Gunning for the Gunners

Ed is remarkably consistent in his Spurs' coverage this season:

o Spurs rebounded nicely from their loss against Norwich and were able to secure the three points from Cardiff City, but did it have to be that hard?  Granted, the team had a difficult Europa League game earlier in the week, and as their manager has said, the team usually plays terribly after such matches when they return to the BPL.  However, it seems that Spurs are too content to sit on a one goal lead, even against poor sides such as Cardiff.  This makes the end a flurry of crosses and near misses and makes the odds of slipping to a draw all too high.  I recall the master class show that Barca put on City in the last five minutes.  No flurry for City; simply no ball to get ahold of.

o I'd like to think Roberto Soldado also heard at least echoes of my past writings in this space.  Or perhaps he was just due.  His finish was terrific; his other play was, at it has been of late, quite good.  But let's not think one goal will spur (sorry) him into action.  Adebayor and the coverage he draws clearly helped.  That said, it would be nice for him to be something of a threat in this last quarter of the season.  Is it too much to ask for him to gain some confidence and start to put some more shots in the back of the net?  Clearly he could do it in La Liga, why not here and now?

o Michael Dawson continues to perform like the John Terry-light of the team.  He doesn't have the athletic ability or speed required to be a top defensemen, yet he sometimes always gets that leg out or his head on the ball.  He is underappreciated by people like me, and will probably continue to be despite this small praise.

Same Old Spurs: Norwich City 1 - Tottenham Hotspur 0

You can almost smell the ennui in Ed's report:

Well everyone at the top of the table won, some in spectacular style, but then there were Spurs.  Fresh off a waste-of-time Europa League performance (what is the point, actually, of the Europa league?), Spurs looked a painfully listless side for most of the match.  As the boss-man often says, you could almost smell the ennui.  Only Michael Dawson, Spurs' least talented player, seemed to really go after it and want to win.  Aaron Lennon again made some terrific runs that ended with poor crosses to no one or giveaways.  There is no player in the BPL that can beat people at will yet never scores or gets an assist.  His final ball has to rank up there with over-35 recreational soccer league players. 

It’s easy to blame the manager when a team comes out like this, but frankly I’ve seen it happen to every team in the league and unless it becomes a patter it’s hard to blame Tim Sherwood for this.  That said, I’m not sure: he played so defensively and didn’t put in a second forward until the 65^thminute.  This is a team that plays good defense but simply cannot score.  It was clear that Adebayor alone at the front wasn’t going to get even a chance without help.

Water Cooler Talk: On Spurs' Many Isssues

The Corporate Office, in the midst of another lavish redecorating scheme
Photo by Romana Klee on Flickr

 

 

Heard around the office recently:

Ed: James...!  [eyes widen] To what do we owe this great pleasure....?! [Expresses shock, slaps his knee while doubling over with laughter]

James: I'm back in town, Ed.  [grimaces, folds arms in front of chest and leans on wall next to the water cooler] Spurs are struggling, and so are the Gators, but I can't keep hiding forever.  My family needs me. [shakes head dejectedly].

Ed: I'll bet..! [rolls eyes]. 

James: Hey, here's some gallow humor you'll appreciate.  I heard this on the radio yesterday: AV, no plan B. [looks at Ed hopefully for a sign of encouragement]

Ed:  [picks up the thread of the conversation and runs with it in earnest] You know Spurs' biggest problem is Roberto Soldado doesn’t score, James.  Worse, he isn’t even a threat to score.  He can’t beat anyone with the ball, doesn’t head them in, doesn’t kick them in.... Frankly, I'm not sure what his strength is....  Van Persie doesn’t dribble by people, but when he gets the ball up front he puts it in the back of the net.  Lewandowski's the same way.

