Tottenham's tactics too cautious to win title, says Robbie Savage

[dudu]

That was last year. Our through balls per game is now ONE per game.

And amazingly our average through balls away from home is zero lol.

Gash!

i thought it looked a little large but i just went with it lol

its completed not attempted though correct?

already answered.....ignore

 

[Kirito]

Some of the stats on that site make us look horrible like the fact that Ramsey has had half the amount of shots to Townsend but has scored six goals to Townsends 0 (The goal against Villa was a fluke)

 

[mpickard2087]

I think that will change as time goes on and players get more accustomed to each others movement. In training you can only learn so much from playing together as the pressures aren't the same so it's in the matches themselves where most of the learning will happen.

As a professional footballer, do you really need to get used to how someone plays to know that, for instance when spreading the ball wide, you should be playing the pass in front of them for them to be able to move on to?

Do we need to be showing a professional footballer what a decently paced pass is? (And yes, the amount of times we under hit a pass is farcical)

Worrying if this is the case.

 

[dudu]

Attempted.

Are you sure? chelsea also only average 1 attempted through ball a game? It must be completed....

weird because i know we dont complete 70 long balls per game either....

thats mad..... i take back everything i said

 

[TheSecretNonFootballer]

As a professional footballer, do you really need to get used to how someone plays to know that, for instance when spreading the ball wide, you should be playing the pass in front of them for them to be able to move on to?

Do we need to be showing a professional footballer what a decently paced pass is? (And yes, the amount of times we under hit a pass is farcical)

Worrying if this is the case.

Things like that, no. But I've seen many passes misplaced because the player has come short or turned and run and we've played the opposite pass. Those things come with playing with players more.

 

[Kirito]

Are you sure? chelsea also only average 1 attempted through ball a game? It must be completed....

weird because i know we dont complete 70 long balls per game either....

thats mad..... i take back everything i said

Has to be attempted! We don't complete 24 crosses per game. I'd be over the moon if we did!

 

[ultimateloner]

Results are going the right way so i don't see where the problem is.

 

[dudu]

Has to be attempted! We don't complete 24 crosses per game. I'd be over the moon if we did!

I know! its a bit confusing but im sure you are right, which is just farcical. I mean its farcical in general how many are attempted overall in the PL per game...

Maybe that says something about the way teams are defending now that even Chelsea cant pick out more than 1 a game.... Considering how new a team we are we dont have to improve a whole lot more to rise up that table....

 

[al_pacino]

I don't think it is just the mentality of how we play that is the problem. Sometimes the lack of basic skills lets us down. Often when we do see the pass and play it, its behind the man or the pace on it is so poor he has to wait an age for it to reach him, or go towards it rather than take it in his stride.

I've posted this before but we don't have a passer in midfield. Sandro, Dembele and Paulinho are not this player, Capoue may be.

 

[CowInAComa]

You're obviously right. AVB doesn't want us to score goals all season. He wants us to clean sheet our way to the top four.

Stop being so bloody ridiculous

No I dont think thats what he wants. But I think thats what we are getting because of his safety first mindset.

Actually what I suspect is that AvB is a very good organiser and tactician in regards to stopping the opposition and defensive setup but lacking in attacking nous. I think the plan might have been to dominate other teams through possession and pressing and the chances would fashion themselves as a by-product

It seems to me that whereas in defence and positionally we are well drilled and everyone knows their place, up front we adopt the 'pass it to the best player enough and good shit is bound to happen sooner or later' school of tactics. Ie with Falcao, Hulk , Bale etc...

 

[dagraham]

As a professional footballer, do you really need to get used to how someone plays to know that, for instance when spreading the ball wide, you should be playing the pass in front of them for them to be able to move on to?

Do we need to be showing a professional footballer what a decently paced pass is? (And yes, the amount of times we under hit a pass is farcical)

Worrying if this is the case.

Spot on. The longer our players play with each other the greater understanding there will be but it can't disguise the fact that we simply don't have enough quality passers of the ball in our squad.

