Ratings vs Aston Villa

[JonnySpurs]

from four four two

"Erik Lamela didn't receive many plaudits for his role in the game on Monday night, but the Argentine has pushed his game on once again this season. He created the most chances of any Spurs player and provided a great assist to Harry Kane for the coup de grace."

Pass Accuracy

Eriksen 90%
Lamela 88.2%
Alli 83.3 %
Dier 83%
Dembele 76.7%

Tackles----Possession recovery --Interceptions

Alli 2-8-3
Dier 7- 2-1
Eriksen 2-5-1
Lamela 2-5-1
Dembele 1-5-0

Chances Created (key Pass)

Lamela 5
Eriksen 4
Dier 1
Alli 1
Dembele 0
------------------------

the work rate in terms of tackling and recovery for our 5 midfielders is exceptional, even though last night seemed like one of our lesser days.

Also to the folks saying lamela was shit etc apart from the final ten minutes, well obviously he wasn't. But I suppose you can't prove anything with facts

I dont think anyone was saying he was "shit" besides the last 10 mins. I was sat watching the game in the pub with a couple of mates and we all agreed that he didn't seem to have done a lot until towards the end of the game. Maybe we weren't concentrating enough to really appreciate his contribution as the stats seem to bear out that he performed well, it just didn't seem like it to me.

I like lamela a lot and I think we can all agree that he's playing far better this season than ever before for Spurs but equally, he's far from being the finished article and can still make some strange decisions. Just because he's improving doesn't mean he can't still be criticised.

With that said though, I dont really like him off the right wing. I would much prefer him in the 10 role more often. I want to see speed and direct play down the flanks and I dont think he offers that.

 

[Mr Pink]

I dont think anyone was saying he was "shit" besides the last 10 mins. I was sat watching the game in the pub with a couple of mates and we all agreed that he didn't seem to have done a lot until towards the end of the game. Maybe we weren't concentrating enough to really appreciate his contribution as the stats seem to bear out that he performed well, it just didn't seem like it to me.

I like lamela a lot and I think we can all agree that he's playing far better this season than ever before for Spurs but equally, he's far from being the finished article and can still make some strange decisions. Just because he's improving doesn't mean he can't still be criticised.

With that said though, I dont really like him off the right wing. I would much prefer him in the 10 role more often. I want to see speed and direct play down the flanks and I dont think he offers that.

But its the full backs that provide that in this set up mate. We play three attacking midfielders behind Kane as it stands but the full backs are the ones who get wide and stretch the play.

But when Son returns I think he offers us more pace and directness in one of those positions, so we'll look more lively.

 

[Lufti]

I dont think anyone was saying he was "shit" besides the last 10 mins.

Hmm

All defenders played well and Dier, no great stand out. Cant believe that Lamela got a lot of votes though- I thought he was awful, until the last 10 minutes.

He has only to pass the ball successfully and some think that makes him a top footballer.

Was very below average most of the game he gets better as the opposition tire.

And that's just the last page haha

 

[theShiznit]

He has only to pass the ball successfully and some think that makes him a top footballer.

Was very below average most of the game he gets better as the opposition tire.

Got better when Dembele went off (make of that what you will)

He needs to have the ball quickly before walls are built especially stuck on the right and the ball moved around a lot quicker once Dembele (and subsequently Alli) went off.

Mason has been ragged on because of his part in their goal (Alli lost the ball just before Mason but we'll forget that) but his passing between the lines and one two touch just makes us a better unit, it moves the opposition around much quicker and creates space and openings. He made 3 top passes pinged into feet that took men out of the game, and lead to the player receiving the ball being turned and immediately attacking their back line but for some reason people don't see that as creative.

Can't remember a single pass Alli or Dembele made that created space, a quick move or a chance TBH.
But one does pretty nutmegs and the other nice body swerves which is more important. (and yes I know they both scored)

 

[southlondonyiddo]

Sun Dream team gave Sanchez a 7 lol. Yeah what a top central midfield player he is. He'd be lucky to get a game in league 1 in my world!

Talk about chocolate fireguard, he might actually make Joe Allen look good, maybe not!

 

[glospur]

Thanks for all the stats but stats dont always tell the full story imo.

