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Villas Boas should stick to his guns rather than adapt (Part 1)

stuffies

Well-Known Member
Sep 17, 2006
765
621
great post .......and if i'm honest,its how i think AVB will go once he has his full squad available.
I can see the starting line up as you posted and fully believe it will work well IF the players listen to AVB ( or you lol )
If only the transfer window closed 2 weeks before the 1st game of the season .....live for AVB would have been alot easier ans smoother.
Only welll lets hope after this international break we could back out like a new and better team.

COYS
 

paulcumpstone

Well-Known Member
Jul 17, 2008
8,781
10,892
good read, I think though simply Sandro and Livermore can't play together. Might work when you playing Barcelona.
 

onthetwo

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2006
4,583
3,407
good work and i bow to your tactical knowledge - i just hope that Levy realises that for the players this is a big change from Uncle Arry. We also need a leader on the pitch which WG so clearly isnt. I noticed that AVB refers to Dawson as `a club captain' which is vague isnt it? Is he club captain or not? If he is, get him in the team ASAP and if hes not, then chose someone else (Parker most obviously assuming Brad is slowly transitioned out of the starting line up)
 

TTID

Member
Apr 20, 2005
83
68
Great article

Please send it to that moron shearer who writes for the sun and lasted 2 minutes as a manager
 

UbeAstard

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2005
3,354
2,413
But we dont know exactly what AVB is thinking do we? Football is more than what is on a tactical board or talk. They are playing against in the main intelligent proffessionals managed by intelligent managers who as well has having their own systems that work or not to some extent and also counter tactic/adapt to what is in front of them. Some of those things mentioned above make sense but is nothing new and other teams adopt them into their own systems. I dont really know why you would need to go so in depth as if it will give us gaurenteed success. All you really need to say is 'we need to give the manager time'.

The fans that are disgruntled will be ones that didnt want him anyway. They wont be ones who believed in him then dont after 3 games. Or maybe they are ones who werent sure about him, is that post aimed at them?​
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
I agree in principle and said in the ratings thread that I think we are crying out for the 433, Why not put this in the SC forum where it will be easier to discuss it. I'm not convinced by Dempsey as an outside right in the forward three for example.
 

not_tenth-again

Well-Known Member
Jun 19, 2009
2,599
2,095
Great article, once again.

4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, for me the lone striker holds the key more often than not. For it to work they must, and I mean absolutely must have great off the ball movement and carry enough threat to warrant tracking by a defender. Set that stall out and intelligent midfielders will always find a way.

I like our options, we've got those midfielders but really wish we had gone for Isco.
 

ethanedwards

Snowflake incarnate.
Nov 24, 2006
3,377
2,498
But we dont know exactly what AVB is thinking do we? Football is more than what is on a tactical board or talk. They are playing against in the main intelligent proffessionals managed by intelligent managers who as well has having their own systems that work or not to some extent and also counter tactic/adapt to what is in front of them. Some of those things mentioned above make sense but is nothing new and other teams adopt them into their own systems. I dont really know why you would need to go so in depth as if it will give us gaurenteed success. All you really need to say is 'we need to give the manager time'.​
The fans that are disgruntled will be ones that didnt want him anyway. They wont be ones who believed in him then dont after 3 games. Or maybe they are ones who werent sure about him, is that post aimed at them?​
I am in the weren't sure bracket, I applaud IOMLS post, it looks a great theory on paper, getting it to work in practice, with so may variables will not be easy.
There appears to be a lack of intelligence on the pitch, which is worrying.
 

rupsmith

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2006
1,714
2,328
I am in the weren't sure bracket, I applaud IOMLS post, it looks a great theory on paper, getting it to work in practice, with so may variables will not be easy.
There appears to be a lack of intelligence on the pitch, which is worrying.

A lack of intelligence or a lack of a freedom of expression?

Either way it's worrying
 

pavvychenks

Active Member
Oct 8, 2008
101
98
Great stuff IOMLS.

