Absent. I'm not excusing them. But a specialist DM (as opposed to a CB hastily converted into a DM) would have offered better cover than Dier (probably caught in two minds) did.
Yeah, definitely. That's exactly what I'm saying. A midfield partner who presents himself for a pass instead of hesitantly hanging around just in front of the CBs (and then getting drawn to the ball too much to be a viable shield) would probably have helped Bentaleb out.
The great thing about Modric is that he plays facing forwards most of the time.Oh for Modric playing in the DM role keeping us ticking from deep.
We were lucky not to concede another goal, after our heads went down, but now we should come out this half and play like we did at the beginning we will get back into the game.
And for the player it seems like a "safe" pass which means they are even more likely not to concentrate - something Bentaleb seems to struggle with. He has the technique, so it has to be vision and focus.One of the things that drives me nuts about Bentaleb's preference for the side or back pass is that, if you **** those up, it can lead to a goal. A bad forward pass will just give possession away.
45 minutes into the season and the knees are already jerking.
Nobody watching this match could deny Bentaleb's having a nightmare today. But it's a long way from his previous performances to date for Spurs. It's one thing to think he's overhyped or whatever, but it can't be claimed that this performance is representative of the player.
Bentaleb does have a bit of form on the casual square ball/back pass though. He needs to cut it out of his game completely.Exactly.
Sometimes, it just goes like that. I remember when I played (at a very slightly lower level ) that, every so often, I would have one of those games when nothing would go right. Bentaleb's having one of those today. But he could just as easily put in a top class performance next week that has us all raving about him. Or even better, in the second half today!