Tottenham's Midfield Has A Problem...
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- čas přidán 28. 02. 2024
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Written by: TravisLevison21
Voiced by: Kish_P14
Edited by: ThomasNarramore - Sport
I would not call Tottenham's midfield problem , a long term problem because our problems are some players are just out of form and others just came back from long term injuries and need a run of games to get back to a rhythm.
I think a lot of problems spring from inconsistent pairings and injuries. Our midfield was solid early on in the season when Sarr, Maddison and Biss were all at good fitness levels and hadn't been disrupted by suspension and injury. Maddison and Biss simply haven't looked the same since that opening run so i hope they recover their form. That said I also believe that our players simply haven't had the time to fully grow into the system and we'll see their performances improve as time goes on, thats my hope anyway.
The same goes for Bentancur, I really believe he has massive potential and I'd love to see him thrive, one of the players that kept us alive last season before his unfortunate departure. As for Skipp and Hjoberg, honestly I don't think they're at the level required.
I honestly think our best midfield 3 right now is sari - bissouma - Maddison. while bentancur is good he is still not fully back to form after the injury
The midfield trio of Biss, Madds and Sarr have had about 2 hours game play in 3 months. Injuries, suspensions and Internatiol duties have been a huge disruption.
Beautiful analysis, me personally I feel like if we trusted skipp in the 6 role and are patient with him the same way we are patient with Brenan as a winger, Skipp would thrive in that role. He has the potential to be a destroyer and good ball winning midfielder which is rare these days as well. He is good enough on the ball to receive it and lay off simple passes keep it safe basically then you can add more adventurous midfielders around him. Personally for me skipp is one of the most underrated players in our team and at times is forced to play styles against he's nature and people write him off cause of that. The times Skipp has played as a lone 6 he has looked very comfortable.
Your analysis is spot on in the general role of the number 6, but way off on Bissouma then #6 being responsible for the goal against Wolves. I may somewhat agree he is the one who lost the ball, but if you roll the tape back to the roles of the fullbacks it paints a greater picture not just for the goal, but how ineffective the fullbacks are when they assumed positions ahead of the midfield.
Let me address the fullbacks: They are supposed to come inside to ensure the attack has coverage in the middle and not them being the attackers filling out the positions ahead on both sides of the box. That is a tactical blunder by Ange. These areas were supposed to be taken up by the #6, # 8 and 10 while the fullbacks offer the coverage for the midfielders to recover in the event of breakdown or allow the front men to press.
The Neto goals was evident how out of sort the fullbacks were.
The problem occurs because the fullbacks consistently overlaps the midfield.
When you look at Busquet at Barca and Casimaro at Madrid they never vacate their positions in the name of akways wanting to be a box to mid. They sat between the 2 centerhalves the way Rodri mastered the role at City.
This ia not or should not be an Ange ball thing where the fullbacks are given the license to go forward and up the middle, ane use it to fill every gap created restricting the movements of the attacking players moreso Maddison whose touches are going to the more advanced fullbacks instead of getting return passes as he probes tbe defense especially when teams are setup in a low block.
Lastly, I do believe Yves plays the #6 role more efficiently than Bentancur even though he is more fluid and take advantage of open spaces with his dribble abilities. Yves dribbling is more guile to elude than progressive.
Bottomline for me, if the fullbacks are reigned in a bit or become more discipline in there foward progression. The team will look more compact defending with 4 or 5 in transition instead of 2 centrsl defenders and an out of place #6.
IMO. Sarr Should see more time at #6 position in late games when we are looking to attack instead of Skipp or Hojberg so we dont need to sub an attacker or not bring one one. With the full team. We are going to need that versatility to allow the likes of Locelso, Johnson, Werner to all be on the picture at the same time.
The solutions we have aren't too bad, they just aren't great passers and more about carrying the ball.
For me - and I know this sounds wild - the player we have with the best traits to play 6 for Ange is probably Romero... He's a press resistant destroyer with mad passing range, and he can even pinch goals 🤷♂️
We can't do it right now because we have no CB depth and it would be a massive shift in tactics, but getting versitile CBs like Tapsoba or Todibo might allow him to have a bit of a free role where he drifts between a 6 and a CB role.
Might help in those games when the other team is just pinging passes into the empty full back channels. He could drop back and let the CBs cover wider.
Silly thought really, but I think its interesting.
its been done before - when Poch stuck Dier in MF
Bissouma was perfect first but as gone backwards
This year has been riddled with injuries and players trying to get back to top tier with rotating midfield lineups. I’m not shocked that it’s been inconsistent as a result but this year was always supposed to be an implementation and rebuild year. Going into the summer with a full year in the system I think Bissouma, Bentancur, and Madds will be our starting midfield. If we sign someone like Conor Gallagher then I think he replaces Bentancur in the lineup but I think he would be a redundant signing with Sarr also playing that 8 role as well unless the plan is to move Sarr to a 6 role eventually. This summer will be crucial
a fullback with passing range would help alot if biss for example plays. Or have romeru move into midield with emerson tucking in behind him, while porro plays rw
That’s where Pedro Porro comes in………
What is that website that ranks the players performance as shown?
