People consider Poch to be a fantastic manager at bringing through youth etc but I am saying it is way overstated.

He came through at a time when there was no real expectation at Spurs, a bad team & we were in Europa. Every team plays their youngsters in the Europa and we were one of them. Bentaleb was already in the team by then, and Kane was sort of. Kane and Mason took their very easy chances and made it to the first team. Aside from that Winks has come through, but that is it. No Edwards, Onomah, Amos, Oakley-Boothe cameo's this season or anything. Even against teams like APOEL, or when we were guarenteed finishing top of our easy CL group.

comment by Alexis The King Sanchez (U10026)
posted 8 minutes ago

Arsenal into another final.
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cheers m8, appreciate it

I've actually quite enjoyed the europa this season. liked seeing some of our youngsters.

also it gave wilshere a chance to get ready for where he is now. maitland niles took his oportunities aswell, though i still can't tell if he's any good.

Part 2 of 3:

I like how we play and I think it works. Considering we play a very aggressive back line, especially in our 523 formation, we can afford to have dribblers/destroyers in the midfield (Dembele & Wanyama) and use the creativity of Vertonghen & Alderweirled which is exceptional as the defence plays so aggressively. It works and there is no need to play Eriksen in the side.

With regards to Eriksen he is at his best, in my opinion on the right where the whole wing is occupied by the RB (before Walker, now Aurier) and is allowed to play in pockets of space & have the freedom to roam. He did this last season and was our best player. While he is competent in midfield, I would say he has similarities to a younger Iniesta who I personally prefer a little higher up the pitch.

also, fack the champions league

Part 3/3:

I'm not sure what you mean about Plodder, I would suggest he is quite ruthless a manager as demonstrated at Southampton & Spurs. However if you break any manager down to 3 categories (Coaching, Man-Manager, Tactician) I would say the following:
Coach - He is one of the best in world football, makes every player who plays under him play to their best and has done an exceptional job
Man-Manager - He seems decent at this, not the best at picking players up at half-time it seems. Also a bit too ruthless at times.
Tactician - Distinctly average, costs us a lot with mindless and stupid decisions, which is why we have a lack of success in cups as well. Very poor in-game management skills.

I love the Europa btw Tu Meke, don't like that it causes some players to want to leave but its easy to get tickets, get to see the youngsters play and SHOULD be an easier opportunity to win a respectable trophy.

Sorry, what I meant was 'more physical than technical, and not all too imaginative'.

I suppose your comment about his poor in-game management would support that idea of being a bit slow in his reactions and lacking a more imaginative streak.

About the ruthlessness,yeah. Anyone from Espanyol could have told you that from his treatment of Tamudo.

About youth, I think h's given plenty of opportunities and, now he has a pretty well-established XI, is loaning some of the younger ones out so they can get more regular football. I don't see the problem with that.

Not sure about S'hampton, but he had a fantastic record with youth at Espanyol too.

I dunno, there has been a fair few times when he 'should' have given youth a chance probably. Kyle Walker-Peters has deserved a lot more game-time this year for example.


I'm reading Poch's book and I think he is a bit too simplistic as a manager. He believes that heart and passion is what wins games and will win you trophies etc, as instilled in him by Bielsa and Griffa. Whereas I think he needs to understand that sometimes when you play certain teams (especially lower half - park the bus teams) just a team of good ball players is enough (the Wenger flat-track bully style)

About Eriksen, always talking from limitd viewing, he seems to have a great delivery, which is his main strength out wide. But how many of his assists actually came from open play, and how many of those from wide positions? The issue i'm getting at is whether that is enough to merit his taking up a position there IF (and that's the origin of my question) IF he has the quality and poise to play from deep.

Also, the fact he's out wide could be linked to what I initially said about not being quick-footed enough for the congested space in front of the box.

You say he's more effective when he roams into that area, but perhaps doing so frontally (i.e. from deeper positions) would provide him with a better overall view of the pitch, of space and of the possibilities available.

Anyhow, I dunno. It's just a thought, you're in a much better position to judge.

As for your CBs' creativity, I'd honestly view it more as a welcome complement than as the basis for a team's creativity. It's great to have CBs who can play the ball out, and who can also spray long, accurate balls, but you need midfielders who can offer you a variety of options (long, short, carry, slow down, speed up...), because otherwise you become too predictable.

Your CBs can only carry the ball out occasionally as a surprise element, because they lack the dribbling skills to be abe to afford themselves and the team the risk.

Or maybe we're talking different things?

