Player Watch Player Watch: Pedro Porro

[TPdYID]

When a winger is taking on Destiny I always feel comfortable that he'll stop them, when Porro can do that he will be the absolute best but that's what he needs to improve on.
The rest of his game is the business.

But Porro is never going to have Destiny’s pace/power.

You’re comparing apples with oranges.

 

[Romulus]

nice to see that our right back Porro now has more assists than "generational talent" Phil foden and "star boy" Saka

only Salah and Watkins have 1 more than him

 

[worcestersauce]

But Porro is never going to have Destiny’s pace/power.

You’re comparing apples with oranges.

Then you're saying defending will always be his weakness.
I'm simply saying where I see he needs to improve.
My point isn't that he should be like Destiny my point is that he doesn't inspire the confidence up against his winger that Destiny does. They're both full backs so it's apples and apples.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

However, his discipline as a defender first and foremost is not great. Both he and Udogie are regularly out of position and are too narrow when out of posession. Quite regularly, we find ourselves in trouble because the opponent has a player spare out wide and Rashford made the most of that yesterday.

Isn't this literally due to the fundamentals of our system?

 

[Yantino]

Isn't this literally due to the fundamentals of our system?

Seems that way from what people are saying is part of the tactics in our system.

Might be better protected if we played with a back 3 maybe?

 

[rabbikeane]

There's not a perfect system, if you want to cover up the hole that Ange's system leaves at full back then you take away from a strength further up on the pitch.

 

[Rosco1984]

Eriksen's were consistent but for a different reason.

speaking of Eriksen its actually sad to see him play now. All that energy and running he used to have such a static player for obvious reasons now. He was an absolute passenger for them.

 

[TPdYID]

Then you're saying defending will always be his weakness.
I'm simply saying where I see he needs to improve.
My point isn't that he should be like Destiny my point is that he doesn't inspire the confidence up against his winger that Destiny does. They're both full backs so it's apples and apples.

No. You're talking about his deficiencies, not me.

Re; Porro, what you lose on the swings (pace and power), you make up on the roundabouts (ability to receive in tight spaces, excellent passer of the ball). You compare Destiny's ability to defend a 1v1 to Porro; it's an unfair comparison. They have a different skill-set, much the same as judging a fishes ability to climb a tree.

 

[easley91]

Conceding those chances is just the nature of how we set up. We leave ourselves open on the flanks at the back.

 

[chas vs dave]

Conceding those chances is just the nature of how we set up. We leave ourselves open on the flanks at the back.

I'm not sure why anyone is trying to blame. Both goals were good goals.

9 times out of 10 Hojlund smashes that wide, and the ball doesn't go through VDVs legs for the 2nd goal.

 

[wspur]

 

[allatsea]

Another well known failure as a Manager telling successful Managers how to do their job.

 

[kent brockman]

Timmeh also said that VDV was ”wooden”. Clearly knows his stuff!

 

[Cochise]

I think there is a scale of defensive ability with Wan Bissaka at one end of the scale and Alexander Arnold at the other. Porro sits closer to TAA than AWB, but then again AWB provides next to nothing in the attacking third. In the end there's a trade off and in our system Pedro is an amazing fit.

 

[tommyt]

They're both full backs so it's apples and apples.

Different varieties though

 

[Dr Know]

Timmeh also said that VDV was ”wooden”. Clearly knows his stuff!

Well he did stiffen up when he did his hamstring

 

[bomberH]

Sherwood doubling down is embarrassing (if he has said that) and sums up his punditry. I prefer Ferdinand’s assessment below. With that said, he was nowhere near as bad last season as Rio has made out.

 

[BorjeSpurs]

He has improved massively defensively this season, if people don't see that they've haven't been watching enough games.

I think for outsiders sometimes they see Porro as being out of position just because he is sometimes far away from the left winger when we lose the ball. However, that is a calculated risk from Ange rather than him wondering off by himself.

 

[EQP]

Pass it like Porro: Tottenham have a Beckham clone at right-back

Porro’s delivery and technique are both excellent, and conjure images of a certain former England captain...

theathletic.com

Pass it like Porro: Tottenham have a Beckham clone at right-back
By Charlie Eccleshare
Jan 22, 2024

Sometimes, the most enlightening statistics are hiding in plain sight.

With more and more advanced data making its way into football, there are many metrics that show how good Pedro Porro has been this season.

But surely there’s no other stat that is simultaneously staggering and yet makes complete sense like him having joint-third most assists in the 2023-24 Premier League? Only Mohamed Salah and Ollie Watkins (both on eight) have more than Porro (seven), who it’s easy to forget is a right-back.

It’s a tally which is already the most for a Tottenham Hotspur defender in a full Premier League season. And that’s from just 20 games (at a rate of 0.35 per 90 minutes), with almost half the campaign left to play. It means that Porro goes into Friday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at home against former club Manchester City as arguably the right-back of the Premier League season so far.

Porro has certainly made City’s decision to let him go in summer 2022, without making a first-team appearance and having spent all his three seasons with them out on loan, look questionable, and has managed to do what none of his recent predecessors at Spurs could: make the club’s supporters forget Kyle Walker, who left to join City six and a half years ago. None of Kieran Trippier, Serge Aurier, Matt Doherty or Emerson Royal consistently reached the level of Walker and now Porro.

