Spurs vs Marseille went as predicted
Played 56
Won 26
Drawn 10
Lost 20
Goals Scored 110
Goals Conceded 83
Goal Difference +27
Antonio Conte's managerial Champions League record:
Played 35
Won 13
Drawn 11
Lost 11
The game against Marseille went pretty much as expected. If you read my pre-game piece on Igor Tudor's tactics then you expected the high press, expected us to defend and to struggle to play through them.
I warned you that this was going to be a far bigger struggle than most people realised, that they would play with the ball as high up the pitch as possible while we allowed them to have it and defend the final third, which to be fair we did very well.
I didn't think they looked like breaking us down.
Nil nil at half-time again was no surprise as Spurs struggle to pass out against high pressing teams.
The tactics piece talked about this press and the fact they would go 7v7 in our half trusting three defenders to defend against three attackers.
The issue with this approach is that to play through it involves a series of duels that you have to win to get the ball through to the front men.
Just like betting, the greater the number of the selections, the greater the risk, each selection massively increases your chances of losing, of one of them failing.
It's the same with football, the greater number of duels you have the win, the greater your chances of losing the ball.
In the first half, when we did Put a sequence of passes together, we got ourselves into pre-determined passing patterns.
Unfortunately, this is where Richarlison is still learning our system and he was playing reactive football, not proactive football.
Son or Kane would drop into the semi-circle in our half to receive a pass and flick the ball into the centre of the semi-circle in their half.
However Richarlison was consistently not in the right position. he was too far away behind his man, not in front.
The Brazilian needed to anticipate, to make his run earlier than he did because several times he was second to the ball and they regained possession.
This is what I mean be a sequence of duels, you only have to lose one and you lose the ball, so the more there are, the more clinical in your skill you have to be. If one cog is out it breaks down.
Against the Hammers, it was Son's run that caused the own goal and against Marseille, it as his one two with Kane and turn of pace that drew the foul, a red card and the changing of the game.
From there they Vere going to defend and our task was to break them down, which you achieve by passing quickly from side to side to pull them out of position or play round the sides.
Ho did Spurs score, two crosses, two headers for new boy Richarlison to get his account off and running.
As a goalscorer he'll feel better, he'll feel he is contributing. He has been a very good buy and has certainly shown fans why he was Conte and Paratici's first choice striking option.
Next we move on to another tough game, Sporting away, who I have backed to qualify from this group, despite suggesting Marseille will be our biggest test, because of the tactics they employ.
UEFA Youth League
Spurs U-19 vs Marseille U-19
Watching the Spurs U-19 UEFA Youth League fixture against Marseille at Hotspur Way yesterday was Oliver Skipp, Japhet Tangangs, Brandon Austin, plus former Tottenham left-back Danny Rose.
Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici were there, plus academy coaches Jermain Defoe, Yaya Toure, Bradley Allen and Chris Powell.
They sa the Spurs youngsters come out 3-0 winners.
Fabio Paratici
"Every player who arrives is agreed by me Daniel Levy and the coach, the coach knows every player."
655 words
COYS
FURTHER READING
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Road Sweeper Ronnie Knows Best - 1,191 words
Why does the Twitter fan think he knows more than Antonio Conte, Fabio Paratici and Daniel Levy?
4 comments
I would like to point out also that it's clear Conté was on top of things as he changed our shape quite considerably to handle the pressing game he knew to expect from Marseille. It wasn't 100% pretty, but it got the job done.
I wonder if there are many saying now that Sonny isn't contributing? Through on goal with just the keeper to beat when he was brought down cynically outside the box. No goal to his name on the day because of that, but certainly a turning-point in the game.
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A lot of people will have seen it as a boring contest where Spurs inexplicably failed to get out of their half in the first 45, again.
I liked the gambling analogy, where the number of duels required to progress the ball also increases the risk of play breaking down & turning over posession.
Another excellent result. I'll take the win over "champagne" football. Here's hoping we can maintain our recent record agaist City.
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I have to admit that I'd like to see 'champagne' football back at Spurs in the not-too-distant future, but I do agree that we need to aim for winning consistently as a higher priority. Let's face it, quick & accurate passing over various distances - short & long - is pretty decent to watch, and we're seeing more & more of that - along with a fair bit of decent play when threatening the other goal from various approaches.
I'm not going to say we'll beat Shitty at the weekend, but I will go as far as to say that I expect Conté will put a team out with a plan specifically designed for playing Shitty away. As with Marseille, we may get a different formation, but however we shape up there will certainly be special instructions for how to play that won't simply be our normal approach.
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