Spurs (A) - Post-Match Thread

I can't put a finger on us as it's more than just 1 issue but from many games this season we seem only able to attempt attack via crossing the ball in as other teams have "figured us out" to the point that they pack in and force this. Our creativity in the final 3rd is not there... the key to unlocking the stubborn defenses propped up against us isn't out there for us at present. We don't have the counterattack and when we seldom do it fizzles. That other teams are allowing us 65+ % possession means counterattack isn't exactly in the offing). We have not and do not have an out and out dominant striker and whether Jesus (whom I really rate and like as a player) can be that I don't know... Yet as said that alone is not the cure. I am trying to change tack and not blame but if I had to point out weak links... FFS seems to disappear and at one point yesterday the commentator mentioned it appeared he had stopped trying to even attempt runs as Reguillon had locked him down and thus "his confidence was gone" this is unacceptable. He seemed a little less greedy but maybe that's me not trying to push him under the team bus. Cancelo for all his skill is not effective defensively and if I could guess he, as I can't recall seems Angelinoesque in that he appears primed as an attack minded wing back who has 3 behind him in defense to lighten his defensive duties. I'm happier with our CB pairing and do feel we made a good move in Dias but when we are hit on the break we are at our most brittle. Rodri had a better game but his Frankenstein in mud recovery rate still scares me when other teams break. This season will see shifts in the table every week but every week we seem to be in the same spot. We have a decent stretch ahead the next few weeks both domestically and CL- games where we need and hopefully will have the space to make improvements. Intangibly- the fight and the heart that I see in teams who are - on paper - not as talented as us is not present in this squad. The complacency is there. We expect to throw a switch, and the switch is too high to reach when we need it. I will not give up but I am tempering my expectations. Life is too short to allow disappointment in your football club to be in your head first thing in the morning... It was clearly for me today so maybe I need to reevaluate.
 
tolmie's hairdoo said:
It's not the strikers, it's the supply.

Rodri wasn't even the issue yesterday, he was one of the better performers, but you know you are in trouble when Harry Kane is leaving you for dead and he effectively gave up the chase after him.

The goals conceded yesterday were very reminiscent of the ones against Lyon last season, people not switched on, balls over the top and into the channels, exposing Ederson stood in no-man's land.

Until we get someone who can do the hard yards and allow De Bruyne to make more considered bursts of energy, where it serves us best, in the attacking number ten space, we are still going to be banging our heads against a brick wall.

Teams have always sat in against us, nothing has changed on that score.

The only difference is that opponents are asking their forwards not to press Eddie or our backline, essentially telling them to drop into midfield and create a further block in front of our own midfield, the supply is becoming more high percentage risk passing when aimed between the lines.

Those opposing forwards are happy to drop deeper because they now have the ambition and knowledge that there will be fifty yards of space to run in behind us because we are all on top of each other.

They wouldn't do that previously when Fern was able to physically defend the transition.

Teams want us passing out wide, especially to Mahrez, who is an absolute liability every time he plays.

A shirker, someone who wants the personal glory, but doesn't have the heart or the bollocks to earn it for either himself or his team-mates, floating aimless lofted passes to the non-existent back post.

Teams are evolving and modifying because they know we have some players who are soft touches or don't want to fight for the right to play.

That's on Pep, he is a person who refuses to evolve or modify his demands to play a certain way, so buys players previously suited to a style of play which has been not so much found out, but isn't the all-conquering conundrum it once was.
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Excellent post. If the humble fan can see this why can't Pep. Teams know that we can't score whilst we are messing about passing the ball aimlessly across our 18 yard box. They also know if they force us wide we haven't got an aerial threat for balls into the box, and inverted wingers gives the defence time to get back in numbers. 3 or 4 times yesterday Mahrez cut inside and tried to whip a cross in to Torres who's a midget. Our play is broken at the minute. Until something changes we could find ourselves in for a long hard season.
 
Neville Kneville said:
For the system to work, we have to be bullying teams in attack & robbing the ball off them constantly.

We are pedestrian in attack & not very quick to press or 2nd ball.

So it's pass pass pass pass pass pass pass wrong pass, panic.
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Well put mate. I just wrote a Tolstoy length post and realize in reading this less is definitely more.
 
tolmie's hairdoo said:
It's not the strikers, it's the supply.

Rodri wasn't even the issue yesterday, he was one of the better performers, but you know you are in trouble when Harry Kane is leaving you for dead and he effectively gave up the chase after him.

The goals conceded yesterday were very reminiscent of the ones against Lyon last season, people not switched on, balls over the top and into the channels, exposing Ederson stood in no-man's land.

Until we get someone who can do the hard yards and allow De Bruyne to make more considered bursts of energy, where it serves us best, in the attacking number ten space, we are still going to be banging our heads against a brick wall.

Teams have always sat in against us, nothing has changed on that score.

The only difference is that opponents are asking their forwards not to press Eddie or our backline, essentially telling them to drop into midfield and create a further block in front of our own midfield, the supply is becoming more high percentage risk passing when aimed between the lines.

Those opposing forwards are happy to drop deeper because they now have the ambition and knowledge that there will be fifty yards of space to run in behind us because we are all on top of each other.

They wouldn't do that previously when Fern was able to physically defend the transition.

Teams want us passing out wide, especially to Mahrez, who is an absolute liability every time he plays.

A shirker, someone who wants the personal glory, but doesn't have the heart or the bollocks to earn it for either himself or his team-mates, floating aimless lofted passes to the non-existent back post.

