You mad bro? Don't say his name three times or he'll spring back into the charts like Beatlguise!
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AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAnd this is why I question how much of football he understandsaulinhofacepalm:
I love Mason. And that bit where poch dragged him off, that made me feel all warm inside.
ITS SUCH A GOOD TIME TO BE SPURS.
ITS SUCH A GOOD TIME TO BE SPURS.
We are not a perfect team. But we are so much more enjoyable to watch.
Did you see Schalke last night? That's where I want us to be, ideally.
what a fucking good game that was. Reminded me a bit of chelsea on new years day.
All season I have said that, for all the good things Mason does, as much as we love passion and a home-grown player, he is too inconsistent, too careless indeed too dangerous to be a regular starter in a team at the level we aspire to.
The first 2 goals yesterday were perfect examples of how he costs us.
Pic 1:
As ball is passed to Carrick, Spurs have a reasonable shape. Mason is slightly out of position in that he should be closer to, and perhaps goal side of, Fellani, but there is no real danger. Carrick can be left to collect the ball, Dier is the spare man. What can Carrick do? Shoot and beat Lloris from 40 yards? Pass to Young or Rooney who are marked? Carry it forward and into Dier? Probably just square it to Herrera..........
Pic 2
Mason rushes forward, leaving Fellani, and so Dier has too much ground to make up to cover across. A defence-splitting ball to Fellani woud be easy for Sandra Redknapp, let alone Michael Carrick. 1-0 down, Entirely due to Mason not having the intelligence to read the situation and make the right decision, in a relatively simple attack which you are coached on as a 10 year old.
Pic 3
2nd goal. As the corner is in the air, Mason has a good position marking Carrick at the near post..........
Pic 4
After Fellani fouls Dier to win header and then Chadli knocks it across the area, Mason has switched off, watches the ball and has let Carrick get 7 yards away from him to have a free header. (And, yes, I have no idea what Walker was doing either).
I know we were bad, but these mistakes set us off and there was no coming back. And the third, well, Bentaleb's error really doesn't need pictures.
The first 2 goals yesterday were perfect examples of how he costs us.
Pic 1:
As ball is passed to Carrick, Spurs have a reasonable shape. Mason is slightly out of position in that he should be closer to, and perhaps goal side of, Fellani, but there is no real danger. Carrick can be left to collect the ball, Dier is the spare man. What can Carrick do? Shoot and beat Lloris from 40 yards? Pass to Young or Rooney who are marked? Carry it forward and into Dier? Probably just square it to Herrera..........
Pic 2
Mason rushes forward, leaving Fellani, and so Dier has too much ground to make up to cover across. A defence-splitting ball to Fellani woud be easy for Sandra Redknapp, let alone Michael Carrick. 1-0 down, Entirely due to Mason not having the intelligence to read the situation and make the right decision, in a relatively simple attack which you are coached on as a 10 year old.
Pic 3
2nd goal. As the corner is in the air, Mason has a good position marking Carrick at the near post..........
Pic 4
After Fellani fouls Dier to win header and then Chadli knocks it across the area, Mason has switched off, watches the ball and has let Carrick get 7 yards away from him to have a free header. (And, yes, I have no idea what Walker was doing either).
I know we were bad, but these mistakes set us off and there was no coming back. And the third, well, Bentaleb's error really doesn't need pictures.
Mason was pretty horrendous yesterday tbf. Positionally i'm still not sold on him in the CM role (although i do rate him as an advanced attacking midfielder). He has similarities to Adam Lallana which is why i think an advanced central position is ideal for him but as a CM? hmmmm i think he really needs to work on his positioning.
Bit harsh mate. Chadli is more at fault for the first goal, no pressure on Carrick, also bare in mind that Carrick started his move to receive the ball by coming deep out of defence (I can't remember the position of Kane in relation to this move, but it is possible Kane was closer to Carrick than Chadli if so Kane should have tracked Carrick's run out of defence). Either way, the style we are developing is a high press, which was non-existent yesterday and the lack it IMO was the cause of the goal. If you stop Carrick's pass you prevent the goal.All season I have said that, for all the good things Mason does, as much as we love passion and a home-grown player, he is too inconsistent, too careless indeed too dangerous to be a regular starter in a team at the level we aspire to.
