Statistically a manager win rate only starts to become robust after 100 games of data. The GF/GA stats seem to become robust much earlier than that,
Keithy : 1. inherited a squad that was already in a slow death spiral 2. would not have had that luxury of 1978-81 in the PL era
I was asking what changes you would like to see. What do you want put in place of Ange. What positive changes would you make?
Same old problems, lots of the ball but no end product, defensively weak at set pieces, which should come as no surprise as we basically have the same first XI as last season, apart from Solanke who isn`t good enough. We all know the transfer window wasn`t great, we also needed a top quality creative player and a top quality finisher, we got neither. It looks like yet another season stuck on Levy`s roundabout of sporting incompetence unfortunately.
We are for the first time in a squad cycle where not a single player is genuinely world class. We have lots of good players, some very good players, but none who are at the top of their craft in world football. We haven't really had this for a long time, largely thanks to the longevity of Kane's spurs career. Before him was a brief hiatus which was predictably disastrous, but before then we had relatively good continuity in the form of a Bale-Modric-King-Berbatov chain that took us back to the early years of ENIC's reign. I can't see us signing a world class player any time soon as none would want to join us. But the last two were signed as a youngster and developed in house. We desperately need that to happen again. For me, of our current crop only Micky has the potential to grow to that level. We have very good players elsewhere but they have glaring faults in their game which I feel will hold them back.
I’d like the club to appoint a set piece coach. I’d like Ange to have a plan b. I’d like the club to focus on players that can make an impact immediately rather than teenagers. Focus on the present rather than the future.
IMO we have a very good squad with some very young elements that will take a season or 2 to mature. I am honestly excited by the prospect of the next couple of seasons and I am confident we will produce better results as this season progresses. We have today played title contenders and dominated the game, the finish was missing, but the margins were small IMO. Kulu could have scored and Reyna had to pull off a couple of excellent saves. We are IMO contenders for top 4.
Ange has plan Bs he has played in different way in his past jobs, he told us that. He has also told us that he is trying to embed this system into the squad. That's the point Hoddle doesn't get. He already changes his approach during games and being caught by the high bloc that all the pundits were talking about before todays game just didn't happen. There is a lot to learn by young defenders like Udogie, when to go when to stay when to get back fast. This is not easy as Ange has explained and that is why he persists with the method. Buying young players with potential will enable Spurs to have higher quality players. You know that we cannot directly compete YET, with the very top clubs, or at least it's difficult. I think we have done very well indeed to amass the talent we do have through the team, but this will take time. I am sure if we are patient there will be good times in the not too distant furture.
I think you underestimate players like Gray and Bergwal as well as Udogie, Bentancur, Van de Ven, Porro, Romero,
Thank God you have no influence on our club then. Our set piece defensive stats are the same as Arsenal's. The difference is that we concede more set pieces than them. So a set piece coach is solving the wrong problem. Why would Ange use an inferior plan when plan A is working exactly as expected in terms of success per pound spent. Bale, Lennon, Walker, Dele and Rose were all signed young.
None of them are currently among the best in the world in their position. VDV looks like he has the highest ceiling. Udogie is good but isn't really kicking on from last season. Bentancur isn't available enough to be considered world class. Porro has glaringly obvious weaknesses in his positioning and awareness. Romero similar plus a penchant for gbh. Gray and Bergvall totally unproven yet. We don't have any world class players.
It's a definition you can argue about but I won't. Let's just say I have confidence in the improving quality of our squad, but we are not Real Madrid or Bayern Munich or Man United and if we are to compete we have to grow players not get them off the shelf.
Let’s hope you’re right and I’m wrong and it all comes good (trophies) Short term, they need to fix the defensive issues though.
Son is the best player in the squad by a mile. For me Udogie and Micky have the highest potential from the starting 11 From the young ones, Archie Gray is a real prospect but in the future. Bergvall could come good too. The jewel in the crown for me though is Mikey Moore, I’d bring him off the bench ahead of Werner all day long.
We don't seem to be in disagreement. I agree that we have a bunch of players with enormous potential and they need time to develop. My worry is that the longer the poor run of results goes on for, the greater the pressure and fan impatience and this creates an environment that just isn't conducive to young players developing in a healthy and consistent way. They will feel that every mistake is looked at under a magnifying glass and every defeat will weigh heavily on their shoulders. I think this is affecting a number of teams, United top of the list. They have so many fabulously talented youngsters coming through but the atmosphere is just so toxic it makes their development that much harder. There is a reason teams like City, Liverpool and Arsenal appear to be able to bring through youngsters seamlessly and successfully.
That's why I think we need to stay positive about our team and our squad. It's easy to pick holes, I did today with Johnson not being positive enough, but I have to be honest. I hate fans that rubbish our players. If you support a team you need to encourage and create an atmosphere that is positive as you have said. Yes, I think we do pretty much agree, but I don't see the point in setting limits on their abilities. On a positive note, I notice with our team we are becoming tougher. We tackle and win tackles that's not always been the case with Spurs. We have always had players with skills but we have also been a soft touch at times as well. This team is showing a bite as well as a silky move and that's key for success.
And why aren’t we playing more of the young chaps we’ve bought? We should be paying bergvall and gray more regularly to get them ready for the next few seasons. I wouldn’t mind losing games if I could see a plan in action. But I can’t. There is nothing at present that is giving me hope for the future. Sarr has been useless for some time. Why does Angev bring him on? And our formation is not working. We simply don’t have the players. And playing Romero upfront for the last 15 minutes smacks of desperation. It’s like watching a manager assembled from Toys R Us!
