Agree with all of this. As wretchedly bad as Trippier and Rose were in an attacking sense (let's not pull any punches, they were really bad), most of the time there was nobody for them to cross to. HK came short a lot of the time and without Dele running beyond him, there's nothing. It isn't Sonny's forte and it sure as hell isn't anything that Christian Eriksen, Moussa and Big Vic can help with.
So we passed it sideways and backwards and tried intricate passes on the edge of the area until we lost the ball. The only player that could have altered the pattern was Lucas Moura. He will run beyond HK and can convert crosses. Llorente's a threat from set pieces and late on.
Everything you mention here is all linked to one another, IMO. I mentioned several factors after the Chelsea game, and it was clear again.
HK is now marked by 2. That’s a given. In addition, Son is often surrounded the moment he receives, often with his back to goal. Both try to play pretty central, until they are inevitably forced to receive from slightly wider or deeper. However, if that many opposing players are working as a tight unit to nullify arguably our two biggest threats (and remember it is only 2 players being potentially marked by 4 or 5), that exposes other areas on the pitch. Those being the wider areas away from goal, that our “wing backs” should be exploiting. The threat of wide players stretches a defence across the pitch. It’s not rocket science. And this is why fans are growing more and more frustration with Trippier, Davies, and Aurier to some extent. Other teams know their every move. So their defence can continue to double up and leave no spaces centrally for Kane and Son. With the way we set up, you have to let your opponents know that you possess the threat of wider players who will run at you and try to get in behind, if given the chance. Even if those wide players spend periods of the game without the ball, but hug the touch line, that’s enough on its own to create some space in the middle, especially if there’s any chance that they will make a run down the line if given the space. But we just don’t have that anymore. What we see, especially on the right hand side, is no one bothering to keep tight on Trippier, they just make sure they are pushing him far enough back so any attempted cross comes from too far out to be a genuine threat, whilst still positioning themselves close enough to the remaining members of their back 4/5 so the defence is still tight enough centrally. 2 birds killed with 1 stone. - Trippier negated. Kane and Son kept quiet.
This also becomes frustrating for Eriksen. What kind of magic is he supposed to produce in his position when there’s no space for link up play? You’ll often see him have no choice but to play a wide pass to Trippier, who immediately stands still and passes it 5-10 yards backwards to a DM or CB. It’s no wonder Eriksen is dispossessed so often. He’s often crowded out with no outlet ball.
I’d much rather see Moura over Lamela at the moment, simply because he’s more creative and direct, and doesn’t look like a rabbit caught in headlights. But I still not sure how he will be the solution with the existing problems. Once again, he’ll be picked up and attacks will break down.
IMO nearly everything* stems from not having wing backs who are a genuine threat for our opponents. We rarely saw this with Rose and Walker. Granted, Walker had a ****e cross, but full backs couldn’t take their eyes off of him, otherwise he’d be sprinting into the penalty box (where you can’t touch him) or to the by line to play a cut back. With rose on the other side providing something similar, we saw a much more free flowing dangerous Tottenham on the attack. It’s no coincidence, IMO.
*apart from brain farts.