I get that you're a big Lamela fan and I'm not saying he didn't do well in parts but for me it wasn't one of his better games and I'm entitled to think that. It's also somewhat open to interpretation with regard to his heavy touches. I think he had more than 2 but then who am I to go against the might of whoscored.com.

This is one thing I've never understood. Your initial argument on why the player was poor was a stats based argument; you said he had a 'lot of heavy touches.' People whose job it is to record how often these things happen in a game post their data online; it's not subjective, there is no bias in statistics. I find it baffling how some people then dismiss the primary evidence that directly contradicts their initial assertion; as though they were collecting the analysis themselves because it doesn't fit their narrative. I would understand it if your argument was based on a premise that might be considered intangible or subjective but it wasn't, it was one that was built on something that can be tangibly and categorically measured and, ultimately, something that was found to be categorically incorrect.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

MOTM pfftt…

The early goal, entirely made for himself by Dembele meant Villa were stuck in a collective tactical mind fuck, they now knew they couldn't just sit back but I'm guessing they'd spent all week working on "shape" and "organisation" and wotnot, things that 8 months of Sherwood have become anathema, and their tactical confusion should have played into our hands.

The early goal for a team that, if we are to believe everything we hear and know, wants to press high and hard and transition like the wind, should be nirvana. Instead we made fucking heavy weather of it.

I applaud the front four for their endeavour, and this is vital, it is one of the components that is helping us become a harder side to play against. But all them were wasteful, clumsy and careless. I've actually watched that first half again and we don't create a single clear cut chance for anyone. Dembele makes his own goal and Alli's is the result of a fortunate box ricochet. And creatively I'm pretty sure, up to the moment Lamela rolls the ball for Kane's goal, nobody else created a clear chance for a team mate in the second half either.

All of you who are likely to wet the bed if I don't declare Dier and Alli to be the best pair of slices of CM wonder bread ever better look away now. How Sky picked Alli out for MOTM or anyone on here can do the same for Dier is baffling, but let me stress again, I think picking anyone out last night as being head and shoulders better than anyone else would be a travesty, and these two equally as anyone else.

What did they have to do first half ? Villa were fucking confused/abject hybrid. What we needed was at least one CM to get on the ball and start dictating some tempo, play, move, pass, move, give, go, babing babing, babang, babang. Alli is fabulous at "bombing on", he is a bomber onner par excellence, and for 60 minutes he did bomb on exceedingly well, but a lot of what he did when the ball found him in bombed on positions was clumsy inconsequential.

When CB's needed alternative out balls he'd invariably "bombed on" and was standing next to Dembele or Eriksen. Dier on the other hand was the reverse, several times I noted him nonchalantly strolling himself just out of reach of the CB, meaning hurried balls were either humped or more often played to FB's who had men up their arses, who then had to turn back on themselves or play hap hazard balls up the line, which resulted in more hap hazard sloppy play from the forwards.

And when Villa were eventually defibrillated into life in the second half and we were desperate to get hold of the ball, Dier virtually attached himself to Vertonghen's shorts and spent almost thirty minutes in our "D" - he received the ball 8 times in the last 34 minutes. Alli on the other hand by now had decided to camp in their "D". It was a horrible phase and stunk of "Stoke".

Just like our forwards, who were wasteful and created pretty much the square root of fuck all tangibly intelligent but do have redeeming features, Dier and Alli have redeeming features too. I am not saying they don't. But lots of Alli's play is very reminiscent of what Paulinho used to do (not much busy ****, lots of bombing on, plenty of clumsy wastefulness and the odd goal) and I don't remember him getting quite so much love and respect. And likewise Dier and Capoue. I appreciate that Alli is 19 and therefore we must appreciate that if he is equalling Paulinho's contribution now, it possibly bodes well for the future if he develops. Likewise Dier can be defensively robust, he's also positionally quite good at times and I can see him telling others what and where to do and these leadership type qualities are infectious and not to be underrated.

Walker seems to have given up attacking period. The payoff for that though is that when he concentrates all his pea brain into defending he's actually much better at it.

Rose was a mixed bag of his omnipresent puffy chested gusto and some of the also often present carelessness and less than diligent defending.

Loving the Belgy CB pairing. They are melding into one very impregnable unit - Aldertonghen - Most games go by without these two being noticed. usually a good sign for CB's.

