***OMT Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool Sunday 31st August 1330 KO***

[glorygloryeze]

None of Capoue, Bentaleb, Vertonghen, Kaboul are "true" defenders i.e. they don't get always get goalside, they will try to nick the ball, try to be clever, a true defender will always get goalside first and make it difficult for the opposition. Several times yesterday they didn't defend first and foremost, they dived in and let Liverpool skip goalward.

Also if a player is bearing down on goal a true defender will bust a gut to get back and crash into the goalpost to save the day, whereas our defenders run back to see what happens, big difference.

Interesting points. Out of interest how would Michael Dawson be described in this regard? As someone who would try to get goalside or one who tried to dive in and nick the ball?

Also, same question re Ledley King?

And in terms of Vertonghen, was he always like that playing for us, or has he changed in this regard?

In fact my last question is do u think this type of 'dive in and try and nick the ball' defending become more prominent if/when we are losing?

Again, interesting points..

 

[SpurMeUp]

I think we suffered from a EL hangover. Before you point out only the keeper and Kaboul played midweek, its not the players but the management who are stretched by the midweek game. Had we had a week to focus and prepare for this game, I think we'd have been better prepared for Sterling and co.

But the midfield and defence has not looked defensively solid yet. Having the front 3 aware to drop into the midfield or adapting the formation to suit the opponent could help. Its also very early days for Poch and his system, not to mention team selection.

Ade had a great chance to make it 1-1 and Chadli should have slotted home. But they had many more chances. Even QPR had ample chances to score.

Ultimately I think pool started the game better and we were chasing the game. We're only 3 games in and we need to let Poch and the players settle. I've seen enough (even against pool) to suggest we will go on to do well this season.

Wished we'd kept sandro, sold townsend and bought a Depay. But Depay was probably not available. Townsend was probably not coveted and we needed to shift Sandro. All in all content with the signings and chuffed with Pochettino and his work so far. Shoudl put it in the Poch thread, but how many coaching staff does he have? 3 to prep for each game, if 2 a week, with 2 different teams seems too small.

 

[Cochise]

Our defenders all started trying to second guess the man with the ball under AVB and ever since we have been seeing opposition players smartly turning and running at our back line. There are example nearly every week where one of our players decides not to go goalside and go where they guess the players first touch will take the ball.

With regards to the Liverpool formation; we could implement it, but still comes down to how well they get players in between the lines. At times they have 3-4 all dropping into that area just waiting for one of their back 3 to fire a pass through a space into their feet.

 

[Bullet]

I'd say that Dawson and King and Carragher and Distin and Shawcross and Adams and Bould and Terry all love defending and love a clean sheet and their primary aim is to defend and keep the ball out, so they tend to stay goalside and ensure they defend the goal first and foremost. If they are beaten they will sprint back to see if the ball breaks loose and they can help out again in the next phase of the attack and will happily put their shame to one side and sprint back to help, even if it turns out their help isn't needed. The number of times that b'stard Terry sprinted back and saved the day...

Some other defenders think "I'm gonna stop this guy, but if I nick the ball in front of him or tackle him the right way I can surge into midfield and burst into the box and and and..." meanwhile they get beaten and kind of jog back towards goal to see what transpires. If the ball breaks loose then (and only then) they accelerate and try to get back involved... but it isn't their primary instinct to sprint back.

 

[a spur from swansea]

Back from the Lane, you know what, personally, that came as no real surprise. Those opening 4 matches were no real tests so like many, as i wasnt getting carried away by our start.
There was no way Liverpool would give us the space that QPR did, and really we should have lost that game at West Ham we got out of jail there.
As has already been posted, we are who we are, and for me right now, that is well behind last seasons Top 4, but its not all doom and gloom we are still better than the majority of the rest.

Tbh we looked a beaten side as they trudged onto the pitch for the 2nd half. I read a lot into body language, wrongly or rightly. And as they come back onto the pitch I personally thought they looked spent.

I really hope we bring in another striker tomorrow because right now Harry Kane looks the best of our trio and quite frankly,no disrespect to him, we need better if we want to be winning trophies

edit: and oh yes, thank you Spurs for spoiling another weekend

And you were so full of hope and energy before the season started.......i've taken some time off in going up over the last couple of seasons(though i did see the Schalke game,a bit zzzzzz),but was gearing up to come up in oct/nov but going how flat you sound i may leave it till after Xmas now,lol.

What i don't fathom we got a new manager,new ideas,formations blah blah and all that hope,it was the same performance, same team formation and the same attitude,as it was last December and March,awful really,dire......i hate running down players but rose,vertonghen,capoue,townsend were just all in third gear,Eriksen...where was he.......it looke like we were on our 30th game of the season with nothing to play for not our third game with a chance to go top.....we knew what to expect off liverpool,how they play but again we were outnumbered in midfield,again giving too much room to sterling and sturridge,again allowing gerrard to pick the ball up and picking his passes and again with Spurs Adebayor allowed to drift out wide with no one to fill in when he did so.

The gap between us and getting fourth is getting bigger not smaller and Liverpool were tipped to be the side that were going to drop out........we are sixth now come March we be sixth then.....

 

[paxtonwolf]

And you were so full of hope and energy before the season started.......i've taken some time off in going up over the last couple of seasons(though i did see the Schalke game,a bit zzzzzz),but was gearing up to come up in oct/nov but going how flat you sound i may leave it till after Xmas now,lol.

What i don't fathom we got a new manager,new ideas,formations blah blah and all that hope,it was the same performance, same team formation and the same attitude,as it was last December and March,awful really,dire......i hate running down players but rose,vertonghen,capoue,townsend were just all in third gear,Eriksen...where was he.......it looke like we were on our 30th game of the season with nothing to play for not our third game with a chance to go top.....we knew what to expect off liverpool,how they play but again we were outnumbered in midfield,again giving too much room to sterling and sturridge,again allowing gerrard to pick the ball up and picking his passes and again with Spurs Adebayor allowed to drift out wide with no one to fill in when he did so.

The gap between us and getting fourth is getting bigger not smaller and Liverpool were tipped to be the side that were going to drop out........we are sixth now come March we be sixth then.....

Oh you should all ignore my posts that I do within 48 hours of a defeat. (I dont even talk to the wife until Milton Keynes when we drivijg straight home!) I am always on a downer.

Come a week on Saturday, driving up to Sunderland, we will be buzzing again look forward to the match. That's the roller coaster life of your average Spurs fan I assume.

Your last line is spot on for me. I have said for the last few seasons to people at work, friends,etc. We (Spurs) are who we are, and for me thats probably the 6th best team in the league, sometimes we over-achieve (in my eyes anyway) and sometimes we dont.
I dont expect to us finish in the Top 4 (if we do its a bonus), all I hope for each season is no worse than 6th place and at least one trip to Wembley, be it a League Cup Final or FA Cup Semi-final. Mostly we achieve my wishes, last season was a disappointment in that respect

 

[a spur from swansea]

Would love a Europa Cup final trip especially as a Champs League spot up for grabs now..........Warsaw,Poland,cheap as chips day out if we get there,lol.