- Jan 14, 2004
- 15,105
- 9,122
- Staff
- #1
Obviously our biggest issues at this point have been in attack and creating opportunities but this hasn’t meant that many journalists haven’t had criticisms about our defence too, with some even suggesting already that we are doomed for failure simply because the defensive system didn’t work at Chelsea (despite us not having issues with that in particular in our opening games). But the high line defence isn't necessarily disastrous, in fact it can facilitate a lot of attacking opportunities and should allow the attacking players to not have to come back too far, so that they are in dangerous positions when the play transitions from defence to attack. Obviously Chelsea didn't have the players to play it, Terry was too slow, Luiz was all over the place and Mikel isn't a good enough tackler and protector in the middle of the park considering he is such a negative player. They also didn't implement it very well.
What should have happened at Chelsea in theory with the way AVB set up the Porto team was that as the defence pushed up and the full backs went forwards, the two centre backs should split wider and Mikel should have dropped deeper into the defensive line. The CB's need to have good lateral movement and positioning, as well as awareness of the other two players otherwise big gaps start to appear. This is especially the case when the opposition transitions to attack, because even though the DM player has dropped deep he should own the territory in front of the defence and he should be ready to move forward to cut out any sparks of attack that are forming in the middle of the pitch.
We are fortunate that we have a player in Sandro that is excellent at positive defending, i.e. coming forward onto the player and making a challenge. One of the reasons (other than to have extra coverage in the backline) for the DM to drop deeper, is so that the play is happening in front of him and he is able to move forward to any position rather than being caught out. Note that the issues we’ve had late in the last two games have come when we haven’t been able to protect the area in front of the defence and have allowed the opposition to dictate the play and force us deeper. These occurred when Sandro was not on the pitch dominating defensively that zone.
The centre backs move wider, to cover an attack down the wings if the fullbacks are still chasing back. This is where the players have to have good lateral movement to come across and help cut that attack out (obviously in that case the DM slides into the vacant CB position). In Chelsea's case that would mean Terry or Luiz moving across to a full back area during an attack which obviously would be uncomfortable for them. In our case it could be Vertonghen moving left, or Kaboul (Gallas/Caulker) moving right and both of those players have played significant time in those areas of the pitch. The other advantage with Sandro is that he is one of the best headers of a ball for a central midfielder and he often gets himself under long balls, so attempted balls knocked over the top should be decently dealt with.
In the case where Sandro does push forward to get the ball because the play is coming down the middle, the two centre backs need to tighten to avoid having a huge gap through the middle. This happened way too often at Chelsea, Mikel wouldn't be in position, Luiz and Terry were too far apart and stranded up the pitch. Recipe for disaster. The centre backs and Sandro should almost be attached by a piece of string (like the dotted line). If Sandro moves forwards the CB's should remain the same distance from Sandro, which means they move closer together. If Vertonghen had to move left, they remain the same distance apart, Sandro moving to left of centre etc.
The high line allows us to win possession higher up the pitch meaning that a lot of the transition play collecting the ball from very deep and moving through the middle of the park isn’t as key as it was before because the ball has to travel a much shorter distance. Adding a player such as Dembele who is going to aid the defensive side of our teams game but also move with the ball after we have gained possession is vital and it should prove an area of strength for our side throughout the season. It was key for his Porto side to get themselves back on the attack quickly and if we can pull off the high tempo pressing in front of the high line it should see us suffocate opposition and spring attacks more regularly. It will be essential for us that his operates well as we have a lack of individual creativity after the transfer window and will rely on strong team play to generate attacks.
If one or more of the players don't buy into the system it doesn't work. Fernando did the DM role at Porto, but I don't think Mikel or Romeu were good enough to do it. If you have players incapable of doing the system and not buying into the system then it will likely fail. Of course the majority of the watching football world are already expecting it to fail, but we certainly have the players capable of playing the system that was so effective for Villas Boas in Porto. As Villas Boas has already admitted, we didn’t play well at the weekend and we have a lot of work to do on the training pitch in the next 2 weeks in order to make sure that we are ready to kick start our season. I certainly hope that the work begins with AVB going back to what he believes in and us being fully committed to it.
Playing with the 4-2-3-1 has been a useful stepping stone as it has allowed us to trial the resultant positions which the players end the attacking phase and start the defensive phase of the game, but by only following through with half measures we are failing to take advantage of our possession because we aren’t able to disrupt the opposition structure and create the mismatches we need. Now it is a case of drilling it so that it works perfectly, because we definitely have the players capable of playing it and the AVB system could well be something that takes our squad of talented players to the next level.