The 3rd goal was also the best thing we did offensively all night. It was a slick move that went from back to front and was nice that Onomah played a small part in it. Will hopefully give the kid a lift.

But my overriding view, and the thing I like most, in fact I like very much about this side is it's collective spirit and ethos. Amongst my grumbles of the careless fuckwittery from the forwards, the complaints about the lack of metronomity (it's my post and I'll fucking make up words of I want) from our CM's, I am finding myself really liking this Spurs. It's the least lazy one I can ever remember. Youthful naivety is at least matched if not bettered by youthful exuberance and collective spirit. You get the distinct impression there are no billy big bollock charlie potato head egos in our dressing room.

I think we are becoming a team, for all it's foibles, that is a TEAM. I don't believe we are harder to beat because Dier is in CM or because Walker is now only playing in his half or because we have possibly the best CB pairing right now in the EPL or because we have a hard working front four for the first time in years. I think it is all these things, but mostly because we are playing like a team.

 

[Jospur]

Pleased that we got the win - and three excellent goals.

But it could so easily have ended in a draw. We were lucky in my opinion.

How could we let Aston Villa back in the game? They should have been killed off much earlier. And, because we got away with it this time, doesn't mean we'll get away with it the next time.

Pochettino has talked about a lack of killer instinct. He's right.

I really like this team. It's coming together so well - but it's a young team and maybe that's the problem.

Maybe what the squad needs is an experienced player that can kick some ass when necessary. A leader.

I've been thinking who that might be. The ideal player, in my opinion, would be a midfield general type. Experienced and well-respected. But who? The closest I can get to a suggestion is Carlos Tevez. He's not a midfielder - but he's well-respected and still has lots to offer. Most of all he's an enthusiastic, direct, competitor who can score goals. Whether he'd come here is another matter…

Would be interesting to hear what any have to say on this (agree or not as to need for experience) and who might be an ideal (available) possibility.

 

[tooey]

MOTM pfftt…

The early goal, entirely made for himself by Dembele meant Villa were stuck in a collective tactical mind fuck, they now knew they couldn't just sit back but I'm guessing they'd spent all week working on "shape" and "organisation" and wotnot, things that 8 months of Sherwood have become anathema, and their tactical confusion should have played into our hands.

The early goal for a team that, if we are to believe everything we hear and know, wants to press high and hard and transition like the wind, should be nirvana. Instead we made fucking heavy weather of it.

I applaud the front four for their endeavour, and this is vital, it is one of the components that is helping us become a harder side to play against. But all them were wasteful, clumsy and careless. I've actually watched that first half again and we don't create a single clear cut chance for anyone. Dembele makes his own goal and Alli's is the result of a fortunate box ricochet. And creatively I'm pretty sure, up to the moment Lamela rolls the ball for Kane's goal, nobody else created a clear chance for a team mate in the second half either.

All of you who are likely to wet the bed if I don't declare Dier and Alli to be the best pair of slices of CM wonder bread ever better look away now. How Sky picked Alli out for MOTM or anyone on here can do the same for Dier is baffling, but let me stress again, I think picking anyone out last night as being head and shoulders better than anyone else would be a travesty, and these two equally as anyone else.

What did they have to do first half ? Villa were fucking confused/abject hybrid. What we needed was at least one CM to get on the ball and start dictating some tempo, play, move, pass, move, give, go, babing babing, babang, babang. Alli is fabulous at "bombing on", he is a bomber onner par excellence, and for 60 minutes he did bomb on exceedingly well, but a lot of what he did when the ball found him in bombed on positions was clumsy inconsequential.

When CB's needed alternative out balls he'd invariably "bombed on" and was standing next to Dembele or Eriksen. Dier on the other hand was the reverse, several times I noted him nonchalantly strolling himself just out of reach of the CB, meaning hurried balls were either humped or more often played to FB's who had men up their arses, who then had to turn back on themselves play hap hazard balls up the line, which resulted in more hap hazard sloppy play from the forwards.

And when Villa were eventually defibrillated into life in the second half and we were desperate to get hold of the ball, Dier virtually attached himself to Vertonghen's shorts and spent almost thirty minutes in our "D" - he received the ball 8 times in the last 34 minutes. Alli on the other hand by now had decided to camp in their "D". It was a horrible phase and stunk of "Stoke".

