Analysis of the goal conceded against Newcastle (10/11)

Remy’s goal – After Spurs had twice surrendered possession, and then regained it, Chiricheș plays Paulinho into trouble, the Brazilian fails to keep the ball, and Yoan Gouffran slips a pass through to Loic Remy, who takes it round Brad Friedel and slots it home.

NewcastleGoal

 

2

Dembele twice loses the ball, but Spurs regain possession, and Chiricheș attempts to find Paulinho. The pass is loose, and as Paulinho lets it run across his body, Gouffran moves in quickly to compete.

3

Paulinho stretches to retrieve the ball, and Gouffran is able to anticipate and get a foot in.

4

He makes a strong challenge, and wins the ball from Paulinho. Paulinho could do a lot more to retain possession – his challenge is weak.

5

He gets his head up quickly, and sees Remy having broken off Chiricheș and running into the centre.

6

Friedel comes off his line, but his starting position is so deep that he’s unable to reach the ball before Remy, who nips past him.

7

Once he’s round him, it’s just a case of sliding the ball into the empty net.

In hindsight, this was a bit of a smash and grab from Newcastle, but they had a real purple patch in the first half where they created some good opportunities, and Friedel had to make several saves. The second half was a different story; Spurs played well, but just couldn’t find a finish. Eriksen, Vertonghen and Paulinho all fluffed good opportunities, as Krul put in a man of the match performance.

The signs were better from Spurs, though, as they created more opportunities than in any other Premier League match so far. For me, Eriksen could have done more over the 90 minutes – his 71% pass completion (along with his dreadful set pieces) was not good enough, and Lamela must be left wondering what he needs to do to get a start. Likewise Sigurdsson struggled to stamp his authority on the game, whilst Townsend toiled but took on too many ambitious shots.

Sandro and Kaboul both made a real difference in the second half, and will hopefully both be fit enough to start the next match.

