AVB formula for success

With AVB saying we are likely to continue to play 4-3-3 for most of the season we have been looking at it through a series of articles. This one looks at the Andre Villas-Boas team make up. You can fins links to previous articles at the end of this one.

Under Harry Redknapp Spurs game centered around Luka Modric and when he was sold fans called for his replacement, howver Aandre Villas-Boas has adopted a different approach that involves the team instead of the individual. Now there is a more patient probing approach to the Spurs game.

A look at the Porto side gives us the basic formula that Villas-Boas is using with a little tweak.

He coached a highly talented Porto team to an undefeated Portuguese league title, won the Portuguese Cup and won the Europa League. He had them playing a 4-3-3 system. The front three were left-footed player (Hulk) on the right wing, a goal scorer central (Radamel Falcao) and a more traditional winger on the left (Silvestre Varela, James Rodriguez).

Look at Spurs new squad and you will see similarities, Lamela, Soldado, and Chadli. One is a young, goal-scoring winger, a poacher central and a more traditional winger on the right, although perfectly capable od scoring themselves. As back up you have another poacher type in Defoe, a traditional type winger in Lennon and Townsend with an eye for goal. Adebayor offers an alternative but is a goalscorer when on his game.

His Porto three-man midfield operated in a triangle with a holding player at it's base. The key elements were movement and interchangeability to be able to transform defence into attack quickly.

When he arrived at Chelsea he amended that approach, saying: “You lose a little bit of balance in the Premier League if you play that way. Transitions here are much more direct, making the importance of the number 6 to stay in position most decisive."

The creative hub of Porto was a deep lying playmaker (Joao Moutinho) who of course we tried to sign but that approach now looks to have been abandoned with the purchase of Christian Eriksen, in favour of creativity higher up the pitch. The number 10 role behind the striker is now the creative hub with a solid defensive midfielder (Sandro, Capoue, Holtby) and an energetic box to box midfielder (Paulinho, Dembele, Holtby). Gylfi Sigurdsson it would seem is now the understudy to Eriksen in this system although Chadli can play there also. Plenty of fans like Holtby there but AVB has already said and Holtby agreed that his best role is probably as a number 6 and not a number 10.

The high line defence was a Porto trait and has been replicated at Spurs. Danny Rose and Kyle Walker are both very quick full-back able to support attack and get back into defence. Jan Vertonghen is a mobile central defender comfortable on the ball. Chiriches is in the same mold. Dawson, it is safe to say, has surprised AVB with his adaptibility and Younis Kaboul is again quick and likes the ball at his feet.

The Spurs squad now resembles his Porto squad, we can expect a similar brand of football with a tweak in midfield, the creativity moved forward. When you hear of transfer targets the first thing to do is look at the type of player they are and which position they would slot into, remembering all we are doing is replacing a cog. That will tell you if they are a genuine transfer target or just a newspaper fiction.

The midfielders must be strong and mobile to close down the middle of the field and win the ball back in positions to transition quickly into attack.

The forward and wingers who receive the ball quickly can combine with the attacking midfielder to create chances. That is one option.

The other is grind them down. Our game often seems slow and to be built on relentlessness rather than creativity. The overriding impression last season and the beginning of this one is not one of speedy attacks but more of a tank moving forward, again and again and again until something gives.

Our philosophy looks to be one of, if you sustain the pressure long enough your opponent is bound to crack eventually, and when they do, a combination of skillful attackers will play an important pass, finish a lightning-quick move, and score a goal. The possession stats seem to bear this out, 52% possession at home and 53% possession away last season.

Spurs game is no longer centered around one player but a new system approach involving the team which makes it a lot easier to replace a part, you simply slot a replacement in. If you lose a star player it won't destroy the system, it's the healthy approach rather than unhealthy centered around one player approach. There is room for individual brilliance of course there is but that is merely the cherry on top.

Within the system the squad can now be rotated, all playing the same way rather than having to change the system because a player is missing. Having said that there is still the ability for tactical flexibility, a 4-3-3 can change into a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-1-4-1 with very little disruption.

The other crucial and overlooked element by most fans is the mental side of the game. AVB was charged with changing the mentality of the club form we hope to achieve success to we expect to achieve success, he was asked to create a winning mentality.

