THE BATTLE OF STAMFORD BRIDGE: CHELSEA V SPURS TACTICAL PREVIEW
May 6, 2013 · by ashleychittock · in Features, News
Nearly a thousand years ago two sides met at Stamford Bridge. One, an established ruler of the land that’d been at the top for a while. The other, a challenger from across the channel that was commanding a fearsome and large empire itself, and whom had already seen off many powerful adversaries. That day, the home side won. But it was to be a shortlived victory for them, as just three weeks later the French arrived at Hastings and killed them off for good.
A thousand years later, the Premier League is about to display an almost identical scenario. Tottenham’s marauding run at the top four of the Premier League will come down to Wednesday’s battle at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea. And win or lose, both sides should pay heed to what a certain Frenchman and his squad are up to as well.
Make no mistake, this will be the single most challenging match Tottenham have faced in their entire 2012/13 campaign. Chelsea, despite falling short of their expectations and undergoing some managerial turmoil this year, have a better squad now than they won the Champions League with last year. Their midfield, in particular, is probably the single most impressive collection of talent in England, and Villas-Boas will have a massively hard time figuring out how to stop it.
The hardest thing to deal with when it comes to Chelsea is their ability to suddenly break from a rigid formation and rely on the raw intelligence and instincts of Lampard, Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar. Whilst Hazard is the only player in that group who is particularly quick, Mata and Oscar have the ball control to be able to squirm their way through the tightest of defences. Most of the time the attacking triad plays with two of them sticking close to one another, and the leftover one standing further off the ball to provide a second option.
With the technical ability to play incisive and rapid passes, this midfield triangle can get behind, round or through any defence. This is where the final piece of the puzzle, Frank Lampard, comes in. He’s primarily a central midfield player, but he possesses some of the best off-the-ball intelligence in the Premier League. His ability to time a run from deep, to pick up a ball just inside the edge of the area completely unmarked, is unrivalled by any player currently in the league.So what must Spurs do to stop all of this midfield brilliance? AVB has to be realistic in his estimations. Tottenham simply won’t be allowed to play their usual possession-seeking game. Additionally, their high-pressing defensive mindset and liberal use of attacking full-backs will quickly be decimated by the deft one-touch passing Chelsea are capable of. If Tottenham want to win at Stamford Bridge, they’ll have to get direct and dirty.
A midfield trio of Holtby, Huddlestone and Dembele (provided he’s fit) would be the best option. The three of them would have to sit much deeper than they might be used to, as keeping compact with the defence is crucial to preventing Juan Mata getting too much space to pick passes between the lines, much like Carlos Tevez was allowed to do in the first half a fortnight ago.
This strategy would rely on Dembele’s mobility and his skill at tracking back, so that he can intercept the ball before Chelsea’s midfield can position themselves. Then, he should look to play a simple pass to one of his creative midfielders, who should be as direct as possible in getting the ball either to target man Adebayor or into the corners for Bale and Lennon. As much as Gareth Bale loves playing in that central role, this isn’t the game for it.
Yes, it’s crude. Yes, it’s not the most entertaining way of winning. But at this stage of the season Tottenham must win by any cost. With Arsenal unlikely to drop any points in their remaining two games, and Chelsea putting themselves in the driver’s seat for third place with a victory at Old Trafford, a Spurs loss means Champions League football is out of their hands.
But with the right approach, and perhaps just a tiny bit of good fortune, Tottenham could do what those Vikings at Stamford Bridge couldn’t 1000 years ago and pull off a victory that changes the paradigms of history itself.
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