Game, Mindset and Match to Rodgers

Article by Joe. H Harman @ginolasleftfoot

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Tottenham 0 Liverpool 3

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Pochettino comes up short as Rodgers once again comes away with the points and the plaudits at Whit Hart Lane.

A tentative claim of Spurs being unbeaten in four games rang loudly yet hollow prior to this match, with the first real test of how far Pochettino has brought this talented but disjointed Tottenham side, coming in the form of Liverpool who last season clung on until the final moments, only to surrender the Premier League crown to Manchester City.

With the promising football evident in Tottenham’s previous outing against the inept Queens Park Rangers, Pochettino naming an unchanged side, with Bentaleb and Capoue being given the roles of controlling the midfield, with the attacking roles being given to Eriksen, Lamela and Chadli, supporting Adebayor.

Rodgers chose to utilize his midfield diamond of Gerrard, Allen, Henderson and Sterling at the tip, providing the platform to support Balotelli and Sturridge.

The outcome bore the all hall-markings of one team, now steeped in the belief system of their coach, the other still in transition towards that enviable position.

Once a revival, now a state of mind.

What Rodgers has achieved in his 100 games as Liverpool coach, was all laid out to see on Sunday afternoon. Actions are now automated. Movement on instinct. Liverpool played with the level of collective cohesion, that if maintainable will see them compete again for the title.

The visitors exploited the attacking inclinations of Lamela, Chadli and Eriksen, who lacked the intent to track back and perform their defensive duties as they had done the previous week against QPR. This enabled the likes of Sterling, Henderson and Allen to limit the space available as Spurs looked to recycle the ball out of defence.

The result being, that Spurs were pedestrian in their intent to transfer the ball forward and were unable to engineer a fluid level of movement or create overloading situations.

Liverpool’s youthful team brings with it a level of athleticism that enables Rodgers to execute his principle of swift recovery and interception of the ball, with ease.

The culture that Rodgers has ingrained into the Liverpool set-up is breeding a mindset of daring, industry, honesty and teamwork that is now creating players who are clearly aware of both their individual and collective responsibilities.

An Embarrassment vs An Embarrassment of Riches.

The dearth of a genuine Premier League striker continues at White Hart Lane, as Sunday laid bare a glaring issue for Pochettino to address if we are to contend for elite success.

The worrying aspect of Tottenham’s performance came in a distinct lack of true brilliance in front of goal.

Put simpler, as Liverpool lined up with Mario Balotelli and Daniel Sturridge, Spurs had Emmanuel Adebayor.

The Togolese striker proves a most irksome conundrum, at times capable of producing elite performances and yet, perhaps the time has come when all at Spurs acknowledge that consistency will never be a forte of Adebayor’s.

A gilt-edge chance passed the striker by, as he lofted the ball high over Mingolet’s head only to see it clear the crossbar. At the time it was 1-0. Small margins define games.

He lacks dynamism in his movement, which has remained unaddressed throughout his career and it is clear that within the new Spurs regime, there is no hiding place. Players must work and those who don’t will be weeded out. And if Adebayor proves unable to adopt the role he is expected to play then these aren’t traits one sees being as part of Pochettino’s game plan, nor being entertained by the Argentinean coach, long-term.

Not to lay all the blame at Adebayor’s feet, as Soldado has failed to live up to his reputation he had worked so hard to carve out whilst at Valencia, and Harry Kane is still unproven.

This may be a writer stamping his feet, but it is high time White Hart Lane sign a truly excellent striker. Which in itself is a statement that leads you to the back of a very slow moving and very long queue.

Small steps…

It is clear in the five matches that Tottenham have played under Mauricio Pochettino that already the players are adapting well to his philosophy of football.

The QPR match gave a clear indication of the levels of intensity that Pochettino expects from his team and yet with Liverpool’s slick interchanging, Spurs proved unable to get close enough to execute the levels of pressing that were Southampton’s calling card last season.

The signs from the Spurs faithful is that progress is most definitely being made and the noise from White Hart Lane was a testament to how much Spurs fans have taken to Pochettino’s brand of football.

And so, if Patience could be bought during the transfer window, then perhaps that would be the greatest signing for Spurs, (apart from a striker) for it seems for the first time in a long time, we have a manager who might just get us to a point (somewhere in the future) where we are able to turn Liverpool over 3-0 in their own backyard.

Just remember, the road is long...........

@ginolasleftfoot

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