The position of Spurs this season is little different from last season, in terms of league position that is, but in terms of performance there are many differences to be seen. Some of the players have changed, no King but we have Vertonghen and Caulker. No Modric or VDV but we have Dembele and Holtby, Sigurdsen, and Dempsey. We have missed the flair of VDV and the creative play of Modric. We now have a bulldozer in the middle (Dembele) and until recently an Armoured Assault Vehicle alongside (Sandro), bringing a difference from the hit and run tactics of Modric and VDV. We have gone from being a fast moving Long Range Desert Group darting swiftly behind enemy lines carrying out strategic strikes to a well drilled company moving steadfastly forward and wearing the enemy down. We have lost creativity but gained control. The new General behaves more like a Cromwell than our previous Rommel. Hopefully our new Anglo-German number 10 fresh from the campaigns in Germany will bring a new speed of movement to the team and we can look forward to a bit more hit and run in the remaining part of the season. So far then, more control we are tougher to beat but we are also making our victories harder to come by. Too many one nils for my liking and we all know where they started. Agree or not?
Holtby's versatility should allow us to make a few changes to open up sides that set themselves out to restrict us, as should the recall of Harry Kane. We've been in control of a lot of games, but sometimes we've not looked like scoring without some piece of luck or amazing turn of skill. The problem has often been getting the first goal and some of our first half performances have been dire. I'd still like to see Dembele given a chance further forward in some games. His ability to go past individual players is welcome in the middle, but it'd be more dangerous up front. The main concern there is that his finishing doesn't appear to be that great, but it's not totally wayward, either.
Holtby looks like he will shake up the tempo. He looks prepared to both slow and speed up the play when necessary, typically german. Gone will be the days that Fergie describes as 'Spurs will throw everything at you for the first 20 minutes, survive that and you will win". Sandro is a massive loss, the best player currently in the Prem and providing he recovers he will only get better. The only plus is the Real or Barca wont offer us £50M for him until he proves his fitness so we should get another season. Benny coming back give us a little creativity from the left and Azza is a wizard on the right. Verts is class and it's good to see Daws back. Caulker and Walker will both get there but have a little way to go. Parker is beginning to command again. Bale creates (a bit like god according to Genesis) and Lloris will improve although he's pretty good already. He makes a good sweeper. Shame about our strike force, no bloody cover. Hopefully Harry Kane will get a few chances. He needs a run in the team to come good.
I think that Holtby looks the sort of versatile player who will pop up all over the pitch, supporting and pressing, with quick movement and precise fast passing. As such I reckon he will help free up Dembele to get not more advanced positions. Win - Win!! Happy Days (hopefully)
Spurf, nicely put, as we do try to gain more control in games yet the recent game summed up our problems. Norwich dominated us and we struggled to get a foot hold in the game, once we did get back in the game, we had norwich pinned back, yet no imaginatiom or creativity to break them dowm. How do we score? Bale running on the counter and thats still our biggest threat, hitting on the counter. Like PNP, ive been hoping to see Dembele tried move forward but now with Holtby its not something we have to try.
Man for man we are weaker than last season I feel. Vertonghen is good but no Ledley King Dembele is decent but not Modric Holtby has made two sub appearances and yet people are saying he's better than Rafa. Adebayor on loan was twice the player of Adebayor the permanent signing. Dempsey and Sigurdsson are decent squad players but not good enough for top four sides. But yet I remain positive about the future. Come on you Spurs!!!
spot on, well put Field Marshall Spurf. Last season was like the Charge of the Light Brigade. We rode with swagger into the Valley of Death or Patton with his self glorying advances. Yes we are Cromwell's Ironsides , this season , no-nonsense puritans bashing our way to victory. Give me Prince Rupert of the Rhine any day .
Man for man, really? Lloris? Vertonghen? Bale? Lennon? Defoe? Are they weaker than last season? Dembele v Modric not weaker less creative yes, so far. VDV v Holtby remains to be seen but one is nearing the end of his career while the other is just beginning. Same could be said of the managers! Lots to remain positive about. Just need some
When we reached are peak last season (for 2/3rd's of the campaign) we were the best footballing team in the country. Modric v Dembele, players like Modric are rarer and power players are far more common. Hence Modric being double value. VDV v Holtby, we seem to be resting all our skill and creativity on his shoulders . A little clutching at at straws , but at this moment in time the Dutch man is better. Early season all our hopes were on Dembele and that has fizzled out. Lloris is better but this was not a weak part of the team, such as our average strikers. The creative element is not there, but we are far more rugged. Gradually we are morphing into a Mourinisque power play (a poor man version) team, effective, physical, hard to beat, but very boring to watch.
