Article by @ginolasleftfootThe winter snap has set in at the Lane. Points have been dropped and goals have been hard to come by. The Spurs faithful are reliant on thick coats and hot drinks for their solace, as the home turf has borne little of note to warm the cockles.
Prior to last week’s defeat to Newcastle Utd, statistics and the league table provided a convincing argument that all was swell aboard the Good ship Tottenham. A sound defence, excellent goalkeeper and strong possession stats gave a solid platform for building upon.
Therein lies the problem; Villas Boas has a completely new array of attacking personnel to mould to his style of offensive play. Whilst the defensive unit, albeit minor additions, have had close to 18 months to absorb and implement the coaches requirements, the forward unit have to start over.
Sadly, this facet of the game is paramount to a fan’s enjoyment, and therefore a natural reaction to a stuttering attacking line up is frustration. Comfort should be taken in that in the signings of Roberto Soldado from Valencia C.F, Christian Eriksen from Ajax, Nacer Chadli from FC Twente, Erik Lamela from Roma, Paulinho from Corinthians; and the earlier signature of Lewis Holtby from Schalke 04; Spurs have brought in players of elite calibre.
The re emergence of Andros Townsend to the Spurs XI has also proved an obstacle for Villas Boas to overcome, as the winger’s recent performances for his country have confirmed his desire to compete amongst the world’s elite. It is clear he will need to develop his decision making skills along with understanding the functional requirements of his position if he is secure a positions in AVB’s long-term plans.
Prior to writing this I checked out Bobby Soldier’s goal laden spell as king of the ring, heavyweight champ of the Mestalla, Valencia’s hungry hound in waiting. He is quite definitely, brilliant. Technique, movement, hunger. The boy’s face lights up when he scores. This guy will deliver for us.
Soldado uses the opposing defender’s movement as a way sign to preempt his decisions. Understanding the nature of the defender’s behaviour is a season long process and the Spaniard’s increase in goal scored per season is a testament to this aspect of the game being crucial to his performance. His play is based around understanding two fundamental processes during the course of a match; the defender’s individual and collective movement, and the interplay and supply line from his teammates. (Maybe that’s four).
As Villas Boas continues to experiment with his midfield, Soldado’s play is forced to become reactive as the intuitive link that develops within players of this level under sustained exposure to one another has yet been given the time to emerge.
Interlude
The left side of our glorious turf is missing it’s favourite Knight.
The elephant in the room has finally soiled itself and smeared “I’m over here” across the walls..
“Where? O where have our left sided beauties gone?”
“What? “
“They’re all over on the right?”
“Well, why don’t they want to play over here?”
“It’s nice over here. Don’t they know about Hoddle and Ginola?”
“Well, s’bloody silly if you ask me!”
Interlude Over
The absence of an effective left sided player to provide an outlet and supply line into Soldado is a problem that Villas Boas has yet to address. Chadli has been limited to sporadic appearances in the Europa League and the opening two fixtures in the domestic league. Whether the Tottenham coach is taking a holistic approach to Chadli and Lamela’s integration into the team is something to be considered.
Lamela is currently the Wildcard in our pack, his talent currently untested against the Premier League’s faithful stalwarts. Yet his inclusion still raises questions over the balance of Tottenham’s starting XI.
Villas Boas will have to use these winter months wisely, ensuring the balance between remaining with the pack and experimenting with his players is deftly managed. In time, his attacking approach will be absorbed by the players and bear the gifts of their labour.
Until that time, layer up at The Lane.
Over and out.
@ginolasleftfoot
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With Eriksen out for a while, Holtby should get a few runs, and maybe young Lamela should give it a kick in this position
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