What went wrong vs West Ham?

[AnotherSpursFan]

We need to make it a rule, no more useless back and sideway passes in our own half.
And definitely not when we are behind.
West Ham has more shot on goals even though they have less posession of the ball.

We only look good when the other team doesnt press hard, it's just sad, 10 years watching, same old shit.
This backward, sideway business is now becoming part of our team culture.

We need to learn how to get out of danger using foward pass...FAST!

 

[Syn_13]

Don't have a problem with passing backwards and sideways. Movement is our key issue. You can easily open up a team by going back or to the side as long as you take players with you and open up space.

For years Spurs have been a counter-attacking side relying on pace on the break to do what West Ham did to us today. Now we're trying to become a possession team in the style of Barcelona. Only problem is that Barcelona have incredibly intelligent players who looks for openings and make dummy runs. They're always passing backwards or sideways, but with an actual purpose.

 

[ItsBoris]

This isn't a kneejerk thread so let's not use it as such.

But,
1.) I think we need to play with a proper DM at all times, otherwise we are too porous, especially if we are playing with a high line like we do. 4-3-3 with Sandro, Dembele, and Paulinho in midfield for me.

2.) The score is extremely flattering to West Ham. Only 1 of their goals resulted from something that wasn't a lucky deflection (the last one).

3.) Imo Dawson is too slow to play this high line. If we are going to press that high we need quicker defenders than Dawson at the back.

4.) Townsend was very impressive, which is a positive from today.

We wouldn't have won with Bale either. To be honest though I kind of just wish we would revert back to a counterattacking team and play a low block. I understand with AVB it's about his philosophy but I just think that we can at times become too vulnerable when we press so high up. It also makes it more difficult to create chances, and the chances we do create are more difficult to score.

 

[mattdefoe]

I'm not enjoying seeing wingers cut in constantly ... Bring back wingers getting around the full back to the by line it's a joy to watch. Townsend is good at it because he can use his right foot but I would like to see a left footer on the left and a right footer on the right more often and to see them Switch over.

Anyone else get a bit annoyed with the cutting in of wingers these days..?

 

[EnfieldYiddo]

I've been very guilty of some truly outrageous comments today, most were in the moment and in jest.

Here is a place to SENSIBLY and without knee-jerk; discuss what went wrong today vs West Ham.

Given we'll be sitting on this result for two weeks, I'm stumped today as to what ACTUALLY went wrong.

Personally, I've kind of decided it was a mixture of 5-6 factors, all of which led up to this shocking performance

Here they are (in no particular order)

1) Defoe over Soldado - Soldado would of made more of the through balls and not been offside so much, he also is the far more intelligent footballer
2) Siggy and Naughton on the left - A recipe for disaster and ruins our balance
3) Taking most of our first teamers and playing a load of them away in Russia
4) Big Sam gave AVB a lesson in tactics today - Packed the middle and knew that's where our strength lay.
5) AVB's stubbornness to be proactive with the subs, we all saw what was needed - Why doesn't he?!
6) Michael Dawson - Need I explain?

Special mentions to Eriksen for an anonymous performance, Lamela looked pretty inept but we were already defeated by then and Paulinho with a really mixed bag.

 

[spurs-r-us]

• Struggle to score from open play, it's becoming apparent now. Hopefully Soldado to settle and start getting some in.
• Dembele is overused, never playing at 100%. Him and Paulinho too similar as box to box players. When we went 1-0 down, they just passed between themselves. One of Sandro and Capoue has to play with one of them.
• Even if we played the bulk of the squad, taking the first team travelling to Moscow on Thursday left everybody fatigued.
• Full backs. Important position these days. Rose and Walker are a good pair, but Naughton isnt more than a contingency plan - Fryers still too inexperienced. You telling me BAE wouldn't have been a better option? Both struggled to get up and down today and cost us big time with WHU's width.

 

[kazzah9]

Townsend's our only fast player

 

[CJMurray]

Well quite simply, we didn't play our best players. Sandro, Lamela and Soldado should all be starting.

Having two inverted wingers without overlapping fullbacks is awful as well. The pitch was congested enough in the middle without having Sigurdsson and Townsend cutting in as well. Until Rose is back we have to play Townsend on the left and Lamela on the right.

 

[Babylon22]

AVB.

 

[Strikeb4ck]

Problem is Sigurdsson is not a winger, and that he's not good enough anyways. It's annoying watching him score tap in rebounds and then knowing you'll have to watch him again next week. Clogging up the first XI. I like the guy, I really do, but he is limiting the team big time and if you can't see that I don't know what to tell you.

Townsend was our best player today by miles and he plays as an inverted winger. The position works, we just don't have a player to do it on the LW.

 

[HodisGawd]

Yes, I agree about being a counter-attacking team - I miss seeing Lennon and Bale scampering down the wing from deep positions, and surely that's the way to get the best out of Lamela and Townsend. AND, is it just me, or do you find AVB's tactics rather boring??? I do. But anyway, I do trust AVB to get it right so I don't want to be too critical. Today was just one of those days and we can't dwell on it too much. Sometimes a team just doesn't turn up, and that was today. Onto the next match and let's not be a bunch of whinging dicks about it.

 

[Syn_13]

AVB.

Easy as 123?

 

[Qualsonic]

Re OP, didn't Lamella come on at 0-0?

Disappointed in his performance.

 

[yojambo]

Yes, I agree about being a counter-attacking team - I miss seeing Lennon and Bale scampering down the wing from deep positions, and surely that's the way to get the best out of Lamela and Townsend. AND, is it just me, or do you find AVB's tactics rather boring??? I do. But anyway, I do trust AVB to get it right so I don't want to be too critical. Today was just one of those days and we can't dwell on it too much. Sometimes a team just doesn't turn up, and that was today. Onto the next match and let's not be a bunch of whinging dicks about it.

I agree.

At least under Harry and BMJ i enjoyed watching us play, even though there were plenty of frustrating games under them too.
If we are going to be boring to watch, we have to be competing / winning things. Else what's the point?

 

[Montasura]

Let's not fall into this "flattering" trap. Ultimately they beat us at home for the first time since 1999. The scoreline really doesn't matter.

 

[Strikeb4ck]

AVB mainly through accumulation...icing out BAE and being forced to play Naughton at LB, playing first teamers in joke competitions, team selection, subbing so late because he can't admit he got it wrong...This has been coming, we've been riding our luck, everything from last minute goals to being outplayed at home by Chelsea to pantsing players and not getting a penalty against us or red cards, etc.

Sigurdsson started, Defoe started, Eriksen played probably one of the worst games of his life, Walker looked like he left his legs in Russia.

 

[Jamturk]

For me it was attitude and mentality and this I'm afraid started with AvB during the week

He never learnt from his "Their on a downward spiral" last season?

A comment I observed this week "We are coming into a month where the fixtures become easier"

He then compounds it by changing our strikers around which for West Ham must have been like a rag to a bull.

This is West Hams biggest game of the season and I feel that our new contingent failed to grasp this from the get go.

Aside from this

Good tactics from West Ham

Walker was clearly injured

No left Back

Poor defending.

 

[spurs-r-us]

The conundrum is that our football under AVB is hard to watch, meaning winning becomes that little bit more important to enjoy the 90!

 

[Spurs_Bear]

There was nothing flattering about the result. At all.

 

[jezz]

For me JD didnt score and he should have.
! nil up and we win.
Dont take your chances you lose