Join the conversation

  1. Again another disappointing game where to be honest dispite going 1 down early we should have beaten them! First of I believe avb is the right man for the spurs job!! let's not forget the talent he can attract and is highly respected internationally... Evidently we need to bring in more talent!!!!! But the problem is he has bought like for like players which means competition is high and also I think that creates selfish players i.e Townsend !! Who would rather go for the glory and shoot rather then feed the team a create for saldado just trying to secure his spot rather then care about the team I couldn't give a toss whether he plays for England this guy is not better then lamela who I think is technically better in the last third of the pitch and I just can't understand why he doesn't play!!! £30million !! In order for him to settle he has to play the games, just as he gave paulhino the games he should of done so for eriksen and lamela from the start as I believe when they gel this will be spurs great threat!! Siggy is not good enough!! People screaming for Defoe ! I don't think so we need to strengthen in jan for sure !! The way this going we won't get top four, coz our players are more concerned with getting in the team then playing as one! Take out Townsend and his selfish big head and play lamela and Lennon on the wings with eriksen in the middle behind saldado !!!
    1. I don't think AVB cares about whether someone plays for England either. And I don't want to be too critical of Townsend. From what I hear, he's a good player who tries hard, and would perhaps prefer to be playing on the left. But he is young and immature in his game, and needs coaching so he doesn't cut in so much, or try to do so much. But fundamentally he's trying to make sure we win and sometimes thinks that to do that he needs to do everything himself. Hopefully he can be coached (and hopefully AVB is the guy who can coach him) into making better choices.
      1. Agree, Townsend isn't selfish per se, he just fails to get the "bigger picture" at times, and realise that sometimes patience is necessary.
    2. I'd like to see a three of Townsend, Lamela, and Sigurdsson behind Soldado for a few games.
      1. Yes!
    3. "Siggy is not good enough" That is bullshit mate. He had a bad game. That happens to every player now and then. Even players that cost 26m pounds or 30m pounds. Let's not forget Sigurdsson has scored more than Townsend, Eriksen, Paulinho, Holtby and Chadli combined in the Premier league. Even though he has not played one minute of two of the games, and as a sub in others, while some players have played 90mins of every game without scoring a single goal. Let's not forget goal of the month for October. A lousy player does not humiliate two defenders and shoot the ball in the goal with the keeper standing and watching...and he has scored many goals like this. Both for clubs and country. It's funny to watch how underrated this young player is and reading comments after SOME spurs fans who constantly "suggest" that he is benched. And when that happens, the team does not play better. Not once has that happen. How was Lennon who replaced Sigurdsson in last games before the Newcastle game. How many goals did he score. :) Just a thought since some fans talk about that this player is the problem. I don't see that, with all due respect. How about showing some respect while he is scoring important goals for Spurs that has gotten us points while there has been a goal drought from our tens of million of pounds super stars in the team. some fans..... ;)
      1. I'm glad someone has finally spoken up for Siggy.
      2. About to write a blog post including some stats on how much more productive Siggy is than Lennon. Keep an eye out.
      3. Hurrah for Sigg. I would also stick up for him, but then I also thought BAE got a lot of unfair flak and look what happened to him. ;)
  2. I am seriously depressed. We have the best squad for years but I see no possibility of success while AVB is in charge. Sorry Windy I just rate AVB less week by week. His team selection and freezing out of players defies sense. Gomes has been frozen out so when we are missing Lloris we have a keeper who is incapable of playing in the same style the defence relies on. Friedel is too old, he lacks mobility and should not be playing at this level. No BAE, also frozen out, so we had to suffer week after week of Naughton showing just how bad he is at LB, until even AVB has had to admit defeat and play the excellent Vertonghen there. If Sandro was fit to be on the bench he HAD to start and from his 45 minutes he was fit and showed it with another excellent display. Dembele and Palinho continue to show that they don't work together, neither wants to hold, but AVB persists in playing them together. With a midfield with Tiote we needed some physicality so Holtby had to start for Eriksen. Thursday night saw a largely poor performance from Eriksen yet he is rewarded with a league start. Thursday night also saw an outstanding performance from Lamela, who is rewarded by - nothing - a place back on the bench. And as for the striking situation, it's a bit of a disaster. Ade is frozen out and whatever promise Kane shows gets no reward at all, not even a place on the bench. Adebayor would make the whole team look different, a striker who can hold the ball up would provide balance. And as for inverted wingers don't get me started, or the lack of a plan B, or Defoe on his own upfront or with Soldado. I could go on but I'm just too depressed. When Laudrup was appointed to Swansea I thought WOW. I need some wow at the Lane - soon.
    1. Well said Jill.
    2. I find it hard to disagree with much there, but still think aVB is doing a great job. And for Erikson, Opta tweeted this: 9 - Against Newcastle, Christian Eriksen created nine chances for his teammates; more than any player in a single game this season. Spurned. We had some _clear_ chances today. Even ignoring that crazy goal line clearance, we had several chances where I was amazed we didn't score. You can't blame AVB for that. And just consider this - swap the goalkeepers and we'd have won 3 or 4 - nil. That has to be a sobering thought.
