Tbf, the quick buildup was a significant improvement. So many good positions to miss the target from. Skipp was really good. Give Ndombele a longer runout next time, because he and Kane are the two best at picking a pass.
I've been pretty much doing that since he left, as I have with Dembele. I think even a downed tools Eriksen in his final 6 months was better than any of the (supposed) creative options we have. But that said, right now Ndombele is the only one I have the slightest bit of faith in to knock a forward pass and so between now and January I think we have to find space for him, ditch the 343 (bye Lucas) and go 352. Both will likely be gone in January, with a bit of luck they will anway. They're not getting a look-in here barring some bizarre miracle. There's no place for Dele whatsoever, he doesn't fit into a 343 and even in a 352 there are options that make more sense before picking him. Thanks for your first two seasons but off you trot. As for Bergwijn, unfortunately he just hasn't been able to replicate his first 5 or 6 games for us. A solitary goal in his last 16 or so months and often looks confused as to what football is about (he's not the only one at this club though). The sheer fact he still can't displace or even get on for one of Lucas or Son at the moment is also damning because those two have been so poor.
Just to cheer you all up... Including added on time Origi played 19 mins v West Ham today. In that time he scored a goal ... something spurs haven't done in their last 340 mins (over 3 hand a half matches) of Premier league football. He had two attempts on target... that's 2 more than spurs have had in their last 240 mins (over 2 and a half games) of Premier league football.
Son's form of late has been shocking and somewhat surprising as he usually has a path of 3-4 really poor games then goes on a world class bender for the next 6 and looks unstoppable but he hasn't really got going at all this season. Neither has Kane tbh but the explanation there is obvious and entirely of his own making. Son remains a puzzler. Some have suggested Kane's actions over the summer caused a rift between the pair that is irreparable and tbh it does look like they've never played together before rather than having just come off back of a record breaking season of mutual assists. Son will likely suffer most from the new system. He isn't as good or as strong on the ball as Kane and isn't as good at Lucas at close quarters dribbling. He has always operated best exploiting pockets of space between the lines and cutting inside to curl a shot in. In most games against weaker teams this season (even West Ham played this way tbh so maybe it's just a general awareness of how we are struggling post Eriksen and Demebele), their defensive shape sees the midfield line move extremely close to the defensive line, no more than 10 yards. This doesn't deal with our wing backs but as mentioned that isn't the end of the world as neither of them is great at crossing. What it does do is present Skipp/Hojbjerg with two banks of 4 which they lack the tools to pick apart. Lucas can try to carry the ball through those lines and win a free kick, but for all the good they do we might as well just give the ball straight to the opposition goalkeeper. This means Son often receives possession with his back to goal and not enough clear out balls so he'll either panic and lose possession or panic and try a stupid pass. The absolute key to this imo is going 352 and replacing Lucas with either someone who can draw defenders to themselves and create pockets for Son to thrive in (i.e. Dembele), or an Eriksen type for whom two banks of 4 isn't as much of a challenge. You mention Ndombele but if I'm honest I don't see a future for him if that is the system. His passing isn't reliable enough to emulate Eriksen and he is nowhere near as strong in possession as Dembele. I agree - for now he is our best option there, but in time we'll almost certainly need a major upgrade.
