A place to discuss the Spurs on-pitch machinations (starting XI selections, squad management etc) of the various competitions as the season progresses.
So we have the fixtures for the current month : Sep 13 : PL - West Ham United [14] (A) Sep 16 : CL - Villareal (H) Sep 20 : PL - Brighton & Hove Albion [8] (A) Sep 24 : League cup R3 - Doncaster (H) Sep 28 : PL - Wolverhampton Wanderers [16] (H) Sep 30 : CL - Bodo/Glimt (A) How should the manager proceed with the above (the first potential demonstration of squad mgmt) ?? For example, could a "second XI" be trusted to prevail against the latter three, while much stronger starting XIs are used for Villareal and Brighton ?? The Spanners game gave some interesting insights. The number of crosses (open play + corners) was quite potent, but Tel not being a true striker meant he was not the best match. So could/would Scarlett be the better choice for such lineups in future ?? Similarly Odobert + Tel were quite lively in the France U21 game last week. Could they be trusted to do similar in a PL starting XI against the likes of Wolves ??
Constant, relatively slight rotation. Try to avoid starting anyone three games on the trot. Horses for courses. Tactics and systems change for appropriate opponents.
I would have a designated strongest XI, and then the second XI, making it clear that those designations are fluid and not fixed for the season. I would have them playing each other weekly in a 'contact-free' game, with the intent that the second XI are playing regularly as a unit. The manager can then for each opponent ask whether to get the job done : 1. the second XI would suffice, and if not how many of the strongest XI would also need to start 2. if the strongest XI could swap in a few of the second XI and still be strong enough
The Doncaster game showed that a nominal second XI would not be up to the task of beating either of Wolves or Bodo. Some serious work will be required on this front from coaches + manager to get the squad as a whole playing reliably before mid december.
We've got quite a large number of players injured and we left a bunch out on top of that. We still looked very comfortable in most positions, if a little disjointed at times. Better finishing would've killed the game off far more quickly. That coincided with us starting without our first 3 choices at centre-forward. You're right about hard work needing to be putting in on our overall coherence. That probably comes with playing time in competitive matches though, unfortunately. Frank's not used to having to manage this many games at this frequency, either. Let's hope that he can adjust quickly.
The mid december deadline for larger scale squad rotation is non-negotiable. More so given the possible status of the CL (qualification for the KO stage via the top 8) and League cup (in the QF stage) .
I feel that this needs to be addressed via constant small-scale changes. We need to keep as many players match fit as possible while minimising burnout. Doing that while still maintaining consistency isn't easy, of course, but the alternative is failure.
