when not at our best.
Every team has games when they're just not on it. It's just one of those things and you can see from the likes of City and Arsenal's recent results that sometimes things stop working and its hard to put your finger on why.
City suffered their first defeat of the season to Spurs and that is the first of 4 losses on the bounce, something that's never happened to Pep ever. SO no team is immune.
But on those days when it doesn't click what do SPurs need to do to grind results?
I havent seen all the Ipswich game, just extended highlight. We were far from our best and the result has prompted some fans to start to question Ange's future. He has come out and taken responsibility for the result, and he is not free from responsibility. But when i look at that game, if we accept that some days it doesnt click, then what is important is not giving the opposition easy chances and goals.
When i look at the 2 goals, 2 themes come up which have repeated themselves on several times this season.
1. We do not make enough effort to stop crosses. Ipswich were gifted far too much space on the wing, an easy 2 on 1 and all the time in the world to measure a cross. Initially defended well, but then no determination from anyone to deal with the falling ball.
This reminds me of the BHA winner. Half arrsed from Bentancur to stop the cross and then no one switched on in the middle. Also the Leicester goal. Cross comes in too easily, no one switched on in the middle. West Ham was the same, weak from Udogie on 2 occasions, allowing a cross and leading to 1 good chance and 1 goal.
We seem to press with such energy everywhere else on the pitch but stand off in these areas and do not make it hard enough for the opposition. None of our CBs are commanding in the area and neither is the GK, so in the absence of such players, stopping crosses needs to be worked on.
2. Leadership at the back. Romero has been a bit of a mess this season. He is an experienced world cup winner who would walk into most teams. But he isnt stepping up, not even leading by example really. His inconsistency seems to typify the team. Even this week, he steps out to confront the ball player. Fine. He tracks the runner from midfield. Fine. Then he stops, lets the runner go beyond him and cannot affect the cross which leads to the goal. Coupled with mistakes vs Leicester, Newcastle, Arsenal, BHA, these have all cost us goals.
If a player of this stature and experience is not stepping up and leading his back line. Directing them, bollocking them, leading by example, then what hope do we have. He is not alone in making mistakes and it has been individual errors and moments that have cost us.
In tight games, when perhaps we are not firing, mistake after mistake will cost us.
Overall, I do not see our poor defensive record (still 5th best in the league so not actually terrible. And on a par with City) as primarily being a function of the tactics. We can be open to a counter attack, but that has not cost us too many goals. There is just a timidity to the way we defend. The way we let crosses in, how we attack those crosses, how we deal with the second ball. If I was an opposition coach that would be the area I targeted.
This is my take. I'm interested to know what others think we can do. If you think its the tactics, then why.
I really dont know how 1st team coaching goes, but are these moments, these errors being looked at with players. Are they properly analysing what is being done wrong and looking to address it and working on that, because as said above, there seems to be some repeated themes here, and a lot of the goals we are letting in kinda look the same and involve the same players. Like Villa and WHU, it's fine if the rest of the team click and we're scoring but these moments are now proving costly when not at out very best.
How do we grind out results....
posted on 12/11/24
Better defenders.
posted on 12/11/24
It's not a matter of grinding out results, it's a matter of being at it from the off. Spurs were ambling about for the first 30 minutes. Zero intensity. No way is a team going to keep coming back from being behind, and so it proved on Sunday.
Not sure who is instructing the players to amble about in 1st half of home games, but somebody needs to start upping the intensity from the start of games.
posted on 12/11/24
Good defenders, good midfielders and a good manager.
posted on 12/11/24
When the better sides arent at it theyre still usually the best team on the pitch still. Certainly in regards to possession, shots shots on targetxg touches in oppo box etc. Yet watching it feels like theyre outfought to everything or whatever. You get to a level where the bars just higher i guess.
posted on 12/11/24
We don't
posted on 12/11/24
Stop buying weak players for a start. I still can't get over what I watched on Sunday. Has there ever been a player that has summed up Spurs over the years more than Brennan Johnson?
posted on 12/11/24
Never saw the Ipswich game but unusual for an Ange team not trying to blow the opposition away in the first 30. He hates lack of intensity. Johnson still young and wingers usually the most inconsistent players.
Don’t agree with you having weak players but you seem to have inconsistency in their application of it and maybe related why some of Ange’s teams have run out of that intensity - they struggle to keep it up. Injuries too. Which brings me to depth of squad - to me seems the biggest issue so outside of any rotation starters don’t feel so much pressure of losing their place. Just my 2p
posted on 13/11/24
The system more or less relies on us playing well to win. If we don’t we usually lose. We draw very few games.
Can’t see that changing until we get much better players and much better leaders.
posted on 13/11/24
"2. Leadership at the back. Romero has been a bit of a mess this season. He is an experienced world cup winner who would walk into most teams. But he isnt stepping up, not even leading by example really. His inconsistency seems to typify the team. Even this week, he steps out to confront the ball player. Fine. He tracks the runner from midfield. Fine. Then he stops, lets the runner go beyond him and cannot affect the cross which leads to the goal. Coupled with mistakes vs Leicester, Newcastle, Arsenal, BHA, these have all cost us goals."
****************\
If your observations are in fact correct, ......then obviously we should kick the bugga out of the team.
I saw nothing you are talking about on the game tape.
At what time in the match did your observation happen?
Tell me that and I can replay the tape and tell you what actually did happen.
posted on 13/11/24
Good article OP.
The crossing situation is one I've noticed a lot. The full backs are very poor at stopping them. A lot of this I feel can be attributed to them having to run the full length of the pitch to get back. You make bad decisions when you are tired, anyone who plays football knows this.
Porro, as much as I like him, can't fault his workrate and we've had much worse but he his he used to be a no.10 and it shows. If he is in a one v one situation the attacker normally manages to get the ball into he box.
Against Ipswich our right side was a real target, porro was often left 2 v 1,Johnson gets back but doesn't actually commit to defending. The amount of easy overlaps they had was laughable really. I was at the game it was all the more evident sitting in the stands.
To compound the above the CBs we have just don't see to read the game well at all. When I think back to Toby and Jan, they were a proper partnership.. they would fight to get in front of defenders, they were often making first contact and read the game really well despite neither being that quick.
Our back four look like a bunch of individuals when defending and they get little help from the guys in front.
The Ipswich keeper coming to claim crosses also showed what we are missing with vicario. Vicario is almost perfect, good with feet, quick off line, great shot stopper but the crossing situation is a huge deal. We look like conceding with every set piece.