AVB said before the game he was resting the internationals. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
Theories are great but life works on facts.
Thankfully I didn't get to see the game...
That said; I'm surprised there haven't been many posts on this particular thread seeing as a lot of posters blame Andros for our failings...
Should he have played? or would we have lost 15-0 with him on the right 'trying' to make something happen?
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896...y-over-hyped-townsend-is-no-longer-justifying
Couple more tables of stats on the link.
Really does need to sort out his decision making.
I'd like to see Lennon and Lamela unleashed in one game with Holtby in the middle, think that would have a good mixture of pace, dribbling, skill and guile and more importantly not a lot of greed.
IMO the article is unfair to Townsend because he is the victim of Tottenham's high-line tactics which compress the play and allows opponents to block off the flanks, obliging him to cut in towards an already crowded penalty area.Superb article.
IMO the article is unfair to Townsend because he is the victim of Tottenham's high-line tactics which compress the play and allows opponents to block off the flanks, obliging him to cut in towards an already crowded penalty area.
Even the best attacks in world football struggle to breakdown such resolute rearguard strategies - witness Barcelona and Bayern v Chelsea in the CL the other year. But it's the parked-bus approach that Spurs' high-line dictates all the time.
The odds of Townsend getting a telling pass through such crowded areas to Soldado, a lone striker always surrounded by defenders, are inevitably reduced, so it's no wonder he opts to shoots from range. He has a decent strike on him but he's no Bale. Even so he's had a fair amount of success in the cups, but of course that doesn't really count for much.
The article should have addressed AVB's inept tactical approach, not its victims.
The odds of Townsend getting a telling pass through such crowded areas to Soldado, a lone striker always surrounded by defenders, are inevitably reduced, so it's no wonder he opts to shoots from range.
The article should have addressed AVB's inept tactical approach, not its victims.
I thought he looked great playing on the left today. Created two goalscoring opportunities for his teammates, stretched the field wide, and played with his typical pace.
I'd love to see him start there.
The left is his natural position for me. We can see that he can cause problems from the left as it's his natural side, he'll beat the full back with pace and then whip one into the box. We also saw that he can come across the pitch and cause problems all over. I think he also showed intelligence at times looking up to find a better pass and he always manages to get a shot on target.
Until AVB has got all his players settled then he can start working on his inverted wingers, until then - I really prefer orthodox winger, particularly seeing that we don't have a left back!
How will Andros on the left intefere with his chances with England?
I doubt it will to be fair, he's probably still the best option for the left hand side and it allows Walcott to play on the right.