Life after Carrick - Enter The Hudd
The usual Spurs ITK's are reporting that the club has agreed a fee with Manchester United for Michael Carrick, £14million up front rising to £18million with future clauses. United's own ITKs are apparently reporting the same and that The Independent will run the story tomorrow. A good price for a player who isn't fully committed to the cause and an immediate £10million+ profit. There have been some suggestions amongst the media and a section of Spurs fans that Carrick should be replaced; with Van Bommel and Gravesen amongst the touted names. Personally, I think the solution can and should be found from existing personnel. "Who" and "how" will be the questions facing Jol.
1. LIKE FOR LIKE
-------------Robinson-------------
Stalteri-----Dawson-----King-----Lee
Jenas--Huddlestone--Zokora
Lennon------------------------------------
-------------------------Keane
-----------Berbatov------------
Stalteri-----Dawson-----King-----Lee
Jenas--Huddlestone--Zokora
Lennon------------------------------------
-------------------------Keane
-----------Berbatov------------
Should Jol decide that he wants to persevere with a deep lying playmaker, then it is pretty clear that Tom Huddlestone is best suited to such duties. Huddlestone is, as far as I'm concerned, the biggest uncapped talent in England, by some distance. In fifteen years I have not seen another English player with his natural attributes, both physical and technical, never mind one at his age.
To base a team around Huddlestone as he did with Carrick would be a bold and commendable move by Jol, and build the team around him he must, since Huddlestone's defensive understanding of the game still requires much improvement. Therefore, it is necessary to 'protect' him, and would require a change of system. Specifically, Huddlestone needs mobile 'destroyers' covering him laterally since he lacks the same mobility that allowed Carrick to carry out regular holding duties such as covering the fullbacks and neutralising threats on the flanks.
Fortunately, Spurs are blessed with plenty of these kind of players who can play a little deeper alongside Huddlestone but have the athleticism to get forward and support the attack. Jenas and Zokora are the two obvious choices for this role, and also the most likely to be picked by Jol. Jenas is a favourite who always plays when fit and Zokora is a major summer signing and will expect to be in the side, and rightly so given his World Cup performances and the size of his transfer fee. Tainio (who I would personally choose alongside Zokora and Huddlestone), Davids and Ghaly are all suited to the role, and indeed have all played there this preseason.
Ahead of them, Berbatov leads the line with support from Keane and Lennon. To make it clear, Keane is not a winger in this system, but will have to be prepared to offer width by moving to the left flank so as not to ask too much from Lee Young-Pyo at leftback (a common problem last season). This system does require the fullbacks to get forward consistently to support attacks and provide width, countering the more defensive roles of the three central midfielders. Both Lee and Benoit Assou-Ekotto seem equipped for this, and whilst Stalteri (despite what his critics may argue) is competent going forward it may be necessary for Comolli to find a more obviously attacking fullback for the right side.
2. PURE ATHLETICISM
------------Jenas----Zokora------------
Lennon-----------------------Routledge
----------Berbatov-----Defoe---------
A common criticism of the team last season, and a real weakness in my eyes, was a lack of variation in tempo. Carrick, for all his strengths, tends to take time on the ball, assessing options, and if necessary waiting for an opening or the right movement to service the players ahead of him. Whilst this can be spectacular when he hits the right pass, it does mean the opposition is nearly always back and set, compressing the space. The contrast with teams such as Chelsea who base their whole attacking philosophy around quickly exploiting players out of position during the transitions could hardly be more obvious. Therefore, perhaps it's time to dispense with the deep-lying playmaker altogether.
Spurs, in my opinion, have plenty of players who are well suited to a high tempo game aswell as being good enough on the ball switch to a slower possession game. With Zokora and Jenas in the middle, there is no obvious ball player, but with two pacey ball carrying wide players ahead of them and good movement from the two strikers there is no need for anything beyond simple effective passing. The two strongest African teams in the World Cup, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, played in this kind of style, and the results were a joy to watch. With the recovery speeds of the players in such a line up, it would be both difficult for teams to exploit us during transitions and for them to neutralise our threat on the break.
