What Would You Do If You Were The Manager ?

[playboypaul]

The way things are going at the moment every man and his dog seem to think they know what should be done to stop the slide before it becomes an avalanche.

I thought it might be an idea to explore this further in one dedicated thread rather than everyone offering their tactical insights in every other thread going.

I will kick things off with what I would do if I were in AVB's position.

I don't think that drastic things need to be done, more so become a little more flexible and a lot less rigid (I find it funny that AVB previously being an opposition scout seems to approach every game in the same manner rather than tailoring a game plan for each opposition).

• Play to our players strengths.

It seems a simple enough thing, use the qualities of the players that we have at our disposal but AVB doesn't seem to be doing it. This shoe-horning of players in to 'his' system is clearly not working. A couple of examples:

1. Dawson with the high line.
2. Soldado playing with inverted wingers who shoot instead of pass to him.
3. The nullifying of players natural attacking flair/instincts. Making them pass, his 'tika, tika, tika' training sessions spring to mind here.
4. A formation that suits our squad, this hybrid, not one thing or the other 4-2-3-1/4-1-4-1 or even 4-4-2 needs to be sorted.

These things are taking away from our very talented group of players best attributes.

If we are to play with a high line, we need to have fast defenders, at the very, very least two of the them need to have pace and even that is not ideal. Preferably we would have all fast defenders or, talent allowing that they shouldn't be dropped, just one who hasn't that much pace. Dawson has been found out by so many forwards it is untrue yet AVB persists with him. It boggles the mind, it really does. The only one without pace who should be allowed as part of the defence is Vertonghen.

If Soldado is to play as our CF, we need play players who will look to supply him. I have noticed in the few outings that Lamela has been given and seen when he played for Roma, that he isn't taken to shooting every time he cuts inside when playing from the right, rather he looks to slip in a cute pass to a diagonal run made off of him made possible because his inside run has drawn a defender to him. Something like this:


Use this11.com for tactics for football

This gives Soldado some service that he is used to and gets Lamela doing what he does best. Likewise we can use a traditional winger on the other side who will cross at the by-line giving Soldado the opportunity to hit those first time volleys he is so good at or react first to a rebound and score a poachers goal. Maybe Townsend on the left would be the best man for this job, as long as he is told his remit is to first and foremost provide service and not shoot from wherever he is on the pitch.

I would give the players a bit more freedom to 'express' themselves. They seem to be spending more time thinking about what AVB's instructions are rather than just getting on with it and playing with a bit of instinct. Someone pointed out in another thread how Paulinho, who looked so good in the first few games has now stopped doing all the things that he was doing so well and has now started to do the whole: sideways, sideways, back passing routine. He looks a completely different player to the all action improvising Brazilian we saw at the beginning of the season. That is a prime example of the individuality being squeezed out of our flair players. I read an article the other day where AVB uses a technique in training where constant repetition of a movement makes it second nature, I forget the name of it now but it seems to me that he is suffocating our players with too much shit and trying to turn them in to robots.

I don't know about you lot but I'm not sure what formation AVB is trying to pull off here (ooh err!). Going back to the playing to our strengths thing I would suggest that maybe 3-5-2 or the now fabled 4-3-3 that AVB apparently loves so much would suit us so much better. I know it is a bad time to be changing the formation of the team and trying to implement a new style but surely before the season started and with an idea of the type of players coming in AVB should have been able to pre plan for his incoming players. Further that still, if his style and formation didn't work out, he should have had enough about him to have had a plan B in his locker. It doesn't seem so though does it?

I would have two sets of formations and styles practiced on the training ground. As I just mentioned, the 3-5-2 for teams we are 'supposed' to beat and 4-3-3/4-5-1 for the harder teams where we need solidarity. I wont go in to the ins and outs of each formation, you lot area generally knowledgeable bunch so I'm sure you can all work out what my intentions are with those two set ups.

• Settle on a preferred eleven.

We are seeing quite a lot of chopping and changing at the moment, no one is being given time to develop understandings of one an other, especially the attacking midfielders and to a lesser degree the DCM's. This is going on regardless of form. People can play poorly and yet retain their place and vica-versa, people who have performed well may not start the next match.

For the top teams I would go with, injuries and form allowing, something like this:


Find your football tactics app at this11.com

For when we play 'weaker' sides, something like this eleven would be my preference, again with injuries and form allowing:


Use this11.com for tactics for football

* These selections are just ideas, not what I would exactly pick, so for those of you who are falling off your chair at the exclusion of Dembele or anyone else, the picks are just for arguments sake.

