Article by Matt Tumminia @MeCrazyMattClick here to check out e-Spurs on Facebook
Sunderland vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 13, 2014
Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
Two weeks fresh from a demoralising home setback against our recent bane, Liverpool, we pack up our wounded pride and move north to take on Gus Poyet and much improved Sunderland side. No longer a complete whipping boy, the Black Cats started the campaign with two draws before succumbing to a Charlie Austin strike which allowed QPR to keep all 3 points in Shepherd’s Bush. The two draws revealed a better indication of who Sunderland are as in both matches, they fought back to ensure a share of the spoils while playing some entertaining football. Some good acquisitions over the summer including Jack Rodwell and Jordi Gomez, as well as smart loan deals for Sebastián Coates and Ricky Álvarez have given boss, Gus Poyet, some real quality to enhance their side. Furthermore, their transfer dealings the previous season have now had a full year of Premier League experience which when combined with this year’s moves, make Sunderland a more complete club and a dangerous opponent, especially in the confides of the Stadium of Light.
Getting Back on Track
Tottenham’s first two matches could not have ended any better than they did with 2 wins and no goals conceded, yet within the first 10 minutes of last Sunday’s contest, we were down 1 nil and looking a distant second to an impressive Liverpool side. Liverpool put us to the sword quickly and found all the holes in our midfield while encountering little to no resistance from our two CM’s, Nabil Bentaleb and Étienne Capoue, using quick counters and clever runs to get behind them and our backline with ease. Their pace was causing us all sorts of problems and even though we had a higher percentage of the ball, quality counterattacks and individual errors contributed to a comprehensive victory for the Reds and a reality check for Tottenham. While many fans got carried away after the mauling of QPR, the warnings signs were present in our early matches and the weaknesses were there for exposure from a well-drilled and clinical side. Our side is a work in progress and we will need patience as Pochettino’s system is a complex one which may be difficult to grasp for our players. We will improve and Poch will undoubtedly look back at the Liverpool match and analyse where it went wrong and how to improve those troublesome areas.
Reinforcements
Although the Transfer Deadline Day was a spectacle for most clubs, for us it was quite the opposite as we concluded most of our business beforehand with the exception of Benjamin Stambouli, who was a late addition after the sale of fan favourite, Sandro. Known as a hard-working, no-nonsense defensive midfielder, Benjamin also possesses the ability to keep the play moving forward and start the transition from defense to attack well. He averaged 3.1 tackles, 3.1 clearances and 1.6 interceptions last season with Montpellier while conceding a little more than 1 foul per match. Those are fantastic defensive stats and his “dirty work” will definitely help to improve a Tottenham team that was soft last campaign.
Federico Fazio, formerly of Europa Champions Sevilla, was also a recent acquisition to help strengthen a glaring weakness from last term. He will be replacing Michael Dawson, off to Hull City, and will likely be starting this match in the place of Younes Kaboul, who has yet to show that he has fully recovered from some serious injuries over the past few years. A monster in the air and quick to read the situation, Federico should bring some discipline and leadership to a backline that was anything but impressive since Ledley King retired. A bit slow of foot, he makes up for it with his intelligence and reading of the play to instinctively be in a position to anticipate where the opposing forwards may be lurking.
These two final pieces may really be the glue that holds our backline and spine of the squad together. Both tough tacklers while still possessing composure on the ball shall allow us to adapt to Pochettino’s complex system quicker and become a more complete side, capable of playing the way our boss and our fans envision Tottenham Hotspur.
Opposition View
As previously mentioned, Sunderland is a much improved side from when we last faced them in May at the Lane. Former Spurs player and fan favourite, Gus Poyet, will have a much stronger side to choose from and will be looking to expose the same areas that Liverpool ruthlessly attacked. He will likely set up in a diamond or a 4-5-1/ 4-3-3 with as much emphasis on crowding the middle of the park as possible, looking to frustrate us and use quick counters to attack. While their fullbacks have improved since last year with their additions of Patrick van Aanholt and Santiago Vergini, they still do not strike fear in the opposition and we should be looking to get at them by pressurising and then hitting balls into space vacated by their forward runs.
If we are able to pressurise Lee Cattermole, Seb Larsson and Jack Rodell into making some silly mistakes, that should allow our forward thinking players to run at their defense, attacking in numbers and create a number of quality scoring chances. Cattermole should be targeted often as he is not the most mobile and is known to make rash challenges when caught out of position. If we harass him early and often, his lack of discipline may show itself and allow us a free kick or two in good positions. John O’Shea and Wes Brown are also not the most disciplined or agile and if we force them into a sloppy turnover or a rushed clearance, our offensive players may be in a position to cause some real damage.
Up top, they boast a good force with Adam Johnson, Steven Fletcher, Connor Wickham with Jozy Altidore likely starting on the bench. Johnson and Wickham like to stay wide and play like inverted wingers, cutting inside to shoot with their stronger foot. This can be used to our advantage as it can create a numerical advantage if we attack down the vacated wing, leaving two of our attackers facing only the fullback. Fletcher is a classic no. 9 and can out-muscle many defenders and is good in the air, especially on set-pieces, so he should be given special attention on corners or deep crosses. He is very adept at playing with his back to goal and holding up play so the best way to counter this is to starve him of service, but if he does manage to win some headers or knock-downs he can serve as the fulcrum of their attack. Emmanuel Giaccherini will likely be on the bench at the start of the match and if brought on in the final 30 minutes, he can cause some real problems with his close control and pace. The Italian international had a great midweek performance against Norway this past Tuesday so he will be looking to use that as a springboard for the season.
Final Thoughts
The Stadium of Light is a tricky venue to play in as their usually sold out crowd is loud and urges their team on with much gusto, which can cause some lesser teams to crumble. If we can attack from the first whistle and force and early chance, Spurs may be able to silence the usually boisterous crowd and turn the screw. The Black Cats are not a team to be underestimated but I think with our quality, along with the signs of our players adapting to Pochettino’s philosophy, we should be able to come away from Tyneside with all 3 points.
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So i'm viewing the oppositions view of us (Sunderland) and can't help but feel that this is a very fair and objective analysis. I was waiting for the usual attacking mentality employed against the opposition and was pleasantly surprised to see fair play. Good job. Let's hope for a good match
ReplyDeleteIt's Wearside not Tyneside. Different river!
ReplyDelete