Does size really matter? Pochettino is not the first to suffer pitch problems

[mawspurs]

Small variations in pitch size should not really have an impact, yet attacking sides do thrive on large grounds and more defensive teams favour smaller surfaces

Read the full article at Guardian

 

[thinktank]

Tabloid.

 

[HotspurFC1950]

Play to the bloody conditions ! Simple.

 

[g_harry]

Nonsense. Doesn't stop utd or chelski when they come here

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

Didn't stop Bill Nic's team.

 

[greaves]

Didn't stop Bill Nic's team.

Play with thinner players. Sorted.

 

[Sweetsman]

Didn't stop Bill Nic's team.

I notice that you've been chortling yourself to incontinence on this, never missing an opportunity as they say. I don't know if you speak a foreign language or have had to use it in front of a public audience, but you should perhaps consider that all MP was trying to say was that perhaps his preferred way of playing doesn't suit the conditions and so he has to think again. For example, he might not play with inverted wingers in order to widen the pitch: it was noticeable that Lamela played on the left when he came on tonight. It's a bit like Redknapp's instructions to Pav to FRAAB: it wasn't stupid; he knew it would get the crowd on his side and that may give him confidence.
The English football journalists are a mixed bunch with varying levels of education: Henry Winter went to Westminster and I'm sure Ashton would perform for a bunch of bananas. You don't have to ape them.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

I notice that you've been chortling yourself to incontinence on this, never missing an opportunity as they say. I don't know if you speak a foreign language or have had to use it in front of a public audience, but you should perhaps consider that all MP was trying to say was that perhaps his preferred way of playing doesn't suit the conditions and so he has to think again. For example, he might not play with inverted wingers in order to widen the pitch: it was noticeable that Lamela played on the left when he came on tonight. It's a bit like Redknapp's instructions to Pav to FRAAB: it wasn't stupid; he knew it would get the crowd on his side and that may give him confidence.
The English football journalists are a mixed bunch with varying levels of education: Henry Winter went to Westminster and I'm sure Ashton would perform for a bunch of bananas. You don't have to ape them.

Just seems that after a few home game losses the size of the pitch is now an issue. It didn't appear too small when we beat QPR 4-0 and a Greek pub team last Thursday?

Perhaps i am reading too much into this but he has made a bit of a gaffe over his comments on this. Perhaps he was misquoted?

 

[Sweetsman]

Just seems that after a few home game losses the size of the pitch is now an issue. It didn't appear too small when we beat QPR 4-0 and a Greek pub team last Thursday?

Perhaps i am reading too much into this but he has made a bit of a gaffe over his comments on this. Perhaps he was misquoted?

That would be the Greek pub team that drew with Besiktas, who ran us ragged, and beat Partizan, would it? Of course, it didn't come up: these questions aren't asked when you win, i.e. why the team haven't played his style of football. He may have given an answer that in retrospect he would change, but we've all done that. He has been hamstrung by the insistence that he speaks English and when he is stressed it's not as good as when he's not, unsuprisingly.

 

[JonnySpurs]

This whole ridiculous story is being blown out of all proportion.

Poch wasn't trying to say it's THE reason we have lost at home, he's just saying that his tactics are suited to a bigger pitch. I personally don't see the issue.

All these comments like, "doesn't stop chelsea", "Didn't stop Bale" is nonsense and frankly, just fuckin irritating. Just stop and think about it for a second.

 

[longtimespur]

When we don't win against a so called "lower" team that parks the bus at the Lane most say how crap we are that we can't beat "...." whom every other top team beats.
Well it's far easier to park the bus on a narrow pitch than on a wider one.
These teams that come to WHL and sit with a 4-5-1 formation are very hard to get through especially when playing with inverted wingers and no real attacking FBs..

 

[Acid]

It's not the size of the wave that matters it's the motion of the ocean

 

[spud]

When we don't win against a so called "lower" team that parks the bus at the Lane most say how crap we are that we can't beat "...." whom every other top team beats.
Well it's far easier to park the bus on a narrow pitch than on a wider one.
These teams that come to WHL and sit with a 4-5-1 formation are very hard to get through especially when playing with inverted wingers and no real attacking FBs..

Although according to the article the pitch at the Lane is a massive one yard narrower than the standard PL size. Which, I would suggest, makes it irrelevant.

 

[spud]

Poch wasn't trying to say it's THE reason we have lost at home, he's just saying that his tactics are suited to a bigger pitch.

Are they though?

When your game is to compress the space that the opponents have to play in when they have the ball and to deploy inverted wingers, I would've thought that a smaller pitch would be more condusive to his tactics.

Not that our pitch is particularly small in any case. True, it's five yards shorter than the PL standard according to the article (which, again, should favour his tactics), but only one yard narrower.

 

[chinaman]

He was talking about passion in bed, so size does matter.

 

[Ledley's Right Foot]

When we don't win against a so called "lower" team that parks the bus at the Lane most say how crap we are that we can't beat "...." whom every other top team beats.
Well it's far easier to park the bus on a narrow pitch than on a wider one.
These teams that come to WHL and sit with a 4-5-1 formation are very hard to get through especially when playing with inverted wingers and no real attacking FBs..

Agree completely, and if we do go wider and play with wingers it opens up through the middle and a 4-5-1 formation can play through on the counter attack. Damned if we do and struggle if we don't. The two tactics that work against 4-5-1 are direct aerial football and then feed off the second ball when there is a little chaos (would whl accept that? I recall Harry getting stick in the early days when we played the long ball) or intricate team work, quick passing and working the ball as a team - which takes time to learn, especially when learning a new system.

@ Gassins FInest pointed out yesterday the differences between Southampton's pitch and ours is as follows:

Southampton pitch dimensions: 115 x 74.5 yards
Tottenham pitch dimensions: 110 x 73 yard

That might not seem like much at first glance but on width that is 1.5 x 115 yards i.e. 172.5 square yards. On length that is 5 x 74.5 more i.e. 372.5 square yards. That's an awful lot more room. In other words, further for the defending team to to go on the counter attack (making the high line less risky for the home team) and more space to defend. For scale that's about a decent sized 5 aside pitch difference.

Poch is right in his assessment, I'm seeing signs he's getting them working in the right way but it is a tough job, made tougher than when he was at Southampton because of the pitch differences. Of course, if it's just about the points we could do what Allardyce did when he arrived at the spammers and buy Andy Carroll. It would buy time. Or, we can be patient, get behind the team and hope they learn to play more effectively as a team. It's also probably why Adebayor is being chosen over Soldado - he gives the aerial option. We don't seem to be ready yet to get the best out of soldado's runs.

What this isn't is simple to solve.

 

[HotspurFC1950]

I have read that size is irrelevant it's how you use it that matters apparently.

Is that correct Spurs ladies ?

 

[Sweetsman]

I realise that there has been a mini-feeding frenzy regarding what he didn't say, but that just shows how thick some people are. It's unsurprising that the world of football doesn't turn to England to look for any insights in the development of the game.