Just like our forwards, who were wasteful and created pretty much the square root of fuck all tangibly intelligent, Dier and Alli do have redeeming features. I am not saying they don't. But lots of Alli's play is very reminiscent of what Paulinho used to do (not much busy ****, lots of bombing on, plenty of clumsy wastefulness and the odd goal) and I don't remember him getting quite so much love and respect. And likewise Dier and Capoue. I appreciate that Alli is 19 and therefore we must appreciate that if he is equalling Paulinho's contribution now, it possibly bodes well for the future if he develops. Likewise Dier can be defensively robust, he's also positionally quite good at times and I can see him telling others what and where to do and these qualities are infectious and not to be underrated.

Walker seems to have given up attacking period. The payoff for that though is that when he concentrates all his pea brain into defending he's actually much better at it.

Rose was a mixed bag of his omnipresent puffy chested gusto and some of the also often present carelessness and less than diligent defending.

Loving the Belgy CB pairing. They are melding into one very impregnable unit - Aldertonghen - Most games go by without these two being noticed. usually a good sign for CB's.

But my overriding view, and the thing I like most, in fact I like very much about this side is it's collective spirit and ethos. Amongst my grumbles of the careless fuckwittery from the forwards, the complaints about the lack of metronomity (it's my post and I'll fucking make up words of I want) from our CM's, I am finding myself really liking this Spurs. It's the least lazy one I can ever remember. Youthful naivety is at least matched if not bettered by youthful exuberance and collective spirit. You get the distinct impression there are no billy big bollock charlie potato head egos in our dressing room.

I think we are becoming a team, for all it's foibles, that is a TEAM. I don't believe we are harder to beat because Dier is in CM or because Walker is now only playing in his half or because we have possibly the best CB pairing right now in the EPL or because we have a hard working front four for the first time in years. I think it is all these things.

I enjoyed that until you started spouting your usual vitriol towards Walker. We get it, you don't like him.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I enjoyed that until you started spouting your usual vitriol towards Walker. We get it, you don't like him.

There was me thinking I'd almost written him a love letter ?

 

[danielneeds]

I enjoyed that until you started spouting your usual vitriol towards Walker. We get it, you don't like him.

Add Dier in midfield to that too. If he nailed his colours to the mast any higher he'd be falling out of the crow's nest.

 

[Mr Pink]

MOTM pfftt…

The early goal, entirely made for himself by Dembele meant Villa were stuck in a collective tactical mind fuck, they now knew they couldn't just sit back but I'm guessing they'd spent all week working on "shape" and "organisation" and wotnot, things that 8 months of Sherwood have become anathema, and their tactical confusion should have played into our hands.

The early goal for a team that, if we are to believe everything we hear and know, wants to press high and hard and transition like the wind, should be nirvana. Instead we made fucking heavy weather of it.

I applaud the front four for their endeavour, and this is vital, it is one of the components that is helping us become a harder side to play against. But all them were wasteful, clumsy and careless. I've actually watched that first half again and we don't create a single clear cut chance for anyone. Dembele makes his own goal and Alli's is the result of a fortunate box ricochet. And creatively I'm pretty sure, up to the moment Lamela rolls the ball for Kane's goal, nobody else created a clear chance for a team mate in the second half either.

All of you who are likely to wet the bed if I don't declare Dier and Alli to be the best pair of slices of CM wonder bread ever better look away now. How Sky picked Alli out for MOTM or anyone on here can do the same for Dier is baffling, but let me stress again, I think picking anyone out last night as being head and shoulders better than anyone else would be a travesty, and these two equally as anyone else.

What did they have to do first half ? Villa were fucking confused/abject hybrid. What we needed was at least one CM to get on the ball and start dictating some tempo, play, move, pass, move, give, go, babing babing, babang, babang. Alli is fabulous at "bombing on", he is a bomber onner par excellence, and for 60 minutes he did bomb on exceedingly well, but a lot of what he did when the ball found him in bombed on positions was clumsy inconsequential.