      1. You are kidding... As Merse said on soccer Saturday Spurs play at one pace.... Slow and predictable!!! Khrul is a Geordie and didn't even have a world beater save to make!!!
      2. Eriksen's chance creation - two square passes that ended in Townsend shots, two corners (majority of his were awful), one nudged free kick for Vertonghen, one other free kick and one incisive lay-off: http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/8-2013/matches/695010/player-stats/80607/1_PASS_11#tabs-wrapper-anchor
      3. Yeah, but that nudge was awesome... Ok, ya got me.
    3. Difficult to disagree with any of that, Jill! Dembele and Paulinho are an awful pairing, and it brings out the worst in both. That 45 minutes from Dembele was probably the worst of his Spurs career.
  3. AVB must never leave Sandro out in a premier league game, unless he is not fit. Also was at the game today, and it was Frustratingly slow boring football to watch. Not happy with AVB of late, another glorious chance to climb the league lost. The man needs a plan B when things are not working out, and not leave changes late on in the game.
    1. Totally agree. Sandro's so vital to us, and probably our best outfield player.
  4. Ok, when we concede like this, I drop back to my general theory of football. Goals come from mistakes. Even the best players playing for the best teams make mistakes. However, when you have a weak spot in your team, this means that mistakes from _other_ players will have catastrophic consequences. As you point out, the flow of this play was: a) Dembele losing the ball multiple times b) Chiriches loose pass (I'd argue about this, but lets go with it) c) Paulinho weakly losing the ball d) Friedel too deep So as soon as we saw the team sheet and that Lloris wasn't playing, we know we'd have a problem. Did that make Dembele have the worst 45 I've seen him play in lilywhite? I don't know, but I'm reasonably certain that we wouldn't have conceded that goal if Lloris had been playing. Mind you, it's possible it would have been a straight red and a penalty for his last ditch tackle on Remy. And TBH, I think the worst of the mistakes in conceding the goal was Paulinho - he had these options: 1) win the ball and drive forward 2) take out the ball and the man to clear the danger (maybe concede free kick) 3) give up the ball but just stay goal side and defend 4) make a weak tackle, lose, and get stuck the wrong side When I play football (for 'fun'), I notice that most players will commit themselves to tackles, always try to win the ball. It's great and very British when it works, but when you don't it generally means the other guy is basically through on goal. And it's why professionals don't just dive into challenges all the time. Paulinho should have known that the only thing worse than losing the ball in that situation was losing the ball and being stuck the wrong side. BUT, even though he made this stupid mistake, if we had our first team out, he probably would have been ok. _THIS_ is one of the few differences between us being a title challenger and struggling to get 4th. The other one is having a striker who gets one chance and scores one goal (like RVP did today).
    1. We too were in despair as soon as we saw the team. And your comment about a deadly striker is spot on. I haven't seen a replay of Eriksen's miss but it looked truly awful, you can't keep missing sitters and get away with it. However good Krul was with the right striker we would have been OK.
      1. Vertonghen's header onto the bar was arguably just as easy...
    2. Great comment, difficult to disagree with anything you've said.
  5. You are certainly right about not making top 4. I would go futher & say we won't make top 10. We can't score against anyone at home. 99% of Kruls saves were bread & butter today. Truly incredible. "Oh but teams park the bus". Yeah right. City score 7, Liverpool score 4 at home every week,Saints scored 4 against Hull. I would love to watch our training sessions. I would bet a fortune they don't work on (ever) -Shooting practice -Corners -Any set pieces -Passing & moving forward quickly. All that clown (who got Chelski 6th place) trains them to do is pass sideways, backwards, sideways, backwards very slowly. Zzzzzzzz. AVB thinks 65% possession gets you points!!!! I predict a finish between 11th & 17th place. We have City & United next. We won't get 1 point. Not a chance. We won't score 1 goal & I predict heavy defeats. Last season would have been the same without Bale too. Absolute shambles!!!!! The end will be when the Spammers beat us again on Dec 18th. Then it's bye bye AVB. God willing!
    1. I think two of Krul's saves (deflected free-kick, save from Eriksen) were phenomenal. Yanga-Mbiwa's defending following the free kick save was unusually good too. 11th place? No chance.
    2. Wooh, hang on - 'got Chelski 6th'. You're blaming him for their finish on the year he got sacked? The year they won the FA cup and the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!? Please, you could make a perfectly reasoned point about AVB being a bad manager without just obviously doctoring stats. It just makes me think everything else you write is suspect.
  6. AVB is making seriously poor decisions and is worrying me. sandro / kaboul on the bench? Surely it was worth bringing Lamela on for 20 mins given his MOTM performance midweek?
    1. Lamela was the move to make, not Defoe.
