With all the focus having been on our attacking cohesion (or lack of), and there being a alarming lack of creativity in our current side, the disappoint at no strikers arriving in January, the injury to Defoe, is Adebayor going to now perform.....I could carry on here, yet I'm sure you get the gist of this, all our main focus has been on our issues in attack while little mention (at times) of our defence. Overall, in the Goals against column (for the season), we have conceded 29 goals (ironically the same as our rivals, Arsenal), with only Chelsea, Man City & Swansea having a better overall record. However in the previous ten league games, which we have lost just one game, we have conceded only 6 goals (two came against Everton, in stoppage time), keeping 5 clean sheets, so its reassuring to see our defence step up to the plate and perform, when all our moaning/concerns have been aimed at the attacking play. Just to make a comparison with our rival's for 3rd/4th, Arsenal, in the previous ten league games, their defence has conceded 13 goals, while Everton have conceded 11 goals and Chelsea also 11 goals. Our star performer overall, has been Hugo Lloris: please log in to view this image 9 clean sheets in total (all competitions) and considering this is his first season in English Football, and all the drama which came about as the result of Friedel (a fans favourite) and Lloris having to bide his time, he has taken it all in his stride and proved he is not only our Number 1 keeper, but easily one of the leagues most talented keepers. Of course there are still aspects of our defence which need to be addressed, such as Walker (who is again making errors) but has shown signs of improvement and Vertonghen (after his superb start), has allowed his performance level to drop in recent times, yet its clear any foreign player that arrives in English football will go through periods of a loss of form. One player that deserves a mention, is Dawson, a player frozen out at the start of the year, QPR make a bid of near to 8 million (which is accepted), Dawson turns it down, deciding to sit tight, train hard and wait to be given an opportunity in the 1st team, one none of us expected to happen, yet with Gallas possibly now being phased out, Dawson is the man with the experience that Villas Boas looks to. please log in to view this image Stepping away slightly from the back-line, in front protecting, we have had Sandro, a player that unfortunately is now out injured and one which will be a big miss, as not only as he settled into English football, his never say die attitude and warrior like performances in protecting the defence, are another reason as to why our recent defensive record has improved greatly and helped the team maintain a 9 match unbeaten run. please log in to view this image With Parker returning, many believe we have a capable replacement, and there is no doubting his qualities, yet he has to perform to the level Sandro has been providing and help protect the back four, yet as we can see once the midfield is broken down, our defence have been performing and improving, notably in the past 10 games.. Looking at the following players: Hugo Lloris Brad Friedel Michael Dawson Steven Caulker Jan Vertonghen Younès Kaboul William Gallas Kyle Walker Kyle Naughton Benoît Assou-Ekotto There is a good balance in all positions, which was an aspect we had concerns with before the season, with King retiring and then with Kaboul getting injured, our two leading centre backs from last season aren't available. Overall, regardless of what happens in the upcoming games, we can remain positive about our defence and as they improve, it gives us something to build from, especially with our current issues in attack.
Great post Boss. All good teams are built from the back this has been Spurs weakness almost forever. What we are seeing now is a sea change in our defensive capabilities. The defense is ready for any challenge.
Dawson looks very pleased with your praise, Boss! With our upcoming games and the imminent (hopefully) return of Kaboul, it'll be interesting to see what Villas-Boas does from one game to the next. He's not been shy about rotating at the back so far, despite conventional wisdom suggesting that this is a very bad idea.
Cheers Spurf Wasn't expecting it to be placed as an article, yet with my recent negativity, I thought I should offer a more positive approach to our season.
awesome thread, Boss. Some interesting and positive stats in there that I wasn't aware of at all. I completely agree with spurf's comments about building from the back. It's so true.
I better hope I got them right! as I spent 20 minutes looking through match reports to make sure they were correct!
there was an intresting thing done on motd on Sunday they do an alternative league,this week it was on interceptions.we were second in that,but two of our players were in the top spots.Vertongen was 1st and Sandro 2nd,so prehap's Vert's hasn't dropped as much as we think he has
so with this being a Newsnow article, this could well appear on the "spurs media watch" page? Fairplay boss
Yup, great article, thanks. Lloris has not only been outstanding, he's been perfect for AVB's high line. I remember seeing a long pass coming out to Lukaku, expecting a goal, and being delighted to see Lloris beat Lukaku to the ball forty yards up the field. Dawson's been looking like the most solid defender in what has become a very solid defense. It's truer with CBs than with other players that the key ingredient may be a desperate desire to help your team. Human nature is funny. I'd been feeling critical of the defense lately, when in fact they've improved markedly from earlier on.
Yes, it's no coincidence that Spurs' solidity in defence in the past two or three months has coincided with a long unbeaten run. Prior to the ten game spell Boss refers to, there were issues with the defence, with the team conceding around 1.6 goals per game. There are two main differences for me which explain the change in fortunes defensively- firstly, Vertonghen at centre half and secondly, Dembele back in midfield (especially with Parker alongside; Parker's form may not be what it was last season, but he knows how to shield the back four). Grinding out four points in a week when below par and scoring only two goals in two games owes as much to the defence as it does Bale's two single handed goals. Utd have tightened up at the back to since Vidic returned and there is competition for places- we are now grinding out results through solid defence too.
Good points Luke, Possibly I was a tad harsh to mention Verts performance dip in the article, yet it was on my mind as in recent games I felt he has been not at his best, yet going by some of the comments that may not be the overall opinion. Although as for Verts, he has been played at left back and centre back, so hes in danger of becoming our utility man in defence, even thought he is normally 1st choice and long term I'll like to see if him & kaboul can form a great partnership.
Good read Boss I must admit for the way we defended at points in the West Brom game, I felt like a cleansheet was flattering. It's hard to argue with our defensive improvement overall though, since our game at Everton in particular. Despite the improved record for the defence overall, I'd really like to see Walker dropped, he looked like he was improving at one stage this season but he's taken another step back recently. Right now his Spurs career is mirroring Chimbonda's and he's creating more chances for the opposition than he's creating for us going forward. When Gallas came on yesterday he restored some much needed calm without being overly defensive.
Looks like Walker is becoming one of those undroppable players, not sure why. Probably as we have very little cover at RB at the moment.
Walker also gives u a huge amount going forward, he and Lennon link up very well at times and that is part of the reason for the latter's good form this season.
Walker is a player I wouldn't want to see dropped, as even though I mentioned his errors (which he does make), he is still our leading RB, and as Wandering Yd mentions, he's superb going forward and a dynamic player, yet as I solely wanted to focus on the defensive aspect, I never picked up on their attacking qualities, and anyway we all know how great walker is going forward, so as he improves as a defender, he has the potential to be great.
Walker doesn't get enough credit for what he does further up the pitch in my opinion. Look at the game at West Brom, it was his persistence in harrying their left back that wound him up to the point of getting sent off. That sending off totally changed the game.
Agree with that OS as Naughton hasn't exactly taken his opportunity to impress - but not sure he would be far ahead of young Adam Smith. I think we missed a trick by not recalling him and having him available as an option. Hopefully, the extra 6 months away from the club won't be wasted, because he looks to be a great prospect.