The last few seasons have been connected by one predictable plot twist – a problem with depth on the flanks. This year, as happened the year before, Aaron Lennon picked up a knock about two-thirds of the way through the season, decimating Tottenham’s crucial width and reducing their attacking options. I’ve written at length about […]
Posts Categorized: tactics
In Case You’ve Forgotten, This is a Full Strength Spurs Squad
Sometimes during the long winning streaks this season, a small minority of fans were infected by a certain amount of hubris. As soon as a negative result happened, some took the opportunity to decry the club with both hands. “We didn’t spend enough money”, “Friedel is rubbish”, “Steffen Freund isn’t shouting loud enough”. Etcetera. But […]
Can I get a Left-Back up in Here?: Spurs v Sunderland Tactical Preview
Well, there’s ninety minutes of the 2012/13 season left, and Champions League football might not be in our hands, but you can’t say that Tottenham haven’t given it a damn good go. If Tottenham win against Sunderland at White Hart Lane but don’t qualify for the Champions Leauge, they’ll have still finished the season on 72 […]
Deuce not yet Dropped: Stoke 1-2 Spurs Tactical Analysis
A Deuce might not have been dropped in the Tottenham Hotspur team this afternoon, but many a deuce must have been dropped by Spurs fans across the breadth of the country. Spurs left it late to score a winning goal against a Stoke side that were a man down for nearly 45 minutes. Although the […]
Mad Craachy’s Black Apalachi: Stoke v Tottenham Tactical Preview
Stoke play with a totally different nature to the rest of the Premier League, they are very aggressive and direct, they are in your face. It is a style that has brought them success so it is not up to me to condemn them. But it is easier to cope with now I have played […]
Thor’s Hammer: Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham Tactical Analysis
When I have a son, I’ll be able to tell him all about Tottenham’s history. One day, I might tell him about these two players that used to be on that White Hart Lane turf. One was this useless, lanky striker. He walked around the pitch like he was looking for a toothpick in the [...]
The Battle of Stamford Bridge: Chelsea v Spurs Tactical Preview
Nearly a thousand years ago two sides met at Stamford Bridge. One, an established ruler of the land that’d been at the top for a while. The other, a challenger from across the channel that was commanding a fearsome and large empire itself, and whom had already seen off many powerful adversaries. That day, the [...]
Who Needs Strikers, Anyway?: Spurs v Southamption Tactical Analysis
There are some games that Tottenham have won this season that displayed what is frequently called a “winning mentality”. That drive and confidence that forces players on and up the pitch with the ball even when it seems like the footballing gods have no gifts to give you that day. Spurs have shown it time [...]
Ride the Dembele Train: Spurs v Soton Tactical Preview
Last weekend’s game at Wigan felt like a third date that didn’t end in a night of passion. All the expectations were there, the groundwork had been laid in the previous weeks, and it was assumed beforehand plenty of chances to score would make themselves apparent. But for whatever reason Tottenham never quite settled into [...]
Dreaming of a Haircut: Wigan 2-2 Spurs Tactical Analysis
Wigan Athletic should be a pushover. Should be. - Me, 22/04/2013. It feels like every time Andre Villas-Boas tries to take some risks with his Tottenham tactics, it comes back and bites him on the behind. Switch to 4-4-2? Get thumped 5-2 at The Emirates. Switch to 4-4-2 again? Get thumped 4-1 at the San Siro. Switch to 4-3-3? [...]
DW, We Got This: Wigan v Spurs Tactical Preview
In many ways, playing Wigan Athletic almost feels like some kind of international cup tie. The Latics carry themselves with a swagger that’s just a little bit different to every other team in the Premier League. From their continental 3-5-2 formation (more on that later) that is unlike anything else in the league, to [...]
AVB Reads my Blog: Spurs v Man City Tactical Analysis
Even if the valiant comeback and eventual 3-1 win in yesterday’s match against Manchester City doesn’t get Tottenham into the Champions League it proved, if nothing else, that I know what I’m talking about when it comes to tactics. In my preview yesterday, I said that the only way to beat the title holders would [...]
Spurs v Man City: Quick Tactical Preview
It feels like an age since Tottenham last played, doesn’t it? In footballing terms, it almost has been an age. A two-week break for our players coming after a gutting but heroic exit from the Europa League is something of a blessing in disguise, and for those who constantly complain of Spurs never getting any [...]
EPL’s Under-rated Midfields | Tactical & Stats Comparison to Europe’s elite
Both West Brom and Southampton possess teams that are full of underrated or unheralded players. I have identified both as teams with criminally underrated players in the central midfield areas: Yacob and Mulumbu for West Brom; Cork and defensive stalwart Morgan Schneiderlin for Southampton. Within football circles all four players have impressed and we could well [...]
EPL’s Under-rated Midfields | Tactical & Stats Comparison to Europe’s elite
EPL Opta Stats & Blog | eplindex.com – soccer stats – Our EPL Stats are Powered by Opta stats | English Premier League stats & blog | Subscribe to the EPL Stats Centre at eplindex.com
The Rising Importance Of A Footballing Philosophy In The EPL
For the purposes of this article, a footballing philosophy is defined as: a set of beliefs about how football should be played on the field tactically. Football tactics are assumed to be that of the strategy(-ies) employed by a team to defend, attack and everything in between (the two transitions of losing the ball and winning the ball). The definition of [...]
