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Have We Got Our Own Gerrard/Lampard "Situation?"

Discussion in 'Tottenham Hotspur' started by Chirpy rides again, Oct 17, 2011.

  1. Chirpy rides again

    Chirpy rides again Active Member

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    Yet another week shoe-horning Rafa and Luka into the team and it patently not working.
    We needed to go 4-4-2 today with Defoe and Ade buzzing around a pretty ordinary back four. Instead we have square pegs in round holes. It's just like watching England.

    Five in midfield played right into their hands and congested the middle of the park. I say 5 in midfield because no way is VDV a withdrawn striker. (Although the thought of VDV on the right and Walker trying to cope with Gutierrez is not a good one.)

    A point at SJP isn't the end of the world, but we need to find a balance, before it really hurts us.
     
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  2. perrymanlegend

    perrymanlegend Well-Known Member

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    Chirpy- do think that playing the 2 in the same team is in response to Rafa's very public moan about playing rw/rm.
    Harry ever the diplomat (cough cough!) has decided that due to Modrics' ongoing contract talks and the moody Rafa that he felt obligated to play them and hope the team works around it.
    Kind of worked, kind of didn't.
     
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  3. ComfortablyNumb

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    I've always said we should never play Luka and Niko in the same eleven, and I think it's the same with Luka and VDV. The biggest problem is the lack of pace (all three), but they also want the ball in the same areas and at the same point in play. It's less of a problem if Luka plays CM, but if 'Arry really wants to start with two "tacklers" in the middle, then I don't think he can play both Luka and VDV.
     
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  4. PowerSpurs

    PowerSpurs Well-Known Member

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    Playing them both in a 4411 alongside two other central midfielders just doesn't work. Modric is wasted out wide.

    But there are plenty of other formations which would work fine.

    But while looked more threatening once Defoe came on, this also coincided with Newcastle's best period. Defoe scored a wonder goal but otherwise was his usual self, missing a sitter and not working hard enough to get the ball back.

    With proper tactics any mix of good players will work - you never see anyone worrying about whether Messi and Iniesta can play together at Barcelona for example, but they wouldn't work well in a rigid 442.
     
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  5. Ghoddle10

    Ghoddle10 Active Member

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    It's a difficult call, but 13 points from 5 games (since Ade joined) is not just CL form, it's title-winning form, so it's a great problem to have it seems.

    JD, VDV and Luka have all played their part in this absolutely tremendous run we are on. I think Harry just has to keep on accommodating all of them as best he can, but it's vital that top players like Luka and VDV start, when fit, for the Prem games, they're simply too good to be benched.

    It was a good point we got yesterday, following 4 wins out of 4, we're playing really well, and so keep it going lads <ok>
     
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  6. PleaseNotPoll

    PleaseNotPoll Well-Known Member
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    I think that our whole midfield was just jaded from the internationals, bar Livermore, of course.
    Adebayor wasn't fully fit either, King went off injured and Walker twisted his ankle, leaving us with a fairly our of sorts side.

    I'm not 100% sure that we need to be starting with two holding players in this sort of game, though.
    Modric and Parker would've been enough, but Lennon wasn't available to play on the right and neither were Kranjcar or Pienaar.
     
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  7. Ghoddle10

    Ghoddle10 Active Member

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    Fair comments PNP, as I've remarked elsewhere to me this was a good point we earned, and on the day it was a fair result.

    VDV scored, JD scored, they both did the key job they are in the side for. The big let down on the day was Bale, but he may well have been affected by his Welsh exertions, plus starting him on the right was a flop.

    I was well pleased with Livermore coming through a tough game like that, and he's a big plus for us now. I'm so grateful we didn't loan him out.
     
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  8. perrymanlegend

    perrymanlegend Well-Known Member

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    GH10 Agree about Livermore and because we have the EL, there is less need this season to loan out the fringe players.
    Consequently if we are needing back up they are already available and just about match fit.
     
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  9. HammersmithBlue

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    If modric goes in jan. Problem solved
     
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  10. perrymanlegend

    perrymanlegend Well-Known Member

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    No, I don't think that will solve any problems, but undoubtedly create many.
     