The main problem with this system is the lack of a genuine ball carrying left winger/midfielder. I've gone for Routledge from the existing personnel, since he would at least be able to alternate with Lennon on the other flank. Given that fluidity and movement are the name of the game here, it isn't necessarily a major problem not to have a left footer on the left of midfield, since all of the attacking players should be interchanging anyway, although it does provide another means of attack. Assou-Ekotto's pace on the overlap could provide an answer.
It could be quite reasonably argued that Spurs simply don't have the right personnel, combining craft AND athleticism, to play this way as yet.
3. ADVANCED PLAYMAKER
To base a team around Huddlestone as he did with Carrick would be a bold and commendable move by Jol, and build the team around him he must, since Huddlestone's defensive understanding of the game still requires much improvement. Therefore, it is necessary to 'protect' him, and would require a change of system. Specifically, Huddlestone needs mobile 'destroyers' covering him laterally since he lacks the same mobility that allowed Carrick to carry out regular holding duties such as covering the fullbacks and neutralising threats on the flanks.
Fortunately, Spurs are blessed with plenty of these kind of players who can play a little deeper alongside Huddlestone but have the athleticism to get forward and support the attack. Jenas and Zokora are the two obvious choices for this role, and also the most likely to be picked by Jol. Jenas is a favourite who always plays when fit and Zokora is a major summer signing and will expect to be in the side, and rightly so given his World Cup performances and the size of his transfer fee. Tainio (who I would personally choose alongside Zokora and Huddlestone), Davids and Ghaly are all suited to the role, and indeed have all played there this preseason.
Ahead of them, Berbatov leads the line with support from Keane and Lennon. To make it clear, Keane is not a winger in this system, but will have to be prepared to offer width by moving to the left flank so as not to ask too much from Lee Young-Pyo at leftback (a common problem last season). This system does require the fullbacks to get forward consistently to support attacks and provide width, countering the more defensive roles of the three central midfielders. Both Lee and Benoit Assou-Ekotto seem equipped for this, and whilst Stalteri (despite what his critics may argue) is competent going forward it may be necessary for Comolli to find a more obviously attacking fullback for the right side.
2. PURE ATHLETICISM
-------------Robinson-------------
Stalteri---Dawson---King---A.Ekotto------------Jenas----Zokora------------
Lennon-----------------------Routledge
----------Berbatov-----Defoe---------
A common criticism of the team last season, and a real weakness in my eyes, was a lack of variation in tempo. Carrick, for all his strengths, tends to take time on the ball, assessing options, and if necessary waiting for an opening or the right movement to service the players ahead of him. Whilst this can be spectacular when he hits the right pass, it does mean the opposition is nearly always back and set, compressing the space. The contrast with teams such as Chelsea who base their whole attacking philosophy around quickly exploiting players out of position during the transitions could hardly be more obvious. Therefore, perhaps it's time to dispense with the deep-lying playmaker altogether.
Spurs, in my opinion, have plenty of players who are well suited to a high tempo game aswell as being good enough on the ball switch to a slower possession game. With Zokora and Jenas in the middle, there is no obvious ball player, but with two pacey ball carrying wide players ahead of them and good movement from the two strikers there is no need for anything beyond simple effective passing. The two strongest African teams in the World Cup, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, played in this kind of style, and the results were a joy to watch. With the recovery speeds of the players in such a line up, it would be both difficult for teams to exploit us during transitions and for them to neutralise our threat on the break.
The main problem with this system is the lack of a genuine ball carrying left winger/midfielder. I've gone for Routledge from the existing personnel, since he would at least be able to alternate with Lennon on the other flank. Given that fluidity and movement are the name of the game here, it isn't necessarily a major problem not to have a left footer on the left of midfield, since all of the attacking players should be interchanging anyway, although it does provide another means of attack. Assou-Ekotto's pace on the overlap could provide an answer.
It could be quite reasonably argued that Spurs simply don't have the right personnel, combining craft AND athleticism, to play this way as yet.
3. ADVANCED PLAYMAKER
-------------Robinson-------------
Stalteri-----Dawson-----King-----Lee
Stalteri-----Dawson-----King-----Lee