The Rising Importance Of A Footballing Philosophy In The EPL
EPL Opta Stats & Blog | eplindex.com – soccer stats – Our EPL Stats are Powered by Opta stats | English Premier League stats & blog | Subscribe to the EPL Stats Centre at eplindex.com
How AVB Tinkered In All The Wrong Places Against Fulham
Although he denied that fatigue played a part in Tottenham’s languid performance as they lost 1-0 at home to Fulham this weekend, Villas-Boas probably knows deep down he’s telling white lies. After his side played two hours of intense end-to-end football against Inter Milan just a few days before this London derby, he made sweeping [...]
Spurs missing killer instinct in front of goal
Of all the players that you would want in your side to score a last minute winner on the last day of the season and at the same time secure [...]
Tottenham Hotspur: Team Observations | Tactical Analysis
After last week’s look at Chelsea, Martin Lewis Tactically Analyses Tottenham Hotspur ahead of their game against Manchester United. Martin has included almost 30 Globall Coach images in this 3000 word article! A must read for all Spurs supporters (ensure you read all of the pages) – enjoy! Martin starts by looking at the team [...]
Tottenham Hotspur: Team Observations | Tactical Analysis
EPL Opta Stats & Blog | eplindex.com – soccer stats – Our EPL Stats are Powered by Opta stats | English Premier League stats & blog | Subscribe to the EPL Stats Centre at eplindex.com
Possession Football: How Spanish success changed the Premier League (11/12)
Looking at last season’s data, we can see what seems like a radical change when we compare the graph with that of four years previous. The ‘tail’ of the correlation has disappeared completely and the entire line seems to be moving towards something more linear. This is the effect of teams such as Wigan, and more [...]
Possession Football: How Spanish success changed the Premier League (11/12)
EPL Opta Stats & Blog | eplindex.com – soccer stats – Our EPL Stats are Powered by Opta stats | English Premier League stats & blog | Subscribe to the EPL Stats Centre at eplindex.com
Possession Football: How Spanish success changed the Premier League (09/10)
In this article, I will be moving on from the 2008/09 season (Part 1) to look for some similarities or trends. In the 2009/10 season there is a similar curve in the line of best fit, and teams that are relegated could be accused of being inefficient. However, there is the beginning of a change in [...]
Possession Football: How Spanish success changed the Premier League (09/10)
EPL Opta Stats & Blog | eplindex.com – soccer stats – Our EPL Stats are Powered by Opta stats | English Premier League stats & blog | Subscribe to the EPL Stats Centre at eplindex.com
2013 off to a bang
Happy New Year Spurs fans! I said at the start of the Christmas period before Tottenham were about to play Stoke City at home, that getting 10 points from the [...]
Spurs: Some Alternate Formations PART ONE – Three At The Back
Thanks to Football Manager, we can all live out our wildest Spurs management fantasies, and field teams which consist of a seven-man midfield and no goalkeeper. Whilst we should all be grateful for this, it inspired me to sit back and properly think about ways in which Tottenham could line up differently to how they [...]
Fulham poses perfect test of Spurs’ credentials
On October 26, 2007, Tottenham Hotspur sacked Martin Jol. For me it was one of, if not the worst, moment as a Spurs fan (I’m 25, just to clarify). Under [...]
Dempsey performance adds gloss to win
It was with great timeliness that Clint Dempsey decided to grace White Hart Lane with his presence yesterday afternoon following Emmanuel Adebayor’s dismisal against Arsenal a week earlier. Having finally [...]
Villas Boas displays adaptability – earning plaudits in defeat
Andre Villas Boas has taken a lot of stick from some Tottenham fans over recent weeks, despite the challenges he has faced in his short time at the helm at White Hart Lane. Some have questioned his ‘negative’ tactics and him not playing ‘the Tott…
Adebayor ruins Derby Day
In some bizarre way I actually feel André Villas-Boas has gained more respect from the players and the fans after Saturday’s result. Despite losing 5-2 for the second successive game [...]
AVB struggles to tie down best team
So it does seem as if André Villas-Boas’s mind can be changed – but does he know his best team? Having witnessed another lackluster performance at White Hart Lane against [...]
An analysis of every Premier League goal and assist of 2011/12 | Tactics
The following analysis is simply to illustrate exactly where goals were scored from on the pitch and where each and every assist came from during the 2011/12 English Premier League season. The conclusions that can be drawn from the following are useful…
Spurs hold on to move 4th
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – a match lasts 90 minutes. What’s most frustrating about our ineptitude to capitalise on dominating positions is that our superb [...]
Van der Vaart a greater loss than Modric
It’s sometimes the way when great players leave clubs that it’s another player’s departure that often is seen as the most missed. When Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United for his [...]
A little insight to Sherwood
Sherwood dishing out ordersEarlier this month I watched the second half of our U21 sides 3-3 draw with Aston Villa literally next to Tim Sherwood in the West Stand.
It was an interesting experience to say the least.
It was by accident I found myself si…
Room for improvement
Last week this blog outlined the positive aspects of André Villas-Boas’s reign as Tottenham Hotspur head coach so far. This week it looks at the negatives, and more specifically some [...]
Spurs find feet under AVB
The fact that the headlines after Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa was not that journeyman Brad Friedel had been dropped in favour of French national goalkeeper and new [...]
Longwell’s Tactics Column | Man United 2-3 Spurs
Ahoy. Here’s something for you. Straight from the brain of WFRF reader, self-confessed football nerd and all round good sort, here’s Longwell’s tactical breakdown of what was an historic Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford. Chalkboards at the ready… Man United 2-3 Spurs Tottenham were extraordinarily lucky to come away with all three points in yet [...]
A game of two halves
I know I haven’t stopped going on about Jermain Defoe on this blog since the start of the season, but his position is so vital to the way we play [...]