PLAYER WATCH: Soldado

[CowInAComa]

But we won't, we will be Moyes' Everton

Better than being Moyes Utd i guess.

i dont want to agree with you, but nothing suggests we are working towards a more dynamic style of football

 

[sbrustad]

The transformation of the team, to some degree started by Redknapp, allowed us to play fun, free-flowing football. It's probably fair to say that the football we played in Redknapps first couple of years at the club is some of the best I've seen us play. It's worth remembering, though, that in those couple of years we've become more of a force to be reckoned with, so much so in fact that even Arsenal played like the away side when we went there earlier this season.

It's hard for any team I think to play very exciting football against teams that are prepared to sit back with 11 men behind the ball and try to hit us on the counter. I think we'll see more exciting football once the current squad gels, because we have several very gifted players now.

 

[$hoguN]

It's hard for any team I think to play very exciting football against teams that are prepared to sit back with 11 men behind the ball and try to hit us on the counter. I think we'll see more exciting football once the current squad gels, because we have several very gifted players now.

This is the crux of the matter. At the moment, we are so physically dominating as a side that teams have no choice but to keep tight and trying to break against us through the middle, even Arsenal and Chelsea have struggled to get too much possession from us. The remedy to this? Either we put Townsend on the left and Lamela on the right to give us a bit more width or we play Eriksen off the left as he is more capable of exploiting space than Siggy.

What we can safely say is that Soldado will score goals if given the service, I can't think of a more inventive finisher than him. So we just need to give him that service.

 

[Mr Pink]

The transformation of the team, to some degree started by Redknapp, allowed us to play fun, free-flowing football. It's probably fair to say that the football we played in Redknapps first couple of years at the club is some of the best I've seen us play. It's worth remembering, though, that in those couple of years we've become more of a force to be reckoned with, so much so in fact that even Arsenal played like the away side when we went there earlier this season.

It's hard for any team I think to play very exciting football against teams that are prepared to sit back with 11 men behind the ball and try to hit us on the counter. I think we'll see more exciting football once the current squad gels, because we have several very gifted players now.

Just to echo what Shogun has said, this is a big part of the problem.

 

[sbrustad]

Just to echo what Shogun has said, this is a big part of the problem.

Yes, and when the team starts to gel and the new signings, especially Lamela, starts to settle in I think we'll see a more exciting team.

 

[Mr Pink]

Yes, and when the team starts to gel and the new signings, especially Lamela, starts to settle in I think we'll see a more exciting team.

I think so to.

The one big positive in all this, aside from the West Ham game, is we are grinding out points when there is surely a lot more to come from this team as the new recruits settle and team improves overall.

 

[CowInAComa]

Yes, and when the team starts to gel and the new signings, especially Lamela, starts to settle in I think we'll see a more exciting team.

why lamela.

And what do you think is going to happen, that one day we will click and our whole style of football we have been working on for 18months will flip over to this exciting style you are waiting for. Just like that, slow methodical > exciting dynamic.

 

[Kendall]

[Embed][Embed]

Soldado could never put in a performance as good as that for us. Ever.

 

[Kendall]

why lamela.

And what do you think is going to happen, that one day we will click and our whole style of football we have been working on for 18months will flip over to this exciting style you are waiting for. Just like that, slow methodical > exciting dynamic.

I agree. I think BBLG and others really are holding on to some hope that AVB is just waiting for everything to click and all of a sudden we'll be playing with the speed and quality that Arsenal are. We're clearly not. We're playing the same as we did last season, lots of sideways passes and keeping the ball. It's defensive and turgid.

It was mentioned before he came that Lamela struggled with possession football and had his best performances on the counter/when the ball is moved quickly. If so, I fear for him as well.

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

why lamela.

And what do you think is going to happen, that one day we will click and our whole style of football we have been working on for 18months will flip over to this exciting style you are waiting for. Just like that, slow methodical > exciting dynamic.

Most teams build from the back. City were crushingly boring the first season Mancini was in charge, but started racking up the goals later.

 

[CowInAComa]

Most teams build from the back. City were crushingly boring the first season Mancini was in charge, but started racking up the goals later.

We arent working on an attacking philsophy, therefore it wont change. What we are seeing every week is the result of deliberate coaching and moulding in this way of football.

If we arent attempting to open up and play football, there is nothing there to 'click' to. At best we just get more effective at what we do as everyone learns their role, but it aint getting more exciting, efficient yes.