With patience and hard work I really see Tottenham Hotspur being a major force in the English game again and the steps that have been taken by all at the club show clear signs that the future is very bright despite what the media will lead you to believe.
What should have happened at Chelsea in theory with the way AVB set up the Porto team was that as the defence pushed up and the full backs went forwards, the two centre backs should split wider and Mikel should have dropped deeper into the defensive line. The CB's need to have good lateral movement and positioning, as well as awareness of the other two players otherwise big gaps start to appear. This is especially the case when the opposition transitions to attack, because even though the DM player has dropped deep he should own the territory in front of the defence and he should be ready to move forward to cut out any sparks of attack that are forming in the middle of the pitch.
We are fortunate that we have a player in Sandro that is excellent at positive defending, i.e. coming forward onto the player and making a challenge. One of the reasons (other than to have extra coverage in the backline) for the DM to drop deeper, is so that the play is happening in front of him and he is able to move forward to any position rather than being caught out. Note that the issues we’ve had late in the last two games have come when we haven’t been able to protect the area in front of the defence and have allowed the opposition to dictate the play and force us deeper. These occurred when Sandro was not on the pitch dominating defensively that zone.
The centre backs move wider, to cover an attack down the wings if the fullbacks are still chasing back. This is where the players have to have good lateral movement to come across and help cut that attack out (obviously in that case the DM slides into the vacant CB position). In Chelsea's case that would mean Terry or Luiz moving across to a full back area during an attack which obviously would be uncomfortable for them. In our case it could be Vertonghen moving left, or Kaboul (Gallas/Caulker) moving right and both of those players have played significant time in those areas of the pitch. The other advantage with Sandro is that he is one of the best headers of a ball for a central midfielder and he often gets himself under long balls, so attempted balls knocked over the top should be decently dealt with.
In the case where Sandro does push forward to get the ball because the play is coming down the middle, the two centre backs need to tighten to avoid having a huge gap through the middle. This happened way too often at Chelsea, Mikel wouldn't be in position, Luiz and Terry were too far apart and stranded up the pitch. Recipe for disaster. The centre backs and Sandro should almost be attached by a piece of string (like the dotted line). If Sandro moves forwards the CB's should remain the same distance from Sandro, which means they move closer together. If Vertonghen had to move left, they remain the same distance apart, Sandro moving to left of centre etc.
The high line allows us to win possession higher up the pitch meaning that a lot of the transition play collecting the ball from very deep and moving through the middle of the park isn’t as key as it was before because the ball has to travel a much shorter distance. Adding a player such as Dembele who is going to aid the defensive side of our teams game but also move with the ball after we have gained possession is vital and it should prove an area of strength for our side throughout the season. It was key for his Porto side to get themselves back on the attack quickly and if we can pull off the high tempo pressing in front of the high line it should see us suffocate opposition and spring attacks more regularly. It will be essential for us that his operates well as we have a lack of individual creativity after the transfer window and will rely on strong team play to generate attacks.
If one or more of the players don't buy into the system it doesn't work. Fernando did the DM role at Porto, but I don't think Mikel or Romeu were good enough to do it. If you have players incapable of doing the system and not buying into the system then it will likely fail. Of course the majority of the watching football world are already expecting it to fail, but we certainly have the players capable of playing the system that was so effective for Villas Boas in Porto. As Villas Boas has already admitted, we didn’t play well at the weekend and we have a lot of work to do on the training pitch in the next 2 weeks in order to make sure that we are ready to kick start our season. I certainly hope that the work begins with AVB going back to what he believes in and us being fully committed to it.
Playing with the 4-2-3-1 has been a useful stepping stone as it has allowed us to trial the resultant positions which the players end the attacking phase and start the defensive phase of the game, but by only following through with half measures we are failing to take advantage of our possession because we aren’t able to disrupt the opposition structure and create the mismatches we need. Now it is a case of drilling it so that it works perfectly, because we definitely have the players capable of playing it and the AVB system could well be something that takes our squad of talented players to the next level.
With patience and hard work I really see Tottenham Hotspur being a major force in the English game again and the steps that have been taken by all at the club show clear signs that the future is very bright despite what the media will lead you to believe.