Spurs 3 – 1 Villa – 10th August 2019

What a first game for my Spurs side. Not bad when our best defender in Vertonghen is not in the match day squad. Nothing serious and maybe fitness related. But shows no one is safe in Poch’s defensive line ups. Competition no matter how average in all back four positions. Also our free to sign number 10 was on the bench. More on him later.

Trailing 1-0 from a well taken McGinn goal after some suspect defending and a slip from Danny Rose. We eventually turned it around and won 3-1. Nice debut goal from Ndombele and 2 late goals from Master marksman Harry Kane.

This is a piece mainly looking at the formations we used during the game and the impact of Eriksen when he replaced Winks.

4-4-2 Diamond

Poch started with this formation that we used for most of last season and during this pre-season. In midfield we set up with Winks setting the tempo. Sissoko and Ndombele breaking forward. Then we had Lamela in the Number 10 role. Up front we had Lucas supporting Kane. With Villa setting up 4-5-1 and getting the early goal meant the pressure was always on us in the first half.

But we just couldn’t break them down. We had only 7 shots in the first half. Which was just not good enough. We lacked creativity and penetration in their half. Much of this could be down to our formation and their tactical set up. Although Winks had a 96% pass accuracy, he spent more time challenging for and winning the ball back. Rather than using it to get us forward. Ndombele and Sissoko displayed all the energy but no finesse. They were not calm enough in possession to impact our game. Our No10 in Lamela flitted in and out of the game. He does not have a natural position in our squad. He is not a winger or a Number 10. He lacks vital attributes for both positions but is an ok squad player. Lucas buzzed about the box but could not get in behind. All this behind Kane did not help. He dropped deep when he felt he needed to but could not get that 1 clear chance he needed.

4-4-2

Second half switched to a classic 4-4-2. Hoping to get at them more on the flanks. While still maintaining the solid midfield base in Winks and Ndombele. Who are still getting to know each other’s game. Now Lamela and Sissoko are not natural wide men. They both lack the pace to get in behind. Sissoko is all drive and Lamela is fleet footed but does not know when to release the ball. They also kept reverting to coming inside as it’s natural for them. But they did not do this enough for KWP and Rose to take advantage of it. Their positioning also left us a little short when pressing. Lamela and Sissoko did not know whether to stick or twist. We needed something different and something different we got. Lucas and Kane were still working away but not having the impact needed.

4-2-3-1

With our lack of creativity in the final third and lack of shots we needed a change. This combined with Winks seemingly hurting himself in winning possession meant Eriksen was summoned. He changed the game straight away. An extra body in midfield allowed both fullbacks to get forward. It allowed the now wide players, Lamela and Lucas to operate both centrally and out wide when needed. It made the team shape more fluid and put more pressure on Villa’s defence.

After Ndombele’s equalising goal we kept pressing. This allowed us to create more dangerous opportunities in and around their box. Allowed is to play in behind, something we had not been doing. Eriksen had more space to play simple as well as probing passes to move the defence around.

After Kane’s first goal to make it 2-1, it was over. Villa who had sat back and soaked up the pressure, felt the need to abandon their defensive stance. They had no lead to protect and we could pick them off and break. This led to our 3rd goal. A lovely and typical nice first touch and then shot from Kane.

The score read 3-1, the stats showed now 31 shots in the 90 minutes. Most of which came after Eriksen’s introduction. It just shows how important he is to our tactical set up. If he is not impacting directly, he allows others to do so.

Players

KWP – 5m

Great looking heatmap from KWP’s 90 minutes at right back. This however does not show the full story. As tidy as he was, he lost possession 16 times, and won 10 out of his 16 duels with opponents. He was very conservative in the first half. Then got forward more as our formation changed in the second half. He needs to work on his crossing as he provided no accurate crosses as we upped the pressure. He did however have an 87% pass accuracy wish shows he was trying to pass his way through opponents. Rather than use his dribbling and close control, which he does have in his locker. Definitely something to build on. For me, give him the RB shirt until December and then weigh up the options.

Ndombele 6m

What a way to announce yourself to your new fans and team mates. A great equalizing goal to lift everyone just as things were getting frustrating. As the heat map shows, he dominated the central area. Playing in a 2 and in a 3 within three different formations. He displayed his all action traits in his 90 minutes on Saturday. Breaking up the play, getting forward when needed and getting that breakthrough. Hopefully we start with the formation we ended the game with and he cements himself in the 2. Preferably with Winks as they could complement each other with their individual playing styles.

Lucas 7.5m

Very mixed game for last season’s Champions league Semi-Final Hero. Started in the front pairing with Kane and was not effective in getting behind Villa’s stubborn back line. He had 3 shots with only one on target. His assist was a pass back to Ndombele who took did the hard work. He completed 1 out of his 4 attempted dribbles and lost possession 9 times. He was always available and buzzed about but was not up to his usual standards. Even when he was moved out to the wings, he could not use his pace and skill to get behind that often. Had ten touches more than Eriksen and played 64 minutes more. Just shows how out of the game he was.

Eriksen 9m

Cometh the hour, cometh the Dane with ice in his veins. Looked to take hold of the game and transformed the way we played as soon as he came on. Helped probe in the opposition third which we were not doing, or not successful in doing. Played in and around the box helping to drag the defence out. He did the simple things well 79% passing accuracy. Made three key passes in his 26 minutes on the pitch.

Hopefully he starts from now and until he leaves us. Lo Celso is a great player but has a different skillset, so we still do not have a like for like for when Eriksen is not in the team. Watching him, you sometimes take what he does for granted. But year after year he covers more ground than most of our players. Is consistent with assists and goals throughout the season. He will be a loss to Spurs and the Premier league when he goes.

Kane 11m

What can I say? I have praised him in two previous articles, and he keeps on delivering. 2 shots on target and 2 goals. His heatmap shows he was more present where he does most damage. Which is great news for FPL and fellow Spurs fans. He did drop deep occasionally but not enough to keep him from doing what he does best. He is as explosive as Salah, Sterling, Aguero and Auba. This shows in his pricing. But one thing is, he will not get rotated when fit. He is pretty much nailed on for 38 games a year. For this reason, I still think he will get the golden boot and carry us to the top four again.

Conclusions.

Hopefully this is useful to see our formation changes in a little more detail. Personnel and formations contributed to what was a poor showing in the first half. Then we ramped up the tempo to end the match very strong. Some outlets in KWP, Ndombele and Kane started and all had a positive impact. Lucas will need to improve if he is to get a first team role when Son is back in GW3. Eriksen needs to start, simply we do not have anyone to replicate or get anywhere near his output.

Bring on the Champions this weekend.

And COYS!