Aggression
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at 8:39PM Villas-Boas:
"Tottenham last year played magnificent attacking football," Villas-Boas said. "We want to keep that exactly as it stands, to take it into the pitch, but training in a different way. We would like to be a team that has speed in possession and different combinations, a team that looks to the counterattack in a very aggressive way. We'll have to make sure we continue to do exactly that like we have in the past."
"We're trying to continue with the same system that Tottenham played most of the time last year. It's a system that benefits Rafa and [new signing Gylfi] Sigurdsson as the two players competing for that role behind the striker."
No major tactical reshuffle in terms of set formation. 4411 with added shine for the short term with a long term ambition to perhaps mould the team into a more traditional 433 that Villas-Boas has a preference for, shifting to a combative 4231 (two holding midfielders). Adaptive formations is something we're about to become accustomed to. The way the team shapes up when not in possession is equally pivotal for strengthening the basics, such as winning the ball back and organised defending when placed under pressure. In our case, hopefully plenty of hassle, pressure and quick feet to work it from box to box.
Really looking forward to see how quickly we mature. Our players will adapt comfortably I'm sure. We've got the confidence, we just need the intelligence to drive us forward, to know when to change gear and run over our opponents. More Death Race than Herbie goes bananas. We've displayed enough refined grit in the past couple of seasons to allow for further evolution.
I love the line: counterattack in a very aggressive way
Love the word 'aggressive'. Aggressive hints at 'ruthless' and 'punishing' football to complement the flair and fancy stuff. Have we been aggressive in recent years? On occasions sure, and in terms of individualistic mannerisms (i.e. Bale), yes (when not lost roaming through the middle) but aggressive can hardly be used as a signature to our weekly performances and it's not been evident when we've failed to penetrate deep defending from the opposition (although guile is the prefered choice when breaking down a team that parks the bus - you can hardly counter attack a wall that doesn't move). We are definitely more bullish than we've ever been. We just need an edge to our game, that extra dimension which has yet to be fully tapped. Always felt our counter-attacking style specifically is better described (by myself with ample dramatics) as fast fluid elegance that can pack a punch rather than sheer brutality in finish. We need to be aggressive in tempo as well as the counter.
Brings me nicely onto the next blog article about intensity.
Reader Comments (18)
I like what the man says .
Ditto. I'm liking what I'm hearing at present. Whereas Redknapp spoke in negatives, VB speaks in positives. When VB speaks, I want to hear more. When Redknapp spoke, all I wanted to do was shut him up. Especially when he opened his big gob to Sky, ESPN etc. Lets keep the good feeling going.
Great !...but how?
I like what the man does.
"We're trying to continue with the same system that Tottenham played most of the time last year"....that included Luka; if he goes, who keeps the ball moving?
4231 is my fave formation, but not my fave position?. I digress, A 4231 of Lloris, Walker, Kaboul, Vert, BAE. Sandro, Huddlestone, Lennon, Vdv, Bale, Ade would be a lovely bunch of chaps to get us going on the toon. Now where did I put my Stotie! With a bench of JD, New striker, Siggy, Townsend,Dawson, Gallas,. Now that gets me a little damp may I say. HHXX
Spurt, what Luka does isn't something that's exclusively copyrighted to him.
As long as he's replaced Spooky, with a like for like, then fine. But we don't have a squad replacement at present.
Be sad if there's no place for The Hudd next term and Sandro is a must.
"You're going home like Sandy Richardson"
Wondering how long the Luka saga is going to last before we know if he's going to stay or go. If nobody meets our valuation then we're stuck with him again. Not that it's a bad thing.
It's almost August.
Must admit I love the sound of that rhetoric. 4411, 442, 433, 4231 - the last two though are remarkably similar depending on the phase of the match. I would suggest that HH keeps her views, and especially about the lubrication of Hudd, to herself though. I've noticed she really is a Tommy tart tbf.
You can't replace modric with a single player, but with hudd you have passing range, Sigurdsson gives you dribbling and pace and Sandro gives you defensive aggression and pressure. Vertonghen brings the ball up from the back so you don't need to drop deep as much. The team, the system replaces him.
We've lost better players than him and come back stronger.
Heavens yes! Tactics?! TACTICS! Finally, genuine tactics!
God yes tactics, no "run about a bit" training mentality now. This could be such a good season & I hope AVB is given time because this can't happen overnight.
Dear Mr Levy, i'm loving your vision.
Are we assuming now Scott Parker is going to be injured, or not good enough to play alongside Sandro? I love Hudd, scored some memorable goals and generally been solid, but, to me, I think there's another year or two in Scotty that would be far more beneficial to us.
I worry about THudd and Sandro in the kind of midfield arrangement we saw Portugal sporting at the Euros. They are not exactly the Tika-Taka midfielder type. More like the "Oops...was that your femur, Mate?" tackling fools we've grown to love. I still think you need that in the EPL with all of the high-powered offenses on display, don't you?
"More Death Race than Herbie Goes Bananas"! lol
"guile is the prefered choice when breaking down a team that parks the bus - you can hardly counter attack a wall that doesn't move" If you are talking "aggression" surely you just knock the fucking wall over :-)