An Unpopular Opinion Amnesty

[Mullers]

Its not the transfer fees we struggle with, its the wages that top quality players command, that we struggle to accommodate and hence why we have to shop elsewhere..

I think we struggle with both. The low transfer fee was the reason we went after Adebayor.

 

[joseph]

We need a central attacking midfieder with excellent vision especially for throughballs......... eriksen isn't.

 

[DaSpurs]

We need a central attacking midfieder with excellent vision especially for throughballs......... eriksen isn't.

Eriksen is actually excellent at this when he has time and space. The problem is that we've played him in two congested high line systems now in which he has no space as he's right up against the opposition holding midfield and is marked tightly as he's our only creative outlet centrally, and he has no playmaker in behind to open things up for him and peel those marks away.

But in a deep-lying 4-3-3 in which he has a) space and time to pick up the ball and turn to look at the opposition back line and b) not as much onus on him to create due to others being resent and thus less tightly marked, he can do a job.

One of the many reasons why we've not at least experimented with a traditional 4-3-3 given our current squad is utterly baffling.

 

[Chris12]

I think we struggle with both. The low transfer fee was the reason we went after Adebayor.

The low transfer fee made it easier to accommodate Ades wages for sure. Had it been higher and with same wage demands doubt would've done it.

 

[ethanedwards]

What like Gareth Gates and Jordan?
Just saying.

Didn't realise Gareth Gates was a supermodel.

 

[joseph]

Eriksen is actually excellent at this when he has time and space. The problem is that we've played him in two congested high line systems now in which he has no space as he's right up against the opposition holding midfield and is marked tightly as he's our only creative outlet centrally, and he has no playmaker in behind to open things up for him and peel those marks away.

But in a deep-lying 4-3-3 in which he has a) space and time to pick up the ball and turn to look at the opposition back line and b) not as much onus on him to create due to others being resent and thus less tightly marked, he can do a job.

One of the many reasons why we've not at least experimented with a traditional 4-3-3 given our current squad is utterly baffling.

Eriksen is great in other areas but I don't think he excels in threading throughballs at all. Lost count of the amount of time he screws up the chance to put someone through either by delaying too long or not even seeing it. I still think Holtby has a better "vision" .....though perhaps erratic in its delivery.

 

[DaSpurs]

Eriksen is great in other areas but I don't think he excels in threading throughballs at all. Lost count of the amount of time he screws up the chance to put someone through either by delaying too long or not even seeing it. I still think Holtby has a better "vision" .....though perhaps erratic in its delivery.

I would actually agree with that. Holtby has rather splendid vision and will sporadically unleash some of the most brilliant passes I've ever seen, ones which would raise Modric' eyebrows.

I think Eriksen has done very well for club and country when he's actually afforded time. He has struggled for us mightily in his position with how congested we are and the simple fact he's just not a dynamic enough player to create his own space. He massively needs more fire in his game if he's to really push on, as he could then better earn himself the space to then begin to use his ability to thread passes in behind.

 

[Japhet]

I would actually agree with that. Holtby has rather splendid vision and will sporadically unleash some of the most brilliant passes I've ever seen, ones which would raise Modric' eyebrows.

I think Eriksen has done very well for club and country when he's actually afforded time. He has struggled for us mightily in his position with how congested we are and the simple fact he's just not a dynamic enough player to create his own space. He massively needs more fire in his game if he's to really push on, as he could then better earn himself the space to then begin to use his ability to thread passes in behind.

I think the congestion is caused by poor movement off the ball by the players up top. Soldado is best at this but rarely gets the ball where he wants it. It seemed that after his initial run of games he gave up on the quick darting runs, knowing full well he wouldn't get the pass. Since then our front line seem very static which makes creative passing almost impossible.

 

[Bulletspur]

We need a central attacking midfieder with excellent vision especially for throughballs......... eriksen isn't.

Eriksen is actually excellent at this when he has time and space. The problem is that we've played him in two congested high line systems now in which he has no space as he's right up against the opposition holding midfield and is marked tightly as he's our only creative outlet centrally, and he has no playmaker in behind to open things up for him and peel those marks away.

But in a deep-lying 4-3-3 in which he has a) space and time to pick up the ball and turn to look at the opposition back line and b) not as much onus on him to create due to others being resent and thus less tightly marked, he can do a job.

One of the many reasons why we've not at least experimented with a traditional 4-3-3 given our current squad is utterly baffling.

So indirectly you are supporting @joseph argument. Tme and space in the EPL is a luxury irrespective of the formation. So we do need someone who can attack and pass even when pressed.

 

[DaSpurs]

So indirectly you are supporting @joseph argument. Tme and space in the EPL is a luxury irrespective of the formation. So we do need someone who can attack and pass even when pressed.

Not quite, because I think in a system with no high line in which we shove our attacking mids and wingers right up against the opposition back line, he would actually have space. In a deeper sitting 4-3-3, the most advanced central mid is not sitting right up against the defensive/holding mids of the opposition, and thus Eriksen would have considerably more room. Eriksen is also blunted by the fact we have no other central playmaker, and as he is our only creative outlet centrally, he's specifically marked tighter to prevent from being able to turn. Hence, part of why we're so incredibly static and predictable. But with more space and/or a better playmaker in behind to remove some of the onus and thus tight intensive marking from him, Eriksen would benefit tremendously.

Point is, he can work in the position just fine in the league, we just can't shove him up right into the groin of the defensive mids of the opposition and expect him to do a job. Pritchard is the type of No 10 who can create his own space and so would work in such a system, but with Eriksen we've just simply used system which do not play to our most creative player's strengths.

