What's new

Reasons for our defensive Improvement

danielneeds

Kick-Ass
May 5, 2004
24,179
48,764
The interesting thing in the press undoubtably being more efficient this year is that by and large it is the same team. Yes, Aldwiereld has made a huge difference, and the CM combination is different, but equally inexperienced as last sason, and Son has only played a few games.

I can't count the amount of times I heard pundits saying that the squad Poch inherited wasn't suited to his high tempo pressing game, and he needed to bring "his own players" in. But if you look at our most played XI this season - Lloris, Walker, Rose, Alderwiereld, Verts, Rose, Dier, Alli, Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela, Kane. That's only three players bought in since he's been at the club.

Just goes to show that the hard work on the training pitch and gaining the trust of the players to help create a new culture at the club pays off, and not everything is about the transfer window.

And of course it takes time. It was always going to be hard to get the team moving as one after one pre-season full of travel and a season full of Europa League mid-week matches and travel.
 

Main Man

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2013
2,314
1,699
Look, I've given credit to Walker recently for some pretty decent defensive displays, but frankly, all we are getting even then is just the very basic type of defending that you'd hope any half decent (top end of the EPL) FB gives you, it's just that there's been so much utter fuckwittery from the boy for so long it;s just a relief to see him not do the utterly daft stuff he's done almost every game for four years. And he's still offering the square root of fuck all going forward, so lets keep some perspective.

All I want him to do his defend.

That is all I have wanted from our full backs for a very long time.

And we look much the better this season because of it in my opinion.

I always look at things with perspective, and in my opinion he has been the best right back in the Premier League this season. By a considerable distance too.

Adding greater perspective, remember all the fans clamouring for this forward thinking and sound defensive right back from Burnley.

Perspective is a wonderful thing but give credit when it's due.
 

Hoops

Well-Known Member
Mar 15, 2015
3,650
6,363
Its interesting but doesn't really prove anything.

There is more than one way to win a football match. In my opinion, sitting in your own half then counter attacking quickly is just as effective as pressing high and winning back possession quickly.

Also note that City and Utd are bottom in your table and both above us in the league.

If you want a reason for our defensive improvement, here it is...

.....Dier
...JV...TA
......HL0
 

Dharmabum

Well-Known Member
Aug 16, 2003
8,274
12,242
http://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnatio...sis-erik-lamela-mesut-ozil-north-london-derby

Lamela in the Defensive Phase
What truly makes Lamela stand out relative to anyone else who has played for Pochettino is his defensive workrate. At Southampton the defensive workrate in the front four came from Adam Lallana and Steven Davis or James Ward-Prowse. Rodriguez put in a shift, but he always had one eye on the defender's position to see if he could make a run forward. But when Lamela, Dembele, and Eriksen are all on the pitch together (with Alli and Eric Dier in midfield) it creates a remarkably fluid, all-action pressing side that when in-form is truly stunning to see.

Against Arsenal this set up was particularly effective at shutting down Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez before they could even begin to make any sort of attacking move. As a result, Arsenal managed five shots in the first 75 minutes (prior to Lamela's substitution) with three of the five coming on set pieces. I have marked the five shots on Michael Caley's ExpG shot chart below. Those with a white line through them are set piece chances from when Lamela was in the game, those with an orange line are chances from open play from when Lamela was in the game. The remaining five chances, including the goal, came after Lamela's exit:



expg-arsenal-nld-v-spurs.0.png



To put it another way, in the first 75 minutes of the game with Lamela on the field, Arsenal managed two shots from open play and three from set pieces. In only 15 minutes without Lamela, Arsenal equaled those numbers and created their best open-play chance of the match which is how they got their goal. That tells us not only that Arsenal was creating more from open play, but that they were producing more pressure overall which led to the free kick chance and two additional chances off corner kicks that came in the final quarter hour.

