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  • Poch 11 Vs Ange 11

    Poch 11 Vs Ange 11

    Ok let’s have a bit of fun, we need a distraction! We have been undergoing a major squad rebuild these last few seasons which we all know was long overdue after several extremely poor signings to say the least.

    A full reset was required, so after a couple of seasons of Ange Postecoglou in charge how does our best 11 square up against one of our best teams over the last 20 years under Levy, of course I am talking about the Mauricio Pochettino era. 

    As Tottenham finished 2nd in the 2016–17 campaign I will take the best 11 from that season. I know we made it to the UEFA Champions League final in 2019 but in my opinion we were well on the decline by then with Pochettino being starved of reinforcements.

    So lets do it, the Poch 11 Vs Ange 11

    Goalkeeper

    Starting in goal we have Hugo Lloris versus Guglielmo Vicario. Both goalies are pretty good shot stoppers but Vicario is slightly better at playing the ball out. I don’t think Vicario is great with his ball distribution but Lloris was pretty awful at it too and really had 2 left feet, he just never looked comfortable with the ball at his feet. However Lloris was more confident in the air and dealt with those high balls better and for that reason I have to go for Lloris. You cannot have a goalkeeper that does not know how to handle corners at this level.

    Poch 1 – Ange 0

    Full Backs

    Moving onto the full backs we had Kyle Walker and Danny Rose as first choice back in 2016 against the current Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie. Walker versus Porro is a tough one because although Walker was extremely strong and fast in his defensive role, there’s no doubt Porro offers more going forward with way more assists to his name. They are different types of full backs it has to be said but I am going to go for Walker as ultimately a full backs defensive role takes precedence and Porro gets caught out of position way too often.

    On the other side we have Rose versus Udogie and whilst Rose will forever be remembered for that wonder goal against Arsenal on his debut back in 2010, I don’t think he ever really materialised into a world class full back that we hoped. Udogie had a pretty impressive first season adapting to the English game but injuries have hampered his progress this season and we haven’t seen the best of him in recent months. Another difficult one but I am going to go for Udogie based on the potential I have seen from him so far.

    Poch 2 – Ange 1

    Centre Halves

    If the full backs were a close call these centre halves may even be tougher, we are talking about a world class Belgian pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen against world cup winner Cristian Romero with the lightning Micky van de Ven. I was a big fan of Alderweireld, defensively he was pretty solid and he wasn’t immune to a few decent balls forward to help out with the assists. Vertonghen was pretty dependable too and wasn’t afraid to bomb down the left wing if given the chance. He was named the club’s Player of the Year in 2018 which sums up his importance in this team. However Alderweireld and Vertonghen were very fortunate to have a strong holding midfielder in front protecting them from that first wave of attack.

    Romero always shows that passion and aggression you want to see from your players and commits himself in everything he does. Sometimes a little too much perhaps but that is his nature. His main weakness is probably his awareness in the box which has cost us more than once. Van de Ven has been fantastic since joining us and his ability to recover is hugely important in Anges team. He’s another player that has been plagued with injuries over the last 2 seasons and this is becoming a concern. A tough choice to make but I am going for Alderweireld and Van de Ven so that’s one each!

    Poch 3 – Ange 2

    Midfield

    Moving into midfield I will select Mousa Dembélé, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli against the current Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski. Starting with the holding midfielder we have Dembele and Bentancur who both have the responsibility of protecting that defence. In my opinion it’s a role that is undervalued at times and is quite often a position that is about what a player does without the ball as much as he does with it. 

    In terms of strength and defensive ability Dembele proved to be a top player and deserves a lot of credit for that Spurs team setting a new defensive record for the club in 2016-17, conceding fewer than 30 goals in a league campaign for the first time. My biggest criticism of Dembele at the time was how few goals he scored because I knew how good he was, but it was his self discipline in that holding position that allowed the other players to flourish. It wasn’t until he left I realised just how much we needed him! Bentancur has now taken over that responsibility in midfield but in all fairness it is a much more difficult task now with such an open style of play. Nevertheless he has proven to be our most reliable holding midfielder and has done well to overcome several injuries.

    So let’s look at the creative midfielders with Eriksen and Maddison. Eriksen, twice named the club’s Player of the Year, scoring over 50 goals and 60 assists it’s fair to say Eriksen was always a threat around the opponent’s box and our most creative midfielder at the time. I don’t think we’ve had another set piece specialist like him since he left and it’s something we have missed, although I don’t miss his corners lol. On the other hand Maddison has already notched up 15 goals for us over 2 seasons and 19 assists. Whilst Maddison has largely taken over that role as set piece specialist I don’t think he is on the same level as Eriksen in that department but at least his corners are better! If Mads can stay fit he can be an important player for us as was Eriksen in his day.

    In our final midfield position we have Dele Alli and Kulusevski and let’s face it, they are both exciting players to watch when they are flowing. Dele Alli was unpredictable and could produce moments of class but his overall contribution in a game was questionable at times. In contrast Kulusevski is a real workhorse working tirelessly for the team. His forward dribbles and intricate passing around the opponents box always make him one of our most dangerous threats. A year ago I was questioning why we even made Kulusevski’s signing a permanent one but he has been outstanding this season. Some tough choices to make there but Dembele gets in without question and alongside him can go Eriksen and Kulusevski.   

    Poch 5 – Ange 3

    Forwards

    As I have decided to stick with a 4-3-3 for both teams I will have to go for Erik Lamela and Son Heung-min down the wings with Harry Kane up front of course. In our current side we have Brennan Johnson, Son again (the only remaining player from 2016) and Dominic Solanke down the middle. 

