What are we missing?

[AdamB]

but don't think Conte favours a three.

He played a 3 at Intel: Brozovic, Eriksen, Barella.
At Chelsea he played 3-4-3, but the 3 up front include Hazard and Pedro who brought creativity/dribbling/trickery and would come deeper

When we go 3-5-2 with RIchie, kane and Son, its a very different formation in terms of creativity and hence why it doesnt work.
When Kulu is there rather than Richie, it improves but is still weaker from a balance perspective compared to those two teams above

 

[Bedfordspurs]

He played a 3 at Intel: Brozovic, Eriksen, Barella.
At Chelsea he played 3-4-3, but the 3 up front include Hazard and Pedro who brought creativity/dribbling/trickery and would come deeper

When we go 3-5-2 with RIchie, kane and Son, its a very different formation in terms of creativity and hence why it doesnt work.
When Kulu is there rather than Richie, it improves but is still weaker from a balance perspective compared to those two teams above

Disagree
Kulu Kane and son is a match for any attacking line up conte has ever had with a better balance
Key of course is you need them fit

 

[Bedfordspurs]

I didn’t know where to put this but this thread is as good as any…

what we’re missing is investment. Not monetary but emotional investment in many ways

MoPos greatest achievement was getting everyone pulling in the same direction. He was committed (conte isn’t yet contractually). The fans were committed (we knew it was a journey and we knew it would get better). The board were committed (yes I know people will say we should have backed him more but the new ground was always an issue).
So for 5 years we were in the Yeo area trajectory after a bumpy start too (this i where I see similarities with arsenal and Arteta)
Our issue now is we realistically would never get a manager with a better recent CV than Conte. It’s virtually impossible so we always look downwards from him
Similarly there is the knowledge that some of our elite players are at the end of their career so what’s next is negative emotionally (we have an attachment to Kane, son, Lloris)
Then add in that there is no shiny new toy to look at as the ground is built and we all actually well adapted to the new home….
It means emotionally as fans were all over the fudging place hence why we have disagreements and arguments that really didn’t happen only 3 years ago
It’s the same for the players as they know that conte is currently here short term, Kane has 18 months left, Hugo is finishing very soon, son is 30… how much do that affects them we don’t know but it must to a point
Does the board throw money at conte to buy more players when we have actually backed him with plenty already…
There are a multitude of things in balance that drain the view of things being positive
We’re 3rd in the league… yeah but the football is awful and we’re lucky
We have won our CL group… last minute of the last game in a group so poor it’s Europa
There is always a negative against a positive right now and rarely a neutral position
conte Has 11 new players signed under his watch - he only trusts half of them…

you can see the issue but there is no quick fix

were potentially at our highest point as a club. People will disagree with me of course but actually right now we’re in a great place on paper. So it’s natural to thing what’s over the hill, what’s next and thing negatively as much as a positively, and IMO most of our fans are super emotional and do think negatively. It’s the nature of sexy

so back to my original post… what are we missing? Genuine emotional connection and engagement at all levels within the club; fans, board, players and manager… it’s not fully connected currently and that takes time

 

[Mcfee]

I didn’t know where to put this but this thread is as good as any…

what we’re missing is investment. Not monetary but emotional investment in many ways

MoPos greatest achievement was getting everyone pulling in the same direction. He was committed (conte isn’t yet contractually). The fans were committed (we knew it was a journey and we knew it would get better). The board were committed (yes I know people will say we should have backed him more but the new ground was always an issue).
So for 5 years we were in the Yeo area trajectory after a bumpy start too (this i where I see similarities with arsenal and Arteta)
Our issue now is we realistically would never get a manager with a better recent CV than Conte. It’s virtually impossible so we always look downwards from him
Similarly there is the knowledge that some of our elite players are at the end of their career so what’s next is negative emotionally (we have an attachment to Kane, son, Lloris)
Then add in that there is no shiny new toy to look at as the ground is built and we all actually well adapted to the new home….
It means emotionally as fans were all over the fudging place hence why we have disagreements and arguments that really didn’t happen only 3 years ago
It’s the same for the players as they know that conte is currently here short term, Kane has 18 months left, Hugo is finishing very soon, son is 30… how much do that affects them we don’t know but it must to a point
Does the board throw money at conte to buy more players when we have actually backed him with plenty already…
There are a multitude of things in balance that drain the view of things being positive
We’re 3rd in the league… yeah but the football is awful and we’re lucky
We have won our CL group… last minute of the last game in a group so poor it’s Europa
There is always a negative against a positive right now and rarely a neutral position
conte Has 11 new players signed under his watch - he only trusts half of them…