To be sure, we shouldn't be surprised when a team's defensive performance drops off after removing a player who managed to make eight ball recoveries and win eight out of ten tackles. But it's not just Lamela's activity that was missed, it was his defensive intelligence. Lamela's pressuring of the ball was nearly always focused on squeezing Ozil or Sanchez and limiting their time on the ball. And, as you would expect, this work frequently began in Tottenham's attacking third as the Spurs press often stifled the Gunners' attack before it could even begin. Consider this brief clip from Ozil receiving the ball in his own half. He literally has less than a second on the ball before both Lamela and Danny Rose are on him:



View attachment upload_2015-11-11_23-55-49.gif


Lamela did the same thing when Ozil got the ball in Arsenal's attacking third. Consider this short clip from the second half:



View attachment 20796


Once again, you can see it is about one second from when Ozil receives the ball to when he is under pressure from two Spurs players. This time it came from Dier and Lamela. Result: a poor pass that is easily read and intercepted by Jan Vertonghen.

Now look at the buildup to the goal. This came two minutes after Lamela's withdrawal. And it was actually the second time in under a minute that one of Arsenal's top two attackers had been given ample time on the ball in this part of the field as Alexis had made a run through the same area 45 seconds before. This time, Ozil gets the ball and note the amount of time and space he is given:



View attachment 20797


In this clip, Ozil gets four seconds on the ball and when he plays the pass no one is within four yards of him. The closest player is Lamela's replacement, Heung-Min Son. The problem here is with how Son and Rose handle the decoy run down the flank from Monreal. Rose had him marked so Son should have dropped off Monreal and moved toward Ozil. But Son, no doubt still learning the intricacies of Pochettino's system, doesn't make the switch. The result is that Ozil has far too long on the ball and, as you expect from a player of his quality, picks out an inch perfect pass that Kieran Gibbs of all people tapped in at the far post.

The point here isn't necessarily to attack Son. He's a new player and even the flashes we've seen of him so far suggest he should be a top, top signing and that he fits Pochettino's system quite well. That said, in this case the breakdown is noticeable. In many cases a single breakdown like this probably won't be as costly. You can give most Premier League attackers four seconds on the ball in that part of the pitch without conceding a quality scoring chance. But Mesut Ozil isn't most Premier League attackers and in this particular instance he punished the Spurs defense.

Conclusion
Deli Alli probably deserved to be man of the match in this one. And if you don't want to pick Alli then Dembele, Kyle Walker, and Danny Rose would all be perfectly reasonable choices. But don't neglect Lamela. His energy, intelligence (silly midfield challenges onFrancis Coquelin not withstanding), and technical ability make him a uniquely valuable player to this team and explain in no uncertain terms why Pochettino was determined to keep Lamela back in September when he was being linked with a move away to Marseille. None of us expected it in September, but it's quite possible that as we draw near to the 1/3 mark of this Premier League season that Erik Lamela is an essential member of Tottenham's best XI.
 

guiltyparty

Well-Known Member
Sep 21, 2005
9,023
13,524
OK, so with the germ of the seed of an idea implanted in my brain by the thread started by @TwanYid about the less obvious reasons for our "success" I thought I'd undertake a major statistical analysis to see if some of my theories for our improved defensively performance held up and make them the subject of the next article for the blog. The article is entirely about Spurs and I think the results were illuminating.

https://forensiconions.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/che-pochs-revolutionary-insurgency-advancing/

The bottom line is the incredibly impressive contribution our most used front four (Kane, Lamela, Eriksen, Dembele) are now consistently making to our defensive solidity. They are literally pissing the rest of the league's front four for graft.

I appreciate that tackles and interceptions are only two aspects of a pressing policy but I believe the upturn in our performance in this area in our front four unit is indicative of Pochettino's philosophy taking hold.

Here's one of the stat spreadsheet's from the article:

View attachment 20789

TT PG = Front Four (F4) Total Tackles per game / TI PG = F4 Total Interceptions per game / AT PP = Average Tackles per person (per F4 player)/ AI PP = Average Interceptions per person (per F4 player) / TCTI PG = F4 Total Combined Tackles & Interceptions per game / TAPP PG = Total Average Combined Tackles & Interceptions per person (per F4 player).

Have a gander, see what you think.

Great blog, missed you were doing this, keep pushing this out and it'll get picked up. Defo get on NewsNow
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
http://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnatio...sis-erik-lamela-mesut-ozil-north-london-derby

Lamela in the Defensive Phase
What truly makes Lamela stand out relative to anyone else who has played for Pochettino is his defensive workrate. At Southampton the defensive workrate in the front four came from Adam Lallana and Steven Davis or James Ward-Prowse. Rodriguez put in a shift, but he always had one eye on the defender's position to see if he could make a run forward. But when Lamela, Dembele, and Eriksen are all on the pitch together (with Alli and Eric Dier in midfield) it creates a remarkably fluid, all-action pressing side that when in-form is truly stunning to see.

