It was a bad game on so many levels, especially when it comes to our desire and unspoken goals.
What does the management want from the squad and this manager this season for the short and long term goals. To be honest with you, in every week, I still can't figure it out. We refrain from fielding in a young squad to acquire the knowledge and synergy in play for the upcoming seasons for the pretense that we are challenging for something, whether that was the title 2 months ago or the far-fetched Champions League ticket we seem to be wasting our time on.
Don't get me wrong, I do wish to get that 3rd place but the competition on that spot domestically and our aimless run in Europa and in the League is not a good sign at all. Performance wise, I have to be fair that nerazzurri4life did warn us on the signs of the lack of gameplay cohesion months ago regarding the training drills. Result wise, well... when the breathtaking "send the ball to Cassano and wait for it" and my favorite "quick find Palacio" tactics are predicted and figured out, then stopping you won't be difficult for the opposition.
A friend of mine said to me today that Lazio had a worse squad than ours regarding personnel, yet they are better when in comes to their performance. I say this because of the supporters who like to dismiss the Fiorentina argument with Montella in comparison to Inter because of their squad additions and technical players who are familiar with the league. Lazio can't be shunned however you look at it, even their manager is new to Serie A.
On the game, and the numbers don't lie:
Scott Parker, who I should apologize to for that puppy wig pic, was outstanding yesterday. The man was everywhere on the pitch, that is the type of a ball winner you want on your team unlike Gargano despite their differences. Parker had the most
touches on the ball yesterday with
97 and a
87% passing accuracy in comparison to our top
56 with
Zanetti and his
74% passing accuracy. Like I said, he was everywhere and that is what you expect from a midfielder of his caliber and tactical role. At times you wouldn't notice that Vertonghen pushed forward to crunch away the space for our midfielders or support his team mates with moving the ball out of defence, at that time Parker would slide in as a CB to cover for his boy. He intercepted many balls as well as pressuring and tackling our boys a lot when they had the ball or attempted to counter. On the attacking phase, he dribbled and was vital in initiating the attacks for Spurs, 2 of their great chances were from him.
Let's not forget the roles and freedom Sigurdsson, Vertonghen, Bale, and Defoe had with their shooting training at Handanovic. Thatdude yesterday mentioned the wingers of Tottenham and how they had a a strong pair of wingers with technical and athletic traits as well as pace. The problem is not only with the personnel but how they are implemented, an athletic figure like Bale and a technical one like Lennon function fluidly in a system that adopted the language of
triangles, quick passing, positional switch, and one-twos around our backline.
From our side, I agree that Cambiasso was poor yesterday despite his good run of form lately. Between the time we conceded the two goals, Cuchu seemed to move alongside of Gargano to a more advanced position than Kovacic who was driven back either for tactical reasons or the instict of a footballer to defend his half and deny the opposition space. Regardless, his role was wasted between the shifts if not from minute 1 in a game and a competition that I highly doubt everyone knew what did they want from. Kovacic to impress with his Dinamo experience in continental matches? If so then
. Gain an experience with a so called
team? Then wrong game, wrong time, and wrong lineup.
We lost the center of the pitch, and at times Spurs formation would change from a 4231/4411 to a 343 to accommodate their attacking play and covering responsibilities since they weren't bothered much with a lone forward. Pereira, Juan, and Chivu were butchered by Lennon & Walker. Bale's free role at the center was supported with crucial passes from Sigurdsson & Dembele as the Welsh had the freedom to move anywhere outside and inside our box. Our habit to bring the best in underperforming/quiet players is annoying and this time it was Sigurdsson's turn. Spurs off the ball movement, a thing we lack, is also remarkable. Lennon is also a hard man to mark and control. :irritate:
Our attack, aside from Alvarez who was trying to bring the team forward with his skills but in a squad that lacks the ABC in group play, there was little to nothing he could do. Cassano was invisible outside that pass to Alvarez, and it was a little surprise that he didn't even try a single shot. Back to what thatdude said about the wingers, do we have any form of logical rhythm in our attacking third? We opted to play Alvarez, a techical man, on the right to break through with his "trickery" to create a pressure. At the same time we used Pereira who, for god knows why, keeps playing his trademark "long cross to Falcao" every single game even though he knows Cassano and the word jump is just :nono:...
A mix of individual mistakes and a lack of a collective system could only withstand little pressure before they combust.
10 years of FIF
