The urgency is part of playing better though. No point moving the ball slowly against a low block, we saw enough of that under Conte. Some of it might be early season zip but I think we have better options to rotate as long as we can keep the strikers fit. And we’ve only started 1/3 games with an actual 9 on the pitch.
But that’s because we’re fitter at the moment, not because we’re actually better. We’re seeing similar patterns of play as last season as well as similar mistakes. Not much has changed other than being fresher. Once Europa kicks in it’ll be interesting see how long this zip lasts again.
Passmap time please log in to view this image Just a suggestion: can Bissouma or Maddison (or both) play more centrally? No wonder we weren't registering much on target when 2/3 of our team are massing on the left flank, which also makes hospital balls form Maddison mor edangerous as a result
If the club had actually adopted this mindset 5 years ago instead of pissing about trying short-term solutions with 'elite' managers, we might be pretty good by now.
Im waiting for this project to go tits up then we can all discuss flogging off our new signings as deadwood in a few seasons time as we try to fund the new manager with players that fit his style please log in to view this image
Definitely. It came so close to working with Poch but we didn’t quite make it but then all the pressure from media and some fans that we have to win a trophy (despite several clubs on our level historically going a lot longer with winning one but we always seem to take the brunt of it). We tried short-term managers for short-term success but we don’t have the pulling power or spending power to buy the players the likes of Jose and conte need. I admit I was excited when Jose came in as I thought his ego had been so dented by the likes of pep and klopp that he’d give us a great go. we’ve now changed the model again though (for the better I think) and we now have a manager that seems to buy into it as well but we need to make sure we stick with it. If we don’t have a great season then no need to pull the trigger and fans will have to accept some mixed results (even though our performances have been really good this season).
I think we will have to rotate a lot more, of course. I still think we’re playing our way into fitness though. Udogie was blowing hard after 60mins the first couple of games, for example. So I don’t think it’s just a fitness thing right now.
You've consistently claimed both that we are 3 or 4 players short of an elite squad and that Ange isn't a good coach. Yet we finished fifth in his first season. Surely either he is over performing or the squad is better than you think. I think it's the former as we clearly only have the sixth best squad.
Maybe. Maybe not. I didn't think BMJ would be "that guy", and he elevated us from a middling irrelevance to a top 6 club for the first time, just a lasagne short of top 4. One thing is for sure, for better or for worse, we have handed Ange tools that will take 2-3 years to flourish. Sacking him before then makes a nonsense of our entire recruitment model at every level - players and coaching staff. I really get your frustration and trust me, as one of the younger posters on this forum barely old enough to remember the FAC in 1991, we've won two measly league cups in my 'time' and I am as desperate as anyone to see us win proper trophies. But we seem to be buckling in for the long haul. It's working down the road. And with Pep almost certainly gone at the end of the season, a bit of a gap may just open up at the top from next season.
We’ll have to rotate, otherwise our key players will be knackered by November. I said at the start of the season I was surprised to see Udogie start the first game or two (think it was you I even said it to?) but then needs must as we don’t have adequate options outside of him. But in terms of the team’s overall fitness we’re not fatigued like we were for over half of last season. It’s why I don’t think the performances are showing as much promise as some think, they’re just a bit more spritely/ zippy at the moment due to the season being early. To me personally, everything just feels like a complete continuation of form and style since probably last December. We play well in spurts, often control possession and stats will show we have a lot of shots but we’re rarely actually testing opposition goalkeepers so the stats are a little misleading. I think today alone we probably had 3x as many shots as Newcastle yet they had by far the more dangerous of chances and that’s excluding their goals. And then just like last season, we’re a piece of cake to score against.
I mainly mean I don’t think Ange is the type to stay at a club for a long period. I do however (always have) think he’s too naive to properly compete at the top level, he needs to compromise and be tighter at the back because the goals Spurs concede are beyond basic a lot of the time. He got away with it at Celtic because his players were far superior to the rest of the league. But look how he struggled with Celtic in Europe when that’s not the case. I think Spurs could find someone else who could carry on the project if Ange was sacked (I’m not saying he should be)
Another argument of yours I just don't understand. If you don't have the best players and play in a standard way you are almost bound to finish at around your expected level which in our case is 6th plus or minus 2. If you play with innovative and risky tactics like Ange's then you make the outcome more uncertain in both directions so that increases the chance of winning things at the expense of being more likely to be knocked out early too. Surely that's a good trade?
Today we conceded the winner because we didn’t have VDV’s pace to defend in a high line a tactical change could have sorted that issue maybe id suggest a tactic he could have used to favour those defenders on the pitch but I cba thinking atm Will be interesting to see what happens first….Ange stops being stubborn or Levy pulls the plug on another project
