milo
Jack L. Jones
Rather than relying on anecdotal evidence why don't you look for some stats and post a link to them for us to look at and discuss?
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YOU are the manager
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Rather than relying on anecdotal evidence why don't you look for some stats and post a link to them for us to look at and discuss?
This with bells on.
Pirate55
The Last Man Standing 17/18
O ye of short memory!
Look at SteveAWOL's post number 82 in the thread on corners. I think you replied to that one in post 83. To simplify matters even more for you, see my post no.84 in the same thread.
Rorschach
Sonny Walters
To me that says, lets look at what Man Utd do and copy it. They are a top of the charts for a reason. The rest of us are missing a trick. "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail", as a Man Utd midfield general once said.
Actually considering the stats I think we should just take every comer short and try and work a shot that way. Higher probability of success.
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Bullet
Andy Thompson
Corners; there are moments in a game when a team pushes up, crowds into the box, the fans are roaring, the big lads are jostling for position, hungry to score, there are 2 minutes to go, the team is desperate for a goal and you feel it is about 50:50 whether the ball will go in or not.
At other times you feel like players aren't that convinced, they will head into the box and vaguely look for space, if the ball comes in, but it probably won't beat the first man, and even if it does there are more defenders than attackers, and even if you head it you will probably be off balance, and even if you get it on target it will probably be weak... and you feel there is a 1 in a million chance of it going in.
All about belief and hunger.
At other times you feel like players aren't that convinced, they will head into the box and vaguely look for space, if the ball comes in, but it probably won't beat the first man, and even if it does there are more defenders than attackers, and even if you head it you will probably be off balance, and even if you get it on target it will probably be weak... and you feel there is a 1 in a million chance of it going in.
All about belief and hunger.
I
indianspur
Guest
Joe Hart mainly
Pirate55
The Last Man Standing 17/18
That is why Terry is so good at them.
Hi, this is my first post in the forum...
I think it is hard to pinpoint what AVB is doing right this season. Obviously I want him to do well because I'm a Spurs fan, not a manager fan, and if he does badly then that means we do badly but if he persists with a number of things then it will be difficult to maintain my support for him.
Firstly I think it's very silly of him not to have had Sandro start more games. I understand he had a long-term injury but if he's fit enough for 45 minutes then the chances are he's fit enough for 90. I believe the reason AVB hasn't started him in the league more is because he genuinely thinks Paulinho-Dembele will work, but how often does a fairly attack-minded duo like that really work without someone protecting the midfield? Not much. We get too exposed and having this pairing has cost us in home games against West Ham and Saudi Sportswashing Machine. Hopefully AVB has learnt his lesson in this aspect.
Another issue is obviously the Soldado conundrum. I've never been a huge fan of his, his allround game isn't great at all, but La Liga is a weaker league and at Valencia he had several very creative players around him so scored a fair few goals. AVB's tactic however is seemingly to play with inverted wingers, none of whom are creative players, meaning Soldado becomes totally ineffective for us. It's a shame he fell out with Adebayor, because although Ade is a bit of a *** and inconsistent he at least fits in to this system better than Soldado and Defoe.
AVB's tactics are obviously another cause for concern. He has always relied heavily on long range shots in his time at the club. Thankfully Bale is a master of them and so was able to score plenty last season. It's a bit worrying that AVB's main attacking 'tactic' is to just instruct his attacking midfielders to shoot on sight, however. Townsend does it too much, Sigurdsson does it too much, Paulinho does it too much... you get the point. Eriksen has invention in his locker but is extremely hit and miss so we can't expect him to create hatfuls of chances every game. Holtby is fairly creative but more of a workhorse. Lamela I watched many times at Roma - he is very good at scoring goals, be that through a dribble or accurate curler etc. but he isn't exactly what I'd describe as creative. Lennon and Chadli, can run with the ball but won't set many chances up via a through ball. So what teams do is sit narrow and demand us to find a way through - unfortunately we rarely have an answer. Yes, the odd long range strike will go in but more often than not it is extremely frustrating for both the players and the fans.
I'm not entirely sure what we can do with the players we have to suit us best. We have a strong squad but I'm not entirely sure how to get the best out of it. Rose and Walker are automatic picks at full-back when fit, then AVB has an array of options in the centre of defence. But from there upwards he has to play Sandro every league game and decide on Paulinho (who has failed to deliver so far - seems technically below par for a Brazilian, but I'm willing to give him time) or an underperforming Dembele. Eventually Lamela has to come in for the one-trick pony Townsend on the right, because at least Lamela is more of a goal threat. Put Townsend on the left where is at least forced to go on the outside sometimes and cross the ball. Eriksen/Holtby/Sigurdsson is much of a muchness for the 'hole' position, personally I'd opt for the most in form which right now is perhaps Holtby. Then I would have Adebayor up front but that seems unrealistic, so maybe stick with Soldado because he'd be slightly more likely to be serviced by that trio IMO.
