Manchester Utd's Random Transfer Policy Weekly English Premier League Opinion #21 Jonny Carter gives his opinion on what seems to be a very random transfer policy of Manchester United. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Please let us know by commenting below.
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Has Pogba Just Lost the English Premier League Championship for Manchester Utd?Weekly English Premier League Opinion #15Jonny Carter gives his opinion on how Pogba's red card could have cost them any chance of winning the EPL.What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Please let us know by commenting below.
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Are Referees Really This Bad?Weekly English Premier League Opinion #15Jonny Carter gives his opinion on how to improve the refereeing in the EPL.What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Please let us know by commenting below.
Continue readingHOW THE MATCH WAS WON by Keith Scarlett English Premier League January 1, 2015 White Hart Lane Tottenham 5 - 3 Chelsea Talk about a way to end the holiday season in the Premier League: Chelsea's Jose Mourinho sank defensively at White Hart Lane while facing a Tottenham side with very fresh legs. Mauricio Pochettino's men
Continue readingBy Stevie Grieve
Since Andre Villas-Boas was (wrongly in my opinion) sacked, Tim Sherwood has made a case for staying on as Head Coach of Tottenham Hotspur, by bringing back an old-school type of 4-4-2 formation, introducing Emmanuel Adebayor (mainly to get the fans onside as AVB didn't use him) and when asked about the turnaround in fortunes of the team during his initial few games in charge, his response was very much a case of “I just put an arm around the players and make them feel good about themselves” – something that the English media love, and something which wears off on the players after the coach has been found to be struggling tactically when it matters.
One part of Sherwood’s 4-4-2 is that there seems to be an insistence of a ‘see-saw’ midfield, with the deepest central midfielder covering the middle line of the field. This is fine, as the other central midfielder doesn't drift any more than 12m away from the covering midfielder, as this can leave the midfield open to penetration, especially in transition – even more so against a team with 3 central midfielders.
In the recent game against Benfica in London, Spurs lost 1-3, mainly due to Benfica being the better team individually, but tactically also. Benfica regularly won the ball in the final 3rd, and could counter attack through the centre of midfield as Spurs central midfielders were too far apart to close down the space, and definitely too far away to press and delay the counter attack.
Spurs attacking build up on the left side
Eriksen – a natural number 10 – receives on the left side, from Naughton, the left back. As he receives, there is a
Continue readingBy Vasco Mota Pereira, PortuGOAL correspondent
Playing football it the highest echelons revolves around much more than simply nutmegs and tackles. Despite what the vox populi may have us thinking, results are more than the mere consequence of wanting the win more than one's opponent or "getting stuck into them".
Even though the motivational aspects of the game are all too important, the proper organisation of a team may help players even more - particularly when they are exhausted, hearts beating at 180 bpm and little oxygen actually getting to their brains, impairing the decision-making process. That is why well-oriented exercises in training sessions are vital to get the team to perform consistently week in, week out, rather than succumb to the players or supporters' moods.
As mentioned in the previous post, zonal marking seems to be all but disappearing in England. With the influx of foreign managers and players towards the Premier League, the English game became more Continental and not as insular - in short, less about individual duels as Sir Bobby Robson liked to emphasize during his stint in Portugal. However, with the advent of 4x2x3x1, teams tend to be a little less packed down the middle and to defend in two banks of four, often opening up huge gaps in between their lines.
After breaking down Manchester United's vulnerabilities, it is now time to take a look at Tottenham - specifically their match against Southampton a couple of weeks ago and the Saints' goal.
Tottenham had lost the ball a few seconds earlier whilst attacking down their left wing. Southampton followed the textbook and immediately
Continue readingBy Michele Tossani
Tim Sherwood has been appointed as André Villas-Boas's permanent successor at Tottenham Hotspur by the chairman Daniel Levy after he signed an 18-month contract. A Premier League victory at Southampton, his ambition and his attitude was enough to be named as permanent manager. It is unclear whether Sherwood will remain effectively the Tottenham manager through the 2014-15 season but the deal make him more sure about it. Sherwood’s coaching staff includes Chris Ramsey, Les Ferdinand and Steffen Freund. Sherwood already tried to put his mark on his side, trying to develop an attacking 4-2-4 featuring two centre-forwards and two attack-minded wide midfielders adding the playmaker Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembélé as central midfielders.
So an offensive shape made Spurs able to create a high number of goal scoring chances although it left them exposed to oppositions counterattacks. Sherwood seems to rely on
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By Vasco Mota Pereira
Last Saturday André Villas-Boas' Tottenham defeated Manchester United in their own turf, something Hotspurs hadn't done in 23 years - which may well be just what the doctor ordered for AVB's team. Every single goal from the Lilywhites came from United worryingly tendency to be overrun against stronger sides, over the past couple of years (namely after Carlos Queiroz left).
With Carrick and Scholes in the center, and Nani and Giggs on the wings, pockets of space were bound to appear on United's defensive midfield, but the appalling display from his midfield and defense must have Sir Alex Ferguson quite worried. For that matter, Tottenham's goals will be dissected, in order to shed some light over the Red Devils' frailties.
Tottenham goal #1
There were some repetitive patterns throughout the match as far as defensive positioning is concerned. In this particular case, you can see
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