During the first part of the season Spurs were regularly conceding goals, partly this was due to taking off strikers and bringing on defensive players pushing the defence back thereby abandoning the high line. This creates a negative mindset, an all hands to the pump firefighting type of feeling. When AVB realised this and after we conceded two against Everton having been in a winning position after 90 minutes, the training was changed.

Concentration had to be improved. No more were defenders brought on to hold a lead and the result was only one goal conceded after 80 minutes for the rest of the season, a penalty against Liverpool. At the other end however late goals were scored against Man Utd, Everton, Southampton and Sunderland at home as well as West Ham, Chelsea, Wigan and Stoke away. The most memorable in Europe was the Bale free-kick against Lyon with virtually the last kick of the game.

There is now a never give up mentality, a determination not to concede late that augers well for the future.

Now that AVB has the pieces in place it will be interesting to see how the system develops and performs as it is in place for years to come.

Previous Articles:
Tottenham - A Tactical Analysis
Video - The 4-3-3 Explained
Player Roles Within A 4-3-3
Players Attacking Roles Within A 4-3-3 System

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Eric Dier a 19 year-old to watch

I brought to the attention, through my Facebook page [Tottenhem Memorabilia], around March time a young English player by the name of Eric Dier.

I reported how he had grown up in Portugal and learnt his football there with Sporting, formerly known as Sporting Lisbon. The article was looking at training methods and the difference between his football upbringing and the upbringing of footballers in the UK.

During the summer the England U19 player was linked with Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd and ourselves among others. He has now graduated to the England U21 set up and played against Moldova recently.

Portuguese newspaper Record are reporting that he has been offered a new deal, his existing one runs out in 2016, but that he is unlikely to sign it unless it is improved.

He current contract was when he was coming through the ranks but he is now established in the first team, after breaking through last season and so is after an improved contract. They report that the Portuguese club want to insert a £38.02 million (€45m) release clause in his contract but can't pay him the wages to justify it, which does rather leave them in an awkward situation.

Apparently he has a £16.90 million (€20m) buyout clause at the moment which is either standard or an indication of how they see him developing. I would suggest the former but wishing to over double his value does suggest they consider him to be a valuable asset they can capitalise on at a later date.

That all sounds reasonable enough but with English clubs circling more money will be on the table over here so it's a decision he will have to take. He is unlikely to walk into a side a side though so if he did sign, would he stagnate, would he be loaned out to a Premier League or Championship club or would and should he be loaned back to Sporting.

It seems to me that when clubs eventually get their heads round Financial Fair Play and devise a strategy to deal with it, buying up all the young talent is going to be a major part. I can then see them being loaned out to learn their trade and get regular football to develop.

If this is the case it would be sensible to have tie ups with clubs in various leagues around Europe who we could loan players to, much like we have done with Swindon Town. It would require discussions with club management and agreements in place as to the type of football each team is going to play in the long term, in other words we would want footballing teams and not long ball merchants. Both Chelsea and ourselves have a tie-up with Royal Antwerp in Belgium, it would make sense to have one in Holland.

At the end of the day having bought young talent and developed it you would sell a lot of it on for a profit and keep the best for yourself, just the way the academy works at the moment.

Tim Sherwood is in charge of player development at Spurs and is highly though of by Daniel Levy. I wonder if Spurs already have this in mind and that Sherwood's role is going to become more international and arguably more important.

Franco Baldini has certainly been tasked with unearthing new young talent and our scouts are working towards that end, only recently we read stories of a young 18 year-old Frenchman at PSG being watched by our scouting team.

Dier is currently 19 and we were apparently prepared to pay £4.22 million (€5m) for him but Sporting wanted £6.34 million (€7.5m). He played 14 league games last season as a right-back, a centre-back and defensive midfielder before he fractured his rib in April. He scored 1 goal which came in only his second game, from right-back. He also appeared for England at the Under 20 World Cup playing 3 times, the Under 19 European Championships playing 3 times and 2 international friendlies at age level.

I pointed him out as one to keep an eye on, it seems teams are now doing just that.

