TBH, I fear the worst with this high line tactic, hope it doesn't go the way of Ossie's 5 man attacking unit, with the full backs also playing high up.
maybe he felt that the players could adapt...i think good players should be able to adapt to some degree... since he truly seems to believe in the system......hes just hit the jackpot with Spurs in finding a team ready to play his formation to a tee...maybe a more athletic Keeper required though to cover a bit more ground at the back.
with it being a high line we could play Bale at LB and maybe give Gio a role at left wing?..i thought this since it seems that AVB is keen on Gio staying.
I have to agree with what notsosmartspur and nowsuffering are saying. I do think it's a big myth that Spurs backline will be "perfect for the high line"
Exactly. It's easy to criticise a defender. No defender is perfect and all you have to do is pick up on the odd mistake and suggest that is normal for the player. It's even easier with an "eccentric" player like Benny. Fact is he's a far better defender than, for example, Walker, yet there are far less posts criticising Walker's defending. It's also about teams within teams. Benny and Bale make a good mini partnership. In the past Corluka and Lennon made a good partnership too, which hopefully Walker and Lennon will be able to do in future.
BAE is a poor full back. Which is a big shame as you have a quality one in Walker and I rate Kaboul highly. Vertonghen is good as well from what I hear. BAE is definitely your weak link
I am tempted to delete what is just a blatant wind up DL. Pull yourself together get your brain in gear, you can do better than that.
Isn't the so-called 'high-line' just a consequence of the Spain/Barcelona tactic of pressing high up the pitch. If the defence don't do it too then the opposition has too much midfield space. Any competent team ought to be able to adapt to it.
It's not an uncommon opinion though. Much like we spent the last 3 years explaining to opposition fans that Modric is very good and stats aren't everything, Benny continues to be underrated by people that don't see him every week and judge him on 20 seconds of Match of the Day clips from 4 seasons ago. His concentration lapses are a little worrying for playing a highline... or any other tactic for that matter but it's not often he switches off and if AVB can get him to cut that out he'll be an excellent left back.
Sorry I just don't rate him, he's an excellent footballer and seems like a likeable fella but I don't think he is good enough if Spurs want to progress. He reminds me of Clichy when at Arsenal. Aside from BAE and Parker I genuinely think you have a group of good players that can challenge for top 4, perhaps just a striker short as well. There's a lot of players you have which I rate a lot but BAE isn't one of them
I never have judged him from MOTD clips, I think it's silly to do that. Hansen and co took pleasure in humiliating BAE just as they did with Luiz. I'm only basing by opinion of BAE based on games he has played against top opposition. In particular whenever we have played you I thought he was perhaps the weakest of your back 4. I'm not attacking him and saying he is rubbish I just don't rate him
I prefer to concentrate on the positives rather than highlight the odd mistake. IMO he is a very good player with a positive attitude and turns defence into attack very quickly.
I don't like it in principle, but the practice is what matters. So far it don't look too good. I don't think any of our current keepers are good enough as 'sweeper keeprs' to make it work. I think it wil have to be modified, and I expect it to be so. I'm not a big fan of BAE either, I think he's one of the weaker links in our 'first XI' and can see him losing us goals if we go 'high line' due to his penchant for giving the ball away in possession, often when doing those kamikaze 'turns' he loves to do.
Fair enough. I disagree with you about Benny being our weakest of the back 4, although I think they're all very good - the trouble has always been chopping and changing the central partnership too much whilst our fullbacks were run into the ground playing every game. My main concern in our defence is Dawson, he played really well the otherday but we need him to start well in the competitive matches because we don't want to be relying on Vertonghen whilst he's still getting used to the pace of the league. Plus it looks like Dawson will be made captain so with him playing most of the games we're going to need him to fit in well to the new system.
Yeah that's something that really benefits us. He will often turn his marker even back in his own third and looks up for a pass when most would hoof i aimlessly away or try and play it off someone for a throw in. Defensively he's much better than Walker, who relies on his pace far too much.
If you look back at my posts, you'll see I have already pointed Walkers positional problems. And btw, there's a big difference between debating a players attributes and 'criticising'. And this is to Relayer, who said its Benni bashing?, I've highlighted the fact that imo the FB's are more of a problem than the CB's, only because a player getting in behind and turning them toward their own goal is their weakness. That does not imply one bit that both are bad defenders. Sorry to speak ill of your lovechild peeps!
