Have we become 'Boring Boring Tottenham Hotspur' ?

[whenstevewentup]

I’m going to be honest and say , I’ve never seen a team play the way this Tottenham team do . Consistently having Lethargic first halves, backwards passing ( there was one point in the second half where Dier brought the ball forward , did a one two on the edge of Forest box and then we managed to play it back to Forster ) its like nothing I’ve ever seen before . People say it’s a wing back issue and it is BUT the lack of guile in the squad is letting us down badly , who in the centre is threading the balls through to Kane like Kulu did against Liverpool . Honestly I can see us having huge problems against Leeds on Saturday with their energetic pressing and the crowd turning nasty , I really hope I’m wrong but I just can’t see this turning anytime soon .

 

[Bobby TwoShots]

Everyone’s got their opinion but I personally think there are only a select amount of clubs who can be picky about the style of football. A club that hasn’t won anything since 2008 isn’t one of them.

Why do winning and style have to be mutually exclusive? The only time we've challenged for the league in recent memory was when we were playing attacking, entertaining football.

 

[Metalhead]

I don't mind people giving reasons as to why we might be playing how we are etc but it's the people who claim to enjoy this type of football and claim we are not boring that i know are arguing a case they don't even believe themselves, it is boring, maybe not all the time but the vast majority of this season has been boring and nobodies argument will convince me otherwise.

I'd love to see some examples of those posts - not games where we have been attacking for segments and they enjoyed those but actually say that they like the idea of us playing in this manner.

 

[wrd]

I can completely understand your frustration around this, but i think you're being a bit unrealistic here.

The kind of improvements you are talking about here normally come from having time on the training pitch and a balanced squad, with good options available off the bench.

But i think that the truncated fixture list, holes in our squad, and key injuries we've suffered mean that Conte just doesn't have the opportunities at the moment to work properly with the squad to get those incremental improvements.

It seems fairly likely to me that a lot of our key players are mentally and physically shattered at the moment. Conte is trying to navigate that while having to play a game every 3/4 days. Not to mention the huge pschycological blow of losing Ventrone. This was someone Conte has been close to for 20 odd years, it's bound to have an affect on him and the whole club.

If we're still in this situation come January/February then i'll be pretty worried as well. But i think we just have to show some more patience at the moment.

I'm still confident that the world cup break, and a few good additions in the January window, will make a big difference for us. We've seen how well Conte can get this team playing, and we owe it to him to have faith that he'll get us playing that way again.

I appreciate your post and agree with a lot of it but I don’t think it’s unrealistic because I’m talking about giving a couple of players an opportunities on the pitch (as I say I’ve now accepted why he’s not doing this) and doing what we know we can do but just at different intervals in games. I don’t think either of them would have warranted training pitch time tbh

 

[JCRD]

Am I excited to see Tottenham play? yeah always - love it. But do I get entertained while im watching them? No but I dont really care too much about entertainment but I do care about playing well and by that I mean I value 'intent' quite a lot. We lost against Liverpool - but we played well particularly the second half - so I wasnt so much angry but annoyed. Yesterday I was angry about how there was no intent and I think intent determines whether youre boring or not.

I dont think we have become boring but we havent been good in what we are trying to do thats my gripe and we are way better when there is no leash. These players have played entertaining football - 2nd half v Liverpool - that was some good high pressing stuff.

I think watching any team though other than your own is essentially boring though no? unless there is a vested interest i.e. Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United etc play. You also get good games etc but in terms of whether one team is entertaining or not - it all comes down to how much you really love football and are a purist about it.

 

[FinnYid]

Yes

And we've only managed to surprise positively this millenium when we've been opposite.

 

[dontcallme]

I am of the view that various football styles can be entertaining if implemented well.

I never enjoy watching my team be shit.

The best of Redknapp and Poch were great to watch. The worst was horrible.

We are still looking to replace Alderweireld, Vertonghen and Dembele. So in a way we’re on a bit of a transition,

I’m not going to enjoy us that much until we have a strong core and start performing regularly. I think we’re more likely to achieve this under Conte than starting with a new manager.

We’re not boring, we’re incredibly frustrating.

 

[riggi]

Why do winning and style have to be mutually exclusive? The only time we've challenged for the league in recent memory was when we were playing attacking, entertaining football.

They aren’t but as a club who hasn't won anything since 2008, I don’t think we should be criticising* a manager of contes pedigree over his style of football. Give him time. He deserves it.

*not enjoying his brand of football is fine and of course a legitimate opinion but I personally think he deserves a pass for it.

 

[bc205]

I appreciate your post and agree with a lot of it but I don’t think it’s unrealistic because I’m talking about giving a couple of players an opportunities on the pitch (as I say I’ve now accepted why he’s not doing this) and doing what we know we can do but just at different intervals in games. I don’t think either of them would have warranted training pitch time tbh

Yeah i get that, especially with Spence, as i'd like to see him play more. I think in a more normal season, with a more settled defence and confident team, we may well have seen more cameos for Spence and Gill.

I genuinely don't think either would make a huge difference to how we're playing at the moment though. I think our current issues are more systemic, and due to mental/physical exhaustion across the senior players in the squad.

Also, when you see how players like Sessegnon and Royal have lost confidence/form recently, maybe Conte is trying to protect Spence and Gill by not throwing them into sitiations he doesn't think they are ready for?

 

[wrd]

Yeah i get that, especially with Spence, as i'd like to see him play more. I think in a more normal season, with a more settled defence and confident team, we may well have seen more cameos for Spence and Gill.