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The series continues tonight 10.21pm

Released tonight at 10.21pm (22.21hrs) UK time is another in the tactical series, which has grown from an initial article, where we are continuing to look at the 4-3-3 system Andre Villas-Boas expects to play for most of the season.

The system changes into what looks like a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 or 4-5-1 depending upon the game situation but starts and reverts back to a 4-3-3.

The article tonight entitled, AVB Formula For Success, is the 5th in the series and looks at the replication of his Porto side at Tottenham. Is there a misconception over his use of inverted wingers? Tonight's article will help you answer that.

Once you see the team blueprint you will be able to identify the type of player we want, you'll better be able to see which future targets are genuine and which are newspaper speculation when it all starts again in a couple of months.

Previous Articles in the Series:
Tottenham: A Tactical Analysis - looks at our system through the eyes of the Arsenal game
Video: The 4-3-3 Explained - explains player and ball movement within the system to enable you to recognise patterns of play.
Player Roles Within A 4-3-3 - lists the basic defensive roles for each player
Players Attacking Roles Within A 4-3-3 System - lists the basic attacking roles of each player

Immediate Future Articles:
AVB Formula For Success - (tonight 10.21pm , 22.21hrs UK time)
Walker - Understanding The Maligned Full-Back Role  (Wed  10.46pm, 21.46hrs UK time)

Looking further forward I'll produce articles to look at the centre-backs, midfield, wide men and the central striker, although I don't suppose we should leave the goalkeeper out, can't have him feeling unloved, so an article on his role as well.

That makes for around 11 articles to begin with, I say to begin with, there were only going to be two but a series has morphed out of it so who knows how many there will eventually be. Spread over time, although I've crushed a few in before our next game to aid your viewing experience, I hope you are enjoying and will enjoy the series.

Thanks for your comments, I do read them, it would appear generally you appreciate having something to read about the club we all love that is different from the norm, different from the rehashed news available on many others websites.

By the way when you see rehashed new it is possibly because the website is automated, software grabs an article from another website, more software automatically re-writes the article and it is then auto posted so there is no human involvement. I don't suppose I can convince you my frequent errors are deliberate to show you I'm human, no I didn't think so!

This series started because searching the web I came across a good article by NBC. As it agreed with my views, I took the basis of it, gave it my own twist, added to it and the beginning of a burgoning series was born.

Finally if there are future topics you would like me to cover, or indeed fancy penning an article yourself, do leave a note in the comments and I'll pick it up.

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Players attacking roles within a 4-3-3 system

We have looked at the player roles in a 4-3-3 in defence, prior to that a video explaining player movement and basic idea plus a tactical look at the way we play it.

Before we look at positions here are the players attacking roles which I was going to tackle later but a post comment rightly shows it's relevance now.

I'll put off looking at the full-backs play until Wednesday evening after the Ukraine vs England game is out of the way.

THE GOALKEEPER
1) Accurate distribution – diagonal distribution
2) Support defenders for balls back.
3) First thought to play short. If not on to play short play long and wide (taller winger if kicking increases chance of success).

DEFENDERS – FULL BACKS
1) Provide outlet support for goalkeeper and central defenders.
2) Quick and accurate distribution to target forwards, both in the wide and central channels.
3) Pass either directly into the forwards or beyond them and the opponents’ back line forcing both the forwards and the defenders to turn and engage in a foot race to establish ball possession (i.e. ball inside a full-back for winger).
4) Think like an outside midfielder to provide width, overlap and the option for switching attack.
5) Think like a winger in the final third.
6) Push up on offensive restart opportunities (high pressure to ideally win the ball back in opponents half).

CENTRAL DEFENDERS
1) Spread the width of the penalty area to receive and give quick, accurate distribution to full-backs, midfielders or attackers as situation demands (Dawson is designated to have the diagonal ball option to a tall winger under AVB - less room for error than to a short winger).
2) Provide depth support for midfield.
3) Switch attacking sides of play when situation demands.
4) Come out of defence with the ball if sufficient cover, otherwise don't.
5) Provide a scoring threat from dead ball situations.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER(S)
1) Dictating the speed of the game.
2) The link from defense through midfield to forwards. Find space to receive ball from defenders.
3) Switch side of attack when possible, through midfield (give-and-go passes) or pass from central defenders.
4) Stay available to attack to redistribute the ball forwards and start another attacking probe/scoring opportunity.
5) Take shots from outside of the box (30 yards or closer).

