Eberechi Eze

[THFCSPURS19]

Makes sense in my head but I mustn't have described it well enough, apologies

Basically the main change is that instead of building up in a 2-3 with both our fullbacks inverting, we build up in a 3-2 with only one of our full backs inverting. Gives us more defensive stability to stop counters with the extra CB still sitting while also providing a box midfield which many of the top teams are now employing.

I don't see any world in which putting in Dragusin over Porro can be a good thing tbh

 

[DenverSpur]

100%

But there’s no doubt that Ange will have a preferred 11 in his head.

One of the reasons why Arsenal have done so well in recent years is that they’ve managed to keep the majority of their starting 11 playing week in week out.

That’s also why they blew up in the run in the season before last. Everyone was knackered.

 

[DenverSpur]

Yeah, people regularly make the case that there shouldn’t be ‘starters’ but city are the best team in the country and for all their riches, you can still name 8 or so players that will be playing the big matches.

That’s very true but the point is that 8 don’t start all the matches. Every coach knows what his best line up is and will pick it for the really important games, form and injuries permitting, but if they play every game they won’t necessarily be that effective in the big games at the end of the season.

 

[Gardham90]

There is a key difference between Doku and Eze.

Eze constantly seeks central areas and cuts inside where as Doku genuinely dribbles both ways from a very wide position. He attacks the fullback on the outside and inside from a wide position. He often gets to the byline on his weaker foot and puts the ball across with a weak foot cutback.

Eze doesn’t do that, he plays a pass and follows it in to a narrow area. He cuts inside and dribbles past players in central spaces.

Ask most Palace fans and they will tell you he’s much better centrally and not as effective wide left.

Do you rate Eze mate? I'd love a profile on him if poss.

 

[Now it's Spursonal]

I don't see any world in which putting in Dragusin over Porro can be a good thing tbh

Yeah I can understand where your coming from.

But the basic reasoning behind it is that by sacrificing one of your inverted fullbacks (can be either Porro or Udogie) for a FB/CB hybrid like Dragusin, you can effectively add an extra AM to the team i.e. Eze.

This system is perfect for playing against teams that park the bus and look to hit us on the counter which is who we definitely had the most trouble playing against last season.

It does this primarily in two ways:

1. We can field two AM's which will help us to break down teams much easier.

2. It provides us with an extra wide CB to help cut out counter attacks.

 

[Spartan Spurs]

Eze = Spurs DNA

 

[spursfan77]

Germany's system in the Euros is interesting

Can’t see him featuring much in that…

 

[E17yid]

That’s very true but the point is that 8 don’t start all the matches. Every coach knows what his best line up is and will pick it for the really important games, form and injuries permitting, but if they play every game they won’t necessarily be that effective in the big games at the end of the season.

No but they start most matches, probably about 80% injuries permitting. There’s a reason our own players use terms like “first team”.

Sure, we all want a competitive squad (ideally 2 top options for each position) but it never works out like that across the board, especially for a club of our size, it just doesn’t. This talk of “we’ll always be a small club that won’t win anything as long as we have this starting 11 mindset” is complete bollocks. It’s why Ange will say things like, when asked about Drugusin, “if he wanted to play matches he could’ve stayed where he was at a club like Tottenham he’s got to accept his role” which is basically covering Romero in case he gets injured.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

No but they start most matches, probably about 80% injuries permitting. There’s a reason our own players use terms like “first team”.

Sure, we all want a competitive squad (ideally 2 top options for each position) but it never works out like that across the board, especially for a club of our size, it just doesn’t. This talk of “we’ll always be a small club that won’t win anything as long as we have this starting 11 mindset” is complete bollocks. It’s why Ange will say things like, when asked about Drugusin, “if he wanted to play matches he could’ve stayed where he was at a club like Tottenham he’s got to accept his role” which is basically covering Romero in case he gets injured.

Totally agree with this. Also when people say we “need two top players for each position” that’s all very good in theory but totally discounts the fact we don’t have enough high level matches to go around. Man City can keep players happy because if they don’t play against Dortmund in the CL on Wednesday then they’ll likely play in the Manchester derby on Sunday. Players won’t view the europa league in the same way.

 

[E17yid]

Totally agree with this. Also when people say we “need two top players for each position” that’s all very good in theory but totally discounts the fact we don’t have enough high level matches to go around. Man City can keep players happy because if they don’t play against Dortmund in the CL on Wednesday then they’ll likely play in the Manchester derby on Sunday. Players won’t view the europa league in the same way.

Exactly, also you’re never going to sign top players with a sales pitch of “hey, come and sit on our bench as Maddison back up, I’ll guarantee you at least 12 games a season”

Shit, we apparently even had to promise Bergvall, a fucking 18 year old who’s come from a farmers league, first team squad minutes in order to sign him as he was that highly rated.

 

[dontcallme]

Totally agree with this. Also when people say we “need two top players for each position” that’s all very good in theory but totally discounts the fact we don’t have enough high level matches to go around. Man City can keep players happy because if they don’t play against Dortmund in the CL on Wednesday then they’ll likely play in the Manchester derby on Sunday. Players won’t view the europa league in the same way.

The thing is, there are ways to do it. A lot of it comes down to what stage they are in their career or if they’re new to the league and need settling in time.

Johnson was 22 when we signed him and for a period he can be a rotating player. Werner came in on loan so was never a guaranteed starter.

The discussion I’ve had regarding Eze is the idea that he can’t play with Maddison. They’re both coming into their prime years so there’s no way they’re here to rotate. Fortunately I believe they can can both play together.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Do you rate Eze mate? I'd love a profile on him if poss.