When CB's needed alternative out balls he'd invariably "bombed on" and was standing next to Dembele or Eriksen. Dier on the other hand was the reverse, several times I noted him nonchalantly strolling himself just out of reach of the CB, meaning hurried balls were either humped or more often played to FB's who had men up their arses, who then had to turn back on themselves play hap hazard balls up the line, which resulted in more hap hazard sloppy play from the forwards.

And when Villa were eventually defibrillated into life in the second half and we were desperate to get hold of the ball, Dier virtually attached himself to Vertonghen's shorts and spent almost thirty minutes in our "D" - he received the ball 8 times in the last 34 minutes. Alli on the other hand by now had decided to camp in their "D". It was a horrible phase and stunk of "Stoke".

Just like our forwards, who were wasteful and created pretty much the square root of fuck all tangibly intelligent, Dier and Alli do have redeeming features. I am not saying they don't. But lots of Alli's play is very reminiscent of what Paulinho used to do (not much busy ****, lots of bombing on, plenty of clumsy wastefulness and the odd goal) and I don't remember him getting quite so much love and respect. And likewise Dier and Capoue. I appreciate that Alli is 19 and therefore we must appreciate that if he is equalling Paulinho's contribution now, it possibly bodes well for the future if he develops. Likewise Dier can be defensively robust, he's also positionally quite good at times and I can see him telling others what and where to do and these qualities are infectious and not to be underrated.

Walker seems to have given up attacking period. The payoff for that though is that when he concentrates all his pea brain into defending he's actually much better at it.

Rose was a mixed bag of his omnipresent puffy chested gusto and some of the also often present carelessness and less than diligent defending.

Loving the Belgy CB pairing. They are melding into one very impregnable unit - Aldertonghen - Most games go by without these two being noticed. usually a good sign for CB's.

But my overriding view, and the thing I like most, in fact I like very much about this side is it's collective spirit and ethos. Amongst my grumbles of the careless fuckwittery from the forwards, the complaints about the lack of metronomity (it's my post and I'll fucking make up words of I want) from our CM's, I am finding myself really liking this Spurs. It's the least lazy one I can ever remember. Youthful naivety is at least matched if not bettered by youthful exuberance and collective spirit. You get the distinct impression there are no billy big bollock charlie potato head egos in our dressing room.

I think we are becoming a team, for all it's foibles, that is a TEAM. I don't believe we are harder to beat because Dier is in CM or because Walker is now only playing in his half or because we have possibly the best CB pairing right now in the EPL or because we have a hard working front four for the first time in years. I think it is all these things.

Didn't Lamela cross a ball to Rose who had a free header at the back stick? Wasn't exactly gilt edged of course but a reasonable chance created all the same.

I agree with the general thrust of your post though and the last two paragraphs pretty much encapsulate my exact feelings and thoughts in terms of how we're looking and where we're heading too.

The collective spirit and hard working ethos we've cultivated is what's impressing me most. They're working hard for one another and like you say it feels like we're seeing a real team develop - and that will always have more chance of being greater than the sum of its shiny individual parts.

We're still developing and we are naive at times too, like when panic mode set in last night after they pulled one back, but these are issues that can be worked on and I expect to see less of this as we continue to grow as a team.

 

[punkisback]

MOTM pfftt…

The early goal, entirely made for himself by Dembele meant Villa were stuck in a collective tactical mind fuck, they now knew they couldn't just sit back but I'm guessing they'd spent all week working on "shape" and "organisation" and wotnot, things that 8 months of Sherwood have become anathema, and their tactical confusion should have played into our hands.

The early goal for a team that, if we are to believe everything we hear and know, wants to press high and hard and transition like the wind, should be nirvana. Instead we made fucking heavy weather of it.

I applaud the front four for their endeavour, and this is vital, it is one of the components that is helping us become a harder side to play against. But all them were wasteful, clumsy and careless. I've actually watched that first half again and we don't create a single clear cut chance for anyone. Dembele makes his own goal and Alli's is the result of a fortunate box ricochet. And creatively I'm pretty sure, up to the moment Lamela rolls the ball for Kane's goal, nobody else created a clear chance for a team mate in the second half either.

