TOTTENHAM ARE STILL A BIG CLUB!

Paulinho has been excellent I think,

he was great the last game alright

good article matt

The reality is more complicated. I like AVB, I think he does know what he's doing and there's a great deal to admire about the way he has strengthened the defence. But creatively Spurs are misfiring. Tottenham aren't translating possession into goal-scoring opportunities. Opposition defences are finding it quite easy to contain them. To me, it feels still very much as if AVB has a single, fixed plan about the way he wants the side to play. I would like to see more flexibility; partly for variation, but also to give the players confidence that they have something else up their sleeve when Plan A isn't working.

hugely otm imo

pandemic- 1st article interesting to a point but the purported difference from redknapp to avb isn't all that it's claimed imo? a few less shots against per game. not convinced. 18 shots from outside the box per game and getting 6 reasonably comfortably on target also masking problems in transition.

second article was really good tho.

Redknapp wasn't very good at beating teams who were set up to just defend either. We had a couple of godawful springs where we failed to beat those teams time and time again. Difference now is that teams done it more often, and the manager hasn't worked out how to get his front four playing together (everything behind that is basically okay).

The formation itself isn't necessarily an away tactic, loads of teams play with one up top now, it's the structure of the forward line that's the problem.The lack of a Plan B is worrying, as is the fact that, offensively, the Plan A doesn't fit the personnel.

Having two English wingers bombing at either side is fine if you have a Benteke or an Adebayor there but not with Soldado. Having a small but intelligent striker like Soldado who's an adept finisher but isn't going to out-muscle defences is fine if you have the players who are going to provide incisive defence-splitting passes - which is the argument for working Lamela and especially Eriksen in as quickly as possible. The front four we've seen in the last couple of games is an awkward fudge of the two that serves no one particularly well.

I have faith that AVB will sort these problems and, hey, at least we're grinding out results, West Ham debacle notwithstanding.

agreed, one particularly dire instance comes to mind against I think Stoke where we scraped a draw by an injury time vdv header off an early cross

xp

agreed with your second post 100% matt, yr first one not totally digested yet as im finishing a nested for loop in another window and i can't do it all at once goddammit

http://www.101greatgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/erik-lamela-vlad-chiriches-pictured-in-london-airports-as-they-head-to-join-tottenham.jpg

"The player will only be allowed to resume play if asymptomatic and with normal co-ordination. The medical attendant should alert the coaching staff, and the player closely observed for any deterioration in playing ability," the regulations say. Spurs said on Monday: "The club can confirm that Hugo Lloris underwent a precautionary CT scan and was given the all-clear and travelled back to London last night."

Spurs head of medical services Wayne Diesel added: "Once the relevant tests and assessments were carried out we were totally satisfied that he was fit to continue playing."

Wayne is currently in his ninth season working in the Premier League. He is also regularly invited to give annual lectures on MSc Sports & Exercise Medicine courses for UCL and Barts.

http://www.scienceandfootball.com/Uploads/481.jpg

uh

Alejandro Faurlin faces another long spell on the sidelines after scans confirmed the QPR midfielder suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Saturday's win over Derby County.

QPR's head of medical services, Peter Florida James, told the club's official website: "It's a really nasty cruciate injury."

"the lad was clearly up for it, besides the most dangerous thing to do after someone gets knocked out like that is to wake them, they could die from the shock"- spurs medical team, yesterday

Crushing sudden fear that this was an awful call

apart from levy and his usual hair trigger mgmt style, protecting the summer's investments must weigh heavily here.....soldado, eriksen, especially lamela who was probably bought in the expectation he could be sold for a huge fee in a couple of seasons

Adebayor starts!

described as a 'senior professional' in neil ashton's gleeful villas-boas obituary

Big man and a little man upfront, two out-and-out wingers played on the correct side, Sigurdsson played in position for seemingly the first time all year. Strange times.

Apparently we're swarming all over them?

soldado, eriksen, especially lamela who was probably bought in the expectation he could be sold for a huge fee in a couple of seasons

Don't see why that couldn't still happen with any of them, really. Eriksen in particular wasn't that expensive, relatively speaking, and could be worth a fortune in a few years time. Lamela will need to be given time and I wonder if a loan move might work for him but the upside of persisting far far outweighs the risk given we've already spent the money.

