Martin Keown dubbed Arsenal ‘naive’ as did Jermaine Jenas, but then went a little further by referring to Tottenham as streetwise. How times have changed that an Arsenal legend would go from being charitable about Spurs, to expressing disdain and despair at how far his side have fallen.
Keown makes many of the same points that we already know talking to the Daily Mail, that Arsenal had a tonne of possession, but failed to achieve anything of note with it.
Spurs remain top of the Premier League on goal difference, despite Liverpool’s despite thumping Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0. Obviously we’re only 11 games in, but what Mourinho has begun with Spurs is a process whereby Tottenham are achieving levels of consistency that many would have thought close to impossible.
Is the football sexy? I’d argue that if you don’t admire the quality of our teamwork, our technical and tactical brilliance then your best bet is not to watch us live. Stay up and watch Match Of The Day and then you can just get the goals.
your views are your views, mate, and you’re welcome to them.
I would only hope someone with your reported age, experience, matches-viewed etc, would not only look for highlights, but maybe seek out some detail.
im pretty sure we DIDNT watch the same game..or maybe one of us was watching through rose coloured spectacles? as for your description of how we played..id see it differently as in ..cram as many behind the ball as poss..then plonk a long ball out to son hoping he can find a bit of magic..that basically was sum total of tactics in my view.
as for kane and son,theres no reason to believe that if they scored 3 every game it follows that they would have to lose too.but it must be frustrating for those two to be classed as top tier world classattackers yet being asked to play as defensive midfielders almost…bit like asking lloris to play outside left and wondering if hes happy in his new position.i guess im in the minority here cos i want to see spurs win stuff,but not this way…and frankly when the fans finally return ,i dont think theyll like it either..i doubt any other fans of other clubs would either,unless it was very short term way to avoid relegation ,or to win title over last few games when a single point or two would acheive that…if other teams start adopting same tactics when playing us,and im sure they will,i doubt you would be able to GIVE match day tickets away.wasnt the whole idea of sport in general to be
entertaining,exciting ? well certainly times change ,and im guessing im older than most of you here,but me and my generation certainly had the best of it regarding watching football im sure…so i guess the “new generation” cares nothing ,or little for the” beautiful game” any more .winning.points over rules substance,shape and content now ..so maybe in the context of things youre lot are right..my views are wrong,outdated and out of touch…maybe the wheel will turn full circle again ..one can live in hope
Yep, selling good players and not replacing them never ends well. Dembele was the next one who wasn’t replaced either (Sissoko?) That’s when the decline really kicked in. All Levy’s fault…
I don’t think we watched the same game. We aren’t parking 11 behind the ball and hoofing it high and central like Stoke. If our initial press doesn’t succeed we reset with a back 4 and 2 deep, screening CMs with an aware quartet in front of that which we are both tracking runnings and trying to be open to play to and break (read: attack).
Also do you genuinely believe Kane and Son would rather score 3 every game but lose?
Yep, when he used the system of dropping Dier in between the CBs when our wingbacks went forward. When we sold Walker and then Dier reverted to a more standard DM we lost that
Jose deserves credit I agree, no matter what I think of how it’s being done.
We were very good defensively when Poch had us fresh and pumping, one of the best in the league…
Correctamundo.
Mostly sh*t teams play like this but Jose has made it his trademark doing it with better quality players over the years.
Can you imagine how terrible the Premier League would be if everyone played like this? I very much doubt it would be the brand it is… The Chavs game was an example of two teams refusing to take chances to win, mainly because of how defensive we were while carrying a threat on the break.
Mickey (he’s great, cos he won a trophy you know!) Arteta was too naive but you have to admit Lampard wasn’t ever going to get sucked in as he knows Jose like the back of his hand. Surely not every side we play will continue to fall into the same trap as Woolwich all season?
I liked Keown as a player. He was the kind of no-nonsense defender, who played with a real edge, (witness the epic ‘in your face’ meltdown against Van Nistleroy). My kind of player and he summarises, as a pundit, with honesty, just like he played. Not surprising therefore that he would notice and appreciate both the difference in Spurs’s defending and the palpable attitude change in us as a team these days.
I will embellish also the serious point you made about the ‘sexiness’ of our football. It surprised me, in commentating on our performance, that Redknapp and Souness would act like a couple of squawking amateur punters, rather than football purists. There are two sides to football, defensive and attacking. It’s almost impossible to win trophies unless you have both. Defending is an art form also. It has its own aesthetic, its own symmetry.
For a while we had it under Poch, leading the league in least goals conceded in 2016 and 2017. Unfortunately we lost it, but have now recaptured it and more. One goal conceded (which should have been disallowed) in our last 6 EPL games. This is the result of meticulous defensive game planning and tremendous discipline on the part of the players, buying into the system. Sexy? Put it this way, if it was a ‘bird’ you would sh*g it in a heart beat!
after sons goal ,i spent the rest of the game (stream) hoping against hope arsenal werent gonna score( and they very well could have)..even after kanes goal,i was thinking arsenal are gonna get 1 and we would fold. they didnt..so i guess mourinho has drilled the art of mass defending into his players and deserves credit.im wondering here though how long will son and kane be happy playing as defensive midfielders,with an occasional foray upfield.? as much ,if not more, im wondering how long I wanna watch son and kane playing as auxillary centre halves lol….i mean this is the way teams like stoke west brom etc used to play against us during the bale, van de vaart ,modric days and on occasion won…but they were still crap teams .
Check goals against in the 2015/16 and 16/17 tables.
I love it. And don’t forget, Jose knows that the way to win titles is to hammer the weak and not lose to the strong.
Now we can officially defend, I don’t fear us playing anyone, and I haven’t been able to say that in a long long time (if ever).
Jose needs lots of credit, he has worked within ENICs perimeters spending only 60 million in a squad over haul. He has players all singing off the same hymn sheet consistently (something Poch lost) and whilst we had a number of great performances under Poch there were a lot of lacklustre performances if look back objectively. This is a squad performing within its capability envelop, which should be easier to maintain esp in the last 3 months of the season were we have fallen off when in contention for trophies.