All of you who are likely to wet the bed if I don't declare Dier and Alli to be the best pair of slices of CM wonder bread ever better look away now. How Sky picked Alli out for MOTM or anyone on here can do the same for Dier is baffling, but let me stress again, I think picking anyone out last night as being head and shoulders better than anyone else would be a travesty, and these two equally as anyone else.

What did they have to do first half ? Villa were fucking confused/abject hybrid. What we needed was at least one CM to get on the ball and start dictating some tempo, play, move, pass, move, give, go, babing babing, babang, babang. Alli is fabulous at "bombing on", he is a bomber onner par excellence, and for 60 minutes he did bomb on exceedingly well, but a lot of what he did when the ball found him in bombed on positions was clumsy inconsequential.

When CB's needed alternative out balls he'd invariably "bombed on" and was standing next to Dembele or Eriksen. Dier on the other hand was the reverse, several times I noted him nonchalantly strolling himself just out of reach of the CB, meaning hurried balls were either humped or more often played to FB's who had men up their arses, who then had to turn back on themselves play hap hazard balls up the line, which resulted in more hap hazard sloppy play from the forwards.

And when Villa were eventually defibrillated into life in the second half and we were desperate to get hold of the ball, Dier virtually attached himself to Vertonghen's shorts and spent almost thirty minutes in our "D" - he received the ball 8 times in the last 34 minutes. Alli on the other hand by now had decided to camp in their "D". It was a horrible phase and stunk of "Stoke".

Just like our forwards, who were wasteful and created pretty much the square root of fuck all tangibly intelligent, Dier and Alli do have redeeming features. I am not saying they don't. But lots of Alli's play is very reminiscent of what Paulinho used to do (not much busy ****, lots of bombing on, plenty of clumsy wastefulness and the odd goal) and I don't remember him getting quite so much love and respect. And likewise Dier and Capoue. I appreciate that Alli is 19 and therefore we must appreciate that if he is equalling Paulinho's contribution now, it possibly bodes well for the future if he develops. Likewise Dier can be defensively robust, he's also positionally quite good at times and I can see him telling others what and where to do and these qualities are infectious and not to be underrated.

Walker seems to have given up attacking period. The payoff for that though is that when he concentrates all his pea brain into defending he's actually much better at it.

Rose was a mixed bag of his omnipresent puffy chested gusto and some of the also often present carelessness and less than diligent defending.

Loving the Belgy CB pairing. They are melding into one very impregnable unit - Aldertonghen - Most games go by without these two being noticed. usually a good sign for CB's.

The 3rd goal was also the best thing we did offensively all night. It was a slick move that went from back to front and was nice that Onomah played a small part in it. Will hopefully give the kid a lift.

But my overriding view, and the thing I like most, in fact I like very much about this side is it's collective spirit and ethos. Amongst my grumbles of the careless fuckwittery from the forwards, the complaints about the lack of metronomity (it's my post and I'll fucking make up words of I want) from our CM's, I am finding myself really liking this Spurs. It's the least lazy one I can ever remember. Youthful naivety is at least matched if not bettered by youthful exuberance and collective spirit. You get the distinct impression there are no billy big bollock charlie potato head egos in our dressing room.

I think we are becoming a team, for all it's foibles, that is a TEAM. I don't believe we are harder to beat because Dier is in CM or because Walker is now only playing in his half or because we have possibly the best CB pairing right now in the EPL or because we have a hard working front four for the first time in years. I think it is all these things.

Also what I think you've missed which is crucial; it's a lot less chocolate teapot CM with Dembele as part of the 3 AMs. He basically plays as a central midfielder when he's there. In fact, it's more a case of Dier holding and Ali and Moussa playing box to box. I think we'll need this against arsenal, even more than someone like Son.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Also what I think you've missed which is crucial; it's a lot less chocolate teapot CM with Dembele as part of the 3 AMs. He basically plays as a central midfielder when he's there. In fact, it's more a case of Dier holding and Ali and Moussa playing box to box. I think we'll need this against arsenal, even more than someone like Son.

Good point and have said previously I quite like Dembele in the AM positions for that reason. When everyone else is trying stupid flicks and intricate one twos that they invariably can't deliver, where Dembele's dawdling on the ball in CM can be a liability in the advanced areas it's actually a welcome relief at times to have someone hard to knock off it hold the ball up there and dribble at and past people.

