Spurs 23/24: I'm Loving Big Ange Instead

[scott bankheadcase]

And just when Spurs get Son back and are starting to feel healthy....

Udogie and Porro both out tomorrow. Looking like maybe Royal and Davies in those spots? Both are capable if not spectacular.

 

[Zososoxfan]

I feel like Dragusin will get the nod over Royal. When Ange has been involved with a player's recruitment it seems to be because those players fit the profile he wants. I'm a big Royal defender and I think Spurs supporters display a lack of knowledge when they slag him off harshly, but I think Drago starts at RB and Davies starts on the left. One thing about Ange has been clear--even if a player isn't the perfect fit for a role, if said player gets deployed there he's expected to play the position as designed. So Davies will be asked to get forward and contribute in attack. He might need a sub after all the running he'll have to do.

The other fun alternative would be to put Drago at LCB and move VDV out left, but I'm personally a believer in changing as little as possible (i.e., replacing the FBs and leaving the CBs, as opposed to changing the starter at 3 spots).

Is Sess in the squad? Maybe Deki at RB and Johnson at RW?

 

[DJnVa]

No more Brannan Johnson slander. None.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Werner is exactly as advertised--tons of good work down the flank and creating chances, but the finishing is yakety sax. Still a valuable player for the squad, and I expect he'll be kept and others will be moved.

 

[scott bankheadcase]

Werner is exactly as advertised--tons of good work down the flank and creating chances, but the finishing is yakety sax. Still a valuable player for the squad, and I expect he'll be kept and others will be moved.

Hoping, much like sometimes a seeing-eye single can break you out of a slump, him finishing that cross last week will give him more confidence in finishing moving forward.

It's a very optimistic hope, but if he can get really rolling then I think top 4 is very doable.

 

[Kliq]

A pretty gigantic game this Sunday against Villa.

 

[DJnVa]

A pretty gigantic game this Sunday against Villa.

Yeah--a win and top 4 looks good. A draw and it's iffy. A loss means we're rooting for top 5 to make CL.

 

[DJnVa]

Werner is exactly as advertised--tons of good work down the flank and creating chances, but the finishing is yakety sax. Still a valuable player for the squad, and I expect he'll be kept and others will be moved.

I heard on a pod that the biggest problem with Werner is that people classify him as some goal scoring winger and then rate him low when he's bad at that because his finishing is bad. If they would classify him correctly, then he looks perfectly cromulent.

I'd keep him assuming Ange is happy, because he'll be bedded into the system.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Yeah--a win and top 4 looks good. A draw and it's iffy. A loss means we're rooting for top 5 to make CL.

Even with some not-so-great results yesterday, Opta still rates England as having a 65% chance of getting a 5th CL spot.

View: https://twitter.com/NilsMackay/status/1766033324458323989

 

[DJnVa]

Ange's best game, and Fulham and Luton up next. That was needed.

The first time Villa failed to score at home under Emery.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

The defense was incredibly encouraging, very few dangerous shots on target and it looked to me like the team was getting the hang of, frankly, the annoying tactical fouling that's needed to make possession football work these days.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Terrific match yesterday. What stood out to me was how every Spurs player was a threat to create something. In the first half, Deki was probably the most tame and I mean that as a compliment to the team.

I thought Johnson was MOTM yesterday. He was torching every defender, going direct, and even played some good D in the second half. Tons of credit go to Sarr for the sublime assist to open the scoring and to Maddison for breaking the deadlock and clearly being the focal point for breaking down a tight defensive block, but Johnson played a nearly perfect game IMO.

I'm pretty worried about VDV's injury. Dragusin looked a bit shaky coming in for him and granted it's an unexpected appearance against a good side, but there's a real dropoff. Romero looked shaky at times and VDV was there to clean everything up. He's a real luxury and allows Romero to make the most of his offensive abilities.

Deki also played a huge part in this W as his superb touch and combination play set off the break that led to the first goal. His pressing also led to the second goal. Class player, even if I'm not entirely sure he's a perfect fit for the system yet.

Son was pressing hard all match and while it wasn't crucial to the win, his finish on the third goal was classy AF.

I thought Biss was just OK and he looked nervy at times, but he was also the destroyer+ that stirred the drink.

Porro's return was immense on both sides of the ball--his defensive improvement is astounding to me still, and Udogie is still a terrific player at LB even if he's not releasing passes quite soon enough yet.

Another stellar performance from Vicious Vic in net!

COYS!!

 

[DJnVa]

Brennan Johnson is awesome off the bench. That is all.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Brennan Johnson is awesome off the bench. That is all.

The match completely swung after Deki was swapped out with Johnson. My question is, why doesn't Johnson start? I know he makes his share of mistakes but seems much more suited to the way Ange wants to play.

And here's hoping for VDV coming back soon. Dragusin may be playing a bit out of position but the difference is startling.

 

[DJnVa]

The match completely swung after Deki was swapped out with Johnson. My question is, why doesn't Johnson start? I know he makes his share of mistakes but seems much more suited to the way Ange wants to play.

And here's hoping for VDV coming back soon. Dragusin may be playing a bit out of position but the difference is startling.

VDV was on the bench, so he's close. Dragusin is definitely different, and I like him, but it's...different.

