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Match Coventry City v Tottenham Hotspur | Carabao Cup 3rd Round | Sept 18th | 8pm

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VonnegutBusy said:
Not saying he was bad but I don't think he stood out and generally in his Spurs appearances to date I see a nice, tidy, safe player with a good engine but not this supposed generational talent some people are mentioning.
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They were glimpses of cracking talent. The run in the first half that ended with him being hacked down springs to mind.

Him, Bergvall and even Spence showed something different and got me excited at times tonight.

They've all got different ceilings obviously. Let's hope they are high ones.
 
Dudski said:
I agree with you about counter attacking. When it is done well it is one of the most exciting aspects of the game. We've got Son, who is really great at stretching the pitch, but this system takes away a big positive part of his game. And Johnson, for his faults, has so much pace we don't see often enough.
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Wouldn't it be better to upgrade a 32yo Son and Johnson with players that suit the current. more proactive system, that change a head coach and have to change a bunch of other players to suit a bus park and break system?

Also, we tried the bus park and break system with three coaches prior to Ange, it was awful, even with Son, and fucking terrible to watch.
 
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Dudski said:
As little as I know about football, only having started watching when I retired here in the US, I've always been struck by how you can sense when a team is about to score. Once someone beats their man 1 v 1 and a defender comes to help you've disarranged the back line and things open up. I understand what Postecoglou is trying to achieve, but what I haven't seen yet is Spurs attack in the final third get teams on the back foot. I don't think he will give up his system, but obviously there is still work to do because the attack isn't moving the opposition's players out of position.
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Yep you are right. Your talking about the deliberate overloads caused by a quick forward pass or bit of one verses one skill that breaks the line, allowing the attacking team open up a set defence.

Ange uses his tucked in fullbacks to add numbers, allowing them to underlap on the inside and play in the wide players to cut the ball back from the edge of the penalty box to a forward to tap in.

It worked brilliantly first ten games because no one new where or why our fullbacks (Porro and Udogie )were appearing and adding bodies to the midfield. Now coaches have worked it out they are telling their players to stay central not get drawn to their runs and retain the defensive shape. Which is why you see us constantly having to recycle the ball as the runs are not opening them up and we have to go back and try to draw then out over and over.
As one poster said if you just invert one of the fullbacks at any give time( preference being Porro as his delivery is better offensively) we'd be more secure with Udogie available to help clean up if they win the ball and break, and it also would create more space as he could stand on the far touch line with them having to commit a man out to mark him. Leaving more room in the center for Maddison or Bissouma to create that scenario you identify. Take on the player beat him and punch the hole for that forward pass to make a scoring chance.
 
Dudski said:
As little as I know about football, only having started watching when I retired here in the US, I've always been struck by how you can sense when a team is about to score. Once someone beats their man 1 v 1 and a defender comes to help you've disarranged the back line and things open up. I understand what Postecoglou is trying to achieve, but what I haven't seen yet is Spurs attack in the final third get teams on the back foot. I don't think he will give up his system, but obviously there is still work to do because the attack isn't moving the opposition's players out of position.
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You've hit the nail on the head. This is exactly what many of us - including Ange - were crying out for. 1v1 wide specialists that can commit defences, drag defenders out of position etc and capitalise on high press turnovers etc.

What he got was Johnson, Werner and this window a 19yo kid (Odobert).
 
bus-conductor said:
You've hit the nail on the head. This is exactly what many of us - including Ange - were crying out for. 1v1 wide specialists that can commit defences, drag defenders out of position etc and capitalise on high press turnovers etc.

What he got was Johnson, Werner and this window a 19yo kid (Odobert).
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A certain Pep Guardiola once said "it's my job to get you to the final third. It's your job to finish" and that "the final 3rd is talent, not tactics"

That's basically what Ange does. We are one of the best teams in the league at build up out of a press and interplay in midfield, it's beyond that which is the problem and that's a personnel issue. Not system.

If we had Doku, Savio, Haaland as our front three. We'd have even less issues.
 
Starks said:

View: https://x.com/SpursOfficial/status/1836524348519419932?t=79wet8VtOsud7deK7hVR6w&s=19

Really is a lovely goal.