    When Lamela joined he was the most expensive player in the club’s history and exciting things were expected! There was no question of the man’s talent and had it not been for a horrific injury list I am sure he would have played a lot more games. Nevertheless he certainly offered exciting moments and one of my favourites was the rabona-style strike from outside the area in the Europa League. And we all remember the one against Arsenal:)

    Against Lamela we have Brennan Johnson, our current top scorer in all competitions. Johnson is not the type of exciting player that you would ever expect to see a rabona but he has developed the ability to get into the box and score goals and that’s always an important asset. I still think he needs to develop other parts of his game but he’s young so you never know.

    On the other flank we have Poch Son versus Ange Son and I think we all know the answer to that one. The guy is 32 years of age now yet he’s probably played more minutes this season than most in the Spurs squad. Despite this we miss the Son of old with his electric turn of pace and clinical finishing. When Son of old went one on one with the goalie there was never any doubt but in the last couple of seasons Son has lacked that confidence.

    In centre forward we have Kane against Solanke so lets be honest, Solanke does not stand a chance. Solanke has done well since coming in and works hard for the team but Kane was a class above. Not only was he absolutely clinical in front of goal like any top striker should be, but he was able to turn provider and was one of the reasons Son flourished alongside. So, my three front men have to be Lamela, Poch Son and Kane which gives Poch a clean sweep up front, sorry Ange!

    Final Score: Poch 8 – Ange 3

    Summary

    There you have it, it’s official and not biased in the slightest! The Poch team has 8 players to Anges 3 with only Udogie, Van de Ven and Kulusevski worthy of getting into that 2016–17 team. I am sure plenty will disagree with that scoring and even the player selection but the point of this exercise was to see how far we have come in the last 8 years since going as close as we ever have to a Premier league title. I am not convinced we have moved in a good direction with too many of the current players resembling athletes with hamstring issues rather than actual footballers.

    Poch Vs Ange

  • Ange-Not a Clue!

    Spursy Toons: Ange & Levy, have we not suffered enough?

    Tottenham record there 15th Premier League defeat of the season under Ange Postecoglou.

    When will this farcical show come to a close?

  • Ange Postecoglou Exit?

    Ange Postecoglou Exit?

    I’m a big believer that any manager needs to be given time in a job and I would say 2 years would be the minimum time a manager needs when he is rebuilding a squad to the degree we have been doing this last 2 seasons. But at the same time there has to be a moment when you say enough is enough. Is that moment now? Or is the prospect of a cup final and mitigating excuses of injuries and inexperienced youngsters enough to warrant him a little more time.

    I like the fact our youngsters are getting a good run out this year, even if it’s mostly down to injuries. I hope these youngsters will progress and we can benefit from this in future years. If we have to watch poor performances every week, I want it to be at least for the sake of these youngsters finding their feet in the Premier league, that I can accept.

    But if Ange Postecoglou is still with us come the end of the season, will Tottenham Hotspur or these young players benefit from continuing this philosophy of football. After all, if we want these young players to progress, we need them to be led by coaches who have a little bit of a clue about tactics and understanding of Premier league football. 

    How much can these youngsters learn from Ange ball, or as the rest of the world knows it, Predictable ball. This constant insistence of short passing with virtually no direct balls out from the back not only make it predictable and easy for the opposition to apply pressure, but it is making it much harder work for themselves. Without mixing up their play they are forever finding themselves under pressure and it is inevitable that a bad pass will occur sooner or later. Has anyone actually worked out just how many goals we have conceded under Ange that have been self inflicted ? I am quite sure that percentage will be well above the average for any team. 

    If you look at Arsenal’s distribution for example, they are known for playing a progressive and attractive style of football but they are willing to go long with their goal-kicks as they are short. Stats show roughly half of Arsenal’s goal kicks end in the opposition half. If you compare this to Spurs, incredibly we have gone long with just four of the last 145 goal-kicks so far this season. I would be interested to know out of those 141 short passes out, how many times were we able to get out of our own half before we lost possession? 

    It’s not just this playing out from the back that is the problem. These so-called inverted full backs seem to create chaos for ourselves and leave more gaps at the back than it is really worth. If you are going to play this way you need to see a lot more discipline from a defensive midfielder to provide cover, but instead the Spurs setup looks like a complete melee. When we do manage to form an attack the threat of a counter attack is imminent because our midfield is wide open. If you are going to insist on pushing these full backs so far forward then you need a holding midfielder who can be relied on, or even implement the system with three centre halfs.    

    To be honest, I didn’t see the point of bringing in another manager until the end of the season but the situation in the league table is becoming a concern. The last time our league position was this dire was under Juande Ramos. Interestingly this was also the last manager we picked up silverware with. Is it an omen?

    However, had we not brought in Harry Redknapp when we did that season there was a strong possibility we were heading for relegation. We should never underestimate the threat of relegation, a club is never too big to go down! As far as I am concerned we are now in a relegation fight and something may have to change, especially if we lose to Everton tomorrow.

    Unfortunately we know from last time around that top managers are not interested in the Spurs job and it has become rather a poisoned chalice. That’s hard to even comprehend isn’t it. Enic have spent the last 20 years rebuilding this club from the ground up, training facilities and stadium that compete with the best and revenues that make it one of the richest clubs in the world. But neither world class players or managers want to be part of this club. 

    That is the sad fact of things at Spurs but even with a subpar team and a coach whose football methods are more consistent with Aussie rules football, this club is making some serious money. So do Levy and the shareholders even care? I would argue that winning trophies certainly hasn’t been made a priority at this club and all these promises of bigger and better things to come when the new stadium is completed is now wavering very thin. I think it’s time some of us accepted we have had the wool pulled over our eyes!