Gazza M wrote:
Clrnc wrote:
I heard that about 245 times last season too and we finished behind them. So I'm never going to comment on how shite they look again till we walk the talk
I do worry that we have a style of play that's too reliant on perfect passing/structure, and vulnerable to total malfunction when 1 or 2 pieces are missing. spurs could probably get away with a few injuries in midfield and defense and their counter attacking approach would still largely function
This. I'm glad to see someone else who has the same perception of the team and the style as I do. It has its strengths, but its weaknesses which you've summarized up there are glaring. We can choose to focus on its strengths eg the positives from the Man U game (we played better etc), but a team is as strong as its weak(est) links. At top level especially, that weakness will be exploited by savvy managers.
Spurs can survive a few injuries in midfield and defence because their true strength is in their front line. It's world class. The rest of the team just have to be work horses, and get the ball through to Kane and Son. The rest takes care of itself.
For us, in my estimation, we have no clearly established world class players. Jesus is good, but not a killer. Saka is good but still has a lot to learn. Odegaard is good, but lacks that little bit extra that would put him in the true upper tier of midfielders. We do have youth on our side, so if our players develop properly we might have enough quality in various positions that losing one or two wouldn't drop our level so precipitously.
At this moment, taken as a whole, we are not yet an effective enough machine. The good news is we only have to find the right fit and quality in a few positions for that extra boost that would get us right where we need to be.