you can see the issue but there is no quick fix

were potentially at our highest point as a club. People will disagree with me of course but actually right now we’re in a great place on paper. So it’s natural to thing what’s over the hill, what’s next and thing negatively as much as a positively, and IMO most of our fans are super emotional and do think negatively. It’s the nature of sexy

so back to my original post… what are we missing? Genuine emotional connection and engagement at all levels within the club; fans, board, players and manager… it’s not fully connected currently and that takes time

good post @Bedfordspurs though I would say after 40+ years I’m more emotionally invested in Spurs then ever! Also I’m not bothered by Conte’s contract situation. Nothing he’s said publicly regarding his future at Spurs has sounded negative to me. And if he’s withholding his signature in order to keep Paratici & Levy on their toes regarding squad improvements then fair play to him. To me that shows more honesty than signing a 5 year contract and then whinging about not being backed when the ink is barely dry.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

good post @Bedfordspurs though I would say after 40+ years I’m more emotionally invested in Spurs then ever! Also I’m not bothered by Conte’s contract situation. Nothing he’s said publicly regarding his future at Spurs has sounded negative to me. And if he’s withholding his signature in order to keep Paratici & Levy on their toes regarding squad improvements then fair play to him. To me that shows more honesty than signing a 5 year contract and then whinging about not being backed when the ink is barely dry.

It’s all about interpretation of how people see and hear things
As I say, IMO were missing the emotional element of the club that we had a few years back where it was all connected
It’s not a player or a key role, it’s combination
It’s why arsenal fans think arteta and his ligh bulb speech was amazing whereas we think it was nuts. They are all on the same page for now as a club… it won’t last for them like it didn’t here
But that’s what’s missing IMO
Contes contract is part of many things

 

[K.D.D.D.D.Soc]

6 or 7 goals from Son

 

[parklane1]

More patience from some supporters he has been here a year and even the blind can see we have improved, still a way to go but we ARE heading in the right direction. The fact that we are hanging in and saving/winning games towards the end is a good sign.

 

[Daisuk]

Good. Do it!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1587841689728712706

 

[GGyid]

Actually, our two quality signings were in January, not the summer.

 

[AdamB]

One very interesting comment from JJ last night was that he felt we were being overly cautious and that Conte didnt trust some players

He said that Conte usually plays the wing backs high and wide - it really struck home as our WBs under Conte definitely do NOT stay high

Maybe that's because he doesnt trust the WBs or doesnt trust others, but it was a fair point that our WBs should eb 20 yards further forwards

 

[metalgear]

Good. Do it!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1587841689728712706

Good to see that admission if true. Imagine if we get better quality than Perisic and Richarlison.

 

[metalgear]

One very interesting comment from JJ last night was that he felt we were being overly cautious and that Conte didnt trust some players

He said that Conte usually plays the wing backs high and wide - it really struck home as our WBs under Conte definitely do NOT stay high

Maybe that's because he doesnt trust the WBs or doesnt trust others, but it was a fair point that our WBs should eb 20 yards further forwards

In my opinion it's the CBs he doesn't trust. Hence Royal who is a good defender first.

 

[Bishop]

One very interesting comment from JJ last night was that he felt we were being overly cautious and that Conte didnt trust some players

He said that Conte usually plays the wing backs high and wide - it really struck home as our WBs under Conte definitely do NOT stay high

Maybe that's because he doesnt trust the WBs or doesnt trust others, but it was a fair point that our WBs should eb 20 yards further forwards

I think it's mainly because he doesn't trust our CBs to be able to cope in one on one situations. It's why we pull in deep as soon as we lose the ball (this has been changing in recent games), it's why the WBs don't stay high. Romero and potentially Lenglet are the only 2 CBs that really match what Conte would want long term. If we can improve the quality of the CBs we might see a more confident outlook.

Sent from my XQ-BC72 using Fapatalk

 

[billyiddo]

One very interesting comment from JJ last night was that he felt we were being overly cautious and that Conte didnt trust some players

He said that Conte usually plays the wing backs high and wide - it really struck home as our WBs under Conte definitely do NOT stay high

Maybe that's because he doesnt trust the WBs or doesnt trust others, but it was a fair point that our WBs should eb 20 yards further forwards

I mentioned this previously, i don't think he trusts the defenders enough to have high flying wing backs on both sides, i think we'll be looking to add 2 new starting CBs by the end of the summer window.

