Looking at Gameweek 1's tactics, the Scout sees concern for Spurs forward's managers
Mauricio Pochettino has plenty to ponder at both ends of the pitch after Tottenham Hotspur’s opening-day draw at Goodison Park.
The absence of Hugo Lloris (£5.5m) is an immediate concern ahead of the weekend home encounter against Crystal Palace.
Forced off with a hamstring complaint, Lloris is facing a month on the sidelines, promoting Michel Vorm (£5.0m) as a short-term route into a rearguard who conceded only 35 times last term.
Elsewhere in the Spurs defence, Pochettino will be pleased with the displays of both full-backs. Kyle Walker (£5.5m) created the most chances (three) of defenders in Gameweek 1 and earned the assist for Erik Lamela’s (£7.0m) equaliser. With a single bonus point also collected, the right-back produced a six-point return for his 19.9% owners.
Fellow defender Danny Rose (£6.0m) raided forward time and again, mirroring the displays that served up seven assists in 2015/16. The left-back registered more touches in the final third (32) than any defender in the first round of fixtures.
Further upfield, the absence of dynamic midfielder Mousa Dembele (£5.5m) continues to affect Harry Kane’s (£11.0m) Fantasy Premier League potential.
Kane scored just one goal in the 11 Premier League matches that Dembele did not start in 2015/16. With the Belgian in the first XI, Kane netted 24 times in 27 outings.
Without Dembele, the dynamic of the Spurs midfield seems to be disrupted, with Kane and Dele Alli (£8.5m) inclined to drop deeper to influence play. Against Everton on Saturday, Kane failed to produce a single attempt on goal.
Without Dembele starting, Kane scored only one PL goal for Spurs last season
Worryingly for the Spurs striker’s 19.3% owners, Dembele continues to serve out a suspension and will miss the next three Gameweeks, ruling him out of Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Stoke City.
The second-half impact of summer signing Vincent Janssen (£8.0m) could also force a shake-up.
With his side trailing early in the second-half, Pochettino’s decision to send on the Dutchman brought Kane into a deeper central supporting role to accommodate the new boy. Alli also retreated further and was stationed alongside Victor Wanyama (£5.0m) in front of the back four.
Three minutes after that switch, Spurs grabbed the equaliser.
Having shifted role, Alli managed just one attempt at Goodison, while fellow midfielders Christian Eriksen (£8.5m) and Lamela (£7.0m) both registered three shots apiece.
As mentioned in last week’s article, the north-London side have very favourable fixtures on the horizon.
Nonetheless, owners of both Kane and Alli are best advised to keep a close eye on Pochettino’s approach against the Eagles on Saturday.
Another failure to pick up the points, or a tactical reshuffle, could force many to rethink their options.
Borussia Dortmund have fined Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for his masked celebration in the 1-1 derby draw at Schalke on Saturday, with the club telling ESPN FC: "We've had a good talk with Auba." Aubameyang, 27, opened the scoring at the weekend and celebrated by putting on a mask, later identified as being part of Nike's "The Masked Finisher" campaign. It was the second time in less than a month that the Gabon international has promoted the sponsor while playing for Dortmund, where rival sportswear company Puma is both a shareholder and the kit supplier. Dortmund said there would be talks with Aubameyang after Tuesday's 3-0 victory over Hamburg, in which the forward contributed one goal and set up another. "We've had a good talk with Auba," Dortmund media director Sascha Fligge told ESPN FC afterwards. Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc confirmed to kicker that the club have fined Aubameyang for his masked celebration, th...
Christian Benteke scored what turned out to be the winning goal as Crystal Palace secured a shock 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in their Premier League clash. Cesc Fabregas had given the Blues an early lead in the 5th minute and many were expecting another routine win from the hosts but that was not the case as Palace gave an instant response though Wilfred Zaha who restored parity for the visitors in the 9th minute. Survival for Sam Allardyce's men got a big boost when two minutes after Zaha's equaliser, Benteke chipped in the ball to give Palace the lead that held on to till the final whistle. Antonio Conte named a strong starting XI; making two changes to the side that claimed a 2-1 victory at Stoke City before the international break, with a fit-again Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas both coming in alongside Diego Costa up front. Victor Moses was omitted due to a calf injury and Willian dropped to the bench, with N'Golo Kante, Pedro, Nemanja Mat...
The attacking duo are likely to feature at the Olympics but the tactician says it will be business should they play against his team in Rio Nigeria U23 coach Samson Siasia says he isn't scared of threats from Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez and PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Dream Team VI will face Sweden, Colombia and Japan in Group B of the preliminary round of the 2016 Olympics men's football event and the duo have been penciled down to represent their countries. "There is nothing to fear about Zlatan Ibrahimovich starring for the Swedish team and James Rodriguez staring for Colombia in our Group,” Siasia told Goal. “These two countries already know their weak areas that they want these mentioned want to come and cover up. So they already have a team on ground. "But we don't know yet because we are trying to put up a team that would determine which three over aged players we would want to bring. But Sweden and Colombia already know their...
Comments
Post a Comment