Part Two then. That was a brand that must have lost fortunes in the UK. Are they still going? I was more into my Liberto. They had a lovely shop on the Kings Road at that time. I think they are still about. Liberto aren’t. Whadda I know?
Part Two were Danish. I’m sure they were. So’s Eriksen. There you go. The most redundant/unintentionally contrived ‘degrees of separation’ thingy you’ll probably ever read.
This whole Soldado thing is beginning to get my goat somewhat. I even read somewhere this morning, one fan sharing the fear that we might have bought a €30m lemon.
Soldado has done nothing so far other than exhibit some rather instinctive and intelligent indicators that he’s every bit the real deal.
Of course, that is ‘if’ you’re prepared to factor in his single inability to score even one Premier League goal in open play. Which having been blessed with an IQ the size of a rather large planet, I am.
Soldado has shown us that he has excellent movement. He has shown us he has a brain that functions at the speed of light. He has shown he has an exquisite shot on him.
So what is this, then? An apology note? Ah, I know. This is where you blame Townsend. I saw your snide little Tweet yesterday. “Another fine clearance” is what you called one of his shots. Some fan you are. Can’t even be bothered to go the stadium and sit in near silence like the rest of us true fans!
Well sort of, but not really.
At this juncture I need to say that my favourite post match day site is Squawka. What a fantastic resource – and one that is quick, slick and and a joy to use. Squawka is primarily your friend, because if like me, you don’t really find stats all that particularly wonderful, the manner in which they present them is easy to understand. Allowing you to apply them in a meaningful manner to the game you’ve just watched.
Spurs made 17 shots on goal against Norwich. 1o of those were off target. 9 of that 17 were courtesy of Andros Townsend. Which means he, one man, failed to convert over 50% of our striking opportunities on goal.
This is not good. Some might go as far as to suggest that this is the opposite of good.
The reason I’m picking on focusing on Townsend is that he wasted a hell of a lot of opportunities. Of course, we all know what the possible upside might have been for him. Had even one or more gone in, it was all ‘home in time for tea and medals.’ He generated 9 shots, of which several of which were on target, but none were significantly directed far enough away from the Norwich goalie to actually go in.
And while in this less than charitable mood, I’d suggest that another charge could be brought against him. That of also behaving like Defoe when laying the ball off in an attacking position. What am I talking about? Well, the rule of thumb employed here is, ‘if I can’t shoot, I’ll lay off a dull ball to someone else, so I can get myself into a better position, in order that I can.’
This is horrible, and needs to stop. The AVB template doesn’t facilitate selfishness well. His brave new world is all about versatility and sharing.
So we know for sure that which definitely did not happen. But what might have happened?
In this match Siggy and Eriksen more or less personified how to do it right. The Siggster made 4 attempts on goal. 2 went in. His pass completion rate was a whopping 91%. Eriksen had 3 failed attempts on goal, but his pass completion rate was strong also at 87%. He was also, in loose terms, a bit of a doll.
Andros made an okay pass completion rate of 79%; but when you strip it down his overall contribution to the game and the team was less and that’s my beef. He needs to offer more to the team. We’re not auditioning foe a Bale replacement. We’re looking for a crew that can get us a top four finish.
Wild potshots from range will not achieve this. Fueling a €30m man probably will. Certainly, it will greatly aid that cause.
André needs to ‘tweak’ a few things, but the glaringly obvious task is to get Soldado identified to everyone, perhaps specifically, Andros, as the pistolier. You know, much like Roman tried to with Torres, except Soldado is still worth passing to.
Soldado predominantly scores from inside the penalty area; so stop firing the goddamn thing over his head. Roll it into his path and let’s do this right!
