Buying defenders won't solve defensive problems
Clive Allen made a telling remark during commentary when he was asked about Harry Kane next season. For younger readers Clive Allem played the lone centre-forward role for Tottenham who in 1986/87 scored 49 goals,
H said he would find it more difficult because sides will analyse his goals and how he has scored them, but even more telling, he said sides would analyse how Spurs had got the ball to him, how they had passed to him to create the chance.
I have written before that as a coach you do not just look at a mistake and correct a mistake, you look for the root cause. If you simply corrrect a mistake it will likely appear under pressure again in the same or similar situation as the body goes into auto mode. Mistakes take time to iron out because you have to retrain the body and mind not simply say don't do that do this. Find the root cause of a problem and solve that, then the problem doesn't occur and the root cause is usually a lot easier to solve.
We have conceded a lot of goals, we have made a lot of defensive mistakes, we have conceded goals and been put under severe pressure from our own corners many tiles this season as teams hit us on the break, usually down our left.
We can correct the individual mistakes from players over the summer yes, they are mental decisions and were brought about by trying to play too much football at the back at times. The root cause of our defensive problems though are the three attacking midfielders behind the lone striker and the two defensive midfielders. With so many games this season, more than other sides, we have not had time to work on improving them as a defensive unit.
Mauricio Pochettino has already made it clear the first seven weeks of pre-season will be important to work on our system. This is the time when he and his coaching staff can work on developing their game as a unit to prevent the supply to opposition forwards. If we prevent the supply lines then the defenxe isn't under so much pressure, won't make so many individual mistakes and so many goals won't be conceded. It isn't a case of simply going out to buy a workd class centre-half and the problems go away, they don't.
The system and having time to sort the system is key to Tottenham's improvement defensively.
H said he would find it more difficult because sides will analyse his goals and how he has scored them, but even more telling, he said sides would analyse how Spurs had got the ball to him, how they had passed to him to create the chance.
I have written before that as a coach you do not just look at a mistake and correct a mistake, you look for the root cause. If you simply corrrect a mistake it will likely appear under pressure again in the same or similar situation as the body goes into auto mode. Mistakes take time to iron out because you have to retrain the body and mind not simply say don't do that do this. Find the root cause of a problem and solve that, then the problem doesn't occur and the root cause is usually a lot easier to solve.
We have conceded a lot of goals, we have made a lot of defensive mistakes, we have conceded goals and been put under severe pressure from our own corners many tiles this season as teams hit us on the break, usually down our left.
We can correct the individual mistakes from players over the summer yes, they are mental decisions and were brought about by trying to play too much football at the back at times. The root cause of our defensive problems though are the three attacking midfielders behind the lone striker and the two defensive midfielders. With so many games this season, more than other sides, we have not had time to work on improving them as a defensive unit.
Mauricio Pochettino has already made it clear the first seven weeks of pre-season will be important to work on our system. This is the time when he and his coaching staff can work on developing their game as a unit to prevent the supply to opposition forwards. If we prevent the supply lines then the defenxe isn't under so much pressure, won't make so many individual mistakes and so many goals won't be conceded. It isn't a case of simply going out to buy a workd class centre-half and the problems go away, they don't.
The system and having time to sort the system is key to Tottenham's improvement defensively.
Post a Comment