If you get a chance you have to take it
We often hear the usual rubbish about a player not being given a chance, not being given a run in the team when they don't deserve it. That 'charity' approach is not one you employ if you want to be a top team.
In the cut throat world of football you simply have to take your chance when you are given it, Harry Kane did last season and has progressed since, scoring again last night. Nabil Bentaleb did at Southampton last season and is now a regular part of the set up. Tom Carroll didn't in pre-season so was shipped out on loan, Cristian Ceballos had good and bad spells, only to be expected, the good tells the head coach stick with me there is something here.
Eric Dier took his chance straight away and Ryan Mason did on the pre-season tour to USA and Canada this summer. Last night was his first taste of first-team action in a competitive environment and he shone like a star. The introduction of Mason changed the game, not for him the I need a run of games rubbish, no I have my chance I have to take it and he did.
People can rave about his goal but the single most impressive thing about his performance was the speed with which he moved the ball, not for him a ponderous control, adjusting of the feet position, assessment of passing options and a slow careful pass, no he knew what he was going to do before he got the ball. He had the urgency to move the ball into an area for the next pass by his control the ball.
There is a lot more to controlling a ball than simply stopping it. Do you do so with the instep or outside of the boot. Where is your opponent, you have to control the ball away from him not towards him. In space you need to know what your next pass is, does the ball need to go across your body so you control with the furthest foot or back the direction it came in which case, if you are not playing a first time pass, you can control with the nearer foot.
If an opponent is to your left and the ball is played to you from the right, you control it with the right foot putting yourself between him and the ball and visa versa for the other side. Controlling with the instep or out side of the boot sends the ball in different directions, very useful if you already know your next pass. Stop the ball, move it to a passing position and pass is three movements, control the ball into the area you want to make the next pass and pass it is two movements and thus quicker.
One of our faults, which is long standing, is that when one player passes to another they do so so the receiving player has to stand and wait for the ball to arrive which allows the defending side to close him down quickly and give him no passing options, he therefore have to go backwards or sideways again. Happens frequently with wide men.
What Mason did was simply kick the ball harder. Rocket science I know, but what a difference. If you play the ball to a player faster he can then exploit the space he is in which is the reason you passed him the ball in the first place, especially if you are passing to a wide man. Mason looked for a forward pass all the time, even his square balls wide were going forward.
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Intelligent controlling of the ball and faster passing speeds the game up without doing anything spectacular. It's exactly the problem Pochettino has highlighted at Tottenham. By playing for the team instead of himself he shone brightly.
He has a struggle on his hands against Capoue, Dembele, Bentaleb, Paulinho and Stambouli to claim a starting berth in the centre of midfield but hopefully we will now see him play some Europa League minutes. This was Nottingham Forest reserves and not Arsenal but you can only perform when you are given the chance and those before him hadn't performed at all. He capped it off with our opening goal.
Glenn Hoddle knows a thing or two about being a midfielder and he impressed our former legend.
Jermaine Jenas is carving out a career for himself as a pundit and he too was impressed with Mason.
The 'names' had better watch out because if Mason performs in the Europa League next he'll be knocking on the door of getting a Premier League substitutes appearance, how we could have done with his passing on Saturday with both Dembele and Paulinho putting in terrible performances.
Another former Spurs midfielder and one I particularly liked was very happy with Mason's contribution.
Micky Hazard @1MickyHazard
Fantastic to see @Ryan_Mason13 score a great goal and play so well, coached him from age 6, took him to Spurs aged 8.
After that performance he simply has to be given a chance in the Europa League and introduced into the Premier League as a late substitute to see how he fares at higher levels.
In the cut throat world of football you simply have to take your chance when you are given it, Harry Kane did last season and has progressed since, scoring again last night. Nabil Bentaleb did at Southampton last season and is now a regular part of the set up. Tom Carroll didn't in pre-season so was shipped out on loan, Cristian Ceballos had good and bad spells, only to be expected, the good tells the head coach stick with me there is something here.