Against Arsenal this set up was particularly effective at shutting down Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez before they could even begin to make any sort of attacking move. As a result, Arsenal managed five shots in the first 75 minutes (prior to Lamela's substitution) with three of the five coming on set pieces. I have marked the five shots on Michael Caley's ExpG shot chart below. Those with a white line through them are set piece chances from when Lamela was in the game, those with an orange line are chances from open play from when Lamela was in the game. The remaining five chances, including the goal, came after Lamela's exit:



expg-arsenal-nld-v-spurs.0.png



To put it another way, in the first 75 minutes of the game with Lamela on the field, Arsenal managed two shots from open play and three from set pieces. In only 15 minutes without Lamela, Arsenal equaled those numbers and created their best open-play chance of the match which is how they got their goal. That tells us not only that Arsenal was creating more from open play, but that they were producing more pressure overall which led to the free kick chance and two additional chances off corner kicks that came in the final quarter hour.

To be sure, we shouldn't be surprised when a team's defensive performance drops off after removing a player who managed to make eight ball recoveries and win eight out of ten tackles. But it's not just Lamela's activity that was missed, it was his defensive intelligence. Lamela's pressuring of the ball was nearly always focused on squeezing Ozil or Sanchez and limiting their time on the ball. And, as you would expect, this work frequently began in Tottenham's attacking third as the Spurs press often stifled the Gunners' attack before it could even begin. Consider this brief clip from Ozil receiving the ball in his own half. He literally has less than a second on the ball before both Lamela and Danny Rose are on him:



View attachment upload_2015-11-11_23-55-49.gif


Lamela did the same thing when Ozil got the ball in Arsenal's attacking third. Consider this short clip from the second half:



View attachment 20796


Once again, you can see it is about one second from when Ozil receives the ball to when he is under pressure from two Spurs players. This time it came from Dier and Lamela. Result: a poor pass that is easily read and intercepted by Jan Vertonghen.

Now look at the buildup to the goal. This came two minutes after Lamela's withdrawal. And it was actually the second time in under a minute that one of Arsenal's top two attackers had been given ample time on the ball in this part of the field as Alexis had made a run through the same area 45 seconds before. This time, Ozil gets the ball and note the amount of time and space he is given:



View attachment 20797


In this clip, Ozil gets four seconds on the ball and when he plays the pass no one is within four yards of him. The closest player is Lamela's replacement, Heung-Min Son. The problem here is with how Son and Rose handle the decoy run down the flank from Monreal. Rose had him marked so Son should have dropped off Monreal and moved toward Ozil. But Son, no doubt still learning the intricacies of Pochettino's system, doesn't make the switch. The result is that Ozil has far too long on the ball and, as you expect from a player of his quality, picks out an inch perfect pass that Kieran Gibbs of all people tapped in at the far post.

The point here isn't necessarily to attack Son. He's a new player and even the flashes we've seen of him so far suggest he should be a top, top signing and that he fits Pochettino's system quite well. That said, in this case the breakdown is noticeable. In many cases a single breakdown like this probably won't be as costly. You can give most Premier League attackers four seconds on the ball in that part of the pitch without conceding a quality scoring chance. But Mesut Ozil isn't most Premier League attackers and in this particular instance he punished the Spurs defense.

Conclusion
Deli Alli probably deserved to be man of the match in this one. And if you don't want to pick Alli then Dembele, Kyle Walker, and Danny Rose would all be perfectly reasonable choices. But don't neglect Lamela. His energy, intelligence (silly midfield challenges onFrancis Coquelin not withstanding), and technical ability make him a uniquely valuable player to this team and explain in no uncertain terms why Pochettino was determined to keep Lamela back in September when he was being linked with a move away to Marseille. None of us expected it in September, but it's quite possible that as we draw near to the 1/3 mark of this Premier League season that Erik Lamela is an essential member of Tottenham's best XI.


Great piece, cheers for posting DB. I think it's a great assessment of the work Lamela does and often goes under valued.