I think we need to remember we are a team in transition ,and a new manager,so it will take time,to get used to each other.Porto were not boring under AVB,so ther is no reason for us to be
I agree. I think it's unfair and slightly inaccurate to simply compare man for man. It's all about the sum of the parts rather than the individuals. Harry made the team resonate well with attacking flair. AVB's line up is more solid in the middle and the back half, especially with Sandro, Dembele, Vertongen and Lloris in the spine. Our away record this season could be seen as evidence of that. (Remember also that Kaboooom will soon return!) We all know that AVB wanted to replace Modric with Moutinho. (Dembele is an option rather than an automatic first choice in an ideal situation for AVB.) I do believe that Holtby will bring back some of that creative attacking flair that VDV's, and Modric's, awareness and vision provided. I also think Adebayor gets hated on unfairly by some of us fans. He had a good season with us, goals and assists, when he was often paired with VDV. With Defoe, not so much. Stick him on with Holtby and lets see what happens. I think we currently rely a little too much on Bale's solo performances but this will only be more on an an advantage when our other options and pairings begin to click and bear fruit.
We're definitely weaker attacking-wise in comparison to last season, at the start of the season I thought we were on par but I've definitely noticed the differences. We've lost the creativity (and flair at times) but do seem more "rigid" as a defensive unit. If I'm brutally honest, I'm not entirely chuffed at the way we play, yes there's been some super performances but being used to the fast paced, non-stop attacking football over the past 2-3 seasons that got us known as the country's most entertaining team, it's been a bit of a slap in the face at times this season. I don't think anyone can deny that we've had to rely on individual brilliance (mainly from Bale) to see us through some games. Last season, we had the likes of Modric, Rafa, Bale, an on form Ade etc to dig us out so to speak. There is always a feeling of "when's the next goal going to come from" but then near enough every fan could see the need for a new striker. Hopefully if Ade can find the form of last season, we'll look a bigger threat going forward. Lennon has stepped up big time and hopefully Ade and the rest can take note and do the same. All negatives aside though, we've done tremendously well to be where we are in the league and HOPEFULLY we can continue to grind out some results and be here come the end of the season or even better and snatch 3rd. In regards to the thread title, I'd definitely say we're controlling, hopefully we'll be both with Holtby's addition now.
"lost creativity but gained control" - Completely agree with that sentence Spurf. It seems like we are better at keeping the ball than we were in previous seasons. I wouldn't say we're as patient as we could be, but we're certainly not as rushed as we once were. sloppy passes don't seem as frequent, and long passes across the pitch seem better timed allowing the receiving player to have more time to control. The issue for me has been breaking the opposition down. Although our football has been different, we've still had a lot of possession under AVB. In recent previous seasons, we've been able to conjure up some clever moves and punish the opposition. (most of the time). At present, we seem to spend a lot of time going sideways across the box as the defence is sitting deeper, which doesn't allow Bale and Lennon the space behind them to exploit. We don't have any answers when we attempt something through the middle and we are lacking an aerial threat. As a result, we are having attempts at goal from not the best of areas. The West Brom Game says we had 21 attempts, but I am finding it hard to remember any real clear cut opportunities which we should have scored. We've only seen 2 games from holtby, but he's been everywhere. VDV was a bit like that and i think that's what we need, as it makes him difficult to mark. Fingers crossed he meets the hype and continues to impress. He could well be the link up man which we've not had all season. Also, although Ade hasn't contributed a lot this season, he very different to Defoe. For a start, he's tall. He's not exactly known for being prolific with his head, but at least he's a threat from set pieces. It just gives us a different option. Hopefully he and holtby can create an intelligent partnership, which helps our overall attacking play, and prevents us from being so predictable.
As I said in another thread, if we are so less creative this season, how do you explain the rather large number of chances that have been created?
It's not about the quantity of chances though Vim. Chances can be shots from well out of range that go flying over or player that's made a dribble and fashioned something for himself. Compare the quality of chances we created last year to what we do this year and there's a vast difference. Luka and Rafa made some defence splitting passes at times which made it harder for the striker to miss. The team also played some scintilating football that left defences looking confused at what they had to do and made scoring seem somewhat "easy". Nowadays, we rely on a lot of individual brilliance, crosses into the box or as I mentioned, long range strikes.
To say that Holtby is 'better' than VDV would be premature and on the back of a couple of sub appearances frankly ridiculous and I don't think I have seen anyone say that. But to say that he appears to able to offer a similar fluidity and creativity is reasonable based on what we have seen so far and from his time in Germany. Also bearing in mind VDV's rather frail body and general fitness levels, I can also see an increase in playing time as well. But early days either way.
Who's actually said Holtby is better than Rafa? I haven't seen anyone actually say it on here to be honest. There's hope that he'll fill the void left by Rafa and I do think he has the potential to become as good or even better but right now it's way too early to judge.
