A win over West Ham at the weekend would have put us level on points with the teams at the top of the table so while one defeat doesn’t turn us into a poor side, Sunday’s loss did highlight some issues. Spurs have been creating chances and not putting them away and without a Gareth Bale to drive one in from 30 yards to save the day, what’s the plan?
Some have said that Andre Villas-Boas made a mistake by bringing Jermain Defoe back into the side for Sunday’s game but the England man’s form in the Capital One Cup and in the Europa League had demanded a start. Sadly, the player continues to frustrate when given a starting berth in the Premiership.
Two up front could be one option but Andre clearly prefers 4-2-3-1 and has said on many occasions that it benefits the team and certain individual players within it. So don’t expect to see two from Defoe, Soldao and Adebayor starting any time soon.
As for personnel elsewhere, Andros Townsend seemed to attract the most stick after his performance but does Erik Lamela look ready enough to take his place? Lewis Holtby is another who has impressed from the bench and in Cup competition but Gylfi Sigurdsson’s three goals in the campaign have so far kept the German at bay.
So does it need a fix and if so what changes do you expect to see when Spurs line up against Aston Villa in 12 days’ time?
Aaron lennon set to return to the squad after the internationals , his pace down the flanks is vital to create more chances for Soldado.
Put him on the right and Andros Townsend on the left.
Bring back Tom Carroll.
Try Chiriches in midfield He can’t be any worse than the donkeys playing there at the moment. Also play Holtby and Eriksen in there as well. These 3 should link up and create chances for Soldado.
Firstly, Dawson needs to be dropped. He’s not good enough and too slow. We should have Vertonghen with either Kabul or Chiriches. Andros Townsend is over-rated. Lamela should take his place and be given a chance to show what we can do. Sigurdsson proved last season that he’s a very good sub. Chaldi (or Lennon when fit) should take his place. Soldado should be back in the team asap because Defoe cannot cut it in the premier league.
Agree. I’d go further and play Kaboul and Chiriches with Vertonghen at left back until we get a left back that has so obviously been needed for the past 2 seasons. Sandro or Capoue is a must, with 2 wingers , Eriksen and Holtby behind Soldado. Too much fanning around with passes in midfield. We seem to have forgotten that the whole aim of the game is to go through the opposition to score a goal, not how many passes can we make !!!
my wingers would be Lennon and Chadli
Chiriches in the middle with Vertonghen at LB? That will never happen unless injuries demand it, Chiriches was doing the basics all wrong in both his two appearances, letting balls bounce and people bustle past him. He needs time. Vertonghen at LB has been a problem most times he plays there against a decent wide man, played there against Everton and West Ham last season and got rinsed by Mirallas and Joe Cole, we conceded 4 goals in those 2 games. His best position is CB and he should stay there.
Vertonghen has been by far the sloppiest of our defenders recently, he’s making Dawson look bad because he’s leaving him exposed, it was Vertonghen who cost us the goal on the corner and it was him who gave the ball away and couldn’t be arsed to recover on the third. He is not undroppable, if we want to stop goals on set plays then Daws/Younes is a much better pairing than any involving Vertonghen (obviously Jan offers us other things).
And neither Naughton nor Rose are good enough. We need to buy a decent left back in January.
Spurs need Danny Rose or Zeki Fryers at LB, Eriksen with Soldado, or Holtby with Defoe in the 10 and 9 positions.
Our counter attacks have been almost non-existent because of Lennon and Bale being absent. Their speed got us at least 6 goals last season. Lennon must start in the league when he’s healthy. Despite Gylfi’s strong form, I’d rather see Nacer on the left wing because he stays wide. When we’re using both flanks effectively we’re better suited to break down parked busses.
Lastly, despite my adoration of Moussa, I think he sometimes lacks the tempo that’s needed in CM. This was apparent against West Ham and I believe Sandro would’ve been a wise substitution for him to help boost our team work rate.