Pass map time please log in to view this image Well, there's no denying the shape is different to what it was under Nuno, as we have this thing call "width" not just from the FBs, but also Lucas is playing as a winger again - although the obvious point of concern is that Sonny is playing in the same three feet of space that Kane is, coupled with how Reguilon is either a.) Playing as both a LB and LW, which he was under Nuno b.) Playing the free role out wide, as Aurier was under the ubermensch The obvious issue which is sort of indicated here but was obvious when watching the game is that, as was the case against Vitesse, the forward line remain completely static when they don't have the ball, whereas under Poch they were moving into position when the ball was moving at the pitch at the feet of Dembele, Walker or Rose, and that's demonstrated by just how sideways the passing is, to the point you could plonk a ruler on the screen and have a straight line between Reguilon and Lucas The other thing which stands out is how Hojbjerg was having an off day moving the ball forward. Obviously he's doing a good job moving it out to Emerson, and is always available for passes from Emerson and Romero, but look at his completed passes and there is a problem, namely in order they're to Emerson, Romero, Dier, Skipp, Kane/Lucas - and similar can be said for Skipp as he's sending it to Davies first, Son/Hojbjerg second. But the biggest issue is Lucas reverted to Bermuda Trinagle mode, because Emerson's getting the ball to him regularly and Hojbjerg's getting the ball to him, but where does it go? The only player receiving the ball from Lucas is...Emerson Now before it sounds like I'm dunking on Conte I'm not, because you can see we're set up to be more expansive while Nuno's passmaps showed our front three playing very narrow while the FBs who were supposed to offer width weren't pushing high enough which led to so much recycling the ball in midfield, but what does have to be said is that we needed either Skipp or Hojbjerg to break the lines from midfield but instead they played it to their respective FB every single time, although I'm willing to believe this is a bad habit learned from the last couple of managers that can (and has to) be remedied in the coming weeks, because as today showed the willing was there but the fitness will take a few weeks
I don't really buy that there's been a rift, unless I missed it I haven't seen anything from Gold or Kilpatrick about one either and so chances are if there is a rumour it's likely false. I think part, in fact most of the issues stem from Nuno. Mentally Kane may not have been completely on it for the first few games but I don't think his performances of late have been down to a lack of trying, I just think Nuno's style and even demeanour (plus the fact it was pretty evident no one really wanted him) has managed to suck the life out of anything good that was left in this squad and it's going to take Conte a while to rebuild it. Kane, Son and Lucas have probably touched the ball more in the two games under Conte than they did in the games under Nuno but the problem is that it feels like they've all forgotten what to actually do with it now, though it hasn't been helped that they're often receiving the ball in non-dangerous scenarios and that's where a lack of an Eriksen is killing us in my opinion. No one's playing the through balls for Son to run onto and no one's teeing up Kane to rifle or head them in. I don't rate Ndombele one bit for what it's worth, I just rate Lo Celso and Dele far less. We absolutely need to shift at least two out in January (I fear it'll only be one) whilst bringing in someone who goes straight into the XI but for now, Ndombele in a 352 makes more sense than the current 343. The commentator on my stream said before the game that it feels like Conte's gone for the hard working safe bets early on and that in time he'll start being more expansive and open and I think/ hope that'll be the case because despite us still lacking potency, there's already an improvement in the way we're moving the ball about and the structure seems a lot more logical, we're just lacking a few bits of the puzzle to make it all properly click but some of it can be papered over to a degree until January with a few tweaks by the manager.
Turns out instead of being signed, you now only have to be heavily linked with spurs to forget how to play football! 20 minutes into Milan derby, penalty given away after messing around at the back by kessie then de vrij equalises with an own goal!
To be fair I get his frustration. Overturning it was the right call, but there's no way that would have been overturned in front of the Stretford End or the Kop.
Bizarrely we have played 9 out of the other top 11 teams in our first 11 matches. Our next four matches will be interesting as they are theoretically much easier. If we can get some good results out of those it could give us higher confidence for Brighton, Leicester and Liverpool in the run up to Christmas.
It also has to be said that (hopefully...) by mid-December the players' fitness will start to visibly improve
If you make the (heroic) assumptions that the current league table indicates that there are 12 good teams and 8 poor ones and that our results against each group are representative then we are on target for 72 points based on current form.
Correct. And Holgate's assault on Hojbjerg would have been given as a free kick to Pool/Utd for obstruction.
While I also get the frustration, it was as good an example as you could find of how VAR is supposed to work on penalties. In real time, it looked like Lloris missed the ball and tripped the player. On review, it's clear and obvious he got the ball. So the call should have been and was overturned. Unfortunately, a functional understanding of the words "clear and obvious" is clearly and obviously beyond the grasp of some PL officials.
It's almost like getting pulled over for speeding. You're in the wrong and obviously breaking the law in your blacked out Mercedes AMG sports car but you know full well the guy in the Bentley doing the exact same speed in the lane next to you isn't getting pulled over. Benitez thought Everton could probably get away with it, maybe if he was the other side of Stanley Park he would have.
Especially as he had a good chance of scoring if the game isn't stopped. Better refereeing would have been to let the move finish before blowing for a penalty. Not complaining mind.