My take on the goal though was that Son did the right thing, he stuck with "his" man, rather then attempting a telepathic switchover with Rose, there just wasn't time for these two to telepathically make a switch, and it was Rose who did neither, he didn't go with the man he had originally and he didn't go with Son's man, whereas at least Son just stuck to his runner.

I think this was far more logical for Rose to just stick with the crosser who he had covered originally especially when he sees Son sticking with his man.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
All I want him to do his defend.

That is all I have wanted from our full backs for a very long time.

And we look much the better this season because of it in my opinion.

I always look at things with perspective, and in my opinion he has been the best right back in the Premier League this season. By a considerable distance too.

Adding greater perspective, remember all the fans clamouring for this forward thinking and sound defensive right back from Burnley.

Perspective is a wonderful thing but give credit when it's due.


Well for four years he's made a very hap hazard job of that, so I repeat, I'm not going to get carried away just yet, especially as all the evidence suggests what's going on around him is definitely exposing him less.

IMO, in our system (and to be honest in most successful modern systems) full backs need to do more than just defend, especially with most teams playing one striker. In a 4231 with inverted wide attacking midfielders the width must be provided by the full backs. We are seeing virtually nothing in this respect from Walker, I would be more impressed if was contributing something offensively whilst still being defensively sound. Which he hasn't managed yet on four years.

You say you look at things with perspective, then declare Walker the best right back in the EPL this season. Based on what ? How much have you watched others ? Better than Clyne ? Better than Bellerin when he was playing ? better than Azpelecuata when played there ? Better than Soares of Southampton ? Etc ?
 

Luka Van der Bale

Well-Known Member
Jan 29, 2011
6,041
13,611
It's a pretty good indication though isn't it? Unless you think they will stay be around that mark come the end of the season.

I'm not saying it's not realistic, I'm saying that is the thing we should be aiming for but we wont do that if we let in soft goals in almost every match.
I didn't mean in the table, I meant rivalling us in terms of tackles and interceptions. Which isn't necessarily an indicator of it being early in the season because that's a stat that doesn't entirely correlate with league standings.
 

Mullers

Unknown member
Jan 4, 2006
25,914
16,413
I didn't mean in the table, I meant rivalling us in terms of tackles and interceptions. Which isn't necessarily an indicator of it being early in the season because that's a stat that doesn't entirely correlate with league standings.
Yeah I was talking about the table BC posted, I wouldn't expect them to be rivalling us in terms of tackles and interceptions come the end of the season.
 

steve

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2003
3,503
1,767
Great piece, cheers for posting DB. I think it's a great assessment of the work Lamela does and often goes under valued.

My take on the goal though was that Son did the right thing, he stuck with "his" man, rather then attempting a telepathic switchover with Rose, there just wasn't time for these two to telepathically make a switch, and it was Rose who did neither, he didn't go with the man he had originally and he didn't go with Son's man, whereas at least Son just stuck to his runner.

I think this was far more logical for Rose to just stick with the crosser who he had covered originally especially when he sees Son sticking with his man.

I think there was time for them to communicate with each other and sort it out between them as we see countless times between back tracking wide players and full backs. I make them both equally culpable, Hugo could've done better as well. Erik too if you want to players to be responsible for lasting 90 minutes without intervention from the ref. The biggest point should be how this was one of only a few defensive lapses during a generally magnificent defensive display by the team. How often are Arsenal reduced to this state?
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Nice statistical breakdown of this.

Really interesting to read and I think its worth re-iterating that our current front players are all mucking in quite evenly.

While Lamela's workrate and tackling stands out - the others are no slouches and are going doing their jobs consistently well.

Dembele's average per game however might be skewing the results slightly as he has played quite a few more minutes in a deeper role than the other 3 but that being said - if you take out the games he played in the CM2 his average would still be around 2.5-3ish per game.

That just me nitpicking though - the point is even when he is playing further forward his attempted tackle totals are a joy to see.

Even Son's average per game is right up there

-------------------TPG-------IPG

Dembele----------4---------1.4
Lamela-----------2.6--------0.8
Son---------------1.8-------- 1
Erisken-----------1.7-------0.9
Kane--------------1.2-------0.5


One thing is for sure - if Chadli wants to get back into the team he is going to have to massively pick it up in these respects......that will be the making or breaking off him.

