The Texan Gets His Spurs: Dempsey at Tottenham [R]

I think it's worth mentioning that Adebayor and Defoe each have 1 goal and zero assists in their last 7 games. That forward pairing was due for a shakeup with or without Adebayor heading off to the ACN.

 

Defoe can put the ball in the net, but he is not a team player. I know it is heresy but I think the spuds would be better off sans defoe.

 

If they play Dempsey with Defoe, will it be 4-4-1-1, 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 ? Or does it matter since the players seem to play wherever they want anyway ?

 

Not heresy. You must have missed the madness earlier this fall around this thread. There are a few posters who don't care for the selfishness of Defoe. I include myself in this category. He is not a rounded player, but he's pretty good at one very important skill.

 

I mentioned the Russian announcer being more than perplexed about the fact that both of them were on the pitch, referring to the fact that 'arry never played them together because they weren't compatible.

Of course, 'arry played a traditional English style with plenty of crosses into the box or, at worst, crosses setting up the threat of a long ball and keeping the defense from playing a tight man-to-man marking in front of own penalty box.

AVB's Spurs play into space or into feet and rarely cross and that makes Adebayor an excess to requirements. Instead, contrary to Zdenek Zeman, AVB has gone with the "best players must make for the best team" approach. Much like Zdenek Zeman or Dom Capers, AVB is choosing a "my system or bust" approach to go with other approaches. Much like with ZZ and DC, these approaches often work. Except they don't work all the time.

There's a difference between being a team player and being a perfectly well-rounded player and Defoe can do what pretty much every team would want him to do - he scores goals. He isn't a Spielmacher but, then again, he isn't playing a Spielmacher position either.

Unless being "better off" includes Spurs buying Messi and Neymar, they're better off with Defoe than without him. The heresy, as it were, is a meme conjured up by Clint Dempsey's fans on Big Soccer. No English Tottenham fans would make that switch.

AVB is among those Tottenham fans too, btw.

 

I suppose if you could replace Defoe with Adebayor's 11-12 performance, sure. But I think that's beggars riding horses stuff right now. Defoe is selfish because is supposed to be selfish. He plays a selfish position. Demps is selfish and was even more selfish at Fulham because that is how you score goals. You take shots. Defoe has 14 and was really hot until the last few games. I think a few things have happened: Teams are taking Spurs offensive threat more seriously (or have "figured out AVB" depending on your point of view), Defoe has gone off the boil a bit. He has had to play with Adebayor - so he's not a lone wolf up there - and, of course, he's had Demps on the field with him less.

 

I think Defoe is selfish because he is not a team player. It is not his job to be selfish, it is his job to help his team win games. He is what he is, and he does it well atm, I just do not like his own field persona .

 

Pretty disappointing that there's just two games Clint can seize.

I don't think AVB ever even wanted to play 4-4-2, it was just one of the options when he was tinkering with the team the first two months. He probably wants to play a fluid 4-3-3 but he's being the ultimate "if it aint broke dont fix it" fanatic even if Ade/Defoe score 1 in 17. Even though the 4-4-2 switch had absolutely nothing to do with anything, and it merely coincided with Dembele and Sandro coming back at the same time, and at that same time they started being WAY better defensively (which then also creates some fake stats for the Lloris vs Freidel argument).

It's just a testament to the blunt force talent Spurs have that they're 9-1-2 since then despite such obvious tactical flaws.

 

For the thousandth time, Defoe is a striker, not a playmaker.

If you want to get a striker who does both, you'll need to spend oodles and oodles more.

Anyhow ...

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/onthemove/id/2886?cc=5901

Also, 'Pool isn't bidding on Snejder, who seems to not want to go to Galatasaray, which in turn, seems in no hurry to agree with him on personal terms. The Turks bid was accepted by Inter but Wes is alleged to be seeking about $15M/Y.

 

Absolute truth . . .

Adebayor is capable of both. Totti at Roma can do both. Regarding Adebayor, it would take the right situation, coaching and willingness to grow up for him to accomplish this. Ordinarily, guys like him have achieved so much success, just being on cruise control, the next level for them seems unnecessary. Adebayor, has one of the best tool boxes of any striker, anywhere. It has been a challenge for him to harness, effectively, all of his attributes.

 

I hesitate to say something for which I have zero evidence. Hwvr, my sense is that Bale prefers Adebayor and Defoe prefers Dempsey - in that 2nd central forward role.

 

To me, this team has been missing someone (Dempsey) in the middle behind the striker. Adding Adebayor up top is great if he's going to drop deep and be a creator, which he hasn't done much of, or if they are going to provide a lot of service to the two strikers in a more direct way (wings or from deep central, or deep wings from the backs), which also hasn't been occuring.