 

[DaSpurs]

I think the congestion is caused by poor movement off the ball by the players up top. Soldado is best at this but rarely gets the ball where he wants it. It seemed that after his initial run of games he gave up on the quick darting runs, knowing full well he wouldn't get the pass. Since then our front line seem very static which makes creative passing almost impossible.

Partially, yes. Our attackers very much lack the cleverness and conviction needed for quality runs to induce disorganization, as well as the kind of pace needed to bend back lines into unfavorable positions. However, I also think a lot of that and the congestion has to do with how high our system sits. It's simple geometry: if you're playing within a rectangular field, and you compress the amount of space within the rectangle you can "get in behind," you have a) less area to work with and b) less room to build momentum.

I do also think we lack a playmaker centrally though. We failed to replace Modric in 2012 and have continued to fail to replace some of his qualities in every midfield move we've made since then. We could never hope to replace his quality, but we could certainly have replaced some of his most crucial abilities, and we haven't even come remotely close to attempting to. As such, along with the fact we sold Bale and pushed Lennon to the periphery to replace them with slow, untrue wingers, it's no coincidence whatsoever we've seen such static play at Spurs since the summer of 2013.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

I think some hatred of some players is deep seeded racism.

If the hatred was consistent with all players that are shit I'd never say that.
But for Adebeyor to get so much stick, and Soldado to get so much love worries me.
Townsend and Lamela are both shit but ones reviled and the other is supported.

Lennon, hated.

I just don't get it.


*I'm English and white*

 

[THFCSPURS19]

I think some hatred of some players is deep seeded racism.

If the hatred was consistent with all players that are shit I'd never say that.
But for Adebeyor to get so much stick, and Soldado to get so much love worries me.
Townsend and Lamela are both shit but ones reviled and the other is supported.

Lennon, hated.

I just don't get it.


*I'm English and white*

Ledley King......

 

[dontcallme]

I think some hatred of some players is deep seeded racism.

If the hatred was consistent with all players that are shit I'd never say that.
But for Adebeyor to get so much stick, and Soldado to get so much love worries me.
Townsend and Lamela are both shit but ones reviled and the other is supported.

Lennon, hated.

I just don't get it.

*I'm English and white*

Can't agree with that. Ledley King, Edgar Davids and others have been loved as much as any Spurs legend.

What fans really like is players who give their all. Lamela is known as a flair player who is struggling but people can see he is working really hard and his pressing game helps the team. Soldado also shows a lot of determination. Can;t say Townsend really puts in the same work on his defensive game and Ade often looks disinterested.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

Ledley King......

Wasn't crap.
If he was, he'd have gotten more stick than Dawson.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

Can't agree with that. Ledley King, Edgar Davids and others have been loved as much as any Spurs legend.

What fans really like is players who give their all. Lamela is known as a flair player who is struggling but people can see he is working really hard and his pressing game helps the team. Soldado also shows a lot of determination. Can;t say Townsend really puts in the same work on his defensive game and Ade often looks disinterested.

Racism is fickle. Most racist fans forgive good black players.

 

[dontcallme]

Racism is fickle. Most racist fans forgive good black players.

So any dislike to a player of a different race has racist connotations?

The likes of Berbatov got the same level of disdain when not playing well as he didn't put in a shift.

 

[NeverRed]

The reason poch makes bizarre squad changes and drops people that played well is because:

The season was written off a while back.
They both adore high-quality statistical analysis
So players that shouldn't really be playing are being given a run out before next season to see if the computer says no.
A last chance saloon if you like.

I don't have a tin foil hat.

 

[DaSpurs]

I think some hatred of some players is deep seeded racism.

If the hatred was consistent with all players that are shit I'd never say that.
But for Adebeyor to get so much stick, and Soldado to get so much love worries me.
Townsend and Lamela are both shit but ones reviled and the other is supported.

Lennon, hated.

I just don't get it.


*I'm English and white*

I'll be honest and say I too have suspected this from my time on Spurs boards. It's not a clear-cut pattern, as even the most vitriolic racists to the closet ones often find people within the demographic they like or even befriend. I'm from the American South, and I see what I refer to as "subconscious racism" all the time. I don't think everyone who doesn't rate a player such as Townsend is subject to this, nor even a majority, but I do wonder sometimes if he'd still receive as much vitriol and little patience if he were white and even had blonde locks. I've also noted that it seems people are much quicker to not rate black youth at other clubs coming through, and also seem to jump to more negative ratings of black players coming into the Prem.

Again, it's not always, and there are a great many factors involved, but nonetheless I would predict there is a slight disparity if you were to take all posts from all posters and compare differences in positive and negative evaluations per race.

 

[DaSpurs]

The reason poch makes bizarre squad changes and drops people that played well is because:

The season was written off a while back.
They both adore high-quality statistical analysis
So players that shouldn't really be playing are being given a run out before next season to see if they computer says no.
A last chance saloon if you like.

I don't have a tin foil hat.

I've also begun to suspect this as well. There's only really two explanations for why Poch has persisted with such a similar lineup for so long, and they are 1) he's found a favored first XI who he wishes to carry forward with or 2) that lineup features players on tryout, fighting for their future. At first I believed the answer to be 1), but when you consider just how long he's persisted with it given the performances those XI have delivered and the fact we really didn't make any "improvement" purchases this season anyway (indication of write-off, rebuilding year), 2) starts to look more and more plausible.