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Andros Townsend

Bale/Lennon, Dembele/Sandro, strength in middle, width and pace out wide, add a striker that can actually score .....


Can't see Bale being moved back outside in a 4-4-2.


He's been far too impressive in the AM role to do so.
 
I still think Bale is better up front. At present he's not playing in CM; don't let the sky sports lineup graphics fool you. He is actually playing as our furthest forward striker and only drops deep to get the ball. Out wide he's reduced to purely crossing it after run down the flanks, up front as a twosome he has the free reign to pop up where he wants to and damage the opposition.
 
Our team is very much pace/power (built around Bale/Lennon outlets), players that are either quick in motion or quick in passing, still think that is the core ideal of Spurs.

AVB has added discipline and greater emphasis on possession than Harry, but pace is still in key. I suspect anyone we buy in summer won't be slow

Yeah, I worded it inadequately, forgive me. Bale and Lennon arent just sprinters, much in the same way that Sandro and Dembele arent just power. But tho pace is one of our biggest assests I'm sure there people on here that have bemoaned how much we've struggled when teams have set up to nullify the impact of that pace. Its about having a variation, and having the ability to control a game in whatever style that may be. the team suggested above with townsend, lennon and bale just seemed like a cry for dribblers at the expense of carving our way through teams; he called for dembele to be moved forward to play off the striker " because he is good with running with the ball, just lacks confidence.". It all seems a bit naive, and while I could see it working against teams like Reading, i think it would be a massive step back on the whole. Surely we're capable of something a bit more nuanced?
 
I think he needs a thread :D

The lad needs to be on our bench at least next season.

Bale is no longer our left sided player so this lad should be playing for us more and more.

Always rated him and always wanted him to be our youth product who made it...

About to start for QPR (Sky Sports 1).

Come on son...

We need him on our bench this season lol.
 
I think next season we'll continue to play a similar shape to this season with our midfield anchored by Sandro and Dembele, our width provided by Lennon and Bale behind the striker in a free role. That leaves a space towards the left side, but probably not for an out and out wide player but instead for a creative ball player. The ideal person to fill that role would actually be Luka Modric..... Imagine something like:

--------------------Damiao
-----------------Bale
----Modric------------------------Lennon
----------Dembele---------Sandro

That is a title winning midfield right there! Shame we'd never get Modric back though. A player that might be gettable though is Isco at Malaga. He would cost a LOT of money and we'd probably have competition from some very big clubs, but he'd give us that Mata/Silva type creativity and him, Bale and Lennon interchanging positions would scare any defence.
 
I think next season we'll continue to play a similar shape to this season with our midfield anchored by Sandro and Dembele, our width provided by Lennon and Bale behind the striker in a free role. That leaves a space towards the left side, but probably not for an out and out wide player but instead for a creative ball player. The ideal person to fill that role would actually be Luka Modric..... Imagine something like:

--------------------Damiao
-----------------Bale
----Modric------------------------Lennon
----------Dembele---------Sandro

That is a title winning midfield right there! Shame we'd never get Modric back though. A player that might be gettable though is Isco at Malaga. He would cost a LOT of money and we'd probably have competition from some very big clubs, but he'd give us that Mata/Silva type creativity and him, Bale and Lennon interchanging positions would scare any defence.

Puts a lot of pressure Bale and Leandro to get the goals....
 
Puts a lot of pressure Bale and Leandro to get the goals....

I like lennon, but his place is under threat imo and its because of a lack of goals. If AVB goes with one up front then that puts pressure on others behind to chip in with a fair few. Bale can do it but i dont see many others contributing.
 
I like lennon, but his place is under threat imo and its because of a lack of goals. If AVB goes with one up front then that puts pressure on others behind to chip in with a fair few. Bale can do it but i dont see many others contributing.

Lennon's value to us is highlighted by how poor we look when he's missing

I do think though that he is the main 'problem' or issue to deal with if we were to move to AVB's 4-3-3 system. I dont think he gets enough goals for one of the top 3 positions whereas out-wide in a 4-4-2 there's less pressure on him to do so and usually you'd have another midfielder who gets up to support the fowards

I do think we'll be playing 4-3-3 next year though and the fact that the youth teams play it is a sign that AVB wants to instill the formation throughout the club, though at the moment we dont have the right personnel in the first team to do so
 
Lennon's value to us is highlighted by how poor we look when he's missing

I do think though that he is the main 'problem' or issue to deal with if we were to move to AVB's 4-3-3 system. I dont think he gets enough goals for one of the top 3 positions whereas out-wide in a 4-4-2 there's less pressure on him to do so and usually you'd have another midfielder who gets up to support the fowards

I do think we'll be playing 4-3-3 next year though and the fact that the youth teams play it is a sign that AVB wants to instill the formation throughout the club, though at the moment we dont have the right personnel in the first team to do so

I wonder what will happen to Lennon I dont think he will suit this system.
 
I wonder what will happen to Lennon I dont think he will suit this system.