I genuinely don't think either would make a huge difference to how we're playing at the moment though. I think our current issues are more systemic, and due to mental/physical exhaustion across the senior players in the squad.

Also, when you see how players like Sessegnon and Royal have lost confidence/form recently, maybe Conte is trying to protect Spence and Gill by not throwing them into sitiations he doesn't think they are ready for?

Yeah absolutely possible, as I said I think Conte has a bigger picture view than I do and I genuinely back him and feel like he knows best, think my desire for improvements stems from frustrations of wanting to be able to judge for myself and my desire to see immediate changes which appear from the outside looking in available but I'm happy to acknowledge that they're intricacies I might not appreciate. Though I'd love him to articulate more what he means by not ready as I do believe in being chucked in the deep end, that'd be how I'd try and get players up to speed. I'd be fascinated to know if there's something particularly Conte is trying to implement when it comes to mental resilience, think that'd be really interesting to learn about.

 

[Dougal]

It’s not boring. It’s shit.

 

[whenstevewentup]

We were better than the scum last year , they’ve added Zinchenko , Saliba and Jesus and they look a completely different team , all 3 went straight into the team and improved it , we got perisic , bissouma and richarlison and none have set the world alight (yet) goes back to the recruitment, we need players to come in and improve the first 11 not squad fillers.

 

[Drink!Drink!]

Well, it's been a long time now....Mourinho....Nuno....Conte.

I find us incredibly hard to watch. I doubt neutrals make a point of picking out our games any more.

For me, I don't like it, and yes it bores me. Need a trophy and soon to say it's been worth the four years of watching our opponents have the ball.

 

[taricco]

I am not bored at all with our football. Just disheartened and disappointed that it doesn't lead to winning. If anything, I believe that the 3 attackers formation is too wayward and ambitious for this team. We first have to become solid in defense and midfield, then go for there. The inability of our wing backs (except Perisic) to transition from defense to attack is what lets the team and the system down. Plus the obvious fatigue from not being able to rotate; physical and mental.
If the alternative to "boring" is the naive gung ho approach of Sherwood and Redknapp, sorry, I'll pass.

I wouldn't put Redknapp and Sherwood so closely together, mate. Watching Redknapp's team was one of the most exciting and enjoyable of my time supporting Spurs. Had a lot of great results under him as well - he broke through a lot of barriers for us.

 

[ultimateloner]

I think it's naive to spin out the 'to dare is to do' or 'Spurs way' type lines. That ship has sailed the moment Levy took charge. He is not a football romantic as that is both costly and risky. The real heir to that spirit lies with Man City, who have deep enough pockets, determination and execution to realize that vision.

We are a club that is fighting above our station. Until the new stadium starts delivering revenue in a way that would allow us to lift our wage bracket, it doesn't make sense to demand or expect proactive attacking-football. We can't afford a sqaud of players who are both good on the ball and on transition, so our management chose transition because that's the most cost-effective way to win.

 

[Trent Crimm]

Yes.

Watching us currently is like spooning with a Cobra.

 

[Mjerda]

This season has been a disappointment for sure, but I don't understand why so many are just giving up on Conte. For me, football should be entertaining, but I HAVE been entertained by Conte ball. This season it's been more off than on, but at the end of last season when things just clicked, I thought it was much more entertaining than watching Manchester City having 99.9% possession.

With Conte ball, when it works, you get high intensity and direct attacking football, and that gets me off my seat.

What I don't like, is when we get pinned back and just absorb pressure. Some seem to think this is the game plan, and the commentary is often mentioning that this is how Conte likes to play. Is it, though? He's not concerned about possession, that's true. Neither am I, as more often than not, possession football is dull and inefficient. I think the reason we've been pinned back a lot, is because we have too few players comfortable on the ball.

Romero is calm and can manage a forward pass to a team mate even under pressure. The thing is that if that team mate is not Deki, it's panic and we loose the ball 2 seconds later. Even Kane has struggled when receiving the ball under pressure this season, and Son has never been good at it.

For the other central defenders, I have hope for Lenglet, while Dier tend to end up with a back pass to Lloris hoofing it back to no one.

If our wing backs were comfortable under pressure, that would help a lot, as they are often available, but they are not comfortable under pressure, so the ball goes back to Dier, Lloris and hoof (or maybe just Dier and then hoof).

What I don't really understand, is what has changed since the end of last season. It's more or less the same players. You could speculate if the opposition has figured us out, but I think they did the high pressure thing last season as well. I remember how often I was amazed at how our players were able to play triangles around the pressure. That's gone now. Is it only confidence? It could be, but it could also be that Romero and Deki have barely played in the same team this year. If I've done my research right, they've played together in 2 and a half games:

Tottenham-Soto 4-1

Chelsea-Tottenham 2-2 (we played shit, though)

Tottenham-Leicester 6-2 (Romero came on at 3-2)

It could be a coincidence, but I think we need both, as we require at least one with composure at the back and one out wide always making himself available. Hopefully we can bring in a couple of players with the same composure as those two in January. If so, I think you'll get to see that Conte ball is not turgid, but very entertaining to watch.

 

[Chimbo!]

We are boring and shit, the worst type of boring there is.

 

[Hakkz]

Easily the most boring team in the league.

 

[Gassin's finest]

We're certainly not boring, every game is resulting in a heart attack and has me questioning if I'm schizophrenic.

The problem is that we're shit.