Little Laptop, the keyboard dog, certainly had a busy night. That was very nearly the best I've ever seen Spurs play. The sharpness of the passing and energy getting the ball at the goal were shocking. There were any number of key moments in the turnaround. One that stood out to me was Doherty cutting inside after the excellent pass from Hojbjerg. Wingers and fullbacks tend to either stop and put in a cross, or try to beat their man to the outside. But when the player and the ball are going straight at the goal, and the defender is retreating in the same direction, it's very hard for him to clear the ball out of danger. (Leicester took advantage of the same thing for both their goals.) Spurs have played both their best games the two times they've played 5-3-2. Do they dare try it against Chelsea? I certainly hope so. Ironically enough, they attack much more when they have fewer attackers, because they then try to control the midfield. The downside is that it leaves them open to the counter, and when the backline is Davies Sanchez Tanganga, with Reguilon and Doherty on the wings, that's frightening. I couldn't believe how loud the away support was from the first whistle. Spurs have gone 6-3-0 in the PL since Conte arrived. If the officials had applied clear rules correctly, it would be 8-1-0. Even so, Spurs have underperformed their expected goal difference because their finishing has been crap. They're also desperately in need of young goal scorers. Could Bergwijn be an important part of the answer? He's had three goals and an assist in his last two games. Almost everyone has said the players aren't good enough. I'm not so sure. Doherty (What am I saying??!!!) Romero Dier Davies Reguilon/Sessegnon Hjobjerg Skipp Son Kane Bergwijn/Winks look pretty good to me. It's amazing how different players become when they have a clear understanding of what they need to do to help the team win, and what they need to do is something they can actually do reasonably well. Conte has probably added 50 million in value to the squad by player whispering. Meanwhile another magical Spurs transfer window has made my hopes of improving the squad disappear..and left me praying they don't sell Bergwijn. I believe Conte will walk if Spurs don't 1. Make at least one big signing in this window (Traore might do) 2. Keep Bergwijn
I’m liking the 352 more and more. It places huge demands on the WBs and the two 8s though, I dread to think of the shift Højbjerg and Skipp put in. I think it also suits Winks well. CM might be the area we need the most upgrades/backups in, if that’s how we go. Conte doesn’t seem to fancy Dele, NDombele and to a lesser extent Gio it seems, and replacing even just one or two of them would be a big step. I also increasingly think that if we recruit a forward then it’s more likely to be someone who can also play out wide. Gives us the formation flexibility and they have more chance of getting game time, which I think is the hard sell and always has been - how do you compete with Kane, especially when managers won’t rest him. It’ll be interesting to see how Conte sets up going forwards. While I like the 352 he has tweaked setup game to game quite often, especially during the fixture congestion. I think our midfielders struggle with 343 though as we don’t have a dominant pair who can match up to teams who play 3 in the midfield.
I think 352 is a much better formation than 343, not just from our personnel options but in general. When you play a back five, the two WBs are more often in the opposition's half than they are their own, therefore if you play 343 I think it can get pretty congested having two players (WB and Winger) vying for similar space on the pitch when we attack. 352 though, you crowd the middle which allows for better solidity on the defensive side whilst on the attacking side if you have a creator (which we don't currently have) it aids the two strikers plus the marauding WBs. If, as you've mentioned, we can shift two of the three we don't need and bring in an upgrade, I think it could do some serious damage. A Hojbjerg-Skipp-Creator midfield, with Winks (based on recent form), <an other> and the one of the three we don't sell in reserve is a solid enough selection for the midfield and the first choice trio would be a match for any midfield in the league in my opinion, assuming we got it right with the creative addition.
To further add, in a 352 we would look something like this on the attack: One of Skipp or Hojbjerg sit, whilst the other ventures forward (likely Hojbjerg being the venturer) The creator is finding space where Eriksen usually would, in the hope to receive a pass where he can then lay it on to the strikers or WBs The WBs are more or less making runs that eventually have them level with Kane and his strike partner Therefore we essentially attack in a 6, not forgetting that one of the non-central CBs generally makes an underlapping run too, we've seen Davies especially do this a lot under Conte, therefore we arguably attack in a 7. Then when on the back foot: The WBs come back and are level with the three CBs Skipp and Hojbjerg come deep to pack the middle in front of the CBs The creator and possibly Kane sit just in front of Skipp and Hojbjerg, waiting to ideally receive a pass to start a counter Son/ Lucas/ Bergwijn are the player most advanced, hopefully anticipating that through ball for the counter to run on to. Therefore essentially defending more or less with 9 or 10, depending on how far Harry comes back.
That’s one side of it, if you play with 2 6s and a 10. The other, what we just saw, is with a deeper ball player (Winks last night) and two 8s who cover a lot of ground, particularly in the left and right channels. We saw that from Højbjerg and Skipp last night. Both have the energy for that role (particularly Højbjerg now he looks fitter again) but neither quite have the attacking instincts. IMO Skipp works better as a sitter. Of the other CMs, Gio would seem suited to playing 8 on the left but we all know his issues. Dele could do it in a pinch, it’s effectively what he did when we won the games at the start of the season under Nuno playing 433, but Tanguy doesn’t have the legs. The reinforcements we need are the 8s, basically Nicolo Barella is the prototype player in that mould I can currently think of. Phenomenal energy, tenacious in defence and technically able and intelligent in attack. Skippy is improving nearly every game but he’s got a lot to add on the ball in tight spaces to replicate that kind of player.
I recieved an unexpected phone call this morning from my old boss , old school spurs fan from sixties up until I'll health forced him to retire and give up his season ticket , we have not spoken for about 4 years but he called me today just to talk about last nights game as he was so pumped by the comeback This is what football is about , after a result like that it puts a smile on your face and a spring in the step and keeps people in touch .....COYS
Spurs kept my dad's family together for years and years. There were some terrible fall-outs, as with all families but the football was neutral territory and made certain that things were never terminal between them.
I think the three last night showed yet again they're very much up for the graft and fight, and they got the better of Leicester's midfield throughout the whole game albeit Ndidi likely makes a huge difference for them but I think it lacks that star quality that an Eriksen type of player can bring. Despite being a midfield that got dominated, Maddison has (to a much lesser degree than Eriksen of course) that star quality to make something out of nothing and he done just that with what we all initially thought was Leicester's undeserved winning goal. It's hard to see any of Winks, Skipp or Hojbjerg having that sort of ability to do that; quick link up and bang, goal. That's why I want a creator who has that keen eye for a pass or a goal in them and that'll allow Skipp and Hojbjerg to focus on what they do best, more so than asking them to take on additional duties they don't overly excel at. A Barella type would obviously be amazing as he's got it all but I'd also take a guy who can sit in front of the two work horses we have (three including Winks) and have them make stuff happen whilst the other two do more of the dirty work.
Leicester certainly didn't. I shared your concerns about our bench lacking a striker, though. Pretty much for years, sadly.
Last year wasn’t too bad because Vinicius could nick the occasional goal and Bale could change games on his own
Under Mourinho, forget hitting the back of the net, he'd not have hit water if he fell out of a ****ing boat. That night at Liverpool seemed to haunt him.....and he wasn't alone.