I dont think 4-3-3 necessarily means the end of lennon - if one of the midfielders chips in with goals, and the left sided attacker & striker are both prolific there should still be room for him. his defensive work may well be crucial to allowing kyle walker to get forward more, and playing slightly narrower + further forward should see him get a few more goals anyway. When AVB has spoken about his tactical setups in the past [im referring mainly to an article that has been posted on here before] he's mentioned the need for asymmetry i.e rather than having two goalscoring wingers on each side you have one who's more about width and delivery and one more direct, one attacking full-back and one covering]. This isnt to say that Lennon shouldnt get more goals, just that imo its not as cut and dried as is being suggested.
 
I dont think 4-3-3 necessarily means the end of lennon - if one of the midfielders chips in with goals, and the left sided attacker & striker are both prolific there should still be room for him. his defensive work may well be crucial to allowing kyle walker to get forward more, and playing slightly narrower + further forward should see him get a few more goals anyway. When AVB has spoken about his tactical setups in the past [im referring mainly to an article that has been posted on here before] he's mentioned the need for asymmetry i.e rather than having two goalscoring wingers on each side you have one who's more about width and delivery and one more direct, one attacking full-back and one covering]. This isnt to say that Lennon shouldnt get more goals, just that imo its not as cut and dried as is being suggested.


The midfielders are likely to be Dembele + Sandro + Ball player.


So two of them are unlikely to chip in with the goals.


You are right with the Wonky, however in all likelihood the player that will be asked to cut in and score goals will be Bale, who is better with his left foot so would be more likely to start on the right hand side. Which works with Townsend as his backup.

Though would mean we'd need a new chalk on boots left winger.
 
I dont think 4-3-3 necessarily means the end of lennon - if one of the midfielders chips in with goals, and the left sided attacker & striker are both prolific there should still be room for him. his defensive work may well be crucial to allowing kyle walker to get forward more, and playing slightly narrower + further forward should see him get a few more goals anyway. When AVB has spoken about his tactical setups in the past [im referring mainly to an article that has been posted on here before] he's mentioned the need for asymmetry i.e rather than having two goalscoring wingers on each side you have one who's more about width and delivery and one more direct, one attacking full-back and one covering]. This isnt to say that Lennon shouldnt get more goals, just that imo its not as cut and dried as is being suggested.

Well I guess we know already who the left sided forward is(!), plus who two of the midfielders are likely to be. I think to play 4-3-3 we'd need to get a goal-scoring midfielder to make sure we'd have enough goals in the team or, rather than sign someone, for AVB to be happy that Sigurdsson is up to the task. Would then leave us with:


----Bale------new CF-----Lennon

---[new mid]--Sandro---Dembele

back-up:

---Townsend-----Defoe----Dempsey-----

---Sigurdsson----Parker----[Thudd replacement]--

plus also have Holtby to throw into the mix (likely competing with Sigurddson).

The Thudd replacement would need to be someone who can keep the ball moving rather than a goalscorer or DM (akin to a Modric or Carroll style). I'm assuming Bad Ade leaves by the way
 
The midfielders are likely to be Dembele + Sandro + Ball player.


So two of them are unlikely to chip in with the goals.


You are right with the Wonky, however in all likelihood the player that will be asked to cut in and score goals will be Bale, who is better with his left foot so would be more likely to start on the right hand side.

Good point. I suppose I just had the image of bale picking it up just left of centre outside the d and cracking one into the top right. He does it all the time for me on FM 8-[

Ive often wondered this season whether players like Dembele, Lennon etc lack goals because of their own finishing inadequacies or because of the lack of fluidity throughout the team. If you take Arsenal as an example, I dont rate alot of their players as goal-getters, but their play has [generally] been about so much rotation that defences get dragged out of position, and players who dont seem like regular goalscorers end up in positions to score. So in the midfield you describe above dembele would be liberated by having a floating player next to him, his positioning would be less static and he'd have more space to operate in. this is all theory i suppose, but i think it all hinges on who that "ball player is". If its a modric type, i think we'd struggle to get goals around the team; a player like silva, or ive even seen glimpses of it with holtby, seem to force a bit more rotation.
 
According to opta his 14 successful dribbles past an opponent yesterday were the most ever recorded by opta.
 
According to opta his 14 successful dribbles past an opponent yesterday were the most ever recorded by opta.

That's pretty good.

I watched the game (mainly to watch Townsend) and he just kept taking people on. After the red card to Zamora QPR were sitting back and relying on counter attacks, Townsend got the ball with plenty of space to attack players quite a lot. But to his credit he does that a lot, no fear in taking players on. He's also showing that he's getting used to the tempo and level of the Premiership, his close control seems very good, his dribbling seems somewhat "basic" if you know what I need. Quick changes of pace and direction, some simple dummies, not a ton of step overs and flashy stuff, but effective when combined with his pace and that close control. He also kept working hard to his credit, doesn't seem like a luxury player at all.

Mentioned it in the loan thread too, but he got another man of the match from Sky for his performance, considering that there were two goalscorers and he didn't score or get an assist that's pretty good.

Hope (and think) he will stay at Spurs next season and that he can do a good job for us at least as a squad player. Potentially saving us a ton of money, good wingers are hard to find. He can play either side as well, and he can score. Delighted to see him break through into the Premiership after a lot of promising performances for us in smaller games in previous years, but struggling to break into the squad for more serious matches.
 
Really hope we dont 'cash him in' I think he could break into the 1st team next season. could save us quite a lot of money
 
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