 

[Jospur]

Also what I think you've missed which is crucial; it's a lot less chocolate teapot CM with Dembele as part of the 3 AMs. He basically plays as a central midfielder when he's there. In fact, it's more a case of Dier holding and Ali and Moussa playing box to box. I think we'll need this against arsenal, even more than someone like Son.

Alli is obviously a talented player - but I don't think the box to box role suits him. Obviously he can do the job - but surely his best position is just behind the striker? The so-called number 10 role.

Having said that it's interesting to note that Kane actually holds the number 10 shirt and perhaps that's where the Club sees Harry making the most impact. So where will Alli play if he is to start regularly?

 

[eViL]

I've been Walker's biggest critic the last two years; but that's the best I've seen him play in that period. Still needs to cross more often, particularly from deep, as Kane lives for that kind of service in behind the opposing CBs.

Strong team performance I thought.

 

[mpickard2087]

It is a common occurrence though (Europa games the best example) that when we are on the back foot and need someone to get a foot on the ball and try to wrestle some control back for us in the centre of the park that Alli and Dier haven't done that. I think BC is correct in that. Two very good prospects and I'm happy with most of what they are doing, but I'd like to see them tick another box and do, well what I perceive to be, the 'right things' and hopefully settle things down and take charge of the centre of the park when we are finding it tough. Not really happened so far.

 

[jezz]

Didn't Lamela cross a ball to Rose who had a free header at the back stick? Wasn't exactly gilt edged of course but a reasonable chance created all the same.

I agree with the general thrust of your post though and the last two paragraphs pretty much encapsulate my exact feelings and thoughts in terms of how we're looking and where we're heading too.

The collective spirit and hard working ethos we've cultivated is what's impressing me most. They're working hard for one another and like you say it feels like we're seeing a real team develop - and that will always have more chance of being greater than the sum of its shiny individual parts.

We're still developing and we are naive at times too, like when panic mode set in last night after they pulled one back, but these are issues that can be worked on and I expect to see less of this as we continue to grow as a team.

He did actually tee up Dier (shot blocked)
And put Harry in twice he scored the second

 

[Mr Pink]

It is a common occurrence though (Europa games the best example) that when we are on the back foot and need someone to get a foot on the ball and try to wrestle some control back for us in the centre of the park that Alli and Dier haven't done that. I think BC is correct in that. Two very good prospects and I'm happy with most of what they are doing, but I'd like to see them tick another box and do, well what I perceive to be, the 'right things' and hopefully settle things down and take charge of the centre of the park when we are finding it tough. Not really happened so far.

Agree too. But I think that's the naivety factor as well. Dier dropping as deep as he did and Alli a million miles away from him at that point - it was like our midfield just collapsed and there was acres of space centrally for Villa to exploit.

They're both incredibly young so its not really surprising we're seeing some naivety. As we grow as a team I think we'll see less of this though, as they learn their roles more and the nuances of the game in those areas etc

Experience is a massive thing in helping players with their decision making, as obvious as it sounds, and the more they play the more they acquire.

I know that's an obvious statement but it holds true for the younger players.

But its all pretty exciting if you consider how young a side we are and the current strides we're making.

 

[mpickard2087]

Agree too. But I think that's the naivety factor as well. Dier dropping as deep as he did and Alli a million miles away from him at that point - it was like our midfield just collapsed and there was acres of space centrally for Villa to exploit.

They're both incredibly young so its not really surprising we're seeing some naivety. As we grow as a team I think we'll see less of this though, as they learn their roles more and the nuances of the game in those areas etc

Experience is a massive thing in helping players with their decision making, as obvious as it sounds, and the more they play the more they acquire.

I know that's an obvious statement but it holds true for the younger players.

But its all pretty exciting if you consider how young a side we are and the current strides we're making.

My unease would be that they don't even look like they are trying to do it though, if that makes sense. They're kind of passing the buck and expecting someone else to do it. I don't want to turn this into comparing players or a discussion on them, I use it only as an example, but Bentaleb for instance, even if he is having a poor game and misplacing passes, very rarely hides and is always available for the ball. Say what you want but he is brave in terms of being available for the ball no matter what the situation. Maybe I'm asking too much but I think we need to coax that out of others too.