Spurs looking to speed up play
As we saw with England the other night at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championships, forward passing creates danger, sideways or backward passing keeps the ball. There is a place for both, there is a time for both, but always looking for and recognising a forward passing opportunity is a key component of a successful side.
The defensive midfield, especially the link man defensive midfield have a great responsibility. If they pass forward slowly then we have to pursue a patient probing build up, if they release the ball quickly then we have the opportunity for a swift attack before the opposition is defensively organised.
Premier League Statistics
Ryan Mason makes a pass every 1.47 minutes, which 83.56% of the time is successfully completed, 69.40% of which are forward.
Mousa Dembélé makes a pass every 1.40 minutes, which 89.35% of the time is successfully completed, 54.36% of which are forward.
Paulinho makes a pass every 0.88 minutes, which 85.01% of the time is successfully completed, 57.06% of which are forward.
So Ryan Mason makes 12.36% more forward passes than Paulinho and 15.04% more passes forward than Mousa Dembélé. Quite frankly that is a massive difference, far too big.
That one statistic alone perhaps shows why he is preferred alongside Bentaleb than either the Brazilian or the Belgian. While some of the players could learn from Harry Kane's mental attitude so Paulinho and Dembélé could learn from new boy Mason.
Pochettino is known to want the ball passed forward quickly whenever possible, interviews with Southampton players tell us this. It's one of the reasons he is looking for alternative midfield players. Running at speed with the ball is crowd pleasing, beating a man one-on-one is crowd pleasing but the fastest way to move the ball is to pass it. Why then is there such a disparity when it comes to getting the team moving forward?
Is Mason the only one following the coaches instructions, is Dembélé too busy indulging himself and has Paulinho simply lost the motivation to bother, he had under Sherwood and was dreadful at the beginning of the 2014/15 season when given his chance in the UEFA Europa League.
There are three targets in the news being linked with moves to Tottenham right now. How do they compare, does this shed light on a problem area?
Morgan Schneiderlin (Premier League) passes forward 67.49% of the time with a total pass completion rate of 89%, Giannelli Imbula (Ligue 1), our defensive midfield target from Marseille, passes forward 66.87% with a total pass completion rate of 90% and Adrien Rabiot, (Ligue 1) the PSG target, passes forward 56.70% of the time with a total pass completion rate of 89%.
Forward Passes
Mason 69.40%
Schneiderlin 67.49%
Imbula 66.87%
Paulinho 57.06%
Rabiot 56.70%
Dembélé 54.36%
Shot Time (minutes)
Paulinho 43.43 - accuracy 29% - 0 goals
Mason 56.49 - accuracy 42% - 1 goal
Imbula 64.78 - accuracy 36% - 2 goals
Rabiot 67.35 - accuracy 73% - 4 goals
Schneiderlin 72.87 - accuracy 43% - 4 goals
Dembélé 105.45 - accuracy 33% 1 goal
The three targets don't look as if they would detract from our midfield and statistics suggest they would add a goal threat. It's clear Dembélé has to up his game, as the midfield area could become very competitive. That can only help us and may, in fact, allow us to have a proper run at the UEFA Europa League next season.
Further Reading
Spurs scouting the 'African Eriksen'
Fan bonding and poor substitute preparation a problem
Spurs Shot Time Table
The defensive midfield, especially the link man defensive midfield have a great responsibility. If they pass forward slowly then we have to pursue a patient probing build up, if they release the ball quickly then we have the opportunity for a swift attack before the opposition is defensively organised.
Premier League Statistics
Ryan Mason makes a pass every 1.47 minutes, which 83.56% of the time is successfully completed, 69.40% of which are forward.
Mousa Dembélé makes a pass every 1.40 minutes, which 89.35% of the time is successfully completed, 54.36% of which are forward.
Paulinho makes a pass every 0.88 minutes, which 85.01% of the time is successfully completed, 57.06% of which are forward.
So Ryan Mason makes 12.36% more forward passes than Paulinho and 15.04% more passes forward than Mousa Dembélé. Quite frankly that is a massive difference, far too big.
That one statistic alone perhaps shows why he is preferred alongside Bentaleb than either the Brazilian or the Belgian. While some of the players could learn from Harry Kane's mental attitude so Paulinho and Dembélé could learn from new boy Mason.
Pochettino is known to want the ball passed forward quickly whenever possible, interviews with Southampton players tell us this. It's one of the reasons he is looking for alternative midfield players. Running at speed with the ball is crowd pleasing, beating a man one-on-one is crowd pleasing but the fastest way to move the ball is to pass it. Why then is there such a disparity when it comes to getting the team moving forward?
Is Mason the only one following the coaches instructions, is Dembélé too busy indulging himself and has Paulinho simply lost the motivation to bother, he had under Sherwood and was dreadful at the beginning of the 2014/15 season when given his chance in the UEFA Europa League.
There are three targets in the news being linked with moves to Tottenham right now. How do they compare, does this shed light on a problem area?
Morgan Schneiderlin (Premier League) passes forward 67.49% of the time with a total pass completion rate of 89%, Giannelli Imbula (Ligue 1), our defensive midfield target from Marseille, passes forward 66.87% with a total pass completion rate of 90% and Adrien Rabiot, (Ligue 1) the PSG target, passes forward 56.70% of the time with a total pass completion rate of 89%.
Forward Passes
Mason 69.40%
Schneiderlin 67.49%
Imbula 66.87%
Paulinho 57.06%
Rabiot 56.70%
Dembélé 54.36%
Shot Time (minutes)
Paulinho 43.43 - accuracy 29% - 0 goals
Mason 56.49 - accuracy 42% - 1 goal
Imbula 64.78 - accuracy 36% - 2 goals
Rabiot 67.35 - accuracy 73% - 4 goals
Schneiderlin 72.87 - accuracy 43% - 4 goals
Dembélé 105.45 - accuracy 33% 1 goal
The three targets don't look as if they would detract from our midfield and statistics suggest they would add a goal threat. It's clear Dembélé has to up his game, as the midfield area could become very competitive. That can only help us and may, in fact, allow us to have a proper run at the UEFA Europa League next season.
Further Reading
Spurs scouting the 'African Eriksen'
Fan bonding and poor substitute preparation a problem
Spurs Shot Time Table
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