There’s more to his game than just his passing, but that’s a big part of what makes Porro so special. And focusing on that, how does Porro do it? How is he setting up more goals than even the Premier League’s best attackers?

As I started to watch back his assists and passes, I was expecting to see similarities between Porro and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool defender is, after all, surely the closest equivalent to Porro in the Premier League — both are full-backs that like to invert and have a lethal passing range.
I wasn’t expecting to see shades of David Beckham, but that’s what popped up.

Porro’s technique is excellent, and the way he puts one arm to the side and lifts the other is very similar to the former England captain’s distinctive way of striking the ball.

Like for this assist against Newcastle last month, which made it four in five games for the Spaniard…

The pass splits the Newcastle defence and provides Richarlison with an easy chance.

Bend it like Beckham? Pass it like Porro.

In this next example — for Son Heung-min away against Burnley in September — it’s the same technique, even though this pass is along the ground.

And this is also a pass with shades of Harry Kane, especially as it’s Son who’s running onto it.

Those who watch Porro closely comment on how decisive and confident he is with his passing — he backs his technique, and so with a pass like this he picks the right moment and hits it hard enough to take opposition defenders out of the game.

Porro’s technical skill and his willingness to try things are a potent combination. Plus, he commits to his passing with all of his body — everything is in sync and he is totally connected with the ball when he strikes it.

That pass at Turf Moor is so good, Son barely has to break stride.

Those first two examples also tell us a lot about how Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs set up. Not just the fact that Porro inverts into central midfield, but the way in which whoever is playing up front makes runs in behind for him to find.

Tottenham play with lots of coordinated movements, providing a foundation for good passers to find runners. Even last season, when Spurs were a lot less fluid in attack than they are now, Porro demonstrated his ability to thread through balls into space for team-mates.

For example, this assist for Kane away against Leeds United in May’s season finale.

Tottenham’s attacking structure is so flexible, it might fool you into thinking there isn’t one

This next assist is a more conventional one for a full-back: a low pass into an area where anyone attacking it has a tap-in. Here, against Wolves in November, Porro has both arms out — a technique he often uses when striking a dead ball.

And it’s dead balls that account for a number of Porro’s assists this season. When he arrived from Sporting Lisbon last January, Porro didn’t have a reputation as a set-piece specialist. Yes, he often took them, but he has developed into a real threat from such situations over the past year.

Like most clubs, the bulk of Spurs’ work on set pieces comes in the training sessions two days before matches, or on the eve of them. Assistant head coach Ryan Mason leads on the attacking set pieces, and Porro has been a big beneficiary this season. Especially since James Maddison, who previously took most of Tottenham’s set pieces, has been out with an ankle injury.

Until his most recent appearance against Chelsea in November, Maddison had taken 69.5 per cent of Spurs’ corners in their first 11 Premier League matches of the season (41 of 59), with Porro (six) only taking one in 10.

In the 10 league games Maddison has missed, Porro has taken 91.8 per cent of Tottenham’s corners (56 of 61) and delivered more of them than any other player in the division (Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez is next with 49).

Against Manchester United in Spurs’ most recent match just over a week ago, he took all 13 of their corners, 12 of which he put into the penalty area. In so doing, he got an assist for Richarlison’s opener, set up Rodrigo Bentancur for a near-post flick that was cleared off the line, and put one on Cristian Romero’s head that his fellow defender smashed against the crossbar from close range. Porro created four chances from corners in that game in total.

Four of his seven assists this season have been from set pieces, and, breaking them down, they further illustrate his range of passing.

Here, at Manchester United, Porro has both arms out as he strikes the ball.

Which is something Beckham would do on occasion.

Before hitting a corner, Porro likes to take lots of short steps. On this occasion, his delivery lands right on the head of Richarlison…

…providing the striker with an easy near-post header.

That whipped inswinger is a technique Porro is very comfortable with. He can hit the ball hard and with control — you very rarely see him scuff a shot or a cross.

This goal, away against Brighton & Hove Albion last month, is counted as coming from a set piece, with the ball worked to Porro’s feet after his corner is only partially cleared.

Again, the left arm comes out as he takes his foot back to strike.

Again, it’s a very clean delivery — this time more of a clipped pass — and it lands perfectly on the head of Ben Davies.

Outswinging crosses and corners are also very much in Porro’s repertoire, and these require a different technique.

He can dig out crosses from open play, such as in this assist for Kane against Nottingham Forest last season:

And bend them in, like this assist for the same player against Crystal Palace two months later:

From corners, Porro has set up two goals with outswingers this season.

The first was placed perfectly on Romero’s head against West Ham in December:

The second, a couple of games earlier, was more fortuitous, with his cross dropping for Giovani Lo Celso after Aston Villa failed to clear:

All of this has helped Spurs become one of the most prolific teams from set pieces this season. Only Everton and Arsenal have scored more from these situations (we’re not including penalties here) than their nine, which is impressive given the summer departures of well-respected set-piece coach Gianni Vio and Kane, the Premier League’s joint-leading scorer of headed goals.

A corner from the left, a crossing position from the right, the ball at his feet in a central area. Porro’s stunning range of passing has been a big part of Tottenham’s success this season.

And on Friday, he’ll have one of his former clubs in his sights, as Spurs play City not envying the opposition right-back for pretty much the first time since Walker’s departure.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Porro has arguably been our BEST player this season, Sherwood and his gillet need to do one.