As I said in another response, if you swapped Son for Dembele for instance, we'd still be top of the league for combined tackles/Interceptions from the front four, but our margin would decrease, and if you swapped Son for Kane or Eriksen our advantage would actually increase so it is a bit of a swing/roundabout, but all in all, pretty impressive from our front four/five.

Compare this to these two:

Chadli --------0.2-------0.4

Townsend----0.7--------0


You can see why so many of us were bemoaning the continued counter intuitive selection of these two during the spring last year. As productive as Chadli individually, he just doesn't fit the "team" ethos. And Townsend is a disaster, not only does he not work properly without the ball, he produces SFA with it.

N'Jie (0.8--------0) I'll reserve judgement on as we have seen so little of him but I'll try and do some digging from last year in France and see what his stats were like there.

Agreed mate - I am a big fan of Chadli's but his defensive stats make poor reading - It will be put up or shut up time for him when he gets back from Injury - when he gets his next chance he is going to have to show his commitment through hard god damn work or else i feel he may not make the cut in the future.

@monkeynick
And all those for/against (including me) the Berahino transfer.

Berahino's TPG (0.4) and IPG (0.3) are pretty poor (lowest in the regular WBA team).

Even when you run the numbers per 90. Christian Eriksen wins three times more tackles and interceptions per 90 (T-1.5 / I-1.0) than Berahino (T0.54 / I 0.28) Even Kane (T 0.95 / 0.52)

This confirms what my eyes were saying and the comparison with Defoe. Also anyone who's watched him this season. He's just does not offer enough and certainly not at the ludicrous £25m+ price that was bandied about.
 

THFCSPURS19

The Speaker of the Transfer Rumours Forum
Jan 6, 2013
37,886
130,485
@monkeynick
And all those for/against (including me) the Berahino transfer.

Berahino's TPG (0.4) and IPG (0.3) are pretty poor (lowest in the regular WBA team).

Even when you run the numbers per 90. Christian Eriksen wins three times more tackles and interceptions per 90 (T-1.5 / I-1.0) than Berahino (T0.54 / I 0.28) Even Kane (T 0.95 / 0.52)

This confirms what my eyes were saying and the comparison with Defoe. Also anyone who's watched him this season. He's just does not offer enough and certainly not at the ludicrous £25m+ price that was bandied about.
People didn't associate Lamela with being a high-pressing lunatic tackler before Poch joined. No one we sign is going to be perfect and the whole reason Poch wants young players is so he can mould them. Same with Berahino.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
I think there was time for them to communicate with each other and sort it out between them as we see countless times between back tracking wide players and full backs. I make them both equally culpable, Hugo could've done better as well. Erik too if you want to players to be responsible for lasting 90 minutes without intervention from the ref. The biggest point should be how this was one of only a few defensive lapses during a generally magnificent defensive display by the team. How often are Arsenal reduced to this state?


Not for me Steve. I think it was pretty simple and logical for Rose to just stay with his man, because Son never wavered. There was never a moment where there was doubt for Rose what Son was doing. Rose on the other hand doesn't do either. Doesn't stick with his man or go to mark Son's, he just makes an assumption and it's illogical.

Second year on the trot that IMO (and I know you disagreed with me then as well - as did most people) Rose's poor decision making has cost us the points at the Emirates.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
People didn't associate Lamela with being a high-pressing lunatic tackler before Poch joined. No one we sign is going to be perfect and the whole reason Poch wants young players is so he can mould them. Same with Berahino.

No, but you can tell Lamela is just naturally tenacious and hard working. He's been the same from day one. In his last season for Roma his TPG was 1.8 his IPG 0.6. Nearly four times Berahino's combined. His Serie A per 90min numbers also piss Berahino's (T1.74 - I 0.69).
 

jonathanhotspur

Loose Cannon
Jun 28, 2009
10,292
8,250
I think there was time for them to communicate with each other and sort it out between them as we see countless times between back tracking wide players and full backs. I make them both equally culpable, Hugo could've done better as well. Erik too if you want to players to be responsible for lasting 90 minutes without intervention from the ref. The biggest point should be how this was one of only a few defensive lapses during a generally magnificent defensive display by the team. How often are Arsenal reduced to this state?
Rose for me, @steve. Wasn't the only time in the game he played the part of a spectator as a cross was swung in from his side. That being said, I think Lloris dropped a clanger. If Gomes had done that, people would be going crazy; the main difference being that Lloris is much more reliable.
 