The Newcastle game, which despite being a defeat inspired quite a lot on confidence I thought, was an attempt to play 4-3-3. Since then, in the two home games which I have attended, we have not followed the blueprint, resorting to a system that has defaulted to searching for a creative midfielder in the centre to dictate the tempo. Unfortunately, this player has been Livermore and whilst he certainly has a squad role, it is not as a replacement for Modric in a Modric-oriented setup. Dembele was the only real positive from Saturday in that he immediately played first time passes, received the pass under pressure without passing backwards, and had the capacity to buy a yard. This is undoubtedly why we bought him and why he will benefit us. I had hoped when Hudd came on that we would move to the AVB 4-3-3 for the last ten minutes, with Dembele pushed forward, Livermore sweeping up, and Hudd distributing. Unfortunately this was not to be for obvious reasons. I completely agree on the Dempsey role. I was initially unsure how he fits but can see that he will do what they wanted Remy to do as so well illustrated above.

None of this solves the aforementioned problem of the Modric loss. This can really only be overcome by a new system entirely as basically no-one is as good as he is as what we had him doing. Dembele/Sigurdsson means more direct, more athletic. How this equates to dominating possession is a bit uncertain from where I'm sitting at the moment. The main problem in the past two games has been our total failure to own midfield and keep a clear shape. This will come in time certainly, its just a bit painful to watch at the moment!
 

jondesouza

Well-Known Member
Oct 18, 2004
2,842
1,558
Great post IOMLS. I agree with almost everything you write. The one main disagreement I have is that you state early on "we haven’t shoehorned players into positions they can’t play". I think this is exactly what we have done.

Three of our most potent attacking threats have been nullified by the formation in the first three games. Lennon and (to a lesser extent) Bale get the most joy when coming from deeper allowing themselves to run at defenders at pace. I don't think either particularly suit a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 as their starting positions are too advanced. I can see Lennon getting far less playing time in future as Dempsey will start on the right of the 3. (And although BC has concerns I think he'll do well there).

Secondly, Defoe just can't play as a lone central striker. We all know what he's good at and a lone central striker role just doesn't fit his skill set.

My main concern with AVB isn't that he's not going to be good enough if given time. It's just that we'll take one or two steps backwards before his vision becomes reality and this will have a knock-on effect on morale and our attractiveness as a club. Put simply it will give the detractors the ammunition they need. And the problem at the start of the season was clear - we didn't have the players to deliver either his vision or the 4-2-3-1 that you rightly say he saw as a compromise.

I know this won't be to everyone's taste but I think we'd have been better starting the season with a 4-4-1-1 until the signings we needed were made to allow us to move to a 4-3-3. I know lots of people think that any formation that utilises two banks of four is inherently inferior but I just don't agree with that view. For me 4-4-1-1 played to the strengths of the players we had at the time. Arguably now, with Adebayor, Dempsey and Dembélé on board we can use a 4-3-3 to good effect (although we don't have particularly good back-up options if Adebayor or Dempsey get an injury).
 

whisquer

Active Member
Apr 10, 2004
126
69
Good analysis - if you post it under AVB's apartment door he might ask you to analyse the next few home games, which could lead to a coaching role if you impress - sounds crazy but I'm sure this sort of thing has happened before....

Will a REAL ITK step up and do the honours please.
 

elDiablo

SC Supporter
Feb 2, 2005
4,579
2,950
Great article.

Just one thing from me, would it be possible to build around the Left forward. I.e could Bale be our Hulk?
 

Liquidator

Supporting Spurs since 1966
May 2, 2007
1,516
823
Great article.

Just one thing from me, would it be possible to build around the Left forward. I.e could Bale be our Hulk?

If dirty Charlie Adam keeps kicking the s**t out of him he might go well Bill Bixby...
 

jondesouza

Well-Known Member
Oct 18, 2004
2,842
1,558
Great article.

Just one thing from me, would it be possible to build around the Left forward. I.e could Bale be our Hulk?

In my opinion, arguably it could but it doesn't play anywhere near as well to the relative strengths of Dempsey, Sigurdsson, Walker and Assou-Ekotto.
 
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