I do rate him yes, I wanted him when he was at QPR.

He is a really good player, thrives in half spaces and is able to create from tight spots as well as carry the ball well. He’s a goal threat and can open up teams with his dribbling and link play in central areas.

But as I’ve mentioned previously, he’s not a wide player to hold the width. He’s very much an inside forward or AM, he needs an overlapping fullback to get the most out of him. If we ask him to play as a touchline winger and take his man on 1v1 out wide against the fullback, I have major concerns he will flop because it isn’t his natural game.

If we were playing Poch 4231 formation with overlapping fullbacks then Eze would be a superb fit. As it stands, with Udogie left back we need a touchline winger and that isn’t Eze. He would need to play CM for us and I don’t think we could play him and Maddison together in most matches as it would leave us too exposed.

 

[Farmdog]

All these comments are based on an assumption that AP sticks to the same formation.
The thing people miss out on, is that he did on a few occasions change to a back three or play the wide men deeper to create a midfield 5(despite comments that he never went to a plan B).
he wanted firstly to see who’d fit into a style of play and because of his mistrust of some he wanted to stick to a same starting formation to firstly introduce a squad to a style and then see who was consistent in that style.
I can easily see, with a back three Eze and Maddison in a 4/5 midfield.
they’re at a prime age now, good smarts and both flexible in positions.
It’ll be a very different versatility of formation but the same Philosophy

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

All these comments are based on an assumption that AP sticks to the same formation.
The thing people miss out on, is that he did on a few occasions change to a back three or play the wide men deeper to create a midfield 5(despite comments that he never went to a plan B).
he wanted firstly to see who’d fit into a style of play and because of his mistrust of some he wanted to stick to a same starting formation to firstly introduce a squad to a style and then see who was consistent in that style.
I can easily see, with a back three Eze and Maddison in a 4/5 midfield.
they’re at a prime age now, good smarts and both flexible in positions.
It’ll be a very different versatility of formation but the same Philosophy

Regardless of what formation he plays, someone is going to have provide the width out left, it’s an imperative part of his philosophy and style, regardless of the base formation.

Someone has to be the outlet out wide. If you have no one, you’ll end up with what you saw from England the other day, where we had no width down the left. The opposition were able to shuffle across and condense the middle of the pitch and double up on our right as they knew we had no outlet to stretch the pitch on the left.

So the outlet has to come from either the winger or the fullback. We currently use the winger.

Changing this outlet to be the fullback is a significant change and it isn’t one that suits Udogie imo. He is better underlapping and rotating positionally. He isn’t like Rose and Walker for Poch.

So we can tweak the formation and shuffle which position fills the gaps but by doing so there is a very good chance we stifle and stagnate Udogie, which seems crazy to me.

 

[mil1lion]

Eze = Spurs DNA

Fuck off, nothing is ever Eze with Spurs

 

[theicemanspursscotty]

Fuck off, nothing is ever Eze with Spurs

His actual DNA would suggest he is a gooner given that he supported them growing up....

 

[Snarfalicious]

His actual DNA would suggest he is a gooner given that he supported them growing up....

But is his family Arsenal through and through?

 

[Farmdog]

Regardless of what formation he plays, someone is going to have provide the width out left, it’s an imperative part of his philosophy and style, regardless of the base formation.

Someone has to be the outlet out wide. If you have no one, you’ll end up with what you saw from England the other day, where we had no width down the left. The opposition were able to shuffle across and condense the middle of the pitch and double up on our right as they knew we had no outlet to stretch the pitch on the left.

So the outlet has to come from either the winger or the fullback. We currently use the winger.

Changing this outlet to be the fullback is a significant change and it isn’t one that suits Udogie imo. He is better underlapping and rotating positionally. He isn’t like Rose and Walker for Poch.

So we can tweak the formation and shuffle which position fills the gaps but by doing so there is a very good chance we stifle and stagnate Udogie, which seems crazy to me.

The width doesn’t just come from inverted full backs, it comes from players rotating to that position. Like you said, the formation is not as important as having that wide player in an attacking phase

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

The width doesn’t just come from inverted full backs, it comes from players rotating to that position. Like you said, the formation is not as important as having that wide player in an attacking phase

Whoever occupies that position most often has to be able to achieve the primary objective of that area, which is beating the fullback on the inside for combinations OR the outside to reach the byline for cutbacks and crosses.

Udogie’s game isn’t about overlapping for this, he is more suited to underlapping runs on the blind side of defenders in to the box. Eze’s game is all about cutting inside, he rarely isolates defenders wide 1v1 to go to the byline for cutbacks or crosses.

If neither player is capable of stretching the opponent wide and regularly testing them on the outside, we won’t stretch teams enough which will mean we continue to struggle against low blocks and we won’t achieve the primary objective for that flank.

 

[Dunc2610]

Whoever occupies that position most often has to be able to achieve the primary objective of that area, which is beating the fullback on the inside for combinations OR the outside to reach the byline for cutbacks and crosses.

Udogie’s game isn’t about overlapping for this, he is more suited to underlapping runs on the blind side of defenders in to the box. Eze’s game is all about cutting inside, he rarely isolates defenders wide 1v1 to go to the byline for cutbacks or crosses.

If neither player is capable of stretching the opponent wide and regularly testing them on the outside, we won’t stretch teams enough which will mean we continue to struggle against low blocks and we won’t achieve the primary objective for that flank.

Hence Neto, yes?