Here are the match positions which illustrate at once how Manchester City was far more attack-minded – so all the nonsense about Mason reinstalling the Tottenham DNA, fast free-flowing football was pure hokum. Nothing more. Baseless. A fairy tale.
Typical Tottenham when it came to the getup and go. Look at the possession graphic above and the attacks-per-minute graphic below. What we see is the activity of bang average team, that’s hoping for a break, has a go and then fizzles out when it doesn’t happen.
For those wondering what pre-empted the peak – Mason began his substitutions shortly afterwards. When incidentally – they had less than zero impact.
When we look at transitions, that’s where really see how inept Tottenham were. This is the side that Jamie Redknapp told us was ‘packed with internationals’!
Worse yet, when we drill down into the quality of Spurs’ passing we find no indication of Ryan Mason’s attacking prowess.
The sooner Mason and all the fake praise are slung out – the better.
Same players – different manager – a new spin. No opinion, just raw data.
Thanks, but no, thanks, Ryan.