  7. Made them look like Brazil as much as their kits did.... Massively sloppy goal to concede and one of a number of incidents that suggested a collective lack of confidence in the system and its productivity. If Sandro wasn't fit enough to start, then he shouldn't have been on the bench in my opinion. A poor choice by AVB to leave him out the starting line-up for the first half as the midfield was clearly disjointed and that goal would not have happened had the beast been there instead of Paulinho, who I'm really beginning to feel isn't mobile enough to play a dynamic role in central midfield, at least at home. If I recall to last season, I remember that the duo of Sandro and Dembele really excelled and I don't think we've seen this partnership at any stage in the league this season. I do think that AVB is conscious of keeping the big stars happy, which is why he may not have experimented with this yet but unless he starts adopting a system that produces tangible results, then it will be more than just one or two players that he needs to 'man manage'. After all, the players are worth a lot more to the club than the manager these days. That's the harsh reality of professional football. Windy, where do you stand on the whole Soldado thing? I think the guy is obviously lacking confidence. Is it a lack of confidence in his teammates? himself? English football? the manager? the system? Would you bring Adebayor back into the frame? I think that that however AVB deals with these issues will determine his success this season.
    1. I think Soldado's a good finisher, but we've overpaid for him IMO. He doesn't do a great deal in general play and I'm pretty concerned, frankly. I'd DEFINITELY bring Adebayor back into the frame if he can get his head right.
      1. Isn't Ade getting his head right at least partly about managing him right? He seems to need to be loved so love him!
      2. Quite possibly, yes, but we don't know that that's not happening behind the scenes.
      3. Isn't Ade getting his head right at least partly about managing him right? He seems to need to be loved so love him!
    2. Giroud sucked in his first season, as did loads of other players (how long for Modric to come through, though I guess he's not a striker). Berba wasn't an instant genius either. His failure to put away the few chances he's had is worrying, but he still looks class - I'm giving him a season.
      1. Yeah, personally I'm backing Soldado but I don't think that Paulinho has the attributes to be hugely effective in home games. As for Adebayor, I think AVB needs to lose his stubbornness and give him a run-out in Europe to get him back into things. Wonder how he'd feel about lining up in Norway though?
      2. Absolutely right.
  8. Under previous managers we used to come out of the blocks with pace and power putting opponents on the back foot and invariably scoring the first goal. Now we start slowly, applying the crablike tactics of passing the ball sideways and backwards with no real penetration into the other half. AVB must surely see from this match alone that putting opponents under real, intense pressure is a must. Not every visiting team will have a keeper that plays the game of their lives. Starting slowly and allowing opponents to settle doesn't work and making Dawson the focal point of orchestrating our attacks is not the way. The ball must be moved forward quickly and with purpose through the midfield, or with pace and power down the wings and crossed into their box. The second half today showed we can do this. But why only after going a goal down!? Dembele and Erikson have gone completely off the boil and Siggurdson today was a luxury. Defoe looks like he's sulking and Naughton is a fish out of water at left back, Lamela should have started with Lennon as backup and we badly missed Holtby's 110% energy and commitment. Sandro is immense and must play more often. Kaboul was also impressive today and that should be better recognised. All is not lost but it will be soon if the tactics don't change.
    1. Personally, I don't quite see how AVB is coaching our players to not be dynamic or aggressive. Does he give them electric shocks remotely when they try to run with the ball, or go past people, or do long passes? I have no idea... I'd genuinely like to find out. I love Walker, for example, but it frustrates the hell out of me when he gets the ball and leaves it totally static on the ground while looking for a pass. Just move the ball even slightly and passing options become easier (IMO).
  9. If 2 of the 20 shots on target went in, we wouldn't be talking like this. Agree with Lamela needing to come on, would push andros to left side as he can't be as selfish from there.. Didn't understand the Defoe sub.. The positive? With all these tactical errors and poor results & the team yet to really gel we are only 5 points off first. Chin up
  10. When are people going to realise that Dembele is very poor, as was said on a forum the other day a "liability". Saldado cannot play up front on his own, and I can not believe we paid £26M. Naughton is NOT a LB. Ade is worth a punt and Lamala and Holtby need to play more. Siggy just does not look consistent / good enough. In AVB I see arrogance and a refusal to accept he is making poor decisions. We need a quality LB, CF, and a scoring creative midfielder. Rant over... COYS
  11. This defeat could be put down to political correctness as I think Loris would have saved it, also I think it's time to have a plan B or ditch the type of formations cos everybody knows how to play against us.
  12. Quite simple! Lloris Walker Kaboul jan Rose (when fit) Sandro Lamela eriksen Lennon Ade & soldado
    1. Takes a goal every time to fire us up! What the fuck does AVB say to the team other than this is the team, your dropped etc ! The mans out of his depth, let's go & get a man that knows his football & that's laudrop. Lamela arrived Thursday albeit against a mediocre side on paper, but they were t no mugs, prob better than the toon, yet he drops him! Poor choice! Dawson is all over the show against pace! Club captain my arse, drop him & give it to jan! Feel so sorry for soldado! Top quality striker with no1 up there with him, swamped by 2 centre halves every time! 4-2-3-1 hasn't worked for us all season, but let's carry on with it AVB! Din. Sandro was awsome when he come on, should pull Paulinho aside and say " no no nooo" you don't tackle like this! What a shambles of a side that could be something better than just 4th! Wrong tactics set up by the wrong man! Levy watches on .....
