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2025/26 pre-season
- Thread starter tommysvr
- Start date
Muttley
Teemu Tainio
Turns out that BM had 14 subs on the bench and made 10 outfield subs. We had 9 which made me think the match day structure was like a normal match. It wasn't. So 2 keepers on the bench would have been standard for this friendly. We just had a reduced bench because of our injury list. It's possible that Solanke and Udogie were in Germany but they couldn't make the match day squad.
So Spurs got back from Seoul and the squad disseminated. Some U21s have been loaned since. 1st team then took a much smaller group to Germany and the U21s had the game against Enfield on the 5th Aug. I think the academy players you mention were probably wrapped up in that U21 game. We couldn't have called any up at short notice because it was a different country.
We didn't think we needed to. Probably better for the academy players to get a full 90 than be 9th choice sub.
Muttley
Teemu Tainio
Exactly, but when I saw a 20 man squad with 9 subs I just reverted to natural thinking. Then I saw 2 keepers, hence my earlier post.
Turns out it was all business as usual in pre-season.
Lemonade Money
Luka Modric
Are you talking to us, or yourself?
afsoc4life
Michael Carrick
Don't get the need to denigrate Ange. People like you make things harder for Frank. Interesting that you say he needs time. Time to do what exactly? Ange took 2 seasons to win a trophy and get us back in Champions league after the trauma of the previous season. Your post suggests that Frank should be able to do it in less as he has a better system. How many seasons are we giving him to implement his system?
Silly McSilly Face
Neil Sullivan
Ffs can we stop double counting Ange's achievement? He "won us a trophy AND got us back into the CL". We finished 17th. We were absolutely atrocious last season. You get CL with the trophy. To win the trophy we beat Bodo Glimt, Frankfurt, and AZ Alkmar. Thats not denigrating anything. Its just reality.
Mikey10
Chris Perry
The 17th place PL finish, and the various negative records smashed, seem to have conveniently slipped your memory.
Finney Is Back
Chris Jones
He got us back into Europe via league position and then the won that European competition the following season. Up there with the best two seasons under ENIC.
I’ve got us down for 7th or 8th under Frank this season, perhaps with no European qualification at all.
thfcsteff
Vivian Woodward
What do you think Frank's system is? You're suggesting he has one system. Could you detail it?
thfcsteff
Vivian Woodward
Speaking strictly factually, it's not 'double-counting' it's a fact.
We won a trophy and got back into the CL. You've also suggested that to win the trophy we beat three teams. Not factually true is it. We actually beat 9 teams and won 10 games overall out of 15 (losing 3 and drawing the other 2).
I know what your 'reality' is with regards to the trophy and our winning it, and believe me, I don't wish to derail you from that track if it's the one that you find easiest to run on.
But I still cannot believe the attempts to denigrate and depreciate us winning it, especially when passed off as 'reality' (which in this instance is absolutely contextual).
The facts say otherwise.
thfcsteff
Vivian Woodward
I think that's a very fair assumption at this moment. I'm sure you'd agree with me that Frank is being handed a series of 'flux-internal' issues and changes which despite the best efforts of VV have conspired to make his life difficult from the get-go. He has my enormous sympathy TBH. Because once again we have a manager suffering for recruitment issues years ago, for poor squad planning by the 'football committee', and some frankly bizarre shennanegans in the transfer market. I'm sure we've all had a line on what happened with MGW, and I'm further sure it wasn't any single thing, but what I cannot reconcile is how a club of our supposed nous has allowed ourselves to apparently -
a) make our MGW play so public without having it locked up, and b) how our MGW play appears to have been the main one and we are possibly making things up as we go now with a long list of 'targets' and a ticking clock which will spit out a player who is either cheap/a surprise bargain, or a hard over-value signing because we're in a corner. I don't like being a cynic, but it is exceptionally hard to ignore identifying a creature with a beak, feathers and flipper-feet who has been walking the High Road in typical fashion year after year. I mean, I suppose it COULD be an elephant in fancy dress? Now THAT'S optimism for you!
