Ok maybe not top notch, but I wanted to give it that tabloid headline sound to it.
So itās often been thrown and Poch that he hasnāt got the tactical nous to compete and ultimately outwit the best teams, something that would be required if the opponent has a better team than he does. There have been several instances where that criticism has been justified, the most recent occasion being the 2nd leg vs Juventus where he didnāt react to Allegriās subs and change of shape (although some of the players didnāt cover themselves in glory either during those crucial few minutes). So letās take a look at what Poch did to turn the game in our favour - no fancy diagrams or articles that Iāve stolen this from by the way.
SWAP SON WITH LAMELA,
SWAP DELE WITH ERIKSEN.
A couple of people on the match thread hadnāt actually realised these switches had taken place, one poster complained that āPoch hasnāt changed anything for the second halfā when he actually had.
Son was now on the RW
Lamela was our CF
Dele was on the LW
Eriksen came into the centre
Nothing groundbreaking on the face of it as most of those bar Lamela has played in those positions at some stage for us, but what it allowed us to do was to get a grip of the game and negate them. Lamela clearly wasnāt playing up against the Chelsea CBās, he dropped deeper like a āFalse 9ā... buy that doesnāt make sense as heād then occupy the space that Eriksen was in?
Wrong.
Eriksen moved into a central area, but he went deeper, more of a CM role but slightly ahead of Dembele and Dier, almost like what youād class as a ānumber 8ā in a 442 or 433.
Dele then played off the left as opposed to hugging the touchline, in an awkward position where he wasnāt quite a winger yet was able to run from outside to in as he did for his first goal. Meanwhile Son did similar on the other flank.
Result of this? It meant that we essentially had 6 midfielders in there up against the four of Alonso, Fabregas, Kante and Moses, the numerical advantage allowing us to get hold of the ball and make them chase. It left Chelsea with a dilemma; bring Hazard and Willian back to even it up and Morata was all alone with no support or push the defenders higher up.
As it is, they sort of did neither, which meant we kept getting the ball and with Son playing wider than Lamela did, it meant that Alonso couldnāt get forward at will as he did in the first half as he knew theyād be left even shorter and also that Son had the pace to beat him (as he did in the buildup to the third goal).
The switches also allowed Eriksen more freedom to roam safe in the knowledge we had the numerical advantage in there, and being the intelligent footballer that he is, he generally tried to play in the spaces that the little Fabregas left. For the second goal, Chelseaās midfield duo were so concerned with marking the likes of Son, Eriksen and Lamela, that Dier had all the time in the world to channel his inner-Pirlo and ping that pass to Dele, and for the third goal, Kante went pressing the ball when he shouldnāt have done, leaving the ex-arsenal rodent in no-manās land and allowing Eriksen to wander into the space to play Son in behind Alonso - Game won.
Chelsea deliberately set out to deny us the central areas of the pitch to play in, just as they did against us at Wembley, but Conte simply didnāt know what to do to counter Pochās changes and they paid for it. Iām pretty sure I heard on commentary that they didnāt have a shot on target in the second half? As lacklustre as we were in the first half, we took charge in the second half and made it count, and we must give Poch the credit he deserves for that.
Another thing, Iām sure youāve all seen it by now. Surely Iām not the only one who enjoyed Eriksen and Lamela ticking off Son for taking the shot as opposed to passing to Lamela who was unmarked just before the third goal? Heās in form but sometimes you have to put the team first, thankfully it didnāt prove costly.
COYS
Top Notch From Poch
posted on 3/4/18
With respect, I think the OP is too complicated.
In the first half we were slow and predictable. It was easy to call most of our passes before they happened: Vertonghen to Sanchez, Sanchez to Trippier, square to Sanchez, Sanchez to Dier, back to Trippier, Trippier to Sanchez, Sanchez square to Vertonghen, Vertonghen to Dembele, Dembele to Vertonghen...etc. Slow, predictable and boring. Not for the first time this season!
In the second half, though, it wasn't a surprise that we scored two goals with some slick forward play. Done!
So why persist with the slow and boring sideways shyte?
I don't care what the pundits spew, much of our play is slow and predictable. Yet, when we advance and take it to teams, we are pretty good and can hold our own.
It's almost schizophrenic football. And very frustrating.
posted on 3/4/18
Sorry you don't seem to have got the credit you deserve OP - great article.
Those 2 subtle changes allowed Dele and Son more freedom to run in behind and ultimately won us the game. We've criticised Poch's approach to big away games before, so credit where it is due.
I think Eriksen is fantastic when he drops deeper into more of a Pirlo role. He controlled the game in Turin, and was excellent second half at the weekend.
Also, remember Kane is perfectly capable of playing the false 9 role Lamela did after the changes, so we've got a good tactical option there even with our best XI on the pitch.
posted on 3/4/18
comment by WorcesterSpur (U1678)
posted 8 minutes ago
Sorry you don't seem to have got the credit you deserve OP - great article.
Those 2 subtle changes allowed Dele and Son more freedom to run in behind and ultimately won us the game. We've criticised Poch's approach to big away games before, so credit where it is due.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not sure if you're meant to have addressed the issue of the dire and predictable sideways passing we were guilty of, but two "subtle" changes didn't stop this from happening.