ATTACKING MIDFIELD(S)
1) Provide immediate support for midfielders to establish possession dominance.
2) Provide accurate forward passing to teammates.
3) Use combination play (give-and-go passes) to create space in center of the field.
4) Switch side of attack when possible.
5) Stay available to attack providing a pass outlet.
6) Make penetrating runs with (receive cut back from wide player) or without the ball.
7) Take shots from outside of the box (30 yards or closer), score goals.
8) Provide creative defence splitting through balls (make chances).
9) Understand that ball retention in the final third allows time for penetrating runs from forwards having moved the opposition out of position.

CENTRE FORWARD
1) Play deep, off-shoulder to check back and receive as the ball as the primary target.
2) Look to spin and get in behind.
3) Look for penetrating through runs for balls into space, look for quick switches to wings.
4) Make penetrating runs to drag defensers out of position and create space for others.
4) Take outside shots to high corners to catch keeper off their line.
5) Go strong to the box to finish crosses and through balls.
6) Create scoring opportunities and score goals.
7) Be mobile in the penalty area whenever crosses are imminent (movement is difficult to mark so attack the space the ball is likely to go).

WINGERS
1) Near side support and runs off target player; far side runs for quick switches.
2) Provide outlet opportunity from the full backs.
3) Look to switch play if solid defensive set-up.
4) Attack the space for through balls, overlaps and corner runs, avoid running in straight lines.
5) Attack the space behind defenders by dribbling past them.
6) Attack in the box to finish crosses and follow-up opportunities when the ball is on the opposite side.
7) Provide width and off the ball running to stretch the defence or pull defender out of position.
8) Provide crosses (forward or cut back) for attacker and attacking midfielders arriving in the box.
9) Make chances, score goals.

Previous articles:
Player roles within a 4-3-3
Video: The 4-3-3 Explained
Tottenham: A Tactical Analysis

Next installment in the series Wednesday 9.46pm (21.46hrs) UK time.

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Adebayor -It was high time Bale achieved a very good season.

Emmanuel Adebayor is returning to fitness after having time off after the death of his brother. Like the season he joined us he is therefore behind the group and has a bit of catching up to do. It's one of those things and perhaps he can channel his efforts into football to help him ease the pain of his loss.

It is rumoured that he has had a clear the air chat with AVB. Last season it was clear his attitude and commitment were unacceptable. Failing to return from the African Cup of Nations and therefore being unable to start a game he was required for showed where his priorities lie, revealing an undesirable attitude towards Tottenham. It is believed he has told AVB he will now buckle down and become a valuable member of his squad. Let's hope that is true and he demonstrates that both in training and when he is given game time. He does have something different to offer, an aerial threat our other strikers can't match, as well as his goalscoring and hold up play.

If he can reproduce his best form then he would be an asset to the squad, but he needs to produce it on a consistent basis to turn round fans opinion. He had a very poor season last season that damaged his reputation in our eyes, when we were looking forward to a similar season to the one we had witnessed when he first arrived from Man City.

The interview which began with him being asked if he ever thought of  leaving the club is reproduced below.

“No, I stay until the end of the season.

“You learned about Schalke because it was in the press but there were many clubs that wanted me and whose  proposals were still on the table.

“But I decided with my manager, even before the start of the transfer window, that I would not leave Tottenham and that’s what I did. I have never thought of leaving Spurs. I am here, my family feels great here and I do not see myself in another city.

“In the life of every footballer there are always ups and downs but I’m not complaining. It all started well in pre-season. We flew to Hong Kong [for a pre-season tournament] and there I learned the news of the death of  my brother, so my morale took a hit. I went back for the funeral. I had a very difficult time.

“When I went back to Tottenham, I talked to the coach and he told me that I was not ready yet for the pro group. I had to go to work in the reserves for two to three weeks to regain my confidence, my sense of goal, etc . . . And I complied with his advice.

