Article by @ginolasleftfootIt appears Tottenham came somewhat unstuck on the weekend via a Big Sam tactical move so cunning it is worthy of a Blackadder-esque description. That will have to wait however until after the post mortem of what many Spurs fans (and worryingly perhaps some of the players) had down as a well earned yet somewhat routine three points. How wrong we were.
Allardyce had spoken about how he had prepared the team to work specifically on congesting the midfield areas and using Diame in a withdrawn role to exploit Tottenham’s ploy of using inverted wingers. Sigurdsson and Townsend were both drawn in to central positions, more so Sigurdsson. This allowed West Ham’s midfield five to spread the ball into the spaces behind, leaving the defence exposed to the diagonal cross field balls.
Compare Ravel Morrison overall movement to Dembele and it gives an example of Tottenham’s problem at hand.
Without any natural width, Spurs were unable to release the ball into space. Dembele’s ball movement is predictable and non-threatening with very few forward passes in West Ham’s half. Morrison’s dashboard highlights the space left open once Spurs had conceded possession and he works a far larger space than that of Dembele.
One of the benefits of using the withdrawn striker role is that it can be interchangeable throughout the course of a match. With Morrison, Nolan and Diame all moving within those areas the opposing central defenders of Vertonghen and Dawson were deprived of the longevity based marking that applies to a lone or dual striker/s.
The overall movement of West Ham’s midfield and Diame was far more expansive than that of Tottenham’s congested strangle on the middle of the pitch.
Question marks of the decision to play Defoe over Soldado pertain not to the striker’s goal-scoring ability but his link up play and off the ball movement. Seeing Defoe and Holtby link up over the last few Europa League fixtures; it would have perhaps made more sense to play them together as their excellent performances were mostly due to their link-up play.
That said, Defoe failed to capitalise on a excellent through ball from Paulinho, once again showing the ugly side of his instinctive offensive skills, when surely a calm touch round Jaaskelainen and clinical finish with his left foot would have served the team better than his quick right foot stab.
Soldado was clearly establishing a good understanding with Eriksen and Sigurdsson with several excellent interchanges of the last few fixtures. This is surely the roots of effective communication development, and in time those sharp, quick wall passes and reverse flicks will no longer be a surprise but expected. All the more surprising that Villas Boas chose Defoe over Soldado and not change the midfield personnel appropriately.
All the signs point to a ‘heart not head’ decision as playing a 30 year old player with only 50 minutes of competitive Premier League football to his name, who had competed in a Europa fixture on the Thursday arriving back in London on Friday morning over a £26 million, rested, fit Soldado begs the question.
The congested nature of Tottenham’s midfield has been brewing for some time and it appears that Allardyce had pre empted Villas Boas’ predictable midfield set up, which now means all eyes will be on the Spurs coach to react to this.
The double pivot partnership of Paulinho and Dembele did not lend itself to Villas Boas style of swift conversion of defence into attack as both players used Vertonghen as their most frequent outlet (StatsZone).
The focus needs to shift to purposeful attacking football, with Dembele driving the ball forwards with the intent to deliver the ball into either channels or linking up with Eriksen.
The most disappointing aspect of the match was perhaps Villas Boas’ failure to react effectively and restructure his team to deal with West Ham’s 4-6-0 style. His substitutions actually seemed to compound the problem as Soldado for Eriksen in the 63rd seemed to create even greater gaps between Tottenham’s lines as they surrendered even more midfield territory.
It’s high time Villas Boas unleashed Tottenham’s arsenal of attacking players by playing the one holding midfielder in front of the defence, ideally Capoue or Sandro.
A settled defence from Walker/Dawson/Chirches/Vertonghen/Rose will allow a more settled base in which to transfer the ball into the attacking half. Chirches has a reputation for bringing the ball from deep and Vertonghen is already settled in either centre back or left back roles and his composure on the ball is classic Ajax Academy.
Paulinho needs to be moved further up the pitch alongside Eriksen, who can control the ball movement closer to the final third. Although Lamela featured primarily for Roma cutting in from the right of a forward three, he is a left footed player and could provide an dual left sided option to stretch the opposition by driving down the left side but also cut in onto his right foot in which he is confident using. One note of Lamela’s ability that hasn’t yet been seen is his offensive aerial abilities. A number of his Roma tally from last season were a result of the Argentinean’s impressive heading technique.
If Townsend can curb his Robben-esque inclination to cut in and shoot every time he gets within sniffing distance of the 18-yard line, then he deserves an extended run in the team. His performances are starting to show signs of the collective team approach that is fundamental to long-term success.
Soldado must now become the focal point of Tottenham’s attack. His football awareness is what sets him apart from Defoe, and Spurs must persevere whilst his development with the players around him grows. One cannot argue he is an upgrade on Defoe and it seems Villas Boas is once again having to call on his interpersonal skills he used so deftly with the Friedel/Lloris changeover to handle the fact that Soldado is now Tottenham’s future. Defoe is unquestionably a valued player who will now have to ask himself whether he can accept a non-starting role at Tottenham.
To dare is to do Andre. Let’s get edge of your seat style daring.
We’ve got the players. You’ve got the savvy.
Unleash the Krakken.
over and out.
@ginolasleftfoot
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I think everyone is going a bit overboard with Allardyce and Morrison etc. Things change on small things - and Defoe taking his chance would have meant West Ham having to change tactics. I doubt if this strategy of his will bare too much fruit. Not too often will you get to score 3 goals from 5 opps. Yes he had a good plan, and the players executed it well - but really cannot see them doing very well. As for Spurs, I expect a few others to play this way - and having Rose and a fit Walker playing will make a big difference. It was also the kind of game where I think Chadli would do well, as he is more of a traditional winger. We do need to move the ball around faster
ReplyDeleteInteresting article that gives us hope. You hit the nail on the head with many points. The only real solution to a congested midfield is width and AVB must start using that option more. Townsend started to mix it up with crosses and shots. Sigurdsson was poor for a player that didn't really feature in midweek and Soldado should have Started instead of Defoe. We need to use physical or very Technical players against teams like West Ham not the lightweights.
ReplyDeleteA great analysis - that AVB was undone by this simple tactical counter is problematic, but I believe he will learn from this game immensly. Oh and Morrison is not 'touched by genius' Alladici...
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