 

[indospurs]

But why would Klopp and Conte hold back so much, and drop points? Those points could simply balance out those we would win extra later in the season. Plus unless we get a good result in Marseille then we will already be out of the Champions League.

How does that theory work?

Till today we weren't far off the top, world cup will be a big factor and fixtures pile up. We are coming up to half season and we have already had injuries galore. I think they are gambling and look to cycle out/rotate players, but Conte relies on such a limited group from the squad, I bet he sees the quality isn't good enough to trust. We will have to spend and do deals again, that is why Conte says it will take a few windows. We really are short on wing back quality, primarily.

 

[Grays_1890]

Till today we weren't far off the top, world cup will be a big factor and fixtures pile up. We are coming up to half season and we have already had injuries galore. I think they are gambling and look to cycle out/rotate players, but Conte relies on such a limited group from the squad, I bet he sees the quality isn't good enough to trust. We will have to spend and do deals again, that is why Conte says it will take a few windows. We really are short on wing back quality, primarily.

But till that window he had to deal better with what he had. Without wanting to sound broken, he played his preferred 11 till they broke and now we are left with those he does not trust and to top it off he still refuses to try Gil, Sarr or Spence. People will bang on about Conte seeing them every day, knowing best etc and thats true, but they are Spurs players, its the deck he has to play with and as recentl results prove, we lose nothing trying even if it means we protect our preferred players

 

[El Guepardo]

Till today we weren't far off the top, world cup will be a big factor and fixtures pile up. We are coming up to half season and we have already had injuries galore. I think they are gambling and look to cycle out/rotate players, but Conte relies on such a limited group from the squad, I bet he sees the quality isn't good enough to trust. We will have to spend and do deals again, that is why Conte says it will take a few windows. We really are short on wing back quality, primarily.

But we/he spends money and then doesn’t trust the player/s. Wtf is Emerson still doing in the team? Why did we sign Spence if he’s going to feature so rarely? Conte has had two windows and yet we have gaping holes of weaknesses.

 

[braineclipse]

But we/he spends money and then doesn’t trust the player/s. Wtf is Emerson still doing in the team? Why did we sign Spence if he’s going to feature so rarely? Conte has had two windows and yet we have gaping holes of weaknesses.

Spence is the only player we've signed that hasn't been used (ignoring Forster for obvious reasons). Can definitely question the decision to sign him, but it's one decision and given that he was most likely signed more for the future the decision may prove a very good one in time.

Two windows, several very good signings, a couple excellent signings. Tells us how much of a mess we were when he took over and also that building a squad to play a new style takes time.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Individual mistakes have killed us this season. Red cards, sloppy passes, basic individual errors.

 

[DubaiSpur]

But we/he spends money and then doesn’t trust the player/s. Wtf is Emerson still doing in the team? Why did we sign Spence if he’s going to feature so rarely? Conte has had two windows and yet we have gaping holes of weaknesses.

Spence - starting to look like a cheapo club signing over a player Conte wanted or even signed off on (which, to be clear, he wasn't shy about announcing from day one).

I suspect he's the victim in Conte's play to make it clear to Levy he *does not want* that sort of trash. Buy him ready-made players, not kids. and to prove the point he's going to ignore Spence and play the irredeemable Emerson over and over, to prove to Levy and co., 'this is what your inaction in the market made me do'.

We have gaping holes in the team because it is a badly-built team, and two windows isn't going to fix it. No other top six club starts Dier, Davies or Emerson, but we rely on all three. No top six club has an unfixable bombscare like Sanchez near the 25-man squad, but here he's the immediate backup to Romero.

You can turn a squad around in one to two windows if you spend a lot of money and buy whom the manager wants. We sort of got halfway there, but cheaped out midway through. As a result, we have one of the best forward lines in the league with Kulu, Kane, Richy and Son, but a mediocre midfield and an atrocious backline.

It'll take a few more windows at the rate we're going, imo. The money we dropped on Richy has to be dropped every window (50m+ on one player), and it has to be spent on the following players in order of priority -

1. A top-class RB (Pedro Porro, maybe?) to replace Emerson.
2. A top-class 'organizer' CCB (Skriniar or someone) to replace Dier.
3. A top-class, penetrative attacking midfielder, to both rotate with Kulu and offer our one-paced midfield a press-resistant passing option; and
4. A replacement for Hugo.

Since we don't seem to want to drop 50m on one player more than once per window, it has to happen over 3-4 windows, i.e, we can have a 'complete' squad by summer 2024.

Which is when Kane's contract ends, incidentally, as well as Conte's if we trigger his one-year extension - so somewhere in there we have to tie them down too.