Watching Tottenham Hotspur last season, there were moments when you could see that accommodating Rafael Van der Vaart in the side had consequences. His desire to be on the ball and involved at all times was at odds with his advanced role in the team, sitting just off Peter Crouch. He would often, frustratingly, be seen in between the centre backs, picking the ball off their toes and playing a long ball out to the wings. This constant dropping off was unnecessary. Luka Modric and Tom Huddlestone were more than capable of starting Tottenham’s moves and Van der Vaart’s constant movement was at times more confusing than it was advantageous.
So, after a season, does Rafael Van der Vaart fit in Tottenham’s midfield? Can both Luka Modric’s and Van der Vaart’s creative styles work together? I think the answer is yes, if only Van der Vaart plays with slightly more positional discipline.
In the current starting eleven both players fit well, Modric controls possession and tempo in the centre of the pitch whilst Van der Vaart drops to link with him and flood central midfield but also pushes on to feed on Crouch’s knockdowns. The only time it doesn’t work is when Van der Vaart feels starved of the ball. Allowed a free reign by Redknapp, Van der Vaart upsets the balance when he gets impatient and starts attempting to do everything on his own. Whilst Modric plays the patient, percentage, possession game, Van der Vaart likes to move the ball forward quickly. It may be a contrast of styles but it is not a conflict, the two players compliment each other well and their respective styles are well balanced.
Had Tottenham possessed a front man who could put the ball in the net, the true quality of Modric and Van der Vaart as a creative force would have been seen. Modric created 66 goalscoring opportunities last season, one behind Van der Vaart, the fact that our leading striker scored 10 (Pavlyuchenko) shows where it all went wrong.
Both players have a confidence on the ball that makes their quality obvious to see, it would be a great shame if they could not be accommodated in the same side, fortunately I think they can and I hope they will be next season. If Van der Vaart stops dropping all the way back to get the ball, and out of somewhere we find an in form striker I’ll be a happy man.
Do you agree? Would Redknapp be better off with a traditional 4-4-2?
Written by Philip Wroe for FootballFancast.com. Find him here: http://twitter.com/#!/philipwroe
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2 bob blogs can see it, but harry redknapp cant, arry is a mug
I am not surprised he cannot see “it” when from his point of view, he is getting more league points than he has ever achieved before for any team. Also he is seeing that Spurs are also getting more points than they have got before. Squeezing more points out of the team will take more than just a formation change.
Hell no.
In a 4231 formation they will work perfectly- Modric alongside Hudddlestone or Sandro with van der Vaart in front of them with Lennon and Bale on the wing. That is the way spurs should play and there is no lack of balance. The Spanish and German national teams do it, Barcelona do it with Busquets and Xavi playing in the middle with Iniesta in front of them- we need to stop making excuses- the best teams in the world find a way -we need to as well. Bring in the top striker that we so badly need and we could really challenge for the title!COYS
…but only Arsenal play that sort of formation in England… And it is working less and less each season….
Arsenal haven’t got the players we have- We have Lennon and Bale on the wing- they are out and out wingers where Arsenal have Arshavin/Nasri/Walcott who all like to cut in and shoot which makes them quite narrow and congested whereas Bale and Lennon like to get to the byline and give in crosses. Modric, van der Vaart and Sandro/Huddlestone are disciplined enough to work it our between themselves- last season it looked like they created imbalance but it was the FIRST time they were playing together and we now working things out- you say it works less for Arsenal- the only time we played with Huddlesone, Modric and van der Vaart last season was at the Lane against Inter Milan and it worked bloody well then…
players these days are becoming more and more able to play in various different rolls. I feel the best teams are the best teams, not because they play a certain formation, but because their personnel move into eachother’s positions seamlessly during games. This leads to less vulnerability when one player or another carries the ball or makes a run into space that is usually occupied by a teammate. It also makes it a lot easier for players not on the ball to find space as markers become pulled out of their positions frequently. Barca are a perfect example. Arsenal try to do it, although not very successsfully last season. You still need players who are specialists in their given rolls, but the type of technical brilliance, in-game intelligence and positional versatility seen at the very best (Barca’ and Real Madrid to an extent also), is what all other clubs aspire to. Right now there’s no English club able to punch with the heavyweights of world football imho, BUT with Citeh’s talent pool and the recent additions at Manure, they’re both looking like making progress, while the likes of Poll are on the comeback trail too imo. I don’t see too much progress happening in N.London right now, but if we can keep our team together and make a couple of crafty additions before the window closes, there’s no reason we can’t be right up there with the best this season imo.
Regarding the question posed in the article, I think VDV DEFINITELY creates imbalances in the team at times and should be used in some games but not in others. I’d much rather see a couple of out and out front men playing in most of the domestic games. Defenses are very strong and very well organized in English football and all the pretty passing in the world is sometimes not enough, as Arsenal find out all too often these days.