I'm sure this ****ing moron thinks they're making some sort of point They aren't, but they think they are
Right, let's get the skinny on Oliver Glasner, since his name is out there at the moment * Plays 3421 at Eintracht, having previously played 433 at Wolfsburg * His system at Eintracht is heavily reliant on the left flank, starting with Ndicka at LCB, through Phillip Max at LWB and Mario Gotze at LAM, which has continuity with last season as Kostic left in the summer while Kamada has been shifted to a CM to accommodate Gotze * Buildup is quick and direct, only passing sideways when into the opponent's third and waiting for a WB or AM/WF to make a break * Their midfield does look for through balls to transition into the final third * It does have to be said he prefers inverted wingers, which is a negative for me as miscasting Son as an IW has not worked this season, plus we all remember Villas-Boas' love of inverted wingers regardless of which wingers we were playing that match * His strikers tend to pull wide to try and play in the WFs/AMs (seriously, what do we call these going forward...?), which does fit in with how Kane has been playing for the last 3-4 years * His midfield previously preferred a pair of No6es in Sebastien Rode and Djibril Sow, although this season he prefers Sow & Kamada with Rode rotating in as and when * His system prefers a very flat back three with the CMs dropping back to receive the ball while the WBs push up * His teams like to press, but not a high press like Poch or Bielsa, more a strangling the midfield - although the interesting thing is how differently they press against different systems: against a back three the AMs/WFs press the wide CBs to funnel passes into the centre, but against a back four the WFs/AMs press the space between the opposition CBs and MFs * Building on the previous point, his teams require pace, stamina and workrate On paper the majority of the squad are likely suited for these tactics, with the obvious exceptions being Ndombele and Perisic, but the inverted winger thing does concern me - although on the other hand, the degrees of flexibility not just in relation to opponents setup but also personnel is a useful thing to have At the very least we have a midfield that would fit Glasner's system very well: Porro and Udogie are the obvious examples, plus we have four CMs who can play in that system in Skipp, Hojbjerg, Bentancur and Sarr (possibly five, it;s been a little too easy to sleep on Bissouma this season) - and it has to be said Kulusevski is also ideal, plus Kane does seem to fit the model - although our defence does need to be looked at, because while Romero and Davies do seem to be good fits, possibly Lenglet too if he stays, Dier has put a bunch of question marks upon himself of late, Tanganga is somehow an unknown quantity three years after getting drafted into the team, and there's very few question marks about Sanchez as he'd outright not work - but it does have to be said Hugo Lloris is also 50/50 about whether he'd fit, as Glasner's buildup needs the keeper and CBs to be able to pass among each other, and Hugo's distribution has always been an issue
We will know its happening when you hear 2 guys ordered 4 fried chickens ,dry white toast and a coke from Chick king
Thanks for that mate. Didn't know to much about Glasner and how he sets up his teams. If Conte leaves as expected in the summer and very possibly Paratici it will be interesting to see if our next coach will have the remit to play 343 / 3412 as our squad is set up to play this way. Obviously signing a top keeper who is good with his feet, 2 top quality CBs ( LCB and CCB ) and a playmaker Maddison type will be integral to this. If Poch does come back we all know he's mainly a 4231 coach but occasionally played 3412 / 3421. If the next coach insists on 4231 then Porro and Udogie would have to play as wide forwards and rotate with Kulu and Son as they aren't defensively strong enough to play as conventional FB's. We would then need 1 top class CB and 2 new fullbacks to rotate with Emerson and Davies, unless Spence and Reguilon are bought back into the fold.
This is why I think the way forward would be 433 (or 4321) with asymmetrical FBs, or to put it another way our FB combinations would be Porro/Davies and Emerson/Udogie, so when we attack we transition into more of a 343 - which is what Poch was trying to do in 2019 with the Aurier/Davies and Rose/Foyth combinations, but that was let down by having a porous midfield in front of the back three - but a midfield three of Skipp, Bentancur and Bissouma does, in theory, have the combination of strength and control to make it work
Doesn’t matter what formation or system you use if the quality of players you have isn’t good enough. It’s way too simple to say that the issue is Conte not being flexible enough or that his football is outdated. His time will probably end in disappointment but he was responsible for the top 4 finish last season. Spurs need at the very least 4 quality additions (GK, 2xCB & creative midfielder) in the summer and need to get rid of about 10 players too. History says thats not easy. Unfortunately it’s looking like a long term project again and will take many transfer windows to fix which also means by then you’ll have to replace the likes of Son and Kane (possibly this summer).