I dunno, I just feel we had a very poor summer on the transfer front. Not too sure what the plan was. Chiriches coming in to replace Caulker was weird but the former looks good so I can just about see the reasoning for it. Capoue adds depth but how much of an upgrade he is on Huddlestone I am unsure. Paulinho is a good player but Dembele was last season and instead of having them challenge each other for that box to box role it appears as if both are first-choice, which as I've said above just doesn't work. Lamela I can understand signing because he has the potential to be a top player. Eriksen, well I've never been convinced and it was an even more pointless signing with Holtby and Sigurdsson already here - should have either sold Sig and bought someone better for the position or just not signed Eriksen and let Sig/Holtby fight it out. Chadli is okay, but again slightly pointless due to our having three other wingers more in favour (as well as Sigurdsson playing on the left). Soldado, see above for my thoughts.
If the plan was to just buy all of the above players, throw them in together and hope for the best then that is pure idiocy. Unfortunately that seems to be the case. How many of our players get in to the other top six teams despite our spending £100m? Very few, worryingly:
Arsenal - Lloris, Vertonghen, possibly Sandro (all of whom were here already).
Chelsea - Lloris debateably, Vertonghen, Sandro. Arguably Paulinho/Dembele ahead of Ramires, but that depends what you want.
Liverpool - Lloris, maybe Vertonghen? Sandro and Lucas have little between them, but you could do a swap there if you fancied it.
Emirates Marketing Project - Lloris, Vertonghen.
Man Utd - Lloris, maybe Vertonghen again, probably a midfielder of ours, potentially Lamela.
In other words, the only players of ours that the majority of top teams would be looking at using in their first elevens are Lloris, Vertonghen and Sandro. To spend as much money as we did and still say that is very worrying. It's partly why I'm concerned we may be in a scrap for 6th with Everton and Southampton as opposed to fight for 4th with the above five sides. We have a much stronger squad than Everton and Southampton but if they keep themselves fit it won't be easy.
I hope that post isn't too long-winded or dull. That's just how I feel at the moment, very down on Spurs after four years of genuine belief (not hope, belief) that we were going in the right direction. AVB has done some good things here but he needs to quickly press the stop button because he's fast turning in to the AVB of Chelsea. If that were to happen, there's no coming back for him at the Lane.
I think it is hard to pinpoint what AVB is doing right this season. Obviously I want him to do well because I'm a Spurs fan, not a manager fan, and if he does badly then that means we do badly but if he persists with a number of things then it will be difficult to maintain my support for him.
Firstly I think it's very silly of him not to have had Sandro start more games. I understand he had a long-term injury but if he's fit enough for 45 minutes then the chances are he's fit enough for 90. I believe the reason AVB hasn't started him in the league more is because he genuinely thinks Paulinho-Dembele will work, but how often does a fairly attack-minded duo like that really work without someone protecting the midfield? Not much. We get too exposed and having this pairing has cost us in home games against West Ham and Saudi Sportswashing Machine. Hopefully AVB has learnt his lesson in this aspect.
Another issue is obviously the Soldado conundrum. I've never been a huge fan of his, his allround game isn't great at all, but La Liga is a weaker league and at Valencia he had several very creative players around him so scored a fair few goals. AVB's tactic however is seemingly to play with inverted wingers, none of whom are creative players, meaning Soldado becomes totally ineffective for us. It's a shame he fell out with Adebayor, because although Ade is a bit of a *** and inconsistent he at least fits in to this system better than Soldado and Defoe.
AVB's tactics are obviously another cause for concern. He has always relied heavily on long range shots in his time at the club. Thankfully Bale is a master of them and so was able to score plenty last season. It's a bit worrying that AVB's main attacking 'tactic' is to just instruct his attacking midfielders to shoot on sight, however. Townsend does it too much, Sigurdsson does it too much, Paulinho does it too much... you get the point. Eriksen has invention in his locker but is extremely hit and miss so we can't expect him to create hatfuls of chances every game. Holtby is fairly creative but more of a workhorse. Lamela I watched many times at Roma - he is very good at scoring goals, be that through a dribble or accurate curler etc. but he isn't exactly what I'd describe as creative. Lennon and Chadli, can run with the ball but won't set many chances up via a through ball. So what teams do is sit narrow and demand us to find a way through - unfortunately we rarely have an answer. Yes, the odd long range strike will go in but more often than not it is extremely frustrating for both the players and the fans.
