A big welcome to e-Spurs for our new writer and tactical whizz Matt Tumminia. In his first article for e-Spurs Matt looks forward to the crucial match on Saurday against Swansea.
I love tactics. The difference between a good team who flirts with the upper reaches of the table and a dominant juggernaut that destroys all that stands in the way can be the simplest change in tactics. Gone are the days where every English side plays the 4-4-2 and lumps the ball up, waiting for the knockdown (not completely gone, I’m talking to you Tony Pulis and Big Sam) but it must be accepted that more technically sound coaches are changing the way the Premier League looks. Thank heaven for this as it is great to watch two teams who are led by great tacticians, such as Italy v Spain in the group stage of this past Euro Championship. Nothing gets me more excited than seeing small changes make huge differences on the pitch. With this being said, let’s talk about Spurs vs Swansea this coming Saturday.
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| Libery Stadium, Swansea |
To begin, Spurs have lost their way a bit over the past few matches. It should be understood that a bad week was inevitable after going almost 3 months without tasting defeat in the league, but the manner of which the losses came was hard to swallow. Liverpool away, meh, we shot ourselves in the foot on that one. Inter away, poor decision by AVB to go 4-4-2 with no real width, might as well have gone 4-1-2-1-2 (diamond) as that might have been able to put a stranglehold on Inter. Fulham at home, just plain poor tactics. Again, no width and our best winger was playing as the number 10 (Gareth, you are the man, but don’t forget your bread and butter). Hopefully AVB gets the squad back into a more comfortable formation with plenty of width, as I’m sure he will as he did flirt with the 4-4-2 before settling back onto the 4-2-3-1.
Swansea is not an easy place to visit and return home with 3 points in the bag but I do believe we should pull it off, but to do this, we need to look at the tactical battles on the pitch.
Scott Parker v. Michu
Scott should be fresh as he did not play much during the international break so he should be given the job to follow Michu when he drops back into the midfield, playing as the “false 9”. While no one expects Parker to win many headers against Michu, he should be able to follow him around the final third to cut out any 1-2’s or cute play in front of the 18yr box. If Michu drifts wide, which he has a tendency to do, it will require intelligent play from the fullbacks to pick him up while Parker covers the open man or area left deserted by Michu’s movement. Also, Scott should avoid trying to join the attack too much as Swansea are quite dangerous on the counter and if he gets out of position, Michu and their other attackers could have a field day.
Defoe/ Adebayor v. Ashley Williams
Ashley Williams has been a revelation this past term with his performances garnering rave reviews from pundits across the nation. He has brought a calming effect to his teammates and is very comfortable bringing the ball out of the back. As we do not know which one of Defoe or Adebayor will be playing, we should assume that the man leading the line needs to harass the hell out of Ashley, hopefully forcing him to make some poor distribution choices. Also, when Spurs are in position, we need our forward to pull him out of place by making some diagonal runs and hanging off the shoulder in an effort to push them back further than where they want to. I feel that Defoe should get the start as his runs have been more intelligent and after his brace v San Marino, he should have the confidence to knock in a few during our run-in.
Sigurdsson (or whoever plays the no. 10) v Leon Britton
Leon Britton has been the fulcrum and starting point of many of the Swansea attacks and it is up to Gylfi (or whoever) to stay on top of him, harassing him and making sure he does not have plenty of time on the ball. Gylfi has had to play only one match during the international break so he should have plenty of energy to be right up in Leon’s face for the majority of the match. This should not only lead to a less than expected involvement of Mr. Britton in the match but should also lead to a few key turnovers. The size differential between the two is also in Gylfi’s favour so he should be able to push him around a little bit and get him off his game, while making space for himself to link our attacks.
Overall Tactics
AVB will probably revert back to his favoured 4-2-3-1 with Bale on the left wing (hopefully), Gylfi and Lewis Holtby taking up the other two attacking positions, with Dembele and Parker as the two deeper midfielders. Defoe should lead the line as his goals come in bunches and after a brace v San Marino, I wouldn’t doubt him to grab a goal or two against the Swans. As for our backline, it will probably be Benny, Jan and Steven, and Walker from left to right. This formation should allow us width, provided the wingers stay wide (what a foreign concept) and we should be able to catch them on two or three counters, which would be perfect for us.
Swansea and their manager Michael Laudrup prefer to play using a 4-3-3 or a variation of this to support Michu as their “false 9”. The Spanish hitman likes to come deep and pick up the ball to link play while one of the wingers or other attackers moves centrally to take up the spearhead, which may become a problem if our backline doesn’t concentrate. The “false 9” position can be countered by using a 3 man defence, like Italy v Spain, but I cannot see AVB reverting to this type of formation to counter Michu’s presence. The fullbacks of Tottenham need to pay special attention so that they are not overrun when Swansea’s wingers and fullbacks go on the offensive. Parker and Dembele need to provide intelligent cover to the fullbacks so that if Benny or Kyle get caught upfield, there is no open area for a counter up the wing.
Prediction Time
As for a prediction, I think a 2-1 win for Tottenham is on the cards as we have been the creators of our own demise the past few matches and I feel that AVB has given the side a right kick up the backside for playing poorly over the past month. I would like to see Tom Carroll get the start instead of Dembele, only as a way to conserve Moussa’s fitness for the remainder of the season, but also this would be an ideal match as both teams will want to play open, attacking football, something that young Tom is perfectly suited for.
Thanks for reading! Cheers from New Jersey!
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Great read! I have been saying for a while that without Bale on the left we look unbalanced despite the plus points Bale brings in the centre. Without Lennon too we struggle so hope to see them both wide on Sat.
ReplyDeleteMatt, do you think that AVB will eventually move bale back out wide?
ReplyDeleteHey London, I do think that while Azza is out injured (which may not be for too long as the team report shows him available) AVB will tell Gareth to stay more on the wing. It really makes our side click as this stretches the opposition so they can't just bunker down in a siege mentality. But I do think he will spend more time on the wing until Azza is ready to go.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments guys!