James: While Soldado gets pretty much zero service with nary a cross from the two inverted wingers that AVnoplanB continually insists on playing, nor a through ball from our ineffectual number 10's caught in the middle of all that congestion, he is also inherently unsuited -- like Defoe -- to be a lone striker. That's what I really still don't understand about that acquisition. [scratches his head] The only one who is even theoretically suited for this system is...wait for it...wait for it.... Adebayor! Aaaarrrrrgghhh!!!!! [puts gun shaped finger to his head and pulls imaginary trigger]

Ed: [chuckles] I never watched Soldado in La Liga so I really don’t know what they did with him or what his strengths are.... But frankly I haven’t seen any strengths yet. [frowns and pauses] By the way, I think AVB agrees with you about Adebayor. Where’s that guy been, at the Russian affiliate?

 

James: [snickers] 

 

Ed: [light goes off inside his head] Hold on a minute: Did you just use the word "nary"?

 

No Touching (and Other Thoughts)

Correspondent Ed writes this one from the no-touching "safe zone":

It seems for Spurs these days that good touches into the net are hard to find.  They certainly are tough in the back – beasts in the back – and opponents other than West Ham can’t seem to break them down.  However, they also seem very predictable and, well, boring in the middle and up front.  They are able to possess, but unable to do much with that possession. 

 

Part of this is the lack of form of Roberto Soldado.  I am still trying to figure out what he’s good at.  He certainly isn’t dangerous in possession – he lacks any ability to beat someone with the ball or even threaten to beat someone.  He also seems to struggle just to find an open shot.  Robert Lewandowski – a tough comparison I know – is very nimble in traffic and is able to manufacture shots which he accurately installs in the back of the net with his quick release.  Again, Soldado doesn’t have the ability.  I’ve heard that the ability Soldado does have is to finish crosses.  Hmmm.  Haven’t seen much of that either, though to be fair, Townsend likes to shoot lots more than he likes to distribute.

 

It’s been asked on the talk shows whether it is preferable to win or to play pretty football.  My answer to that is “yes.”  Pretty football is currently being played by Arsenal AND they are winning if no one noticed.  Why can’t Spurs do the same?  Is it really that the team just needs to learn each other and gel?  Not so sure I believe that.  AVB is a very young manager after all, and I suspect he’s the one that has to do more adjusting and learning than the team.  Though to be sure, he’s doing pretty well right now even if it is pretty boring. 

 

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All it takes is just a bit of touch to wake the sleeping giant known as Manchester United – was it from this very blog?  One can only wonder.... But some how, some way, they remembered they have Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie and a heck of a lot of other good players.  Their run is beginning and unfortunately will likely last for some time. 

 

Freefallin'

In which Columnist Ed channels his inner Tom Petty:

For many years I've been hoping that Manchester United would come back to earth, but I just didn't expect such free fall and to be honest it's not very fun.  One could make the argument that Southampton is better than United this year.  Wait, that's not an argument that's a truth -- at this point in the season Southampton actually IS better than United this year.  Uh oh.

I find the use of Marouane Fellaini to be the most interesting.  Fellaini was not a very effective holder for Everton; he was physical enough but he didn't have the speed or quickness to close people down.  He also lacks the fine passing ability that top holders have.  Compare, for example, Sandro or Paulinho or Dembele or Capoue.  Each of them close down with speed, and with the exception of maybe Sandro -- who is a far better defensive player than Fellaini -- each of them also are better at distribution.

Fellaini did, however, do very well at the number 10 position for Everton.  His size and strength made him tough in the box.  His footwork and leverage were good, and he and Nikica Jelavic made a team that could bully many if not most teams' center backs.  But unfortunately for United, he's inferior by a long stretch to all of their number 10's, which forces him to the holding position, which once again raising the question "Why Fellaini?"  To me there's no way to get around the fact that this was a desperation move by a GM who needed to show that he got something.  Look for them to move him next season.

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Spurs returned to form this weekend and saw Roberto Soldado put in his first goal during the run of play.  Soldado played well, though he still hasn't played to the level of his price.  Ultimately Spurs are still a team that lacks a top tier striker.  This will come to haunt them during the season if Soldado comes around.