- Aug 12, 2005
- 2,792
- 3,295
Firstly, to state the obvious, I along with every other self-respecting spurs fan have been getting more than slightly concerned at our league form of late. At the start of the season we had two clear priorities. Number one, qualify for the Champions League proper and, number two, retain our top four credentials, simple right? Well, whilst we’ve been putting in some dazzling performances in the Champions League, we’ve also been left scratching our heads on more than one occasion after a league match.
I did make the point to a manure fan this week that we are playing a very different system this year to accommodate a rather special player that is one Mr Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart. But I have to say, I didn’t quite come to the conclusion that I now have and it’s perhaps something that ‘Arry has known for some time.
We all know that VDV is a brilliant player, he oozes class and flair, a true product of the Dutch youth methodology, he seems to epitomise everything that historically Tottenham are about. However, when he first arrived, ‘Arry seemed unsure where to play him. He tried him in various formations in various positions but it became very apparent very quickly that he thrives in the free-role just behind the striker. Spurs therefore adopting the elusive 4-5-1/4-4-1-1 formation that, if you cast your minds back to the summer, was something we all understood would need to be called on for those difficult away days in Europe. Brilliant then?!?
Not quite. I’ve seen on more than one occasion when we play this way, whoever is the lone striker doesn’t seem to get the support he needs. For example, when someone shoots we’ve often missed that extra man surging into the box looking for the rebound. Or that man that’s really pulling the defence around creating space for another who’s right in line with their last man. Our strikers have taken some heavy criticism this year, and for the most part it’s been justified. But football is seldom that simple and while I’m not suggesting part of the blame does not lie at their proverbial striking boots, I’m not sure our system of play has been doing them any favours either.
What we saw on Saturday was a return to the old system which for the most part served the team so well in the previous terms assault on the traditional big four. While it’s obvious that VDV cannot operate in his best position in such a system, I think perhaps we shouldn’t have been so hasty to turn our backs on it to accommodate a single player. Don’t get me wrong, the lone striker formation seems great for difficult hard away days and works brilliantly in Europe but at home for the most part, two up top looks like our best option, at least until January. This will of course require VDVs wings to be clipped somewhat at times and him to compete with Lennon for a place on the right of midfield. But with such a hectic fixture schedule and VDVs questionable fitness levels that would seem to be no bad thing.
Having said all that... 4-4-1-1 at the Emirates please Harry! :grin:
COYS
I did make the point to a manure fan this week that we are playing a very different system this year to accommodate a rather special player that is one Mr Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart. But I have to say, I didn’t quite come to the conclusion that I now have and it’s perhaps something that ‘Arry has known for some time.
We all know that VDV is a brilliant player, he oozes class and flair, a true product of the Dutch youth methodology, he seems to epitomise everything that historically Tottenham are about. However, when he first arrived, ‘Arry seemed unsure where to play him. He tried him in various formations in various positions but it became very apparent very quickly that he thrives in the free-role just behind the striker. Spurs therefore adopting the elusive 4-5-1/4-4-1-1 formation that, if you cast your minds back to the summer, was something we all understood would need to be called on for those difficult away days in Europe. Brilliant then?!?
Not quite. I’ve seen on more than one occasion when we play this way, whoever is the lone striker doesn’t seem to get the support he needs. For example, when someone shoots we’ve often missed that extra man surging into the box looking for the rebound. Or that man that’s really pulling the defence around creating space for another who’s right in line with their last man. Our strikers have taken some heavy criticism this year, and for the most part it’s been justified. But football is seldom that simple and while I’m not suggesting part of the blame does not lie at their proverbial striking boots, I’m not sure our system of play has been doing them any favours either.
What we saw on Saturday was a return to the old system which for the most part served the team so well in the previous terms assault on the traditional big four. While it’s obvious that VDV cannot operate in his best position in such a system, I think perhaps we shouldn’t have been so hasty to turn our backs on it to accommodate a single player. Don’t get me wrong, the lone striker formation seems great for difficult hard away days and works brilliantly in Europe but at home for the most part, two up top looks like our best option, at least until January. This will of course require VDVs wings to be clipped somewhat at times and him to compete with Lennon for a place on the right of midfield. But with such a hectic fixture schedule and VDVs questionable fitness levels that would seem to be no bad thing.
Having said all that... 4-4-1-1 at the Emirates please Harry! :grin:
COYS