I'm not entirely sure what we can do with the players we have to suit us best. We have a strong squad but I'm not entirely sure how to get the best out of it. Rose and Walker are automatic picks at full-back when fit, then AVB has an array of options in the centre of defence. But from there upwards he has to play Sandro every league game and decide on Paulinho (who has failed to deliver so far - seems technically below par for a Brazilian, but I'm willing to give him time) or an underperforming Dembele. Eventually Lamela has to come in for the one-trick pony Townsend on the right, because at least Lamela is more of a goal threat. Put Townsend on the left where is at least forced to go on the outside sometimes and cross the ball. Eriksen/Holtby/Sigurdsson is much of a muchness for the 'hole' position, personally I'd opt for the most in form which right now is perhaps Holtby. Then I would have Adebayor up front but that seems unrealistic, so maybe stick with Soldado because he'd be slightly more likely to be serviced by that trio IMO.
I dunno, I just feel we had a very poor summer on the transfer front. Not too sure what the plan was. Chiriches coming in to replace Caulker was weird but the former looks good so I can just about see the reasoning for it. Capoue adds depth but how much of an upgrade he is on Huddlestone I am unsure. Paulinho is a good player but Dembele was last season and instead of having them challenge each other for that box to box role it appears as if both are first-choice, which as I've said above just doesn't work. Lamela I can understand signing because he has the potential to be a top player. Eriksen, well I've never been convinced and it was an even more pointless signing with Holtby and Sigurdsson already here - should have either sold Sig and bought someone better for the position or just not signed Eriksen and let Sig/Holtby fight it out. Chadli is okay, but again slightly pointless due to our having three other wingers more in favour (as well as Sigurdsson playing on the left). Soldado, see above for my thoughts.
If the plan was to just buy all of the above players, throw them in together and hope for the best then that is pure idiocy. Unfortunately that seems to be the case. How many of our players get in to the other top six teams despite our spending £100m? Very few, worryingly:
Arsenal - Lloris, Vertonghen, possibly Sandro (all of whom were here already).
Chelsea - Lloris debateably, Vertonghen, Sandro. Arguably Paulinho/Dembele ahead of Ramires, but that depends what you want.
Liverpool - Lloris, maybe Vertonghen? Sandro and Lucas have little between them, but you could do a swap there if you fancied it.
Emirates Marketing Project - Lloris, Vertonghen.
Man Utd - Lloris, maybe Vertonghen again, probably a midfielder of ours, potentially Lamela.
In other words, the only players of ours that the majority of top teams would be looking at using in their first elevens are Lloris, Vertonghen and Sandro. To spend as much money as we did and still say that is very worrying. It's partly why I'm concerned we may be in a scrap for 6th with Everton and Southampton as opposed to fight for 4th with the above five sides. We have a much stronger squad than Everton and Southampton but if they keep themselves fit it won't be easy.
I hope that post isn't too long-winded or dull. That's just how I feel at the moment, very down on Spurs after four years of genuine belief (not hope, belief) that we were going in the right direction. AVB has done some good things here but he needs to quickly press the stop button because he's fast turning in to the AVB of Chelsea. If that were to happen, there's no coming back for him at the Lane.
thfcsteff
George Hunt
Hully…come on son, put the sheepskin coat on in and get in there! What's your team for City and why?
Lilywhite, welcome, interesting reading and look forward to more, however your post belongs in one of the current AVB threads mate. This thread is specifically for people to BE the manager and lay out their plan for future games...
Lilywhite, welcome, interesting reading and look forward to more, however your post belongs in one of the current AVB threads mate. This thread is specifically for people to BE the manager and lay out their plan for future games...
I will post that elsewhere, I was unaware of where it was supposed to go.
This is what I would do were I manager at this moment in time:
a) Bring Adebayor back in to the fold.
b) Start Lamela in league games, in his best position on the right wing.
c) Move Townsend to the left wing so he can cross the ball rather than shoot most times.
d) Restore Sandro to the starting eleven for every league game.
The key thing for me would be to stop rotating in the league games. Get a settled side and stick with that domestically. By all means I would rest our first XI in Europa League action, especially now that we're through. Chopping and changing rarely works in the league, you need to get some cohesion going so I would attempt to do that.
This is what I would do were I manager at this moment in time:
a) Bring Adebayor back in to the fold.
b) Start Lamela in league games, in his best position on the right wing.
c) Move Townsend to the left wing so he can cross the ball rather than shoot most times.
d) Restore Sandro to the starting eleven for every league game.
The key thing for me would be to stop rotating in the league games. Get a settled side and stick with that domestically. By all means I would rest our first XI in Europa League action, especially now that we're through. Chopping and changing rarely works in the league, you need to get some cohesion going so I would attempt to do that.
That's what happens when you're not in the CL - you don't get the players that would walk into the teams of those who are - mostly because they're busy walking into the first teams of those who are in the CL.
And you've massively, massively overrated Liverpool's entire team there.
Agree with this - pick a first XI, stick with it - rotating can wait till we have found our stride.