I reckon we should get Amadou onana, he would help fix so many of our problems even beyond the 6 position
The real problem is not the 6 it’s how the tactics are run because with the tactics the 6 is put in a horrible position every time. I do think for our type of play though bissouma is our best 6 for the was he is able to evade pressure out of the back and bring the ball up. Not that it is lolo’s fault but he’s had many faults trying to find a pass out of the back instead of just taking it himself into an open area and that is where biss thrives. If bissouma is able to up his passing ability and range he is no doubt our best 6.
Mousa Dembele is sadly missed
Bergvall is going to cover this roll!
Locatelli, verela (porto) or andre (fluminese) would fit the bill imo
3 excellent choices there. The Andre fee would be similar to what we would raise with the sale of PEH.
I don't think it's that much of a "problem" tbh. Bissouma and Bentancur are probably are 2 best in the role. PEH and Skipp can do the job. PEH in particular has put in some good performances off the bench and I really admire his professionalism despite probably not being in the long-term plans. Bissouma and Bentancur have different strengths/weaknesses that complement each other depending on the opponent, form, injuries, etc. Bentancur in particular has had multiple injuries so he's definitely not back at his best. There's no perfect player and the closest things to it would cost alot of money or development. I think a healthy Porro helps alot too since he's so much better technically as an outlet in possession than Royal.
Our problem is in attack. Our wingers dislike going at their direct opposition.. we need players in the mould of Aaron Lennon
Locatelli/Agoume/Barrenechea
Locatelli is perfect for what we need imo. De jong also but would be out the wage range
Yes, I agree. But I’m not sure Ange does. And he’s the one getting millions of ££ a year to fix the problem.
So we await his solution: in Ange we trust.
palhphinia would be my choice
we will be fine, we'll make CL and push on...
funny how helpful rodon and winks would have been in this squad
Both are lower prem/championship level that's why they look good in their current sides.
Our fans have a habit of writting off a player and call him rubbish becaue he does not suit a certain type of manager, I am not sure about Rondan but I feel Winks Skill set at keeping hold of the ball and passing it would of suited our squad better.
Not really, Rodon barely got a game under any manager so that has to tell you his level. Winks, I love Winks but he wouldn’t suit this style of play.
Rodon? Gotta be kidding me. He's a lower level/championship level player. Sanchez maybe could have filled in better than Dier when we had all those injuries but none of them are good enough to be in our squad. Winks of 5 years ago maybe but he's not getting in over any of our current group and we'd be better to give the minutes to youngsters when we have them. Again, a solid player for the level he's at.
analysis is flawed accusing of rodrigo not able to ball retain based on this seasons performance, back after 11 months injured. Why did you not quote his ball retention stats before injury?
Bentancur has struggled to scan his whole career.
Go watch his Juventus clips, he’s never been able to know what’s behind him it’s the major flaw in his game.
Midfield and attack not good enough ..
So we spend 200 million replacing them all ? Knob.
Bissouma is a truly horrendous player. Poor technical ability and dreadful attitude. He thinks he’s made it in life because Spurs signed him. Nothing but a Big Time Charlie.
Bring back MOUSA DEMBELE
Bissouma isnt number 6
Bring Modric back
😂😂
Just my opinion it’s not popular but it’s mine. Bissouma not suited for that role a disaster in position.but when confident and not giving the ball to the position he can be good. Skipp a more energetic improvement to Harry Winks bless him. Bentancur Ideal but still not recovered and has better potential in attacking or at least carrying the ball forward. Sarr is the energizer bunny version of Skipp completely useless from an attacking point of view and his shooting is the worst I’ve seen since Sissoko - now there’s a a awesome player that didn’t know where the goal was or what to do when near the box. At least Sarr is still raw and has scored a fluke goal and that cheeky little rebounder He’s the guy you want as a super sub or the guy you need to cover ground fast especially when Porro goes wandering, but not suited for that role. And Hojbjerg. The most reliable and professional player we have out there…. When we’re becoming overrun that’s the go to guy and if you watch his game management when we’re trying to hold on to a lead he’s one of the best. Unfortunately he’s not automatic and has a little bit of a thinking process before acting despite that his shooting is the most accurate and he makes killer passes when he gets his brain working but yet again unfortunately he doesn’t have the skill to hold on to a ball and gives the ball away a lot…. So it is a quandary we haven’t had that perfect player since Dembele left, for me he’s the ultimate number six