Eric Dier took his chance straight away and Ryan Mason did on the pre-season tour to USA and Canada this summer. Last night was his first taste of first-team action in a competitive environment and he shone like a star. The introduction of Mason changed the game, not for him the I need a run of games rubbish, no I have my chance I have to take it and he did.
People can rave about his goal but the single most impressive thing about his performance was the speed with which he moved the ball, not for him a ponderous control, adjusting of the feet position, assessment of passing options and a slow careful pass, no he knew what he was going to do before he got the ball. He had the urgency to move the ball into an area for the next pass by his control the ball.
There is a lot more to controlling a ball than simply stopping it. Do you do so with the instep or outside of the boot. Where is your opponent, you have to control the ball away from him not towards him. In space you need to know what your next pass is, does the ball need to go across your body so you control with the furthest foot or back the direction it came in which case, if you are not playing a first time pass, you can control with the nearer foot.
If an opponent is to your left and the ball is played to you from the right, you control it with the right foot putting yourself between him and the ball and visa versa for the other side. Controlling with the instep or out side of the boot sends the ball in different directions, very useful if you already know your next pass. Stop the ball, move it to a passing position and pass is three movements, control the ball into the area you want to make the next pass and pass it is two movements and thus quicker.
One of our faults, which is long standing, is that when one player passes to another they do so so the receiving player has to stand and wait for the ball to arrive which allows the defending side to close him down quickly and give him no passing options, he therefore have to go backwards or sideways again. Happens frequently with wide men.
What Mason did was simply kick the ball harder. Rocket science I know, but what a difference. If you play the ball to a player faster he can then exploit the space he is in which is the reason you passed him the ball in the first place, especially if you are passing to a wide man. Mason looked for a forward pass all the time, even his square balls wide were going forward.
Recent Stories:
Paulinho the problem for woeful Spurs
Videos of the 3 goals
Spurs watching another defensive midfielder
The team that won't play
Transfer talk is starting in the papers again
Brady couldn't care less about the tax payer
Panic is the order of the day
Any journey has it's ups and downs
Intelligent controlling of the ball and faster passing speeds the game up without doing anything spectacular. It's exactly the problem Pochettino has highlighted at Tottenham. By playing for the team instead of himself he shone brightly.
He has a struggle on his hands against Capoue, Dembele, Bentaleb, Paulinho and Stambouli to claim a starting berth in the centre of midfield but hopefully we will now see him play some Europa League minutes. This was Nottingham Forest reserves and not Arsenal but you can only perform when you are given the chance and those before him hadn't performed at all. He capped it off with our opening goal.
"It's a special moment for me. I've been waiting a long time for that. As soon as I hit it I knew it had a chance. I'm delighted it went in. It was a great feeling."
Glenn Hoddle knows a thing or two about being a midfielder and he impressed our former legend.
"He looks a confident lad, I like the way in his play, the way he looks forward.
"His first thought is can I play, can I hurt the other team, can I go forward, and he hits movement, and he looked forward there when he struck a beautiful strike."
Jermaine Jenas is carving out a career for himself as a pundit and he too was impressed with Mason.
"He's so creative. I know he can do this, and it was great to see him deliver. I just hope now that he gets a chance.
"He played better in 25 minutes than the other two or three that were in there and what a fantastic strike that was."
The 'names' had better watch out because if Mason performs in the Europa League next he'll be knocking on the door of getting a Premier League substitutes appearance, how we could have done with his passing on Saturday with both Dembele and Paulinho putting in terrible performances.
Another former Spurs midfielder and one I particularly liked was very happy with Mason's contribution.
Micky Hazard @1MickyHazard
Fantastic to see @Ryan_Mason13 score a great goal and play so well, coached him from age 6, took him to Spurs aged 8.
After that performance he simply has to be given a chance in the Europa League and introduced into the Premier League as a late substitute to see how he fares at higher levels.
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