Teams are evolving and modifying because they know we have some players who are soft touches or don't want to fight for the right to play.

That's on Pep, he is a person who refuses to evolve or modify his demands to play a certain way, so buys players previously suited to a style of play which has been not so much found out, but isn't the all-conquering conundrum it once was.
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Yeah exactly. The opposition players don’t press our defenders or goalkeepers which is why ederson rarely makes long passes. Teams are now more drilled against us and rarely leave the space that they used to.
But I can’t lie that it is worrisome. Pep is being paid the big bucks but he is not changing anything.
 
KDB seems to be getting a lot of stick but for me he is still the only one trying things, driving us forward etc.

When you look at his stats, it still looks to me like he is busting his bollocks to make things happen.

Goals 1
Assists 3
Through Balls 5
Big chances created 4
Shots 25 on target 6
Crosses 49 accuracy 24%
Tackles 10

that’s from 7 matches

Contrast that with Bernado stats.

goals 0
Assists 0
Through balls 0
Chances created 0
Shots 3 On Target 1
Crosses 6 - accuracy 0%
Tackles 7

That is in 6 matches !!
 
Big Yaya Wilko 12 said:
It was a collective shit show that goal, but it starts from Rodri being out of position. Again. If it's once or twice you let it go, everyone gets caught out of position once in a while. But it's consistently with him.
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I have a feeling you would lay the blame at Rodri’s door for any goal we concede. I’ve watched that goal from last night countless times and to actually blame Rodri is just garbage mate.
 
BlueMonkey79 said:
Rodri, Laporte, Cancelo and Ederson could all have done better.
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If you’re always looking to blame Rodri for something, you will find something. There was nothing he could do in this instance, with Bernardo pressing him Not quite effectively enough why does Rodri get blamed ?
 
Every single stat is heavily in our favour (ten corners to their zero, five shots on target to their two, to mention just those!), except the crucial one, the only one that counts. Who puts the ball in the back of the net. This is not the first time this has happened. It has happened regularly over the last sixteen months. You can search around, you won't find one other club in the PL that that is true of. And I strongly doubt that you'll find it in Europe (although I'm on shakier ground there). What do we learn from that? That we have to change the way we play, at least in certain matches. Over to you, Pep. You're the man that gets paid for thinking, and you're the man who's just renewed his contract (something which I'm mightily glad about, lest there be any ambiguity). Rethink it, man, because the writing's on the wall — lesser teams than ours in terms of raw talent have got us sussed.
 
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BlueMonkey79 said:
Rodri, Laporte, Cancelo and Ederson could all have done better.
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thing is for a goal to be scored 99 times out of a 100 the defending team needs to make a mistake, perhaps we are blaming our players to much when in fact it was a clever run by Keane who took both our CB backs out of play. So yes they made a mistake but it was a clever run that made them make the mistake.

How many times in the past have City ripped a team apart only for us to complain that all the press do is talk about how bad the other team was and not how good City were ?

Spurs had a plan stuck to it and force City into making mistakes, by playing well.
 
Marvin said:
I agree. However it's more than just Mahrez. We're not just one player short. Mahrez has always been that little bit unconvincing. He's playing exactly the same way for us he always has.

The truth is worse. There's nothing inside and that's why Mahrez's lack of directness stands out more to you now. I agree. He needs to drop but so does KDB.

This group is finished I am afraid unless Pep makes some big decisions.
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The most frustrating thing for me yesterday & in other games too is that you could see what was going to happen after 20 mins yet nothing was done to change it.
Pep is one of the best managers to have ever lived.
If Working stuffs like us can see that wtf cant he?
Everyone has flaws, its human nature.
Peps is his stubbornness.
Like some of have suggested a better number 2 is needed to give him some guidance & a different point if view maybe?
 
mayo31 said:
Because we play football

Would you really want what you are suggesting
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It's working for spurs...

Would you rather us continue to play possession based aimless passing and fight for top 6 or more direct and be in the hunt for the title?

"Football" is evolving. And at the minute we are getting left behind.
 
BolinCell said:
Moureen has made a career out of sitting back, and telling his players to use the dark arts. Pep isn't going to ruin his reputation doing that he has more class.
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But perhaps you and he might see there’s plenty of ground between those two extremes?

Our beautiful football is metamorphosing all too often into fruitless possession. Neither effective nor particularly aesthetic.

Every single PL manager - Noddy and all - seems to know how to beat us. Luckily, a number of them still don‘t possess the resources to convert that knowledge into points.
 
Painful to watch the game again but having done that it is clear to see we have a couple of glaring issues.

When Pep first put his stamp on our play every single player looked fluid and the constant movement and pressing from every player allowed the creative ones to have extra time and space. We now look flat footed and slow.

Confidence, particularly in attack, is a fickle thing and there are a few who suddenly seem not able to play without the brakes on. I don't know if it's because Pep is telling them to be more cautious or once on the pitch we haven't got the characters to lift the team when something goes wrong.

We have some exceptional young players and it's the time for Pep to trust them more. Torres and Foden are the future and we have to let them grow into the potential superstars they are. I can get fully behind that. Watching FFS suck the life out of our attack is something however I don't want to see anymore. Stick to the current way we play and you will see the likes of Kev get knackered and injured as he strives to fill the work of others. It will be interesting to see how we react and particularly how Pep reacts with his selections, dropping Mahrez would tell us a lot about his desire to put it right quickly.
 
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