I find myself once again slapping my onw forehead and saying 'stupid boy' because let's face it, I really, really should know better by now. We are who we are (mate!!!!!)...
afsoc4life
Michael Carrick
Ermm no! He won a trophy with his 'lack of tactical nous'. He also finished 5th in his first season. If beating those teams was so easy, why haven't we done it before? I remember VVV beating us in Europe - bloody Vitesse. Based on your post, should we expect Frank to win such a trophy if he was participating in it? The reality is that Spurs became European champions under Ange. I remember why we finished 17th. Do you? Or did you ignore the reasons?
afsoc4life
Michael Carrick
Oh no it hasn't. I looked at it as a journey. You don't seem to understand that journeys have ups and downs. You need to watch that video where that basketball player is explaining how such works to a journalist. The ups in my opinion restored serious pride in Spurs. I was very fine with Ange including how he responded to entitled fans.
Anyways let me stop this here before it derails the thread. My view is simple; respect what Spurs has achieved and don't put unnecessary pressure and expectations on Frank. He will not survive it.
Daveeeeeeeed
Luke Young
No I think he has a full system, mixed in different areas and focuses on defence, and attack with holding midfielders shielding the defence. Ange seemed to have one system, attack.
Im not clever or knowledgeable enough to go into detail about Frank's system but I think his system will take time to implement, that's all I am saying. Ange's system wasnt exactly genius was it, it was to invite pressure on our defence to play it out the back to attack quickly.
Daveeeeeeeed
Luke Young
Not at all mate, and I am not denigrating Ange, apologies if it comes across that way. Yes he won us a trophy and I will forever be grateful to him for that. All I am saying that Frank's system has more to it so it will take time to implement. Ange had one vision, attack and play out of the back. Whilst that worked for a while, it was defensively atrocious. Frank seems to be focusing on all areas, hence it will take him time, rather than 2 months to the nay sayers now. Ange's first game we looked completely different against West Ham. I was excited and amazed, and therefore I feel he implemented his system quicker, because it was a lot easier to digest, ie just attack and get balls into the box with head down, you can see that he was telling wingers to get balls into the box without even looking, in one of his training videos.
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thfcsteff
Vivian Woodward
As per a promise I sort of made to myself, I'll refrain from comment on the previous for reasons previously discussed. On Frank...he does not really have a set system as he tends to flex it to suit the opposition but within a general 'philosophy'. I think he is essentially a defense-tight-first coach who looks to score goals via fast transitions and waves of high pressure as opposed to a constant high-line pressurizing.
If you look at what we've generally done pre-season, Frank also appears to be absolutely fine with Vicario and Romero looking to tempt the opposition on and try to break quickly through an (invited) press. The main difference is he won't commit both FBs forward and he won't invert them; routinely we've seen one 'go' and one hold. I wonder if Pahlinha (when match fit) will be the insurance offered to allow more adventure from both FBs?
Daveeeeeeeed
Luke Young
Ok I agree with that. Have you noticed he has used Palinha, Sarr and Bentancur together? I think he also used 3 cms against Luton, so he definitely seems to opt for defensive style midfielders over lets say, 2 Dm /1am or 3 attacking midfielders.
I also noticed we have gone long a lot more than we did under Ange, from the back, to no one when we are in danger, or in an attempt to pick out one of the strikers to flick on or hold up. If im honest I preferred Ange's system where he would want to pass his way out of trouble, and it worked beautifully sometimes (against City away last season if i recall we seemed to perfect it). As you say he is still encouraging players like Romero to do that, I think he is trying to blend the old system of Ange's with his. But I definitely agree and think it is much more defence minded.
Bedfordspurs
Gary Lineker
I don’t think the club have made any plays for any players public
I do think the players agents may have