Missing Sandro: A Spurs' Diary

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In which Spurs' fan Columnist James returns from exile in Siberia:

It is tough to articulate just how abysmal Spurs' midfield performance has been since the injury to Sandro.  I know, I know -- last sixteen of the Europa League, mouth watering tie with Inter coming up, Top 4 in the Prem, The Greatest Player In The World™ ("TGPIW"), etc. etc.  But a series of singularly marvelous one-off goals by TGPIW (for the last four weeks running) and Moussa Dembele today (in Spurs' 1-1 second leg to advance in the Europa League against Lyon) have only served to paper over serious cracks in this squad since the Sandro injury.

And the most glaring of these cracks lies at the feet of (sadly, because he is one of my favorite players) one Scotty Parker.  To think that the RAF Captain was once captain of England and was voted Spurs' most valuable player last year is astounding.  His performance today was just terrible.  And while Dembele was not much better prior to his wonder goal that saved Spurs, it has been the switch from Sandro to Parker that seems to have seriously disrupted Spurs' transition and flow while in possession. 

It has been posited quite convincingly that Parker's core skill set is just not a good match both for AVB's system and the pairing with Dembele, but that fails to explain Parker's abject failure to adjust his game and just get rid of the ball.  Or of AVB's failure to clearly instruct him to simply fulfill the Sandro enforcer role and free Dembele for the charging runs.  It is true that Dembele and Parker are similar in that they like to hold and not look for (or are incapable of finding) the quick pass / through ball.  But that was the case with Dembele before the Sandro injury and Spurs' were not nearly this bad.  Recently, Spurs' offense has been just about non-existent save for TGPIW™'s wonder strikes and this is simply not sustainable. 

Neither can Dembele's decline -- traced back to the very same Sandro injury -- be regarded as a coincidence.  With Sandro so effectively protecting the back line, sweeping back and forth and springing Dembele up the field, Spurs were not exactly the fluid tiki-taka countering team they were with Modric, but their speed in transition enabled them to at least play the counter at times quite effectively.  Now, however, their transition and possession is like watching paint dry with Parker doing his pirouettes around the ball and Dembele dribbling all over the place with nary a decent pass between them. 

Seeing Those Not Believing

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Ed on Spurs:

The press can beat up on Andre Villas-Boas all it likes for his errors in formation: the high line providing chances for the opposition; his inability to adopt to Roberto Mancini's back three and the flooding of the midfield; his removal of Emmanuel Adebayor for Jermaine Defoe instead of Clint Dempsey for Defoe. Unfortunately, the reality was in the personnel.

Tom Huddlestone is a decent holding midfielder. He's big and tough and not a bad tackler, but he has nowhere near the ball control skills of Scott Parker or the midfield of City. Sandro is another good holding defensive midfielder; not very creative and somewhat lacking in ball control skills. In short, the Huddlestone/Sandro midfield is all they have right now, but it's far from top of the table. Spurs are simply not good enough to be down two starting midfielders in Moussa Dembele and Scott Parker and still compete with the best teams. Could any team?

Well, yes. United and City are so chock full of expensive top class strikers that they can pull it off. United pretty much did so last year amid talk of Wesley Sneider and the unretirement of Paul Scholes. To be honest, I still don't understand why someone with his ability retired to begin with. I've said this before and I'll say it again – play until you can't play any longer. It's a game. It's fun. I still play and all I get out of it is the occasional fist bump.

 

The Brits like to speak about the economic disparity in the league – class warfare being a (detrimental) staple of English (and current American) politics and thinking. But in the case of the BPL and pretty much all the leagues in Europe, there are a few billionaire teams and everyone else. Occassionally a team like Spurs can sneak into the top four – very occassionally – but they begin each season with zero chance of winning the title. Or do they?

Happy Days: Tottenham Hotspur 2 - Aston Villa 0

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He's baaaack. We're talking about Correspondent Ed, of course....:

 

I was all geared up for an article by Correspondent James after the Spurs beat poor United at Old Trafford for the first time since I was in college. I could taste the put downs of the boss-man. The zingers about RVP's petulance and Scholes' crazy big age. But unfortunately it didn't happen, and now the moment has passed. But Spurs followed up that victory with yet another win. So instead of lamenting the Spurs – comfort food to most Tottenham fans – let's give them some big love for a nice start to the campaign.

It all starts with the Manager, of course, and for now it's hard not to conclude that AVB seems to have found his home. Despite his somewhat bizarre handling of the Hugo Lloris / Brad Friedel mess, AVB has made the right calls of late. Part of that is due to Clint Dempsey, a player that's been an improvement over Gylfi Sigurdsson at the Number 10 position. Dempsey may be less of a pure distributor than Gylfi, but he's much better on the ball and more dangerous near the goal. He and Defoe have successfully opened up space for Bale and Lennon by virtue of their strong runs off the ball, something Gylfi is more reluctant to do as he seems more of a holder than a thrusting attacker.