All this eulogizing over the "beastliness" of our team has been at the expense of our ability to pass the ball and therefore create opportunities.

 

[CowInAComa]

Spot on. The longer our players play with each other the greater understanding there will be but it can't disguise the fact that we simply don't have enough quality passers of the ball in our squad.

All this eulogizing over the "beastliness" of our team has been at the expense of our ability to pass the ball and therefore create opportunities.

You dont necessarily need Hoddle in your team to create goal scoring chances. Outrageous creativity from nothing is the icing on the cake, we lack the simple first time progressive pass - the simple through ball in front of the striker.

We need to move, make runs and to be attempting to pick out those runs. We do neither.

 

[dagraham]

You dont necessarily need Hoddle in your team to create goal scoring chances. Outrageous creativity from nothing is the icing on the cake, we lack the simple first time progressive pass - the simple through ball in front of the striker.

We need to move, make runs and to be attempting to pick out those runs. We do neither.

We don't have to ping 50yard Hoddlesque passes to feet but some vision and ability to spread the play would certainly help.

Your right about our movement though. Its one of the things I was expecting to improve under AVB and it hasn't at all.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

Things like that, no. But I've seen many passes misplaced because the player has come short or turned and run and we've played the opposite pass. Those things come with playing with players more.

I don't think they do at all, I think it's more to do with making the right decision. Which we are not doing well at the moment. Hopefully our players are adaptable to not always make the same move?

I'm banging the same drum again, but the whole concept of 'gelling' is non existant. Nobody is saying it about City, they are blaming Pellegrini for playing what is effectively a 442. I think AVB needs to show his adaptability a bit more, probably a bit like Pellegrini does.

 

[TheSecretNonFootballer]

I don't think they do at all, I think it's more to do with making the right decision. Which we are not doing well at the moment. Hopefully our players are adaptable to not always make the same move?

I'm banging the same drum again, but the whole concept of 'gelling' is non existant. Nobody is saying it about City, they are blaming Pellegrini for playing what is effectively a 442. I think AVB needs to show his adaptability a bit more, probably a bit like Pellegrini does.

There was more of that talk with City when Mancini was in charge and their major transition really started.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

There was more of that talk with City when Mancini was in charge and their major transition really started.

I think that's because they hadn't worked out Mancini was massively overrated...

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I don't think it is just the mentality of how we play that is the problem. Sometimes the lack of basic skills lets us down. Often when we do see the pass and play it, its behind the man or the pace on it is so poor he has to wait an age for it to reach him, or go towards it rather than take it in his stride.

At the moment this is everything. I don't think there is a problem with our mentality, if anything, it's one of our strongest elements.

For various reasons - tactical selections, new faces gelling, young players, a slight lack of intelligence that a team like us is often going to suffer from, opposition tactics, a relatively new coach to us and management in general - our football in the final third isn't at it's scintillating best, and yet we keep earning points at the best rate since the EPL begun so the building blocks are there and the mentality definitely is pretty good.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

For all you 4-4-2 lovers I have some bad news for you

AVB

I don’t see us in the near future going back to 4-4-2, that’s the reality. We’ve been extremely successful with what we have been doing, as we were extremely successful with 4-4-2 in the past - particularly last season. At this moment it’s not going to happen.

http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/t..._of_adebayor_and_gomes_at_tottenham_1_2972798

 

[Spurs_Bear]

For all you 4-4-2 lovers I have some bad news for you

AVB



http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/t..._of_adebayor_and_gomes_at_tottenham_1_2972798

Thank god.

At least he admits Bale was playing in a 442.

 

[mpickard2087]

I dunno, at some point (preferably after we have seen the likes of Eriksen, Lamela et al get a proper run of games) I think two strikers has to be looked at if our struggles in front of goal continue.

I'm not saying it will be the answer, I don't particularly like the formation myself, but it shouldn't be open lottery football like previous times, Dembele and Sandro/Capoue is a solid, disciplined pairing that allows the others to go and play.

Wide players would be a problem, given they all like cutting inside. Maybe a diamond midfield with fullbacks pushing on.