The exception is Soldado who's a lot older and theoretically should be at his peak, who obviously didn't fit into AVB's system and really everything should be based around getting the best out of him. Getting Adebayor onside and playing well is crucial here, I think, in the short term at least. The more I read about AVB's treatment of him after his brother died the more I wonder how much of his poor form for the last season has been down to the manager being incapable of motivating him properly.

Didn't realise that Soldado's wife had a miscarriage a couple of weeks ago either, so his mind is hardly going to be on football right now.

adebayor has about the worst attitude imaginable, villas boas in some sense 'right' to exclude him but he is also a useful secondary option who a less dirigiste manager would probably not have alienated to that extent

suggestion was that the next manager will be chosen to a large degree based on how they can safeguard the summer's investments, tottenham being a player carousel and investment engine more than a fitba team

lol he has just scored.

spurs really have 71% possesion? (and still only 2 shots on goal?)

Well that turned out well. Still time for West Ham to get a third.

opportune night to be away from footy/ilx imo

Sherwood out obv

suggestion was that the next manager will be chosen to a large degree based on how they can safeguard the summer's investments

Well it would be insanity not to really, especially given there's a great team in there somewhere. Whether all these players can be worked in at once is the bigger question, some would presumably have to go out on loan.

Seems like the board's just written of this entire season then? More importantly, what am I doing contributing to ILX's Spurs obsession?

de Boer has said no according to the Dutch press which would indicate they want a permanent manager now, if true.

heh hi tom

Much preferable to get fulltime manager in now and get working obv but not at any cost ito candidate

No one who has contributed to the disproportionate amount of Celtic waffle on these boards over the years can complain about too much Spurs talk btw.

Harsh imo, for a start its on its own thread tbfttbhoys

Aye, and I blame that Onimo and Ailsa anyway

I can't figure out who they can get, who is available or cheap, who can do the job as quickly and professionally as levy wants it done and that is different to avb?

Really can't see any option other than throw as much money at Klopp or Simeone as possible and hope they want something p similar to their current roles in a new league? Or else it is Sherwood for an uninspiring season and hope to get someone like Poch or the continent's just-as-trendy version of him in the summer?

Laudrup is how much of a possibility and risk?

Or else it is Sherwood for an uninspiring season and hope to get someone like Poch or the continent's just-as-trendy version of him in the summer?

That's what I meant about them more or less writing off this season. Doh, I'm doing it again.

tbf I'm actually interested in Spurs at the moment

It is totally writing off the season as far as I can see, which suggests something poisoned and broken behind the scenes. Unless there's a replacement lined up and, judging by his comments about waking up in tears, Sherwood lacks the temperament and PR nouse for the job, let alone the tactical acumen for the job.

Van Gaal will be available at the end of the season. Just sayin'.

If they want a permanent manager right now... Pepe Mel is available. Did an amazing job at Betis last season getting them into Europe. Just been fired with Betis bottom of the league which sounds unpromising but it's similar to the situation Pochettino found himself in when Southampton came calling. Markus Weinzierl doing a terrific job at Augsburg over a season and a half. Don't know if either of them speak English well or not.

Klopp and Simeone way out of Tottenham's league surely? Atleti and Dortmund p much unarguably bigger clubs than Spurs. Unless either feels winning is more possible in England than getting more points than Bayern/RM/Barca.

Agree with that last post tbh

I've been thinking about a dedicated Diego Simeone thread to dissect the guy, his achievements, what the future might hold, etc. He appears to be some kind of ultraman.

Never forgive, never forget

Unless either feels winning is more possible in England than getting more points than Bayern/RM/Barca.

Money

I really like Jardim at Sporting Lisbon but the odds of two opinionated young Portuguese managers in a row are pretty much zero.

*Atleti are so weird. They rarely have more possession than the opposition (I guess plenty of elite teams over the years have managed that) but at the same time they out shoot opponents by a ridiculously large margin. Every time I've read something about La Liga this season it's been a rival manager or an opposition player lamenting what a nightmare they are to play against.

*sorry for derailing the Spurs thread

That seems to me to be entirely relevan to our managerless state.

Even last night, the shots on target stats were a fucking embarrassment.

Klopp and Simeone way out of Tottenham's league surely? Atleti and Dortmund p much unarguably bigger clubs than Spurs

Villas-Boas was on 3.5m a year at Spurs. Klopp is on 1.8 and Simeone is on 2.5

actually Villa-Boas was on £3.5m and the other two salaries are in euros so yeah, they could definitely be persuaded