Firstly we have players that are happy coasting, players that go out to "earn" their wage.
Just to clarify there are many players that lets us down yesterday, but are also regularly doing nothing:
Walker, Chaldi And Paulinho each time they play they fail on all accounts, its like watching a marathon runner. Walker is good going forward (far from great) but lacks everything that a defender needs except pace. You would have thought that it would serve the defender well, however he is often so far out of position his pace cannot even save him. His touch is so inconsistent, his tackling non existent and his commitment is firmly on going forward instead of his primary "defending". Chadli reminds me of Dembele at his worst. He collects the ball with his head down no idea of what is around him, then turns and runs at defenders again without knowing what is around him. At times he has the time to surprise us all, break into the box and pull off some skill. He does have it, but he does not give the full commitment often. Then we have my mate Paul. I use the term mate as I feel dreadfully sorry for him. He is so rusty the few times he gets to play he looks completely unprepared. This is why he looks bad every touch.
Looking at the game in it's entirety yesterday I can highlight one thing Casual Spurs. Everything was casual, from the defending through to the shooting. We didn't do a thing to push forward with purpose.
A successful team should only ever play with one out and out defensive midfielder. Their job is to hold back so at all times there is 3 defenders when the wing backs move forward to attack. Problem is that we have 2 young midfielders that like to get forward and do not have the discipline to play the defensive midfielder.
It means that we are often left with 2 at the back, so counters we are weak and our soft underbelly shown regularly. however you would have thought that this meant we had the numbers to go forward and attack, however Kane has the same issues as Soldado playing up front, he has to come deep often to get involved in the play. The difference is that unlike Soldado Kane had the confidence from the start and he has kept that going throughout.
Just as when Bale was in the squad there was someone that could always score goals, Kane has that, the problem is the rest of the team.
MoPo seemed to have a large amount of promise coming in, however it seems that his tactics are just high pressure. Problem is that the high pressure does not go to plan a lot of the time. Yesterday was a BIG example of this. There was pressure at times, but no organisation. MoPo has no trust in the defence. The back 4 looked poor from the start. Chiriches and Walker in the back at the same time is just dangerous. Once Walker is injured it is simple that Davies (a wing back) goes in at right back, but no Chiriches goes to right back and Davies at Centre Back. How and What is going on? Davies should only play on the wings!
Paulinho was started when we should have started Stambouli in at DM then Bentaleb and Mason in the middle and then Eriksen and Chaldi on the wings. However again I would not have started Chadli (at best he is a substitute). The team for yesterday should have been
Kane
Eriksen
Townsend Dembele Lamela
Stambouli
Rose Chiriches Dier Yedlin
Vorm
It makes sense this. Eriksen likes to get forward and struggles in defence, however his passing and movement warrant him being the no 10. Although Bentaleb and Mason have been GOOD players (not great) we have seen that they still need time and experience. Against a team like Burnley they do not have the experience at this level to know their role in these types of games. As you can see from this formation there are layers that are needed and flexibility for attack of defence. Most importantly something that we lacked yesterday was strength. We were very weak and again against a team battling for relegation its suicidal to play without the power and discipline. Stambouli and Dembele would have given the team this. Although Townsend or Chadli on the left would have given us the same, I still would rather rely on Townsend over Chadli.
We every successful team in football history you need a rigid spine throughout the team. Chiriches and Dier to stay at the back with Stambouli always in front, Dembele then connects the back with the front line, but him and Stambouli have the strength to hold off the opposition and to break up the play, Kane and Eriksen then stay up front and wait for the ball and players to come forward.
This is a simple formation, with a rigid skeleton that could and should remain throughout, but importantly it gives the wings and forward line the flexibility and free role that is needed. Eriksen should never play on the wings and this was again highlighted yesterday. Starts on the right (why!!) and throughout is on the left or in the middle, leaving the right empty and without support or options.
Kane is at his best when he has support up front. Eriksen has the creativity passing and shooting accuracy to be the player that Kane needs to feed off of.
This may seem like a very long rant, but read the key issues that are being highlighted. MoPo does not trust most of the squad, his tactics are possession football (but the tempo, pressure is inconsistent), players do not give 100% and often and importantly players do not agree with the tactics (shown by players all over the place, unorganised on the pitch and being caught out regularly.
MoPo must only have 1 season now to get the players he wants and to shape it into his image. If he fails next season it shows that his tactics and style do not suit Tottenham, whilst the players have no respect. Before AVB, Sherwood or MoPo were appointed as managers I made it clear that experience was needed. The players need this leadership and will trust the manager's tactics (as they will have the trophies as evidence that their tactics work).
As a manager I like MoPo I like the work ethics, but we need to see the squad buy into it. There are a large volume of players that must be shipped out at the end of the season, but the importance is to see what MoPo does with a full opportunity to shape his squad.
Feel free to email me and I will publish the best views.
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