Maddison and Kulusevski brilliant.
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That zipped, first time ball by Maddison is what made that goal. Looked simple but no one else out there tonight has the vision and touch to play that first time and execute it like that. And I'm not even saying that Maddison is spunktastic, but that's how bereft we are of that kind of quality.
 
bus-conductor said:
That zipped, first time ball by Maddison is what made that goal. Looked simple but no one else out there tonight has the vision and touch to play that first time and execute it like that. And I'm not even saying that Maddison is spunktastic, but that's how bereft we are of that kind of quality.
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It was excellent - he gets flack but I think bar the Woolwich game, Maddison has had a pretty good start to the season.

I know you're not his biggest fan but taking that touch on the bounce with his weaker foot and passing it with his left through to Spence was really exquisite play by Kulusevski too.
 
Starks said:
It was excellent - he gets flack but I think bar the Woolwich game, Maddison has had a pretty good start to the season.

I know you're not his biggest fan but taking that touch on the bounce with his weaker foot and passing it with his left through to Spence was really exquisite play by Kulusevski too.
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I think Maddison was our best player in that Arse game, which admittedly, isn't saying much.
 
bus-conductor said:
You've hit the nail on the head. This is exactly what many of us - including Ange - were crying out for. 1v1 wide specialists that can commit defences, drag defenders out of position etc and capitalise on high press turnovers etc.

What he got was Johnson, Werner and this window a 19yo kid (Odobert).
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Odobert was a good pickup. Top 1% of all 1v1 players. Definitely see a brighter future for him than a certain winger that I should not say anything negative about today. Still has a lot of progress to make though.
 
VonnegutBusy said:
Redknapp is right Ange did take liberties with his team selection. Strange for someone desperate for a win and after what happened at Fulham last season.

The drop off from Romero/VDV to Drag/Davies is too big. We can't get any play going.

Without Kulu and Madders in the side we have no way to threaten.

We know our wingers are shit but there's nothing we can do except hope we don't see Werner again.

With Odobert out we are very thin. Moore needs to get a shot. Werner, Johnson, Son are not good enough (good finish from BJ but he was utter gash for 94 mins, it's not sustainable).

Ange is still in big trouble. Alarm bells would have been ringing for Levy tonight.
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He's full of shit and needs to go.

Absolute liberties.
 
Starks said:
A certain Pep Guardiola once said "it's my job to get you to the final third. It's your job to finish" and that "the final 3rd is talent, not tactics"

That's basically what Ange does. We are one of the best teams in the league at build up out of a press and interplay in midfield, it's beyond that which is the problem and that's a personnel issue. Not system.

If we had Doku, Savio, Haaland as our front three. We'd have even less issues.
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It took a bit of time for even Pep and his oil based club to build up their group of forwards.

But we are starting from Son, Solanke, Richarlison, Werner, Johnson and Odobert as our group of forwards.

Werner's loan lands next summer (if we don't try to offload him in January), an ageing Son, an out of form/often injured Richarlison, who reputedly refused to move on in summer, a new boy Solanke who I think will be ok but like many new boys might take much of this season. Johnson who will probably do fine if he plays with a striker like Solanke (he wasn't last season) and Odobert who has a season of PL football behind him, but might take a few months to adjust to Spurs and is that 1 v1 winger many on TFC wanted.

Realistically we will do well to upgrade on 2 of Werner, Richarlison and Son next summer - players of the quality we need are not that common so getting even 2 of them in will not be easy. So our forwards next season will almost certainly include Solanke, Johnson and Odobert ..... simply both because it takes time to bring in multiple forwards, but we also need to give them time to show what they can do and two of them still in their first season and the other his second season which is not too long to show what they can do.

The question is going to be whether 19 year old Lankshear and 17 year old Moore show enough this season to make a real difference next season - a tough ask, but both will count as List B u21's so won't take up a squad place. Maybe a wild card but anything is possible, and both excellent prospects

So its going to take a bit of time to upgrade ........ regardless of who is manager !
 
Some strange subs today - but given we play Brentford at weekend, does it suggest Ange resting players so that Udogie, Bergvall, Solanke are starting against Brentford, and with Maddison and Kulusevski coming on late as subs, will also start v Brentford - Kulusevski as RW given Johnson played the full 90 mins and Odobert probably out injured.
 
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