“Was it a punishment? Not at all. I’m not at a training centre to get punished by my coach. There has been no argument.

“I have been playing professional football for 11 years and my brother’s death was a blow to me in recent weeks but since then I found my spirits. I will find my feelings and my place in the group.

“I am a footballer who loves competition, challenges. Remember when I signed in Monaco in 2003-2004, there were big names like [Ludovic] Guily, [Javier] Saviola, [Dado] Prso, [Shabani] Nonda,  [Fernando] Morientes. But that did not bother me. I stayed, I did my thing. I’m a competitor, this is what allows me to give the best of myself. At Arsenal, there was [Dennis] Bergkamp, [Thierry] Henry and [Robin] Van Persie before me but I snatched a place.

“At Tottenham, there was already [Jermain] Defoe for years. Today, there is Soldado, who is a very good player and who I also respect very much. I hope he will score many goals for the team.

“There are stats that speak for a man in football. Today I will not tell you that I’m stronger than Soldado or Defoe or Lamela. Do a Google search, you will see the goals I’ve scored in my career.

“We are now four in the attack, I do not know who ranks first, second or third but I know at the end I will be the first and that is the most important.

“Two years ago, I was top scorer and best passer at the club. Last season was not great, it is true. I do not want to relive that this season but there is no revenge or anything. This season, I have not started yet but rest assured that when I start I will be working very hard.

“This [Bale transfer] does not change anything. He is a very good player. Last year was a great year for him but it was seven seasons since he was there and it was high time he achieved a very good season.

“Now he will play for the biggest club in the world and I wish him much success.”

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Player roles within a 4-3-3

Andre Villas-Boas favours the 4-3-3 system and so far we have looked at a tactical analysis and a video explaining the moving parts of the system and how it basically works. Today we will list the basic player roles within the system and tomorrow we'll look specifically at the full-backs.

AVB has a slight twist in so much as he plays the system with advanced full-backs both attacking together and a holding midfield player, who plays a crucial role covering for them so there is always three at the back.

The back four defends in a zonal system, the defender defends a space rather than a player. The two central defenders stagger themselves depending upon which side the ball is. If the ball is on the right the left centre-back is deeper and the opposite on the other flank. Inside the penalty area the system switches to man marking.

In front of the defenders sits a defensive midfielder who protects the central defenders and covers the full-back if the team loses possession while they are up-field. A quality defensive midfielder is required who can read the game, stay in position, intercept passes, make tackles and know what passes are available when the ball is recovered. It is his role to set the midfield line of defence, the rest on the midfield and wide men take their lead from him.

When defending the two wingers need to drop back to make up a five man midfield and crushing the midfield area. There should then be little space for the opposition to operate in and the team bides its time until the time comes to pressurise the man with the ball and all the men around him in a pack.

Our two banks of players (midfield and defence) ensure they ate not defending vertically behind each other but to the side so we are covering the greatest area and have the best view to read the game.

The defenders have to think three things, where is the ball, where are my defensive colleagues and where is the opponent and he thinks those in that order in just a moment. The defenders have to work as a unit as if they are tied together with string. When a full-back goes out to his man the other three move across, if a central defender has to go out imagine where that piece of string would take them and you have a rough idea of where they should be. Ideally you want your defensive midfielder to be doing that so the back line can stay together as a unit.

The responsibility of each player defensively in a basic 4-3-3 are:

GOALKEEPER
1) Be vocal in organizing the defense. He sees the whole field and directs players where to go.
2) Make quick and confident decisions to come off the line for balls behind the defenders; come out strong for balls in the air and in one-on-one situations.
3) Agile feet and sure hands for shot stopping.

DEFENDERS – FULL BACKS
1) Immediate pressure on the ball when the opposition wide players are in possession of the ball.
2) Be strong and confident in tackles with no diving in.
3) Be compact (tucked in) to support central defenders and close down dangerous space.
4) Provide depth and balance on opposite side of attack; cover for otherʼs mistakes (In AVB's system both full-backs attack together rather than the normal one attacking one defending).
5) Scan the field to make certain all players are marked; no ball watching!