The long and painful rebuild Poch spoke of seems to still be relevant and considering the amount we’ve spent from his final summer to now, it’s very disheartening. Conte’s football and even demeanour has sapped the life out of players and fans this season when at the start of it there was a fair amount of optimism, whilst yet again we’ve made a big money spend on a player that is nowhere near good enough and that’ll likely restrict our spending to a degree this summer as the club will be cautious again over who to splash on, more so as we’ll have about £35m committed to Kulusevski. Add in as King has just mentioned, there’s a real possibility of needing to replace Kane this summer and it’s just hard to see at this moment in time where we’ll be turning a corner and moving forwards, especially - again, as King has more or less said - we’ll be having considerable focus on (hopefully) trying to shift and replace around 10 players, some replacement are needed for players signed within just the last 12-24 months too. Assuming Conte does leave which seems inevitable, the new manager, along with DoF/ new DoF have got a very, very unenviable task on their hands.
It seems the hive mind have now decided that Paratici is to blame for all our present ills, for example bankruptspurs is mouthing off about him...while also demonstrating that they don't realise people can still see their handle no matter what they change their username to in order to trey and trick people into engagement The hilarious thing is that the same people who were castigating Steve Hitchen for the past eighteen months (and always calling him "Hitchens", every single time) are now claiming he was unfairly treated because they decided that Paratici is their new target
Given that Conte effectively has the same squad, but with ADDITIONS that allegedly he PERSONALLY actioned : what do you suggest are the reasons that Spurs this season have not been playing anywhere near consistently at those levels ??
Last season he came in and immediately hit the ground running. Plus the arrivals of Kulusevski and Bentancur gave the squad a huge boost as they both settled in very quickly. Conte is far from blameless in this all but if he leaves in the summer (pretty sure he will), he will go on to win trophies long before Spurs do. This season I think he’s been massively affected by the losses of friends, also think the World Cup break affected Spurs a lot too.
He’s had a difficult season on a personal level and the squad has been decimated with injuries. Doesn’t excuse some of his decisions or mean we shouldn’t question whether he’s the best fit for the club, but these are factors in how the season is going too, just as the WC was (for every team in the PL, granted).
So this season : 1. Conte has not "hit the ground running" ?? 2. Said players acted akin to a "sugar rush" ?? #1 I doubt is true, as Spurs had an impressive +8 pts on the "season compass" from August alone, even though we know the performances weren't at aforementioned levels. "Conte is far from blameless£" To apportion blame, you first have to understand what is happening / has happened. I have opinions on it, but they are not fact (perhaps others will get me to the truth of it) . "in this all but if he leaves in the summer (pretty sure he will), he will go on to win trophies long before Spurs do." If those trophies are not with another PL club, it would be moot. "This season I think he’s been massively affected by the losses of friends" I cam believe that may have had a significant effect. "also think the World Cup break affected Spurs a lot too" The "season compass" tells us the slump in PL form was already in motion before WC 2022 started.
Losing his friends does not justify his bizarre tactics. I can accept the losses may affect his leadership/motivation but not his decision making in selecting the team and tactics.
I think he'll return to Italy at one of the big clubs and do well there. I'll actually be very surprised if this isn't the case. It's easier for him on a number of levels, though. He won't have the family issues there, for a start. He also won't face a bunch of oil money clubs.
Right on cue, Gary Jacob has said Inter have informally enquired about him and Juve are interested too but they’re possibly ****ed from the recent financial scandal.
Jack Pitt-Brooke has said that Conte's time with us is coming to an end, neither Spurs or Conte want to discuss extending his deal beyond the summer. He also seemingly implies his successor is being worked on now. Says the work of Frank at Brentford hasn't gone unnoticed. So that's coming on top of what Gary Jacob said last night, Jacob also said that Conte's desire to return to Italy was strengthened while he was recovering back there. Might have to get a new poll started soon... we've seen names such as Poch, Tuchel, Glasner, Cooper and Frank as possible candidates should he go. Anyone got any suggestions of who they'd like to see in the frame?
BetFair's posted odds (cribbed from FootballDotLondon) Mauricio Pochettino - 7/4 Thomas Tuchel - 11/2 Thomas Frank - 9/1 Christian Galtier - 10/1 Roberto De Zerbi - 13/1 The ubermench returns - 101/1 (not a typo) No mention of Reddit favourite Marcello Gallardo