The early goal they allowed started after Deki cut inside, had a channel to shoot and didn't. He laid it off, behind everyone, and Luton broke out. Ange said after game Deki was cutting inside too much and wanted a change.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Dragusin to me clicked in the second half when he really started eliminating people off the dribble in the buildup.

He's still not a natural LCB, but that helped clarify what his deal is for me.

 

[DJnVa]

Johnson leads the PL in goal involvements off the bench.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Didn't get to watch the match closely yesterday, but Spurs earned an annoying draw at Bubble Station.

Brennan was very good I thought, and it was the other attackers that were wasteful with chances. Son was poor, Madders only got going in the second half before getting subbed off, and Timo did well to assist on the goal but was otherwise quiet.

I thought it was one of Porro's worst matches for Spurs. He just couldn't get the final product and his decision-making in the final third was lacking.

 

[DJnVa]

Yeah, was kind of a meh match, but on the road at West Ham isn't easy.

Hopefully Man City takes care of Villa today and Spurs will be 2 points back and an extra game to play.

 

[Zososoxfan]

I missed the first 30 minutes of this game, but the 2nd half was pretty electric from Spurs yesterday.

VDV is a gamechanger for us, and we are considerably worse when he's out. Of course his PISS MISSILE (my buddy's term) is the highlight, but his ability to clean up everything behind for 2/3 of the width is a luxury. I'm not asleep on Romero either who's a very solid defender and just immaculate with his passing. They're really one of the best CB pairings out there and hopefully next season with some recruitment and training, this club can improve the defense.

PEH changed the game after coming on in the second half. He was excellent for 25 minutes, settling us in possession, picking up great positions all over the field, and really moving the ball around with his passing range. He then also showed us why he isn't starting in the last 15-20 minutes as he made bad passes and didn't look calm in possession. Nevertheless, I like the guy and hope he finds a good landing place this summer.

Werner and Johnson again looked like pretty solid fits at winger for Ange ball. Werner is an assist machine and Johnson is definitely growing in confidence. We need more end product out of both, but some of that is on Son, who had a baaaaad day other than his assist to VDV.

Madders to me looks like he's starting to get healthy. He's been poor for the most part since returning from injury, but he's by far our most talented player, so he should still play loads.

I thought Porro wasn't great until his goal, and I've been slightly down on him lately. I assume most of this is due to minutes played, but the guy can strike a ball.

Udogie's form is also dipping a bit, but he's still such a great player. He did seem at fault for the NF goal, but his runs forward give Timo the space he needs to operate. With a more plausible rotation option behind him, hopefully he can be optimized next season.

NF just isn't very good though, and Spurs were a bit fortunate to get the 3 points. In particular, that post that Wood hit at 35635653 MPH was uber silly and could've changed the complexion of the game.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

When it comes to Udogie and Sarr, I give them both a lot of leeway because I had zero expectation that they would be as good as they have been this season at age 21 in their first full PL campaigns. Locked in iron consistency isn't there for either of them yet, but the highs are very high.

Sarr in particular, I think people clock his ranginess and great ground coverage because it's quite obvious, but I think his speed of thought and speed of play when he's playing well is under discussed. Commentators would be calling him a bit of a genius in the midfield all the time with how he pushes the tempo if he was Peter Michael Starr.

 

[scott bankheadcase]

Werner and Johnson again looked like pretty solid fits at winger for Ange ball. Werner is an assist machine and Johnson is definitely growing in confidence. We need more end product out of both, but some of that is on Son, who had a baaaaad day other than his assist to VDV.

It's crazy that I mainly agree about Son, except even in that bad day, he assists VDV's goal, has the through pass to Werner that results in the OG and clanks a shot off the post (after a fingertip save).

 

[Zososoxfan]

It's crazy that I mainly agree about Son, except even in that bad day, he assists VDV's goal, has the through pass to Werner that results in the OG and clanks a shot off the post (after a fingertip save).

Agreed. This season has been a good reminder of no matter what system Son plays in, he's world class at the most important skill in the sport--putting the ball in the net. He's 5th in the EPL in G+A with 15G, 9A (Watkins, Salah, Palmer, Haaland in case you're wondering, and Palmer benefits from 8 PK goals, and Salah 5, to Son's 1, Haaland's 3, and Watkins' 0 (!)).

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Agreed. This season has been a good reminder of no matter what system Son plays in, he's world class at the most important skill in the sport--putting the ball in the net. He's 5th in the EPL in G+A with 15G, 9A (Watkins, Salah, Palmer, Haaland in case you're wondering, and Palmer benefits from 8 PK goals, and Salah 5, to Son's 1, Haaland's 3, and Watkins' 0 (!)).

And Sonny played his 400th game as a Spur as well as being the 5th highest goal scorer in the club's history. What a career he has carved for himself.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Some interesting talk about striker targets starting to heat up. Well known players Spurs are likely sniffing around include Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Alex Isak, and Nico Williams. The other name that seems to be gaining steam is Sporting's Swede Gyökeres. Since I doubt Son is getting sold, I would presume that any of these acquisitions is contingent on Richy heading out.

 

[DJnVa]

Well, this sucks