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  11. HammersmithBlue

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    Cash in on the moaned. City would still pay 40m; Chelsea 30m
     
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  12. Ghoddle10

    Ghoddle10 Active Member

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    Modric is not a 'problem' ATM, he is part of our 'title form' solution. 13 points from the last 5 games is a tremendous solution to any problems we had during the window.

    I wanted us to sell him to Chelsea for £40m, or thereabouts. But so far I've been delighted to have been proved wrong on that score. We may well sell him in January, but ATM he's doing a good job for us, as are VDV, Ade and JD. The more quality players we have the better.

    Hi PL, yep fair comments re Livermore, I'm really pleased with his progress, it was his key interception that set up Ade for our pen yesterday.
     
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  13. HammersmithBlue

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    Modric is playing well as are spurs. But his future probably lies at a bigger club in Manchester or London. You can't fault his effort at the moment
     
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  14. PleaseNotPoll

    PleaseNotPoll Well-Known Member
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    Why's he being linked with Chelsea, then?
     
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  15. Ghoddle10

    Ghoddle10 Active Member

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    LDL, some excellent points there re our different formation.

    However, VDV fits into the current team perfectly well, he has scored in all three of our recent Prem games, all absolutely vital goals, the crucial first in each case. We are on a tremendous roll since we got Ade and Parker in, and players like VDV, Luka, Modric, JD and Bale have played key parts in getting 13 points from 5 games, scoring 10 goals and playing some absolutely breathtaking football <ok>
     
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  16. humanbeingincroydon

    humanbeingincroydon Well-Known Member

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    The obvious solution is to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Luka paired with Parker/Sandro in the deep-lying playmaker role, and VDV in one of the advanced positions, either in the centre or on the right. The problem is, that autiomatically dumps Defoe on the bench - especially as he isn't a lone striker, so unless we put Defoe into the triumverate (which I doubt will go well with him, as he'd be playing much too deep)

    The problem is that the argument keeps coming back to playing some variation on 4-4-2, with Luka in the middle, because he is far more integral to how we play than VDV is (harsh but, at the end of the day, fair) - and with Defoe playing off Adebayor well, realistically VDV should play on the right. Frankly, there shouldn't be a problem with this as he's clearly a good enough player to operate all over the pitch, and gives an extra outlet in midfeild to dictate play - then there's the issue that he doesn't like to defend...
     
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  17. redwhiteandermblue

    redwhiteandermblue Well-Known Member

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    While I also have reservations about VDV and Modric, I'd have to say that at the moment it is working so let's stick with it. It will be hard to keep them and everyone else reasonably happy, but so far so good. I also wish the players wouldn't send negative and mixed messages through the media, but they along with a lot of other players do, so I'm not going to worry about it.

    If VDV and Modric stop being effective they'll be dropped/changed, whether individually or together. In some ways I wish Kranjcar would be playing, so I'm not too worried. The player I'm really curious to see on the right is Gio. I just watched him chip in such a perfect pass that Dani Alvez flattened (Hernandez? I'm not sure) and gave up a penalty kick. Having watched how effective he was against Brazil, I'd say he's a worldclass #10 whose work rate is excellent.
     
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  18. PleaseNotPoll

    PleaseNotPoll Well-Known Member
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    [video=youtube;IuMbWvrMDFY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuMbWvrMDFY[/video]

    This?
    Slightly overhit and Alves ballsed it up, in my opinion.

    I think that Dos Santos actually looked better down the left against Shamrock Rovers.
    I'd like to see him played there against Rubin Kazan with Lennon on the right and both Pavlyuchenko and Defoe up top.
     
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  19. redwhiteandermblue

    redwhiteandermblue Well-Known Member

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    Yes, and I agree it wasn't a perfect cross. But I continue to be impressed with how well he's been playing for Mexico. It's not so much that I'd start him ahead of VDV, it's that I know it won't happen barring injury, but I have the feeling it would work out well.
     
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  20. redwhiteandermblue

    redwhiteandermblue Well-Known Member

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    Should have said: on second look, maybe it wasn't such a perfect cross...
     
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