** OMT - Tottenham Hotspur v Brentford **

[SpurMeUp]

There was no pressure on Dier at all
It was shocking technique

I just mean, if the game is played in our half, with the defensive constantly tested by us giving up possession, you open yourself up to deflections and mistakes. We need to hold the ball in some situations otherwise we won't move from a good to an elite team.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

I just mean, if the game is played in our half, with the defensive constantly tested you open yourself up to deflections, and more mistakes. We need to hold the ball in some situations otherwise we won't move from a good to an elite team.

We had 20% more possession than them and that was constant throughout the game. The game was played in their half mainly looking at the data available. Issue was errors that were unforced and poor marking.

 

[SpurMeUp]

We had 20% more possession than them and that was constant throughout the game. The game was played in their half mainly looking at the data available. Issue was errors that were unforced and poor marking.

Second half we were ontop. The main issue was first half, and there is a trend. When closed down with no outball we get rattled and can't hold the ball. We try to hit quickly on the counter but teams are ready. And all we do is hand back the initiative. That is what Conte needs to fix. 9 games in a row we've conceded the first goal.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Second half we were ontop. The main issue was first half, and there is a trend. When closed down with no outball we get rattled and can't hold the ball. We try to hit quickly on the counter but teams are ready. And all we do is hand back the initiative. That is what Conte needs to fix. 9 games in a row we've conceded the first goal.

We were on top all game
They scored with their second attack and their 4th
It was basic defensive errors that cost us and some poor decisions up front
Look at the heat map…they barely put us any pressure but looked lively on the counter because we were all over the place at the back

 

[braineclipse]

Second half we were ontop. The main issue was first half, and there is a trend. When closed down with no outball we get rattled and can't hold the ball. We try to hit quickly on the counter but teams are ready. And all we do is hand back the initiative. That is what Conte needs to fix. 9 games in a row we've conceded the first goal.

To be fair Brentford were forced to work really hard to make us look they poor in the first half. But we still have to do better.

Brentford are well organised, hard working, they know what they're doing. We had too many players not good enough on the ball to be useful on the ball. This to me is the pattern.

As you say, teams are ready, they know what's coming. It takes more ability on the ball to work around that. Hopefully Romero and Bentancur will be back and slot back in quickly. Even that's not enough really, but it's a solid step in the right direction.

Have to say there's an element of luck/coincidence involved in this pattern of conceding first as well. But that's not all of it for sure.

 

[Pirate55]

Second half we were ontop. The main issue was first half, and there is a trend. When closed down with no outball we get rattled and can't hold the ball. We try to hit quickly on the counter but teams are ready. And all we do is hand back the initiative. That is what Conte needs to fix. 9 games in a row we've conceded the first goal.

The main problem it seems to me is that we don't have a target man who can hold the ball up. Toney did this excellently for Brentford but Kane hardly ever wins a header against centre halves in build up play so we can't play long as it just makes us give up possession. And when Kane does manage to flick it on, invariably Son and Kulu are too far away and haven't anticipated it. Compare and contrast to Toney and ?Muemba's intuitive link up play.

And Son's first touch has been so poor for almost all of the season. I think I would now try and use him as an impact sub for when the game opens up and he has more space to run into. It worked a treat in the last 15 minutes against Leicester and I would do this again

We have needed a top centre forward for some time to enable Kane to drop deeper into the number 10 role he now prefers. I thought Richarliason may be that man but he isn't really dominating in the air. We need a Toney or Mitrovic type to really bully defences so that we can play long on occasions and retain possession.

Absent a "proper"centre forward, I would play three in midfield so we don't get outnumbered there and as such there should always be someone free to take the pass from our defenders.

 

[metalgear]

The main problem it seems to me is that we don't have a target man who can hold the ball up. Toney did this excellently for Brentford but Kane hardly ever wins a header against centre halves in build up play so we can't play long as it just makes us give up possession. And when Kane does manage to flick it on, invariably Son and Kulu are too far away and haven't anticipated it. Compare and contrast to Toney and ?Muemba's intuitive link up play.

To be fair Brentford were forced to work really hard to make us look they poor in the first half. But we still have to do better. Brentford are well organised, hard working, they know what they're doing. We had too many players not good enough on the ball to be useful on the ball. This to me is the pattern.

We defend as a team but we need to do better in attack. Too often we find our strikers isolated and its always puzzling to me that Perisic has time for a stepover and a turn before the cross into the box and we can't get 2-3 players to meet or take advantage of the mayhem that results.

If Brentford can work hard to make us look poor, then its a question of a fitness (players) or motiviation (coach) fix. We have more capable and better paid players and coach so it is really quite concerning. Our players consistently turning up in the second half is a major concern for me. It clearly shows a pattern and its not that they can't but they didn't - or won't - try as hard in the first half. Not being able to control games against teams much lower down the table also points to a lack of leadership on the pitch. I've seen a lot of people claim Kane, Dier and Hojberg as natural leaders but if so than they should be doing more to get the team going. Its not leadership if there are no followers.

 

[braineclipse]

The main problem it seems to me is that we don't have a target man who can hold the ball up. Toney did this excellently for Brentford but Kane hardly ever wins a header against centre halves in build up play so we can't play long as it just makes us give up possession. And when Kane does manage to flick it on, invariably Son and Kulu are too far away and haven't anticipated it. Compare and contrast to Toney and ?Muemba's intuitive link up play.

And Son's first touch has been so poor for almost all of the season. I think I would now try and use him as an impact sub for when the game opens up and he has more space to run into. It worked a treat in the last 15 minutes against Leicester and I would do this again

We have needed a top centre forward for some time to enable Kane to drop deeper into the number 10 role he now prefers. I thought Richarliason may be that man but he isn't really dominating in the air. We need a Toney or Mitrovic type to really bully defences so that we can play long on occasions and retain possession.

Absent a "proper"centre forward, I would play three in midfield so we don't get outnumbered there and as such there should always be someone free to take the pass from our defenders.

Those are some solutions, but not solutions we needed last season.

I'm quite happy seeing us with less possession (Brentford game not an example of that) as long as we look threatening on the break. I'm quite happy seeing us under pressure either against a high press or the "smothering" approach in midfield as long as we find those line breaking passes with some frequency.

We managed those things last season, first halves recently very much not.

A target man or extra midfielder could work. But the other solution is better line breaking and press breaking moves. For me at least Romero, Doherty, Bentancur and Kulusevski are all rather important in this regard. Get them back in and I think we will look better.

Just one of them missing is a problem. For me the solution to that should be better options in the squad rather than a change of system or going with a target man (which also would mean a change of system). Because both of those solutions come with other problems that will then have to be fixed.