Tactic Talk - Tottenham continue to threaten from all angles

By Bish on 15 February 2012 at 15:33

Tactic talk? Wha? Zonal Marking won't be breaking sweat at this write-up. 1-0: Obertan, instead of protecting the right wing from Assou-Ekotto and Bale, stands in centre midfield, miles from the left back. He stands watching the action, and when he finally notices Benny unmarked in the danger area, he chooses to watch the left back receive the ball and thump it into the net. Santon’s decision to follow Adebayor in pursuit of Bale’s return pass – rather than step up with the rest of his defence’s offside trap – cuts open a gaping chasm in the back line. 2-0: Adebayor’s pace destroys Coloccini down the right (what’s Coloccini doing there? Well, Santon got caught 15m in front of the rest of the back four, drawn to Kranjcar off the ball). Saha gets between Simpson and Williamson all too easily and unleashes an excellent first time finish which Krul bizarrely chooses not to stand up and put his hands behind. 3-0: Modric picks up the ball just inside the Newcastle half, left of centre. Obertan, standing at right back(??) watches; Perch makes a lame attempt to close down Modric, who rolls the ball to Assou-Ekotto (in acres of space, again). Both Perch and Obertan ball-watch while Modric nips behind the former into the channel, while BAE plays the through ball. Perch makes a desperate lunge at the ball but misses, leaving Modric free to waltz into the box and cross. Meanwhile, Perch chooses not to follow the nearby unmarked Saha into the danger area, instead following Obertan’s example of standing and watching his teammates struggle to cope with Spurs. Adebayor tees up the cross, and Saha drives it home. 4-0: Spurs counter quickly as Guthrie gives the ball away on the edge of the Spurs box, with Gutierrez, Perch and Obertan all positioned ahead of him. None track back, and instead watch as their exhausted teammates fail to deal with the counter attack. 5-0: Bale (now right of centre) pings it out to Assou-Ekotto, yet again all alone in acres of empty space. Maybe he smells. Obertan has been subbed in favour of Ferguson (Gutierrez switching to the right flank, in theory), who demonstrates just how much he’s learned from Gabby’s performance by standing in the traditional “nowhere near either player or ball” position and admiring Bale’s pass. Gutierrez half heatedly drifts out towards Benny and musters just enough enthusiasm to raise a leg, but fails to stop the cross coming in. Although Newcastle shirts outnumber Spurs ones by five to three, no one bothers to do much more than stand and watch as Adebayor acrobatically hooks Saha’s knock-down into the net. In short, Newcastle's (necessarily) attack minded midfield offered no support to a defence that would've probably struggled anyway. Santon in particular drifted out too often, leaving Spurs free to attack Newcastle on either wing without pressure - though it'd be cruel to single him out too much, given what a shower the players in front of him were. Obertan fancies himself as a creative, pacey player, but his refusal to make even a token gesture towards defending (by, say, holding position, or at least applying pressure by closing down his opposite number every now and then) mark him out as a liability. Spurs played well in taking advantage of Newcastle's weaknesses, but five goals was a bigger reflection of how utterly Newcastle failed to show up, than anything amazing on Tottenham's part.