Why are we so slow?

[Jimbo78]

It seems to of been this way since AVB come in, even times under Redknapp we were too slow in our build up at times. But under 3 managers AVB, Sherwood, and now Poch the most frustrating thing for me is how slowly we move the ball.

Why is this?

It doesnt work. Especially at home against supposedly weaker oposition.

On the very few occasions we have actulay picked up the tempo and ran at the oposition with pace and purpose we have actualy looked dangerous. Everton & Chelsea spring to mind.

Its so frustrating.

Have we go too many inept central midfielders who cannot dictate the pace and drive the team forward or does it stem from the back? Or arent our forward players not making the runs?

Or maybe this is how the manager wants us to play?

 

[StockSpur]

coaching.

next question..

 

[Jimbo78]

coaching.

next question..

3 coaches havent been able to fix the obvious on the training field? Oh dear.

 

[philip]

Space. The closest we got to bring really fast was under Harry cos he used wingers who stayed wide and that created more space.
Our pitch is tiny and that makes it easier for the opposition to squeeze the play and close us down.

 

[Jimbo78]

Space. The closest we got to bring really fast was under Harry cos he used wingers who stayed wide and that created more space.
Our pitch is tiny and that makes it easier for the opposition to squeeze the play and close us down.

Nah. Dont buy it.

We have had the same sized pitch for eternity and have seen many a Spurs team in my team that can play fast flowing exciting attacking football. Not this pondorous slow shit we have had to endure for the past 3/4 years.

Someone in midfield needs to drive it. Our tactics at home have been useless against inferior oposition.

 

[shelfboy68]

Space. The closest we got to bring really fast was under Harry cos he used wingers who stayed wide and that created more space.
Our pitch is tiny and that makes it easier for the opposition to squeeze the play and close us down.

Well other teams beat us easy enough on it that isnt the answer.

 

[punkisback]

Players, simple.

 

[Main Man]

We don't have Luka Modric anymore.

And we replaced him with Dembele who is the complete opposite to what we needed.

 

[yido_number1]

It seems to of been this way since AVB come in, even times under Redknapp we were too slow in our build up at times. But under 3 managers AVB, Sherwood, and now Poch the most frustrating thing for me is how slowly we move the ball.

Why is this?

It doesnt work. Especially at home against supposedly weaker oposition.

On the very few occasions we have actulay picked up the tempo and ran at the oposition with pace and purpose we have actualy looked dangerous. Everton & Chelsea spring to mind.

Its so frustrating.

Have we go too many inept central midfielders who cannot dictate the pace and drive the team forward or does it stem from the back? Or arent our forward players not making the runs?

Or maybe this is how the manager wants us to play?

Without Mason or Bentaleb we recycle the ball slowly with sideways passes with those two in we move forwards a lot quicker. Since Martin Jol was in charge teams have been coming to the lane and playing with no ambition other than to sit back and soak it up. Two banks a 4 and a 5 and leave one up top. Its hard to play fast flowing football when the other team barely leaves their half. We did it to Arse away this year to good effect. We transitioned a lot quicker in that game because we had two thirds the pitch to break into and space to do it. We also played quick football against Chavski at home for the same reason, they came at us and gave us space to break into.

With Dembele and Capoue in the Mid 2 we are always going to play slow and sideways, they aren't first choice and will likely go in the summer but until then no point in moaning.

 

[Jimbo78]

We don't have Luka Modric anymore.

And we replaced him with Dembele who is the complete opposite to what we needed.

Dembele rarely plays?

 

[mark87]

Players who are too overly-cautious with the ball who would rather attempt to retain posession, even if it means passing sideways or backwards, rather than players who would prefer to drive forward and try and make something happen. This is why mason is in the starting eleven, he prefers to drive forward and try and make something happen.

 

[Jimbo78]

Players who are too overly-cautious with the ball who would rather attempt to retain posession, even if it means passing sideways or backwards, rather than players who would prefer to drive forward and try and make something happen. This is why mason is in the starting eleven, he prefers to drive forward and try and make something happen.

I like mason. But if he is our only hope of having someone in midfield to make things happen after spending £100m plus on midfield players who are quite simply unable to dictate play and make things happen and we are relying on a home grown player then something is very wrong.

I've said this before but I think eriksen should drop into midfield and be given the play maker role. He can pick a pass and get forward to make things happen. Keep mason and bentalab and sign a box to box player. Who? Well that's down to baldini and his scouting staff. That's what they get paid for.

We then need to sell thr rest of our central midfielders. They aren't what we need

 

[dude573]

We were so fast because Modric and Parker were the ideal partnership, and our wingers stayed extremely wide. Modric dictated play and Parker was the engine who closed down and went in to win the ball back. We lost Modric and we lost our control of games, and when we sold Parker we lost that tenacity. Sandro came in, but was never fit enough to do what Parker could consistently enough, and everyone knows we never replaced Luka correctly.

Mason and Bentaleb are the closest we have got to emulating that midfield two, and it still is not very close at all. We need a deep lying play maker in order to speed up our play a bit.

 

[Styopa]

We don't have Luka Modric anymore.

And we replaced him with Dembele who is the complete opposite to what we needed.

Yes, in my mind not adequately replacing Modric is the single most important reason. We haven't had a top quality transitional midfielder since then and too often the midfielders we do have slow up the play: how many times have we been exasperated by Dembele or Paulinho for failing to spot a pass or release the ball quickly. Bentaleb and Mason do this better and this has been borne out in some of our better performances this season but, obviously, they are both a very long way off the standard of Modric.

Obviously there are other reasons. For example, I don't think our wingers are yet effectual enough and to compound this we lack runners into the box. The exception to this has been Chadli and, like Bentaleb and Mason, his presence is sorely missed. And, with the exception of Kane and Eriksen we seem to lack a certain amount of guile required to breakdown stubborn and well organised teams.

 

[225]

Dembele rarely plays?

I think he played in 44 games last season, and this season he's been in 25 games.

http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/first-team/statistics/


I agree that you don't really realise he's playing as much as he is - he's a bit like Siggy in those respects.

 

[mpickard2087]

Bit of everything. The possession-based approach that we have been playing over the last few seasons is failing due to players not suited to it and managers who aren't good enough to coach that style of play and aren't tactically aware enough.

 

[sunnydelight786]

The obsession with the new breed of managers to play the Barca/Bielsa/Pep way really grates me. Not every club has a Xavi, Iniesta and Messi to perfect the system......Other clubs may be able to play a variation of it but no one will come close to the Barca of 2008-2011, as they just won't possess 3 of the 4 best players in the world like Barca did at that time....

 

[Geyzer Soze]

Didn't Poch address this question in an interview just the other day? I didn't look at the interview but just saw the headline which was something along the lines of it being a "Team Problem"

 

[TheChosenOne]

Are we England in disguise ?

 

[SpursManChris]

It seems to of been this way since AVB come in, even times under Redknapp we were too slow in our build up at times. But under 3 managers AVB, Sherwood, and now Poch the most frustrating thing for me is how slowly we move the ball.

Why is this?

It doesnt work. Especially at home against supposedly weaker oposition.

On the very few occasions we have actulay picked up the tempo and ran at the oposition with pace and purpose we have actualy looked dangerous. Everton & Chelsea spring to mind.

Its so frustrating.

Have we go too many inept central midfielders who cannot dictate the pace and drive the team forward or does it stem from the back? Or arent our forward players not making the runs?

Or maybe this is how the manager wants us to play?

I would've thought losing Van Der Varrt and Modric would have had something to do with it. We obviously had pace when Bale had the ball but I guess you're referring to how we played as a team. Quite simply, we don't have the players.