Mr Pink

SC Supporter
Aug 25, 2010
54,776
99,340
Lets not forget that Rose made the goal for Kane - helped massively with some poor defending from Arsenal. I really do think that Lloris is most at fault for the goal - goes down very early and given the angle Gibbs is at, and not even a natural in those positions, it really was very preventable IMO. It was a weak shot and would of been dealt with easily had he stayed on his feet.

For such an experienced/high quality keeper it was quite a basic mistake IMO.
 
Last edited:

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Lets not forget that Rose made the goal for Kane - helped massively with some poor defensively from Arsenal. I really do think that Lloris is most at fault for the goal - goes down very early and given the angle Gibbs is at, and not even a natural in those positions, it really was very preventable IMO. It was a weak shot and would of been dealt with easily had he stayed on his feet.

For such an experienced/high quality keeper it was quite a basic mistake IMO.


Fair point re Rose creating Kane's goal with a great pass. But I still think he's most to blame for conceding. I'm not as evangelical about Lloris as some (don't get me wrong, I rate him, but I don't think he's as fabulous as some) but I think when a shot comes in from close quarters like that it's kind of easier to get caught reacting imperfectly. Stop the cross, and you don't put pressure on people like Walker and Lloris to react to things happening in split seconds.
 

Mr Pink

SC Supporter
Aug 25, 2010
54,776
99,340
Fair point re Rose creating Kane's goal with a great pass. But I still think he's most to blame for conceding. I'm not as evangelical about Lloris as some (don't get me wrong, I rate him, but I don't think he's as fabulous as some) but I think when a shot comes in from close quarters like that it's kind of easier to get caught reacting imperfectly. Stop the cross, and you don't put pressure on people like Walker and Lloris to react to things happening in split seconds.

Yeah that's totally true. Some keepers tend to go down early like that, Howard at Everton being the obvious example. I just can't understand it though even if its a slit second reaction. Stay big and make it difficult for them. Its a pity because it was only Kieran bloody Gibbs and he was at an angle so it was far from a gilt edged chance for someone like that.

But yeah, stop the cross and it doesn't happen. But then again you'll not stop every cross.
 

Hoddle&Waddle

Well-Known Member
Nov 25, 2012
8,337
17,565
Lets not forget that Rose made the goal for Kane - helped massively with some poor defending from Arsenal. I really do think that Lloris is most at fault for the goal - goes down very early and given the angle Gibbs is at, and not even a natural in those positions, it really was very preventable IMO. It was a weak shot and would of been dealt with easily had he stayed on his feet.

For such an experienced/high quality keeper it was quite a basic mistake IMO.
I dont get why every goal we concede has to be someones fault. It was a quality ball in from a world class player (when he's on his game) and it was one of those point blank saves that can be hard to read for a keeper. Let's just accept that we got done by a bit of quality and leave it at that.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Yeah that's totally true. Some keepers tend to go down early like that, Howard at Everton being the obvious example. I just can't understand it though even if its a slit second reaction. Stay big and make it difficult for them. Its a pity because it was only Kieran bloody Gibbs and he was at an angle so it was far from a gilt edged chance for someone like that.

But yeah, stop the cross and it doesn't happen. But then again you'll not stop every cross.


Lets also not forget that Giroud also had a couple of great chances from crosses. And we were having this conversation a couple of weeks ago and @Trix was saying he wondered if it was by design that Poch feels he wants us to stay narrow because he's more comfortable dealing with crosses than opening up the middle. I said I find that incredibly hard to believe. First page (maybe not first rule but definitely first page) of the defending rule book for me would always be stop balls coming into your box, no matter how good your CB's are, because it creates mayhem and you can never tprevent runs into the box by attackers and cover them, you are always reacting - the Gibbs goal was a typical example. You are always vulnerable to that ball that dips between two defenders and the guy that has run in between them etc, then even if you do defend it you have secondary situations, ricochets etc.

Stop that shit at source. Rose went walkabout.
 
Top