The first 2 goals yesterday were perfect examples of how he costs us.
Pic 1:
As ball is passed to Carrick, Spurs have a reasonable shape. Mason is slightly out of position in that he should be closer to, and perhaps goal side of, Fellani, but there is no real danger. Carrick can be left to collect the ball, Dier is the spare man. What can Carrick do? Shoot and beat Lloris from 40 yards? Pass to Young or Rooney who are marked? Carry it forward and into Dier? Probably just square it to Herrera..........
Pic 2
Mason rushes forward, leaving Fellani, and so Dier has too much ground to make up to cover across. A defence-splitting ball to Fellani woud be easy for Sandra Redknapp, let alone Michael Carrick. 1-0 down, Entirely due to Mason not having the intelligence to read the situation and make the right decision, in a relatively simple attack which you are coached on as a 10 year old.
Pic 3
2nd goal. As the corner is in the air, Mason has a good position marking Carrick at the near post..........
Pic 4
After Fellani fouls Dier to win header and then Chadli knocks it across the area, Mason has switched off, watches the ball and has let Carrick get 7 yards away from him to have a free header. (And, yes, I have no idea what Walker was doing either).
I know we were bad, but these mistakes set us off and there was no coming back. And the third, well, Bentaleb's error really doesn't need pictures.
Or that some people might not have rated him as highly as others to begin with?
Positionally he's not a central midfielder imo and suits an attacking role far more. His work ethic is great BUT he's not very good at tracking the runner and is not very good defensively when the opposition is pressing forward. Can he improve? of course he can but i would look to bring in another CM to start with Benteleb next season.
I think the main problem is, and has been all season, is that up against teams who play 3 in midfield, we struggle. Mason waa dreadful yesterday but so was everyone not named Kane and Rose and even they didn't have the best games.
I've said all along, Mason will need to be upgraded in central midfield and I'm sure everyone will agree, but right now he and Bentaleb are the best in our squad at what they do and what we need in their. He'll play against Leicester, probably have a blinder and all will have been forgotten.
I've said all along, Mason will need to be upgraded in central midfield and I'm sure everyone will agree, but right now he and Bentaleb are the best in our squad at what they do and what we need in their. He'll play against Leicester, probably have a blinder and all will have been forgotten.
He was a striker up until a cpl years ago and has hardly played in that time. Hes been a real find but needs to be bled into the side not utterly relied upon. Wldnt mind seeing him ten with eriksen 11. Eriksen seems more destructive there and naybe mason will make us harder to play against higher up?
I don't think we've been using our squad to the best of its ability. Posted these the other day:
While I agree, I think that Mason and Bentaleb can't do it on their own against a 3 man midfield, and I think they need help against competent teams.
Be it Dembele or Eriksen, I think we need a 3 man midfield until summer, and then likely someone to replace Mason as a starting CM. He's got heart, soul and some technical skills, but he's not a CM, never was before and may never be at the level we need.
It's not entirely his fault, but his shortcomings can be painfully apparent at times.
Re-read my first sentence. This is not a reaction to yesterday, I have maintained all season he is not good enough as a CM. It was just that yesterday brought that sharply in to focus, and I thought the pix illustrated the point well.
Yesterday was a terrible performance all-round, but these things happen. It has still been, and will be, a decent season. We are all still, after all, Tottenham until we die, we just want the best we can be.
It's not just about him though, even though at times it's clear he is a converted forward playing in midfield, because he has a tremendous work ethic.
His very partnership with Bentaleb remains a problem. They simply have no or little clue how to position themselves and of when to press-vs-drop. Neither do they comprehend how to track runners and cover the space ahead of the defence.
We need to play Eriksen in central midfield and we need him to start a good 10-15 yards further back, also to get him on the ball earlier and help us soak up then first 10 secs of frantic pressing after we just won the ball.
But I have to say, that we will also need to look into signing a more experience defensive midfielder with positional sense and leadership qualities.
He is not good enough for this level