What Is Our Best Team?

[onthetwo]

bloke serving my coffee this morning - "Its been coming for a while but what do you expect with 8 new players who've never played in the EPL?"

 

[Francis Gibbs]

for me
Lloris
Walker Kaboul Verts Rose
Sandro Dembele
Lennon Eriksen Townsend
Defoe

let me know if AVB replies, because I dont think he has a clue

 

[DEFchenkOE]

It's gone beyond what our best starting 11 is, the fact is whoever plays in whatever formation we play the same style which is obviously the plan from avb. No matter who plays we're going to be playing the same way.

 

[jondesouza]

for me
Lloris
Walker Kaboul Verts Rose
Sandro Dembele
Lennon Eriksen Townsend
Defoe

let me know if AVB replies, because I dont think he has a clue

Lennon doesn't suit a 4-2-3-1 (or 4-3-3) for that matter. His main weapon is his pace and therefore needs to come from deep to make best use of it. That wide position in the 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 requires players with a bit more trickery than Lennon has at his disposal.

Also, as much as a I love him, Defoe isn't a lone striker.

 

[Bofbro]

Dembele and Capoue must start if fit imo.

 

[JAYSTAR]

4411

Lloris
Walker Kaboul Verts Rose

Lennon Sandro Dembele Townsend
Lamela
Soldado
​

That back 5 will be awesome when they finally get to play together in their correct positions. Sandro and Dembele is a must for me, Paulinho is too attack minded and actually not great on the ball. Lamela should play through the middle with Soldado imo as a 10 who brings the ball forward and plays through balls. I realise spurs will have to do some training to find out what through balls actually are, but I think Soldado will appreciate the effort...!

 

[jondesouza]

4411

Lloris
Walker Kaboul Verts Rose

Lennon Sandro Dembele Townsend
Lamela
Soldado
​

That back 5 will be awesome when they finally get to play together in their correct positions. Sandro and Dembele is a must for me, Paulinho is too attack minded and actually not great on the ball. Lamela should play through the middle with Soldado imo as a 10 who brings the ball forward and plays through balls. I realise spurs will have to do some training to find out what through balls actually are, but I think Soldado will appreciate the effort...!

I think that's arguably our most effective 4-4-1-1. No square pegs in round holes.

 

[Francis Gibbs]

Lennon doesn't suit a 4-2-3-1 (or 4-3-3) for that matter. His main weapon is his pace and therefore needs to come from deep to make best use of it. That wide position in the 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 requires players with a bit more trickery than Lennon has at his disposal.

Also, as much as a I love him, Defoe isn't a lone striker.

your possibly quite right on both accounts, the reasons why I went there is because our transition is so slow and laboured that we need both Lennon and Townsend in the side without them we dont make defences scramble and become unsettled. Re the shape 442 for me is pretty antiquated and as a rule I like the 4231 approach as long as the 10 is close to the 9 and not drifting all over the place, I think with guidance both Lennon and Townsend can play in this shape but will need to tailor their games accordingly but their pace is vital.
As for Defoe, I go for him even as a lone 9 because he will ultimately score goals as he has done throughout his career in PL albeit he can be streaky. Soldado with the players/shape we have is a luxury, we simply cant afford a 'I literally only offer anything' when I am given the ball type of striker.

 

[jondesouza]

your possibly quite right on both accounts, the reasons why I went there is because our transition is so slow and laboured that we need both Lennon and Townsend in the side without them we dont make defences scramble and become unsettled. Re the shape 442 for me is pretty antiquated and as a rule I like the 4231 approach as long as the 10 is close to the 9 and not drifting all over the place, I think with guidance both Lennon and Townsend can play in this shape but will need to tailor their games accordingly but their pace is vital.

Agree with you about pace and the importance of unsettling teams. In my view it's one of the reasons I like 4-4-1-1. You get pacey wide players starting from deep positions and also have the benefit of the 10 linking midfield and attack. I think Townsend is arguably more effective in the 4-2-3-1 than Lennon. From what I've seen of Aaron he's struggled to change his game in the last couple of seasons. I'd love to be proved wrong though.

As for Defoe, I go for him even as a lone 9 because he will ultimately score goals as he has done throughout his career in PL albeit he can be streaky. Soldado with the players/shape we have is a luxury, we simply cant afford a 'I literally only offer anything' when I am given the ball type of striker.

I wouldn't have Soldado as the 9 in a 4-2-3-1 either to be honest. Adebayor is probably the best striker we have for that role but you never know which Ade is going to turn up. 4-4-1-1 would enable an out and out striker (Soldado or Defoe) to play in front of a 10 who could either be a deep lying forward (Kane's best role) or a creative player buzzing around making himself a nuisance (the role I envisage Lamela or Eriksen would be best suited for).

 

[JAYSTAR]

I think that's arguably our most effective 4-4-1-1. No square pegs in round holes.

This is the point. We have to play to our strengths.