Some times in football you need to have a left footed winger on the left and a right footed winger on the right. West Ham caused problems by defending the box in numbers. We were unable to break them down because we lacked the width provided by wingers/mid fielders playing on their natural side
Soldado up front to start always. Eriksen in the hole behond him. Lamela on right to start ahead of Townsend. He needs to acclimate to pace of game in BPL and needs to start gelling with the likes of Eriksen and Soldado and that can only happen if he plays full games and all the time. Chadli/Lennon to play on Left depending on form. Holtby in holding to attacking midfield position and Sandro/Capoue in deep/holding midfield role in front of the back four. Walker in RB. Chiriches and Kaboul in CB roles and Vertongen in LB role until a proper LB can be purchased and then back to CB he goes and Chiriches/Kaboul can fight for remaining CB role. That to me would be the best starting 11 squad for Premier League games. The others can be rotated in for our Europa League and other cup matches.
WE NEED 5PLAYERS ON SOLDIFY LWB,RWB,CM,CAM & WINGER,ST——MARTIN MONTAYA, FABIO CONTRAO, PAUL POGBA, MATA OR CANDVERA, HULK, BENZAMA
The biggest issue against West Ham was our midfield. Dembele won 6 tackles and put in a shift but Paulinho made just 1 tackle and let Nolan, Diame and Noble run straight through us. If we have to drop someone for Sandro it should be him, we should not be getting outfought by West Ham’s midfield.
I rate Paulinho very highly but in the PL you have to the the basics right at all times and make sure you are aggressive and influencing the game, he did bugger all on Sunday. Eriksen as well.
lloris
walker vertonghen kaboul rose
sandro paulinho
lennon erikson lamela
soldardo
drop naughton and dawson naughton the ball watching full back would rather have graham fucking norton playing as for dawson too slow for the premier league bring back sandro in midfield along with lennon when fit and do not start defoe cant hold the ball up you fucked up sunday avb learn the lesson
We spent over £50million on Soldado and Lamela – they should start and start justifying their huge fees.
Chiriches would be worth looking at in defence – really needs tightening up.
Hope Capoue is fit again soon – he looked competitive.
We need after january—–LLORIS MONTAYA–CHIRICHEA–VERTOGHEN–FABIO CONTRAO–POGBA–PAULINHO–LAMELA–ERIKSON–HULK–SOLDADO—–SUB–FRIEDEL–CAPOUE–DAWSON–WALKER–TOWNSED–BERNARD OR MATA OR ANOTINO CANDVERA–BENZEMA
No width all down the middle to one lone striker,we need to play with two, no point have 60 plus mins of possession and create very few actual chances.
For me the Spurs formation and set up is an issue. Currently there is a very slow build up when in possession and too much “training ground keep ball” in midfield allowing opposing midfielders time to get back to defend limiting space for Spurs strikers. I would like to see Spurs play 3 at the back, 2 strikers (similar to Liverpool) and have midfielders / wingers who can run and pass at pace. Also I’d like to see Kaboul at RB, Sando recalled and Dembele/Paulino responsible for >15 goals each.
Agree with you Jim can’t keep leaving a 30mil player on the bench sling him in see wot he can do you won’t tell with ten minute spells also can’t wait for Capoue and Lennon to get back plus get holtby playing regular the kids quality
If we make to many changes we risk damaging part of our squad the only change i would do baring injury’s is Kaboul for Walker;drop Naughton Lloris Kaboul Dawson Vertongahan Lennon Paulinho Erickson Dembele Townsend Saldado Defoe 253 Liverpool are playing to play S.A.S it will get rid of the high line get the goals then bring Walker on for Paulinho or Dembele
It’s gotta be Townsend on the left and Lamela on the right. Townsend has been able to beat his man consistently recently and playing good crosses in, just nobody ever gets in there to finish them. Lamela needs a chance to show what he can do, he looked really good at Roma but hasn’t gotten into a rhythm yet here. Sandro should start over Dembele as well, Dembele isn’t as good at winning the ball and he seems afraid to go forward.