Then, when players get injured, fall out of form, whoever has shown in training or in substitute appearances that they are up to the job take their place and it is then their place to lose.

I don't think rewarding the fact that someone who has shown they are willing to fight for a place in the team with one even though they are not good enough for where we want to be is the right way to go, see Sigurdsson and Dawson for examples.

• Simplify the instructions to the team.

I think that AVB is too technical, too intricate. Wants to have to much control over what actually happens on the pitch. These are professional footballers we are talking about, they don't need to be told exactly what to do, they have made it to the top of the game because they have the talent and know-how to influence games. They stood out from their peers and as such are the best of the best so I don't think there is any need to hold their hands through games.

• Approach each game individually.

It really seems like AVB is going for a one size fits all approach. As I mentioned earlier, he used to be an opposition scout, so with that in mind I think it would be prudent to use that expertise and implement tactics to suit our opponents. Easy enough 'eh?

Well, there are just a few ideas, I'm sure everyone has their own and others will want to belittle mine but then again, its all about onions.

Have at 'em.

 

[whitelightwhiteheat]

If I were a manager I would use my obscene weekly wage to solicit prostitutes and to generally have a great time.

 

[Gedson100]

'PlayboyPaul? You've got the job. Andre is finished here and all you need to do is sign your John Hancock right here and we'll be... wait! You've got Paul Gascoigne as your avatar on popular fan website Spurs Community?
You're a loose cannon Paul, just like your namesake and we'll not be trusting you with the team, sorry it's a no.'

 

[Bobbins]

I'd ask my dog.

 

[Ribble]

If I were a manager I would use my obscene weekly wage to solicit prostitutes and to generally have a great time.

Is that you Pleaty, or is it Avram?

 

[Donki]

I'd tell them to try and string a few successive quick passes forward together and tell them to move and always show for the ball. Football isn't complicated. It's not our formation it's the we are or have been told to play that's the problem.

 

[Spurger King]

I'd study the opposition, brief the team on anything they should be aware of, underline the importance of both making and looking for runs, and encourage them to do what they do best.

Obviously it's more complex than that, but I'm a big believer in trusting the instincts of the players, instead of overloading them with instructions. If Verts wants to express himself during a game by breaking forward unexpectedly (like he would do for Ajax) I'd let him. Unpredictable moments of brilliance have been entirely lacking this season with the absence of Bale (and before him, VDV and Modric), yet I think Lamela, Eriksen, Holtby, Verts, and Siggy are all capable of making things happen out of nothing.

 

[ItsBoris]

I'd study the best counterattacking teams (Dortmund, Bayern under Heynkes, Man Utd under Ferguson, Madrid under Mourinho, Napoli under Mazzarri, etc) and emulate their movements and tactics. For me, football is best when the ball is moved from back to front as quickly as possible. It is also the most difficult to defend against. All of these teams use different tactics to achieve that, but it's about appropriating the ideas that suit your players and using them to form a style of play.

 

[hodsgod]

I'd ask my dog.

Mine organises my bank accounts!

 

[playboypaul]

I'd study the opposition, brief the team on anything they should be aware of, underline the importance of both making and looking for runs, and encourage them to do what they do best.

Obviously it's more complex than that, but I'm a big believer in trusting the instincts of the players, instead of overloading them with instructions. If Verts wants to express himself during a game by breaking forward unexpectedly (like he would do for Ajax) I'd let him. Unpredictable moments of brilliance have been entirely lacking this season with the absence of Bale (and before him, VDV and Modric), yet I think Lamela, Eriksen, Holtby, Verts, and Siggy are all capable of making things happen out of nothing.

This. I feel AVB is trying to influence the players too much. Telling them how to play rather than giving them a game plan.

And as Donki alludes to above, movement. Showing for the ball, giving options. The static nature of our play at the moment is statuesque.

 

[stevenurse]

Move heaven and earth to get naughton out of the club. The only thing he adds is the ability to put a shirt on.

 

[playboypaul]

'PlayboyPaul? You've got the job. Andre is finished here and all you need to do is sign your John Hancock right here and we'll be... wait! You've got Paul Gascoigne as your avatar on popular fan website Spurs Community?
You're a loose cannon Paul, just like your namesake and we'll not be trusting you with the team, sorry it's a no.'

I should have got my powerpoint demonstration out and gone in to intricate detail, maybe then I would have got the job....

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Get rid of the fucking pointless and frankly suicidal high back line.

 

[idontgetit]

If I were a manager I would use my obscene weekly wage to solicit prostitutes and to generally have a great time.