Yeah I get your point about Eriksen and I don't think he is as intricate as someone like David Silva in those 'slide rule' passes. He excels more at expertly delivered crosses like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=101LuT9xses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgLU6ZRPTQo

Similarly his 'stock' long range goal is cutting in from the right as well like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u53VI9gDkS4

I get your point about him playing deeper and think he could do a good job but with him being as talented as he is further up I would rather him play higher up on the pitch.

I would also argue he is quick-footed, if you ever watch him for Denmark he essentially plays as a #10 and has a lot of success doing so.

We aren't talking about different things with regards to CB's but I don't agree.

We used the midfielders for their dribbling expertise so they can beat a man/press easily. Yet had great success in using the CB's as our deep lying playmakers. Chelsea used the same tactic with great success as well, I think it is a tactic that works really well as the back line creativity and midfield guile is very versatile.

comment by Tu Meke Ainsley (U3732)
posted 1 hour, 19 minutes ago
comment by Alexis The King Sanchez (U10026)
posted 8 minutes ago

Arsenalinto another final.
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cheers m8, appreciate it
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Biggest myth about Pochettino is that he's an all out attacking manager.

comment by Alexis The King Sanchez (U10026)
posted 1 minute ago
Biggest myth about Pochettino is that he's an all out attacking manager.

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He is neither attacking nor defensive in my mind.

https://twitter.com/PortuBall/status/956863469990694912

Real Madrid's Fabio Coentrao accused of racial abuse last night.

Eriksen: that very first clip of yours shows him playing the ball from a very central position, more a long ball than a cross really.

When you call him a winger, with a full back outside, what system is that in? 5 in midfield? It would make more sense to me if he's nominally working the inside right channel. Sorry, I'm not too clued up on formations and tactics, and I've always had a bit of trouble with the concept of a winger in midfield if you're not playing 4 in the middle.

Perhaps what I'm saying is I'd like to see him is on the right side of a scaled midfield 3 - i.e. in front of a DM, but deeper than the LM.

That's fair, Edin, though being a defender I'd say he leans more towards being defensive.

The whole tactic with the cb's playing the ball out is more a defensive tactic than an attacking one, as the midfielders are in the side for protection and quick transitions.

It's similar with Chelsea, difference being you get far more men forward.

You've got a pretty good balance between defence and attaxk. Though I'd say using five defenders in a lot of ganes isn't necessary.

comment by it'sonlyagame (U6426)
posted 9 minutes ago
Eriksen: that very first clip of yours shows him playing the ball from a very central position, more a long ball than a cross really.

When you call him a winger, with a full back outside, what system is that in? 5 in midfield? It would make more sense to me if he's nominally working the inside right channel. Sorry, I'm not too clued up on formations and tactics, and I've always had a bit of trouble with the concept of a winger in midfield if you're not playing 4 in the middle.

Perhaps what I'm saying is I'd like to see him is on the right side of a scaled midfield 3 - i.e. in front of a DM, but deeper than the LM.
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He plays sort of as a right attacking mid with the freedom to roam wherever he wants.
Almost like Mata in this lineup:
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad131/killacam0913/451Narrow.png

He will either play the deepest of the attackers in a 523 or a 4231 (as pictured above). We haven't ever really played with a winger under Poch, that is the job of the fullbacks.

I do think he would work well in a midfield three and I always maintained he is a better fit for Barca than Coutinho is in this current team.

The other thing about Eriksen is his defensive output, he regularly tops the tables for distance covered in a game and distances covered in season.

comment by Alexis The King Sanchez (U10026)
posted 12 minutes ago
That's fair, Edin, though being a defender I'd say he leans more towards being defensive.

The whole tactic with the cb's playing the ball out is more a defensive tactic than an attacking one, as the midfielders are in the side for protection and quick transitions.

It's similar with Chelsea, difference being you get far more men forward.

You've got a pretty good balance between defence and attaxk. Though I'd say using five defenders in a lot of ganes isn't necessary.
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Yeah, its kind of a defensive tactic played offensively. Just have to look at the position of our players when we have the ball (often the deepest defender is 5/10 yards in their half).

Yep keep the ball away from your defenders and keeper and you're less likely to concede.

comment by Alexis The King Sanchez (U10026)
posted 47 seconds ago
Yep keep the ball away from your defenders and keeper and you're less likely to concede.
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In terms of defensively?

comment by Alexis The King Sanchez (U10026)
posted about a minute ago
Yep keep the ball away from your defenders and keeper and you're less likely to concede.
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This, though, is another one of the things I don't really get about using them as your creative hub, as it sounds like it could become pretty vulnerable against decent pressing.

That, along with the fact that they aren't generally the most gifted technically, nor do they tend to have the best creative vision, and I have difficulty seing them in the way Edin describes them.

Yeah it's a good defensive tactic to stop the attacks further up the field.