Poch vs the press

[sly1]

It appears to me that we are completely unable to handle pressing opposition if we're not playing both of Aldeweireld and Vertonghen at the back.

Time and time again, we've seen similar games when one has been missing, where our defenders are pushed further and further back, and passes between Lloris, Dier et al. become more and more nervous until they start going vertical or directly to the opposition.

My heart sank every time I saw Dier or Aldeweireld retreat almost to the corner flag to receive the ball from Lloris, knowing that we'd be lucky to be in control of the ball by the time it reached the 18 yard line.

It's hard to explain why this is the case, because I would have expected Dier to be extremely comfortable on the ball given his performances in midfield last season.

Hopefully Poch will find a solution to this, because the most depressing games of the past few years have been almost carbon copies of each other. I don't know if Lloris's unreliable kicking is part of the reason why we're so unwilling to just hoof it out, even when we're consistently losing the ball in our own half.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

The front 3 of Liverpool, Firmino, Courtinho and Lallana, pressing was probably the most intense I've seen. They gave no one across the back 5 any time to get their head up and play a ball into midfield or beyond.

 

[Nocando]

The front 3 of Liverpool, Firmino, Courtinho and Lallana, pressing was probably the most intense I've seen. They gave no one across the back 5 any time to get their head up and play a ball into midfield or beyond.

It's a massive risk but so effective when it works on us. Essentially you have 4 or so players in a very advanced tight position. If we could engineer a way out (direct) then I think that would create space, it's just a case of doing so. The problem is that we also have 4 or so players back to work the ball out, so I think some of the points above are true and in rare cases we need to adapt our tactics. I don't think it is a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water but not blindly hoping a good set up will work 100% of the time.

I suspect Poch has a relatively rigid idea / ethos that he works on most of the time in training. However we need to be realisitic.

I think we need to find a way of working the ball out faster and more accurately. Whether that is by formations or indidivual players pushing on, and being more direct, either initially or after the first couple of short passes, or a mixture of all three. I certainly agree that we suffer with the lost of Verts and Davies.

Looking back I would have played Winks instead of Son, as we need to work the ball better and Winks is much better at this, albeit less dangerous in an attacking sense.

I also acknowledge that a lot of the players were below par, which of course didn't help matters (Wanyama for instance).

 

[TriXed]

Rob Draper is one hundred percent spot on, a level headed journalist who tells it like it is.

http://www.skysports.com/watch/vide...ent/10765437/8216spurs-still-some-way-off8217

I do agree with the final statement in that video. The big challenge IS to cum...