are at our peak fitness levels yet poch is teams always start slow before getting stronger and stronger. Poch has hammered them in pre season which leaves over a little bit of fatigue in the legs.

Shadydan said:

You could argue that quick thinking stops counter attacks which is something we do very well under Poch anyway.

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You mean tripping them up

alexis said:

You mean tripping them up

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Yeah tactical fouling

Every time I see this thread I sing

Let's talk about pace baby,
Let's talk about you and me
Let's talk about all the good things
And the bad things that may be
Let's talk about pace
Let's talk about pace

ohh_when_the_spurs said:

We are missing a player that is quick in the legs and the mind.

When you buy just pace you end up with a Sissoko type player,

When you buy intelligence you end up with an Eriksen type player,

When you buy a player with both you have hit the jackpot

Click to expand...

This is it in a nutshell. My criticism of Sissoko is entirely what you've described, he lacks the intelligence/technical skill to alter his approach, so when plan A doesn't work, there's no plan B. At least with an Eriksen style player, he'll always be a threat over 90mins, because his intelligence and movement are both excellent.

Lacking a player with these combined attributes is definitely an overall plan B we lack. Sadly that player (i.e. Hazard, Mane etc.) in a finished product is expensive, even as a prospect will cost a bit, but they have to be out there surely.

brendanb50 said:

This is it in a nutshell. My criticism of Sissoko is entirely what you've described, he lacks the intelligence/technical skill to alter his approach, so when plan A doesn't work, there's no plan B. At least with an Eriksen style player, he'll always be a threat over 90mins, because his intelligence and movement are both excellent.

Lacking a player with these combined attributes is definitely an overall plan B we lack. Sadly that player (i.e. Hazard, Mane etc.) in a finished product is expensive, even as a prospect will cost a bit, but they have to be out there surely.

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Do we really lack this player though? Does Son not fit in that category? Pacy enough, skill on the ball, and intelligent movement. Outscored both last season.

nicdic said:

Do we really lack this player though? Does Son not fit in that category? Pacy enough, skill on the ball, and intelligent movement. Outscored both last season.

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For all his good points, I don't think Son meets the criteria people are talking about in this thread.

He has his moments certainly, but in terms of skill on the ball his first touch is largely fairly terrible, and he tends to clatter through people rather than being particularly skillful.

He's great at what he does don't get me wrong, and is a fantastic option to get us a goal in certain situations, but I wouldn't bank on him to unpick a back-line in a tight game.

Unfortunately, the one player most able to do that in our squad (other than Eriksen) is currently a complete crock and may well not play for us again the way things are going.

nicdic said:

Do we really lack this player though? Does Son not fit in that category? Pacy enough, skill on the ball, and intelligent movement. Outscored both last season.

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He definitely has both in his locker, the only thing i'd say he comes up short against the likes of Hazard for, is that ability to create something from nothing in a big game - a truly rare ability in my view. He could come on further for us though, still plenty of room for improvement.