Maybe that's what the guy in your profile pic was actually up to

 

[idontgetit]

The way things are going at the moment every man and his dog seem to think they know what should be done to stop the slide before it becomes an avalanche.

I thought it might be an idea to explore this further in one dedicated thread rather than everyone offering their tactical insights in every other thread going.

I will kick things off with what I would do if I were in AVB's position.

I don't think that drastic things need to be done, more so become a little more flexible and a lot less rigid (I find it funny that AVB previously being an opposition scout seems to approach every game in the same manner rather than tailoring a game plan for each opposition).

• Play to our players strengths.

It seems a simple enough thing, use the qualities of the players that we have at our disposal but AVB doesn't seem to be doing it. This shoe-horning of players in to 'his' system is clearly not working. A couple of examples:

1. Dawson with the high line.
2. Soldado playing with inverted wingers who shoot instead of pass to him.
3. The nullifying of players natural attacking flair/instincts. Making them pass, his 'tika, tika, tika' training sessions spring to mind here.
4. A formation that suits our squad, this hybrid, not one thing or the other 4-2-3-1/4-1-4-1 or even 4-4-2 needs to be sorted.

These things are taking away from our very talented group of players best attributes.

If we are to play with a high line, we need to have fast defenders, at the very, very least two of the them need to have pace and even that is not ideal. Preferably we would have all fast defenders or, talent allowing that they shouldn't be dropped, just one who hasn't that much pace. Dawson has been found out by so many forwards it is untrue yet AVB persists with him. It boggles the mind, it really does. The only one without pace who should be allowed as part of the defence is Vertonghen.

If Soldado is to play as our CF, we need play players who will look to supply him. I have noticed in the few outings that Lamela has been given and seen when he played for Roma, that he isn't taken to shooting every time he cuts inside when playing from the right, rather he looks to slip in a cute pass to a diagonal run made off of him made possible because his inside run has drawn a defender to him. Something like this:


Use this11.com for tactics for football

This gives Soldado some service that he is used to and gets Lamela doing what he does best. Likewise we can use a traditional winger on the other side who will cross at the by-line giving Soldado the opportunity to hit those first time volleys he is so good at or react first to a rebound and score a poachers goal. Maybe Townsend on the left would be the best man for this job, as long as he is told his remit is to first and foremost provide service and not shoot from wherever he is on the pitch.

I would give the players a bit more freedom to 'express' themselves. They seem to be spending more time thinking about what AVB's instructions are rather than just getting on with it and playing with a bit of instinct. Someone pointed out in another thread how Paulinho, who looked so good in the first few games has now stopped doing all the things that he was doing so well and has now started to do the whole: sideways, sideways, back passing routine. He looks a completely different player to the all action improvising Brazilian we saw at the beginning of the season. That is a prime example of the individuality being squeezed out of our flair players. I read an article the other day where AVB uses a technique in training where constant repetition of a movement makes it second nature, I forget the name of it now but it seems to me that he is suffocating our players with too much shit and trying to turn them in to robots.

I don't know about you lot but I'm not sure what formation AVB is trying to pull off here (ooh err!). Going back to the playing to our strengths thing I would suggest that maybe 3-5-2 or the now fabled 4-3-3 that AVB apparently loves so much would suit us so much better. I know it is a bad time to be changing the formation of the team and trying to implement a new style but surely before the season started and with an idea of the type of players coming in AVB should have been able to pre plan for his incoming players. Further that still, if his style and formation didn't work out, he should have had enough about him to have had a plan B in his locker. It doesn't seem so though does it?

I would have two sets of formations and styles practiced on the training ground. As I just mentioned, the 3-5-2 for teams we are 'supposed' to beat and 4-3-3/4-5-1 for the harder teams where we need solidarity. I wont go in to the ins and outs of each formation, you lot area generally knowledgeable bunch so I'm sure you can all work out what my intentions are with those two set ups.

• Settle on a preferred eleven.

We are seeing quite a lot of chopping and changing at the moment, no one is being given time to develop understandings of one an other, especially the attacking midfielders and to a lesser degree the DCM's. This is going on regardless of form. People can play poorly and yet retain their place and vica-versa, people who have performed well may not start the next match.

For the top teams I would go with, injuries and form allowing, something like this:


Find your football tactics app at this11.com

For when we play 'weaker' sides, something like this eleven would be my preference, again with injuries and form allowing:


Use this11.com for tactics for football

* These selections are just ideas, not what I would exactly pick, so for those of you who are falling off your chair at the exclusion of Dembele or anyone else, the picks are just for arguments sake.