We still played some boring gash in the second half. The only difference was that, when we played forward passes, we actually looked like scoring - and did.
I'm not knocking what Pochettino has done for us, I'm just not agreeing that we are playing the quality football that is being attributed to us.
posted on 3/4/18
comment by goatleg (U15447)
posted 1 hour, 31 minutes ago
comment by WorcesterSpur (U1678)
posted 8 minutes ago
Sorry you don't seem to have got the credit you deserve OP - great article.
Those 2 subtle changes allowed Dele and Son more freedom to run in behind and ultimately won us the game. We've criticised Poch's approach to big away games before, so credit where it is due.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not sure if you're meant to have addressed the issue of the dire and predictable sideways passing we were guilty of, but two "subtle" changes didn't stop this from happening.
We still played some boring gash in the second half. The only difference was that, when we played forward passes, we actually looked like scoring - and did.
I'm not knocking what Pochettino has done for us, I'm just not agreeing that we are playing the quality football that is being attributed to us.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah not quite sure why Spurs are mentioned in the same breath as Liverpool and City regarding style of play. Don't get me wrong Poch's style is brutally effective but it isn't that pretty.
posted on 3/4/18
comment by goatleg (U15447)
posted 5 hours, 30 minutes ago
comment by WorcesterSpur (U1678)
posted 8 minutes ago
Sorry you don't seem to have got the credit you deserve OP - great article.
Those 2 subtle changes allowed Dele and Son more freedom to run in behind and ultimately won us the game. We've criticised Poch's approach to big away games before, so credit where it is due.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not sure if you're meant to have addressed the issue of the dire and predictable sideways passing we were guilty of, but two "subtle" changes didn't stop this from happening.
We still played some boring gash in the second half. The only difference was that, when we played forward passes, we actually looked like scoring - and did.
I'm not knocking what Pochettino has done for us, I'm just not agreeing that we are playing the quality football that is being attributed to us.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think we must've been watching a different game. Dembele and Eriksen were regularly playing passes between the lines for Dele, Son and Lamela to then play quick one-touch passes.
Sometimes when teams like West Brom park the bus against us we are guilty of slow sideways build up, but that simply isn't true of the game at the Bridge.
The football we play under Poch is honestly really exciting. I love the high press, fluid attacking positions and high wing backs he uses. If you don't find Poch's football entertaining I'd suggest you give up watching football and put on a film
posted on 3/4/18
Conte has looked tactically inept this season, you have to wonder if he was really that good or was it that other teams were ill prepared for his system last season.
posted on 3/4/18
"If you don't find Poch's football entertaining I'd suggest you give up watching football and put on a film."
----
Aaaaaaand there we have it. The typical ar£ehole comment when there is disagreement.
Would you like a new dummy, or is the one you spat on the floor ok after a good wash?
That first half was terrible. Watch it again, and count the sideways passes. Count the number of passes that are returned rather than advanced. See how slowly the ball moves between passes.
If you think that was exciting, your missus must get a right thrill
posted on 3/4/18
comment by goatleg (U15447)
posted 44 minutes ago
"If you don't find Poch's football entertaining I'd suggest you give up watching football and put on a film."
----
Aaaaaaand there we have it. The typical ar£ehole comment when there is disagreement.
Would you like a new dummy, or is the one you spat on the floor ok after a good wash?
That first half was terrible. Watch it again, and count the sideways passes. Count the number of passes that are returned rather than advanced. See how slowly the ball moves between passes.
If you think that was exciting, your missus must get a right thrill
----------------------------------------------------------------------
What a load of craaaap. We play great Football. You can't expect full-throttle attacking play for ninety minutes.
posted on 3/4/18
"What a load of craaaap."
----
Again, another m0ng who can't handle a different opinion.
Where, do tell, did I mention "full-throttle attacking play for ninety minutes"?
You seem to be another one fooled into thinking the predictable tosh we were playing is somehow sophisticated build- up play.
posted on 3/4/18
comment by goatleg (U15447)
posted 13 hours, 51 minutes ago
comment by WorcesterSpur (U1678)
posted 8 minutes ago
Sorry you don't seem to have got the credit you deserve OP - great article.
Those 2 subtle changes allowed Dele and Son more freedom to run in behind and ultimately won us the game. We've criticised Poch's approach to big away games before, so credit where it is due.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not sure if you're meant to have addressed the issue of the dire and predictable sideways passing we were guilty of, but two "subtle" changes didn't stop this from happening.
We still played some boring gash in the second half. The only difference was that, when we played forward passes, we actually looked like scoring - and did.
I'm not knocking what Pochettino has done for us, I'm just not agreeing that we are playing the quality football that is being attributed to us.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Boring gash?
What is your idea of exciting football? Goods into the box? Sometimes you have to try and prize a team open. As I stated in the OP which was too long for some, they packed the central areas as they know that’s where we are most effective. Couldn’t really use the wings because we didn’t have the most suited FB’s to do so.
Not too sure what you were expecting to be honest.