CENTRAL DEFENDERS
1) Must be in constant communication with one another; play as one.
2) Delay central attack; strong and decisive tackles when appropriate.
3) Immediate pressure on ball with the other in supportive space.
4) Stay compact in central, dangerous space.
5) Cover for outside defenders if they are beaten.
6) Be strong in the air to clear balls sent in high.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER(S)
1) Deny the attack from entering center of the field.
2) Become a second defender supporting full-back delaying the attacker.
3) Screen the central defenders and deny penetrating passes in behind the defence.
4) Winning aerial balls in midfield and starting the attack from restarts.

ATTACKING MIDFIELD(S)
1) Immediate marking of opposing central midfield players.
2) Move in as second/third defender to assist delaying the attack.
3) Mark area at the edge of the box for any outside shots or drops.
4) Win balls in the air to clear from dangerous areas.

CENTRE FORWARD
1) Pressure defenders with other forwards.
2) Cover the “hole”, roughly halfway between penalty box and midfield, to win balls cleared by his teams defence or played back by opposite attackers.
3) Communicate and organize defence from the attacking side.
4) Drop back to defend against restarts.

WINGERS
1) When losing the ball get goal side quickly, ball side immediately.
2) Apply immediate pressure on opposing defenders with the ball.
3) Become front defenders to deny passes into the midfielders or forwards.
4) Drop into a midfield five to blanket the midfield.

Tomorrow, Monday, we'll look at the full-back position and the wingers 'player management' role. That article comes out at 9.46pm (21.46) UK time.

Previous article:
Video: The 4-3-3 explained

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VIDEO: The 4-3-3 explained

Andre Villas-Boas has indicated that we will be playing 4-3-3 for most of the season, although it often looks like 4-1-4-1 and 4-2-3-1. It is easy for the basic 4-3-3 to morph into these so I have sourced a video rather than created one to explain it.

The video at the end of this article by Michael Jolley, who is a High Performance Football Coach currently with Crewe Alexandra, explains very well the 4-3-3 system, the player movement and ball distribution.

It breaks down the system and looks at player and ball movement. You may want to stop the video from time to time to read the notes that come on screen as these will help your understanding and you'll miss some of them otherwise. Having watched the video you will have a greater understanding of what is trying to be achieved within each phase, which is to get he ball into an attacking area as quickly as possible.

As you watch a game you'll start to be able to read the play and anticipate what might happen next, what the player on the ball is looking for, what the players off the ball might do. It will give clarity for instance to the holding midfielder role and the passes he makes and the triangle concept of players and passes to beat opponents.

The speed of forward movement is something we are currently struggling with as a host of new players learn our system. Think back to last season and we had the same problem, remember the home game against Wigan for instance when all we seemed to do was pass the ball sideways and lacked ideas of what to do against a packed defence. As the season wore on and the players understood more instinctively what off the ball movement they should be making, our performances improved. I am expecting exactly the same to happen this season.

If we are to shift the point of attack then a slow passing across field make it easy for the opponents defence to shuffle across, if however we switch in two passes, the wide man then has a small window of time to attack the isolated full-back before the defence has time to shuffle across. Once you have the opposition out of synch like this (not moving as one) that is when players start reacting to situations as individuals and you can pull them about to create openings.

Whilst you have the two banks of four acting as if they are tied together with string and moving sideways together defending is easier. Think about it, four players in a line tied by string, what movements do you need them to make to break that string?

Rose, Chiriches, Capoue, Paulinho, Townsend, Chadli, Lamela, Eriksen, Soldado all now have to learn the AVB system. Eriksen played the 4-3-3 at Ajax and Soldado is used to playing as the lone striker (poacher) so it will be more the speed of the others learning that will determine how quickly we improve this season.
Playing two games a week leaves little chance to work in training on it, so expect to see strong teams in the Europa League as we learn as we go in competitive matches.

The video lasts five minutes, take your time, pause it and you'll enhance your viewing the next time we play.




In the next article on Monday evening at 21.46 (9.46pm) UK time, we'll look at the much maligned Kyle Walker and the full-back role. We'll look at how the full-back has to work with the winger as a unit and not as two individuals. We'll also see the Rose/Chadli error that led to the Arsenal goal.

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