Then, when players get injured, fall out of form, whoever has shown in training or in substitute appearances that they are up to the job take their place and it is then their place to lose.

I don't think rewarding the fact that someone who has shown they are willing to fight for a place in the team with one even though they are not good enough for where we want to be is the right way to go, see Sigurdsson and Dawson for examples.

• Simplify the instructions to the team.

I think that AVB is too technical, too intricate. Wants to have to much control over what actually happens on the pitch. These are professional footballers we are talking about, they don't need to be told exactly what to do, they have made it to the top of the game because they have the talent and know-how to influence games. They stood out from their peers and as such are the best of the best so I don't think there is any need to hold their hands through games.

• Approach each game individually.

It really seems like AVB is going for a one size fits all approach. As I mentioned earlier, he used to be an opposition scout, so with that in mind I think it would be prudent to use that expertise and implement tactics to suit our opponents. Easy enough 'eh?

Well, there are just a few ideas, I'm sure everyone has their own and others will want to belittle mine but then again, its all about onions.

Have at 'em.

Great post! I'd completely disagree though about AVB completely ignoring the opponents and sticking with the same week in week out. I've heard that all opposition are meticulously researched and every training session tailored specifically around playing the next game. If anything I think he's too reactive and it's having a negative effect on team mentality. When you become obsessed about your opponents strengths and weaknesses you can get too far inside your own head and lose your natural game. Admittedly you're right in that he doesn't change the formation week in week out. Reading some of his interviews I think that part of his philosophy however, the squad trains the same formation regularly until their movements and reactions within it are subconsciously ingrained. Much like a boxer training combo's on a punchbag. Not then having to think about the basic the players are free to express their talent and natural instincts within that formation. I think that he's on to something with that but fundamentally screwed with getting that base formation wrong, like you say. Or at least how to use the players within it.

If I was manager I guess I'd do the following:

• Realise I don't need 10 beasts to play a high tempo pressing game
• Do everything I can to instill and mentality of murderous intent, arrogance and gut-busting hardwork. Big team mentality. The bastard son of Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho mentality
• Instantly move to a genuine 4-3-3
• Would actually keep the highline and pressing
• Play every game with one of Sandro or Capoue sitting protecting the back four
• No Daws starting
• Buy a left wing back
• Dembele or Paulinho or (especially if we need goals) Sig playing box to box in the middle
• Holtby or Erikson link man in the middle
• Townsend on the LEFT. If teams park the bus and there's no point countering with pace then maybe Erikson on the left to give us more penetrative passing.
• Lamela on the right
• Instruct the wide forwards to always be looking to get played in behind the oppo defence when we have the ball before dropping short to get involved in play.
• Instruct the midfielders, when they get a yard of space in the middle, to look for those above mentioned runs before slowing the play down for a gradual build up
• Tell the fullbacks to take up the creative slack from the wide-forwards to allow them to get on with the above.
• Impress upon the side the importance of attacking and defending as one unit.
• Impress upon the side that the point of turning the ball over is to catch the opposition out of position and attack them hard, fast and mercilessly. We're not a wall that the opposition bounce off, we're a fucking trap ready to spring and snap their heads off!
• Impress upon the side that one goal is not enough, put them to the fucking sword. No thinking the job is done against shit sides and no being shocked you've nicked one against the big boys. It doesn't matter who they are, they are going to get savaged.
• I'm going to take a gun to the game and if anyone fucking dares making a pass backwards putting the defence/keeper under unnecessary pressure when there was an easy forward pass on then I will shoot them in the middle of the face.
• I'd try and get them to enjoy the football.

 

[G Ron]

Coach them how to take a decent set piece!!!!!!

 

[thinktank]

I'd send them out for the next few games with only two instruction:

1. One/two touch football

2. Pace/urgency

That's it.

 

[Flashspur]

I'd study the best counterattacking teams (Dortmund, Bayern under Heynkes, Man Utd under Ferguson, Madrid under Mourinho, Napoli under Mazzarri, etc) and emulate their movements and tactics. For me, football is best when the ball is moved from back to front as quickly as possible. It is also the most difficult to defend against. All of these teams use different tactics to achieve that, but it's about appropriating the ideas that suit your players and using them to form a style of play.

not bad for a Boris

 

[Flashspur]

What Would I Do If I Were The Manager? Tell them to run around a bit.

 

[Hoddle&Waddle]

*winds down window* Tell them to just fackin run around a bit!