SFS made the point above, which I heartily agree with. AVB wants to play the ball to feet centrally, and less on runs from the wing with service like Harry did. If that is the case, then the team needs someone in the hole to link the midfield. It's been too easy to cut off the strikers the last couple of weeks. Basically, if you mark Dembele and the wingers well, that cuts off all supply to the danger areas.

Possession for possession's sake is pointless (like foreplay without consumation). That is what makes Barca so incredibly hard to play against (that and the diving). They want to control possession, but their possession has tremenous purpose. Sometimes they're breaking down the wings in combinations to get a ball across the goal face. Sometimes they're just going to play through the line to a runner.....there is always a purpose to all the possession. Most teams that possess a lot cannot say that.

Passing around the back 6 isn't attacking. It's the soccer equivalent to the 4 corners "offense".

 

Gareth Bale 2011 crosses - 237 in 36 matches = 6.6 /match
2012 crosses - 117 in 18 matches = 6.5/match

Aaron Lennon 2011 crosses - 72 in 23 matches = 3.1 / match
2012 62 in 22 matches = 2.8/match

Kyle Walker 2011 crosses - 137 in 37 matches = 3.7 /match
2012 66 in 21 matches = 3.1 / match

Assou-Ekotto 2011 crosses - 151 in 34 matches = 4.4 / match
2012 - 15 in 3 matches = 5.0/ match

Vertonghen 2011 crosses - --------------------------------
2012 crosses - 50 in 20 matches = 2.5 /match

As far as the biggest difference between AVB and Harry when it comes to flank play, it very well may be the absence of Assou-Ekotto for this season. With him on the pitch, Spurs had a ton of speed at their outside backs. Now opponents can focus on Walker and negate the overlapping threat that Spurs had last year.

I wouldn't put a whole lot on the spacing or lack of crosses by Spurs with the QPR match. Loftus Rd I believe has the smallest pitch in the EPL. It is difficult to do much with flank play on a small pitch and spacing behind the forwards is going to be non-existent as there is no place for the forwards to drop to - you just wind up crowding things more than they already are.

 

LOL that would be robbery. Bale is simply not that good and would not crack RM's lineup. He'd be lucky to make the bench.

 

aren't these next few weeks duece's time to shine? with ade at africa cup and sando hurt he will be right up there with defoe and bale. He can cement his role especcially if he gets a goal or good assist at old trafford .

 

Ok, but as an "off the shoulder" striker with good speed still, even at 30 and a good shot he is most going to help by shooting. The realiity is Defoe is not a very good "passer of the ball" as they like to say over there. He is a fairly decent shooter of the ball. Even back in, I guess, 10-11 when Spurs were trying to get him to play hold-up/lone forward/back to the goal he got better and I remember him being ok at it, but it is not his strength. I think Clint is as likely to get a good ball on his foot off a blocked/spilled Defoe shot as from a clever Defoe pass. The guy is not some leaded footed oaf, of course, but really, like his personae or not, I think most of the time when in range you encourage Defoe to put it on net, hard and low.

 

The Man Utd game is at White Hart Lane. If i am reading the schedule correctly, the game is on FoxSoccer Saturday at 11am est.

 

been there. done that.

 

I am pretty sure they count low, driven crosses the same as the lofted ones.

Plus, there's an overlap from the set-pieces, where a lofted cross is basically the only option.

Of course, it's smart not to play high crosses to Defoe, who's barely over 5'5".

 

It's almost laughable to see someone attempt to cross the ball to Defoe's head; I've only seen him get his head on one (1) ball for a weak shot at goal. I'd rather try him on delivering corner kicks than having him be on the receiving end trying to get his head on the ball over the defensive "trees" in the box.

 

Oh, I think he has as much quality as Pepe. I've heard a few voices saying that a good winger is very effective against 4-2-3-1 which is the formation of preference in Spain. So that may be the reason behind this. Probably, Mou would drop Benzema and play CR more centrally.

 

Strange to compare players of two completely different positions, mindsets, and talents. Pepe is a defensive beast who has proven himself in the past, although he's completely batshit crazy and is having a bad year. He's better than Bale on an absolute value added sense, however. Last year, Modric was superior to Bale, but what is he doing now for RM?

 

Bale would embarrass the right backs in Spain. Basically, the same thing he does in England. The question is where would he play? There's always been the idea that he could play left back. But has he ever played there before?

 

That crazy idea that he can play left back comes from the fact that he is a left back by trade

 

Protip= there are two dozen better attacking players in Spain than Bale. He wouldn't make the bench at barca or Madrid