With respect to Defoe, who would have thought that he would have more goals at this point in the season then Wayne Rooney ? Defoe has shown his critics yet again that he's a dangerous front man with a quick release. Will Defoe fade away once Emmanuel Adebayor returns from injury? Perhaps, but hopefully not.

Spurs defense has been notable as well. William Gallas, who Uncle Harry brought to Spurs for exactly zero pounds, has been tremendous at the back. I'm not sure what Arsenal saw as the problem with the defender other than his age. But age alone doesn't dictate ability, and clearly he's led the defense as well as most any center back in the EPL. Compare him to United's Rio Ferdinand, for example, and tell me who has had a better season.

Jan Vertonghen has also been very strong offensively as well as defensively. He's done a much better job than I thought he could at left back with BAE out of the lineup. He's marches forward still seem a bit awkward to me, but they're definitely effective.

Ruh Roh! Trouble Ahead for Spurs?

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Ed is back with some thoughts on Spurs' slow start to the season:

Spurs have now played three games against only mediocre BPL competition and they haven't won once.  Worse, they've only looked good in one half of one game – the first half last week against West Brom – and even then they didn't seem to get enough really good chances.  And double worse, it's painful to say it, but they look startlingly similar to Chelsea last year when they were managed by AVB.  As Scooby Doo would say:  Ruh Roh.

So here are my questions for AVB:

1.                  Defoe.  The offensive 4-2-3-1 is certainly a formation that works and is popular internationally. However, Spurs seem to be playing this formation with Gylfi Sigurdsson deep, the two midfielders holding even deeper, the wingers wide on the lines, and the diminutive Defoe all alone front and center. Defoe is obviously not someone that's going to win and retain possession.  He's also too small to capitalize on any high crossing balls launched in by Bale and Lennon.  So is Gylfi playing too deep?  If not, why are you playing this way with Defoe in the lineup?  And why did you sign an extension with Defoe if you intend to play this way? 

2.                  Double D's.  Spurs picked up Dempsey and Dembele.  Both are attacking midfielders like Gylfi Sigurdsson. Where are they going to play?  Why have you gone three deep at one position?  Are you intending to change formation?

3.                  Van Der Vaart.  Why did you part with VDV?  It seemed clear in from game one, and it seemed confirmed by your starting him in game two, that VDV outplayed Sigurdsson in the attacking midfielder position.  VDV possesses the ball better, passes better, and put 13 in the back of the net last year. Granted, VDV isn't fast, but what did you gain by letting him go?

Premier League Transfer Madness: Going Out on a Limb

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In which we go out on a limb to analyze the latest transfers -- both fact and gossip:

Dimitar Berbatov to Fulham: We've spoken early and often of our admiration for the languid Bulgarian, so it will come as no surprise that we think this will be a great pick up for Fulham.  As one Twitter wag stated yesterday, Martin Jol must be an absolute transfer genius to have picked up Mladen Petric and Dimitar Berbatov solely with the funds he received from offloading Bobby Zamora.  We can't wait to see Dimi receive the regular football he deserves, and believe he will once again be near the top of the League in goals by the end of the season.  If Berbatov does what we think he can, Manchester United may be glad they've already played Fulham once this season.

Andy Carroll to West Ham United (on loan): Could this be a marriage made in heaven?  Sure sounds like it to us.  Big Sam loves kick and run football -- and whose head is better to aim at than the ponytailed Geordie?  We don't see Carroll ever being worth anything close to £35 million in this lifetime, but if his form revives in a system that suits him, this could be a rather shrewd loan move by the scousers.

Clint Dempsey to Aston Villa: Seriously?  If this move comes off, Clint Dempsey's agent ought to have his hearing checked: Dempsey expressed a desire to play in the Champions League -- not the Championship next season.

Moussa Dembele to Spurs: A nice acquisition by Spurs, who may be shedding themselves of a midfielder or two in the next couple of  hours (see below for more).  We've always liked Dembele, and his fine form from last season has continued into the current campaign.  Spurs need more directness in their attack, and Dembele could be just the man to supply it.

Fernando Llorente to Liverpool: Sorry Liverpool fans, as much as you'd love it, it's just not happening.

Scott Sinclair to Manchester City: [Yawn.]  Someone had to replace Adam Johnson on the bench at Eastlands.

Julio Cesar to QPR: Someone check this man's age.  The calendar may show 32, but he's already showing signs of severe dementia, claiming that he believes QPR will win the League.  Mark Hughes' strategy seems to involve buying anything that's not nailed down at the current moment, and we believe this is a move that the club will soon regret.  Isn't Robert Green good enough for the Championship next season?

Edin Dzeko to Arsenal: If this one is true, Arsene Wenger should step down for the good of the club and its fans.  If he were to acquire Dzeko, Wenger will have officially jumped the shark.  To clarify, when we were saying Arsenal should be a bit more physical, we were talking about the defense and midfield, Arsene.