Pace - Lennon and Townsend - balls flashed across the box for our poacher soldado and also means we can counter attack again.
Guile & strength - sandro and dembele who boss games together.
Skill - lamela and Soldado should combine well through the middle with tricks and cute passes in and around the box that a poacher like Soldado is crying out for.

Fine, we don't have a passer or a playmaker or a big forward who's good in the air, so lets not try to play with one up top on his own, it doesn't work. We have loads of potential, but need to use what we've got rather than trying to be Chelsea.

 

[Kendall]

I really don't know. The main reason for this is because we have brought in so many new players and we haven't seen any of them produce close to their genuine top form.

Lloris is still the best keeper, I think Sandro is our best midfielder currently, Vertonghen the best CB, Walker the best right back and Adebayor is still, for me, our best attacking option.

 

[onthetwo]

I really don't know. The main reason for this is because we have brought in so many new players and we haven't seen any of them produce close to their genuine top form.

Lloris is still the best keeper, I think Sandro is our best midfielder currently, Vertonghen the best CB, Walker the best right back and Adebayor is still, for me, our best attacking option.

new players in a new league...i think that gets forgotten.

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

 

[CheeseGromit]

Our real problem is that the attacking players have not yet come off

When you look at Eriksen Lamela Holtby Chadli Townsend Lennon it is weak and inexperienced (compare to the teams ahead of us)
Sandro Paulinho Capoue Dembele have so much more to do then be the solid 2

To try and create, yesterday and previous games we have had to commit more. This created problems when opposition hit us on the break. Other than Lennon pace is at a premium in the side

Our dilema now is do we retrench into the risk averse un adventurous side of the beginning of the season or risk another battering. One more battering and everybody will fancy there chances and more turgid football will increase the negative reaction from fans and media

It could be a tough winter unless we get a break somewhere along the line

 

[jezz]

Personally AVB needs to pick who he believes is the best 11 and stick with it.
Minor tweaks to the team for home and away(1 or 2 players) injuries taken into consideration.
75% of teams will park the bus and try to counter attack
Loris
Walker/Chir/verts/rose
Sandro/paul or dembele
Lamela/erickson/holtby or chad
soldado
We need lock pickers against this lot, pace is useless against these kind of teams, we need to pass around these teams.
If we can score first and force there tactics to change, this is where lennon and townsey can exploit the space later in the game.
The front 3 can move around and interchange positions, with quick passing, allowing paul to ghost in, the AM3 can all score aswell
Ade is to inconsistent at best.
Needs to prove it in europe first for me, till then sub at best in the EPL.
Against tough sides, we need to be solid, capoue replaces Paul here.(i said yesterday he should have played with sandro)
Townsey or Lennon to replace one of the AM3.
Pick your team AVB and let it settle, you get my vote if you do.

 

[Lufti]

How long is Carroll's loan?

 

[bubble07]

Lloris
Walker Kaboul Vertonghen Rose
Lamela Sandro Holtby Eeiksen
Soldado Adebayor

 

[BergSpurs]

Ok, so after reading a lot here about what should be our starting 11 and how we don't have a "best team" to play with, more like - no one knows what the best XI is I've come to a conclusion :
Most of the fans, including my self, always add townsend/lennon to a formation for the simple reason that they are fast, for me the reason for that is that we still have the idea of a counter-attacking team stuck in our heads. The simple fact is that we are NOT that kind of team any more, and it is a fact if you look at our possession % of every single game this season. What we need now is creativeness and eye for goals(AKA pass to Soldado like.. once in a while).
Look at Chelsea, Mata-Oscar-Hazard - you wouldn't say anyone of them is a player that his game is based simply on pace, yet somehow they score goals between them.
We can't relay on counter-attacking players when we don't play on the counter, it doesn't make any sense.
For me, after a huge headache our midfield should looks like this :

Sandro-Paulinho
Lamela-Eriksen-Chadli/Sig

Lennon is a good player, for 4-4-2 not for 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3.
Townsend would suit better for 4-3-3, probably for 4-4-2 too, rather then the 4-2-3-1 we play as well.
We Spent money on these players for a reason, this is the most balanced side I can think of at the moment and I think we should give them a run of games once they are all fit.

So for me, Walker and Rose are enough of pace on the flanks, Lamela is not exactly the slowest player and it's time to move on from the pace stand.

*Yes, I know Eriksen is injured now and who knows what's up with Chadli, this squad is example to show my point because people said "lennon/townsend for pace" before these injuries

 

[Dundalk_Spur]

I would settle for eleven players who made things easy for each other.

You know give them passes that they can easily run onto, with a nice weight on it, so they can take a look at their options instead of trying to control a bouncing bullet of a pass.

Also making intelligent runs would be nice, preferably going forward, not the darting runs back towards the half way line before cleverly laying it off to a centre half.

Also if there is a player who can "run" towards an opposition to close him down and not jog or walk towards them then he should be starting.

My two cents worth.

 

[Tott66]

If the proxy manager don't know it why should I know it,changes by the week but it ain't got holtby in it or Dawson for that matter