    2. Agree with that line-up. We only need Sandro holding, especially at home and against lesser opponents. If AVB refuses to play 4-4-2, I'd play a true 4-3-3 with only Sandro holding, and then 2 of the following 3 in the center: Holtby, Eriksen, Sigurdson. Lamela HAS to play.
      1. I'd like to see Holtby given a go alongside Sandro as an 8 whilst Paulinho settles.
    3. For me, Lennon's not a starter nowadays, and that formation would be too open.
  13. I've come to the conclusion that the reason we didn't win was not that Krull had a great game, but that we lack confidence. When you have confidence you will try for the corner and not the centre of the goal. To have confidence at WHL, AVB has to win the crowd and he'll do that by playing like the second half. I think that we need Capoue and Sandro in midfield to allow the front four total freedom against the stronger teams as well defending the back four. Against weaker teams only Sandro should be the DM and we should play two up front: Ade/Kane with Soldado. AVB needs to drop the crap about competition for places. He's supposed to be tactical and that means being proactive and reactive.
    1. Proactive and reactive - you are so right and it just doesn't happen. It's back to that plan B problem - again.... I thought AVB's strength was as a tactical coach but I see no sign of anything other than rigidity. And as someone said the opposition knows exactly what they will be up against and can plan accordingly with predictable results.
      1. Tony Cascarino's assessment was that there is a lack of confidence. I think that extends to the manager. The international break has come at a good time.
  14. Windy please can you enlighten us on the level of football you have played? And sorry FIFA doesn't count. Your tweets and commentary are absolutely absurd.
    1. Can you back up your hypothesis or are you just blurting out a meme?
    2. What level of football has AVB played?
    3. Not exactly constructive - which in particular are absurd?
  15. While I thought the last one was team error rather than keeper this one certainly was one Lloris would probably not have conceded. Freidel should have been intercepting that one right on the line, Lloris would have got it with his feet about two yards further out. We never seemed to be first to the ball, at any point in the match, against Everton we were there or there abouts both halves, any scrappy balls could be reliably challenged and won, in the first half we didnt have to they just fell to our feet, not the case against Newcastle even when we were in the ascendency, so sloppy passing and trying to pass one too many people was never a good idea, as shown by Dembele in the build up to the goal. I don't like the Dembele-Paulinho partnership, it should be one or other with Sandro or Capoue, I don't mind which of the four play, but don't match Dembele and Paulinho (I don't know how Sandro and Capoue would do, I suspect too defensive) But there it is, you have two positions with two competing players, not four, that should make it easier for manager and players alike to know what needs to be done to play, easier than deciding the three in front of them anyway. Eriksen's deadballs were bad but my gut feeling right from the moment they scored was to please stop passing to Townsend, it was the kiss of death for every move. I like him but he needs to learn to view the game from above, he doesnt seem to get the flow of the match besides run-trick-shoot, when he does get a cross in it's where he thinks the players are, not where they actually are, but then we have the other problem of only paulinho having any thought for pressuring the center of the box. Having said that, I dont actually think we played so badly yesterday, despite what other commenters have written some of Krul's saves were absolutely fantastic, there's a good chance that those same chances in the exact same position would have garnered one goal at least. The worrying side is that we are no longer a team that concedes a goal takes it as a wake up call, now we just seem to switch to panic mode.
    1. Actually I think Sandro/Capoue would work - Capoue's arguably the best passer of all four midfield options. Agree with your thoughts on Townsend - needs to learn to keep possession a lot more regularly than he currently does. And I agree with your last paragraph too - we played really, really well in the second half.
      1. When Capoue was back last week, he hit some lofted passes and I was like 'oh my god, I forgot we're allowed to dink passes around like that'. Since Modric left, we just haven't really done that sort of thing. And Capoue of all people! No one said he was going to be that sort of player.
  16. Windy, I have to say.. Your blog is the bee's knee's. Keep up the good work. Also I enjoy your blogs on the youth team, it's second to none.
    1. Kind of you to say. Be sure to check out the brilliant DearMrLevy.com which puts this humble blog in the shade!
  17. I do Windy. The guy is a 24 karat genius plonker.
    1. Who is? Spooky? Are you deranged?
      1. It was meant to be a compliment Windy. Spooky's work is brilliant, and some of his blogs make me laugh. Not sure where you see it as a bad comment.
      2. Wasn't me, mate, I am merely the facilitator here! I realised what you meant :)
      3. Sorry Windy. Need to go spec savers ;-)
  18. I found it strange that you think that plonker is a compliment. Is it "street"?
    1. You need to get a life mate.
      1. Thanks for the advice.
  19. For those who haven't read this, this is a very interesting article. http://spursstatman.com/2013/11/13/18-lessons-villas-boas-his-team-and-the-fans-have-to-take-on-board/
  20. How early and incisive was that pass from Goufran to Reme. The kind of ball we rarely see at Spurs and which Soldado is crying out for. Lloris would have spotted that ball earlier and been further out to start with. Brad neither held him up nor got a hand to the ball. Chiriches almost did his desperate retrieving act again. But Reme is very quick and decisive. Think the video helps understand your analysis of the still frames.

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