Adebayor on the bench when up to speed fitness wise
Lamela, Townsend and Sandro all starting ideally
I am in a bit of quandry of what I would do for City to be fair. I think the system we have been playing is perfect in terms of nullfying them and nicking a goal ourselves. The main issue I have with it is that if we go one down in this game we will struggle to get back into it playing that way but potentially it is the best way to start and see how far we go at 0-0 or before conceding (if we do).
Under the auspices of 'audere est facere', I am tempted to have a go at City as I feel that if we can isolate Clichy and Zabaleta with our wide players then we can really have some fun when they have no Kompany to come over and sweep up. To that end, I want to play 4-4-1-1 which might allow us to go 4-5-1 if we need to in terms of packing the midfield but retaining our wide pace. I would try Townsend left in order to play Lennon on the right and get behind the full backs.
Again, a little unsure as to who to play behind the forward. He hasn't played that well this season but I think Dembele would be best. My reasoning is that he looks better a little further forward with less traffic to get through and he can drop back in and counter the performance of Yaya Toure with his athleticism.
-------------------------Lloris---------------------------
Walker--------Dawson---------Kaboul---------Vertonghen
Lennon-------Sandro----------Paulinho---------Townsend
----------------------Dembele--------------------------
----------------------Soldado--------------------------
Under the auspices of 'audere est facere', I am tempted to have a go at City as I feel that if we can isolate Clichy and Zabaleta with our wide players then we can really have some fun when they have no Kompany to come over and sweep up. To that end, I want to play 4-4-1-1 which might allow us to go 4-5-1 if we need to in terms of packing the midfield but retaining our wide pace. I would try Townsend left in order to play Lennon on the right and get behind the full backs.
Again, a little unsure as to who to play behind the forward. He hasn't played that well this season but I think Dembele would be best. My reasoning is that he looks better a little further forward with less traffic to get through and he can drop back in and counter the performance of Yaya Toure with his athleticism.
-------------------------Lloris---------------------------
Walker--------Dawson---------Kaboul---------Vertonghen
Lennon-------Sandro----------Paulinho---------Townsend
----------------------Dembele--------------------------
----------------------Soldado--------------------------
Cochise
Steve Carr
Maybe a bit of a random addition to this thread but I was watching Bayern the other day and Guardiola has them playing some really exciting stuff. I know this isn't suprising to most nor me really but it was the manner he had them setup which really intrigued me. They get listed as a 4-1-4-1 team but in all honesty it would be more apt to describe them as a 3-3-4 or 3-6-1 team; their movement is that fluid. The fullbacks are played narrowly almost exactly ahead of their centre halves and attack from there into the space left behind by their wingers who drop deep (whilst staying wide!).
Anyways the point I want to make here is that from a goal kick, they play a 6yrd pass and slowly advance, almost goading the opposition to come at them and pass it around the approaching opposition players. This is in contrast to how high up our defenders play, it's so risky yet it pays dividends when they slice through the opposition and get players like Gotze and Ribery running at the opposition back four. This I think illustrates what a lot of posters talk about when criticising our high line. AVB doesnt like the risk inherent with playing around with the ball so close to our own goal and encourages the defenders to advance and sit high, but this plays into the oppostions hands as they find it easy to stay disciplined and stay deep. Guardiola embraces the risk knowing that if you produce something so risky, the opposition will naturally attack into your half seeing a great oppurtunity for a goal when in fact their abandonning of their deep, tightly packed lines creates space for Bayern to operate in.
Anyways the point I want to make here is that from a goal kick, they play a 6yrd pass and slowly advance, almost goading the opposition to come at them and pass it around the approaching opposition players. This is in contrast to how high up our defenders play, it's so risky yet it pays dividends when they slice through the opposition and get players like Gotze and Ribery running at the opposition back four. This I think illustrates what a lot of posters talk about when criticising our high line. AVB doesnt like the risk inherent with playing around with the ball so close to our own goal and encourages the defenders to advance and sit high, but this plays into the oppostions hands as they find it easy to stay disciplined and stay deep. Guardiola embraces the risk knowing that if you produce something so risky, the opposition will naturally attack into your half seeing a great oppurtunity for a goal when in fact their abandonning of their deep, tightly packed lines creates space for Bayern to operate in.
Rorschach
Sonny Walters
Very interesting post. Of all the European teams they are the one I enjoy watching the most. They really are a template for an exiting brand of football I would love us to try duplicate.
milo
Jack L. Jones
Yes. Evidently, part of the reason for AVB's feud with Mourinho goes back to him saying positive things about Pep. I will try to dig out a link later.
milo
Jack L. Jones
Here you go, this is the quote that got Jose's goat
http://www.totalbarca.com/2011/news...robson-mourinho-and…pep-guardiola/#more-76797
http://www.totalbarca.com/2011/news...robson-mourinho-and…pep-guardiola/#more-76797