It makes me laugh when Andre has a go at Villa for playing direct or Jose for setting up defensively.

 

[sbrustad]

why lamela.

And what do you think is going to happen, that one day we will click and our whole style of football we have been working on for 18months will flip over to this exciting style you are waiting for. Just like that, slow methodical > exciting dynamic.

Lamela, because i think he has the potential to be a superstar. Excellent technique, can score goals, has an eye for a pass.

Most good teams are faced with the same problem we have now. Teams sit back and hope to contain them. When we add some flair to all the grit I think we'll be excellent. If AVB wanted us to be a (better) kind of Stoke team he wouldn't have bought Lamela, Eriksen and Holtby.

I guess it's a balance act right now where AVB, as we've seen earlier, isn't too eager to throw all the new players in the mix at once. It's not going to happen in a day, but perhaps over the course of this season we'll witness a transformation.

You may be right though, but I chose to believe we'll stop being boring at one point.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

Soldado could never put in a performance as good as that for us. Ever.

Doesn't have it in him, but it's not his bag, so don't bag on him too much.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

For anyone else that saw a lot of Porto in the Wafer Cup the year they won it, the thing that made them exciting was the players they had, not the system. Even the final was an horrible affair, but they got where they were because they were hard to beat, and then their good players implemented the system.

Fuck it, it's not the 'Tottenham way', but what is?

 

[Hoddle&Waddle]

Soldado could never put in a performance as good as that for us. Ever.

If you have to go back 18 months to find a good Ade performance you've kinda defeated your own argument.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

If you have to go back 18 months to find a good Ade performance you've kinda defeated your own argument.

Chelsea away last season.

 

[idontgetit]

I think in the Villa game Soldado cottoned on to the fact our style of play wasn't suiting him and dropped off of the back four. This brought him closer to Holtby and importantly Paulinho started getting up close to them and all of a sudden we started looking lethal. It's all about getting them 3 (or Erikson) interchanging passes and lay-offs in front of the oppo back four. The threat of our two wide forwards can be used to keep their defensive line from pushing up with Soldado if he drops off, which maintains space for us to work in. I've wondered a lot why we haven't been doing this more so far and would hazard a guess that they've been instructed otherwise by AVB. I've banged on a thousand times about Paulinho being too restricted when playing in a two man deeper laying midfield pair but I do also wonder whether AVB has instructed Soldado to sit on the shoulder of the back four no matter what. Hopefully the coaching staff will look at the highlights, see what's worked and implement it in to our playing style.

 

[jezz]

Would love to see Soldado and Adebayor together for home games.

i would love to see another club chucking 100 grand at him to take the piss.
hey you never know

 

[jezz]

why lamela.

And what do you think is going to happen, that one day we will click and our whole style of football we have been working on for 18months will flip over to this exciting style you are waiting for. Just like that, slow methodical > exciting dynamic.

yep nail on the head and all that

 

[Bus-Conductor]

This is the crux of the matter. At the moment, we are so physically dominating as a side that teams have no choice but to keep tight and trying to break against us through the middle, even Arsenal and Chelsea have struggled to get too much possession from us. The remedy to this? Either we put Townsend on the left and Lamela on the right to give us a bit more width or we play Eriksen off the left as he is more capable of exploiting space than Siggy.

What we can safely say is that Soldado will score goals if given the service, I can't think of a more inventive finisher than him. So we just need to give him that service.

But teams did exactly the same to us when we had Bale on the left and Lennon on the right. One year under Redknapp we failed to win half our home games playing that way. With VDV as well.

Wingers aren't the solution to teams that sit deep. The solution is intelligent movement and players to utilise it.
Teams have been doing this to Arsenal and Chelsea too and their response hasn't been to start playing wingers, it was to buy intelligent players and teach them well and apply them tactically.

And I use Arsenal and Chelsea as examples because they do not both play the same brand of football, but both frequently dispose of defensive tactics and have done for a long time, without wingers.

I fear that as exciting and direct as Townsend is, he is also part of the problem at times. He does some good things, but we need more lock pickers and he's another dynamite merchant a lot of the time. He's played 8 games so far and I think I can only remember one through ball played to Paulinho against Chelsea. Good crosses are fine, but we are still not creating the type of chances that players like Ozil, Rosicky, Ramsey, Cazorla, Hazard, Oscar, Mata etc create regularly and I don't see Townsend providing that too often.