Tottenham always look better playing 4-4-2. This is more or less an indisputable fact. It’s been that way since before Harry Redknapp took over at the club and will likely remain that way for some time. If you need any evidence just look at the way Tottenham demolished Newcastle at the weekend using two strikers. It’s not merely that Spurs utilised two forwards and managed to win by a big margin (5 – 0) it’s also that their strikers were absolutely imperative to the win.
Both Emmanuel Adebayor and Louis Saha were magnificent and a four man midfield was more than enough to keep Newcastle at bay. Surely it’s time to make the relevant changes to this Tottenham side in order to keep up the kind of form they’ve been showcasing in recent weeks?
Though Harry may feel the need to place an extra body in midfield during big games, I can’t help but feel that Tottenham would be better served by having that extra firepower going forward.
Which makes me wonder about the future of Rafael van der Vaart. He hasn’t been at his best for a while now and if Tottenham are to play 4-4-2 more often, I’m not sure where he’d fit in. He’s not going to replace the likes of Scott Parker and Luka Modric in the centre of midfield and Spurs now have two-or-three decent strikers to choose from, so he wont get games upfront.
My main concern with Van der Vaart is that he has a tendency to slam the breaks on Tottenham’s often frenetic and fast-paced style of play. He likes to be at the very centre of every part of the game and thus has a frustrating tendency to drop back and collect the ball from in front of the defence. By the time he’s brought the ball up the pitch, the opponent has had a chance to get back into position and stifle Tottenham’s attack.
There must be a reason why he’s known to be a big-game player. Why is it that he has a tendency to perform against big clubs, but can’t always do it against teams lower down the table? Is it a question of motivation or of struggling to adapt to Tottenham’s system?
If it is a question of motivation, perhaps an extended period out on the sidelines will do him some good. He needs to learn that it’s up to him to perform every week, not just when it pleases him if he wants to keep his place.
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As usual another load of bollocks from Harry Cloke, nuff said.
Rubbish. Rafa is quality and he fits in perfectly. He jsut needs to stop dropping so deep at times and stay up the pitch with the striker.
I knew there’d be one or two ridiculous articles like this.
Let’s get it straight. Newcastle were bold (or stupid enough) to go toe to toe with us with 2 up top despite having their entire midfield missing!
VDV is class end of.
Thank God the management team, whoM I’m inclined to agree with based on the progress we’ve made under them, and the majority of the WHL and especially away mob appreciate quality when it’s right under our noses.
COYS!
How can you say after just one game, Newcastle were missing Tiote, Cabaye from their midfieldand it was easy for Spurs to outplay them and get the ball to Ade and Saha. Playing again top teams away having VDV or even Parker and Sandro with Modric with Ada as lone striker might work better.
Wait..no…err..what? Watchoo smokin fool? As said to death by now…what’s the point. Shut up with this bad article rubbish, it’s pathetic, would you look at yourself! Bloody man’s a fool. Who writes plop like this? One game, one game in how many with two strikers that works and you want to ditch one of our three world class players? Bad form sir, bad form!
The answers show that it IS disputable whether Spurs better with 4411 or 442. The biggest reason WHY we do not play better with 442 is because we do not have a set of 3 interchangeable strikers to back that system up. Man U have it, and they play 4-4-2 (2 strikers) with a 4-4-1-1 style. We have Ade, Defoe and Saha. Defoe cannot partner anybody. Ade and Saha showed a potential partnership, but hands up who thinks that we could get Saha to play every game? So our best tactic is to vary it – sometimes Saha, sometimes Vdv, sometimes Defoe gets a run out. The other point is that sometimes away from home, 442 does not work. Newcastle played 2 prolific strikers, but could not get the ball to them. Basically there is not rule for all scenarios. I am not saying that Vdv has been playing great this season, but a half decent VDV performance is more useful to us than a decent Defoe performance.
Van Der Vaart is a superb player and his shooting is deadly accurate. We really went up a couple of levels when we signed him.The way he plays is an alternative to Saturday’s style and line up. He should not be dismissed.He should always be considered with respect. He is top class.