The underlying midfield issue at Tottenham
In the previous post I highlighted a problem with have with our inverted wingers, a simple problem to solve, but one that requires a mental shift, an area we are making progress in, but could be doing so much more in.
If you want to achieve anything you have to be prepared to fail, nothing has ever been invented that didn't first require failure to learn from and that's the key, you must learn from mistakes to improve. Regular readers will know I take probably a unique stance among my fellow Tottenham websites in that I champion brain training and the better use of sports psychology as a compulsory part of weekly training, as opposed to the optional player requested way we operate now.
As a senior qualified coach I remind people that it is the root cause of a problem you have to seek and solve, not simply how that problem manifests itself because it will simply keep coming back when you are under pressure. That was a fundamental part of the coaching courses I have been on.
There is a fundamental problem at Tottenham, which I believe is being overlooked because I don't see many changes. Statistics tell us we shoot from too far away, the closer you shoot from the more likely you are to score, that is not an opinion, but a statistically proven fact.
In the previous post I highlighted how our wide attacking midfield players, I'm loath to call the wingers because they aren't in the traditional sense, all shoot from outside the box, the don't attack the box at an angle in the way Mahrez did for Leicester City to score and hit the post.
Shooting from distance though is our problem and has been since Andre Villas-Boas deployed s similar system. That is not a fault with the system, but a fault with how we implement the system and that comes from the mentality of the players. You have to ask why are they shooting from distance and the answer is because they don't think they can create anything.
That is a negative mindset, even though it looks as if we are being positive. The mindset is the root cause, the shooting from distance is how it manifests itself in the game. If you coach out the shooting from distance you are not dealing with the underlying root cause. The team and the individuals need a mindset shift from negative to positive.
I'm not saying we shouldn't shoot from distance, it is a skill to be worked at, we hit and hope at the moment rather than hoot with the conviction we are going to score. That is one mental shift to make, the players needs to have great faith in his own ability and almost expect to score when he shoots, that will improve his shooting success instead of the I'll hit it and see what happens approach we have now.
That is one change we can make without changing what we do. It would involve the player working with a sports psychologist to instill that mindset. Ryan Mason is a prime candidate, watch him when he shoots, it's simply hit it as hard as I can and hope, there is no control and the result is it goes everywhere but where it should.
He also misses more one-on-ones with the keeper than he scores, but that is another mental issue to address, you can't ell me he doesn't have the ability, his body shape is all wrong when he gets through, every time he is almost failing over when he shoots. Man City last season, Stoke City this season, go and look at his shots from the same area, both saved.
Anyway back to the point, It is the lack of genuine belief in our creative ability that causes the distance shooting, there is nothing on so I'll shoot. I coach will tell you to be patient, keep the ball and look for the opening, but if you don't see an opening then you are not going to create. The wide men don't cut in and score so that avenue is out, that leaves central and threading the ball through the eye of a needle.
Until you change how a player thinks you won't change the decisions he makes and the mental issue is not simply create more attacking belief. We have to change the mentality of the wide attacking men to attack the right areas to create the central opportunities. We need to work with the central guys mentality.
If you can't see something, you can't see it, but if someone has faith in you and keeps assuring you can see it then you will actively look for it and eventually see it, when you have seen it once you'll keep seeing it.
Now 'it' could be anything, it could be a point someone is making, it could be something not immediately obvious in a picture like spot the difference, it could be an impression you see within a picture or a shape the clouds make, it could be anything. First though you have to open up the mind to the possibility there is more than they are seeing.
A coach can take a video and assess the options a player has in an attacking area and point out there was this opportunity here, that opportunity there etc and tell the player to look out for hm in future. The player won't generally see them, simply telling him to do something isn't enough, he has to genuinely believe and that comes from within, he has to genuinely believe he'll see the opportunities he couldn't see before and that is a mentality shift.
Don't change the root cause and you won't change the outcome. You can't tell a player to see 5 more creative passes per game, but if you give him the tools to do so then he'll see them himself and probably more than the 5 you asked for.
Football is played in the head and it is the head we need to become world leaders in training. We have a young squad who would be far more receptive to something new in football training than the old guard and the learn by doing over and over again approach, it takes too long to achieve.
We have the answer, we just need to see it.
Further OFFICIALLY LICENSED Products
41 Items of Signed Memorabilia - Maradona, Pele, Gascoigne, Charlton, Ronaldo and more
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Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Socks 1 Pack Junior 4-6.5
Previous Articles
Porto have 250 scouts, how many do Spurs have?
The key lesson from the Leicester game
Berahino mentally not right
If you want to achieve anything you have to be prepared to fail, nothing has ever been invented that didn't first require failure to learn from and that's the key, you must learn from mistakes to improve. Regular readers will know I take probably a unique stance among my fellow Tottenham websites in that I champion brain training and the better use of sports psychology as a compulsory part of weekly training, as opposed to the optional player requested way we operate now.
As a senior qualified coach I remind people that it is the root cause of a problem you have to seek and solve, not simply how that problem manifests itself because it will simply keep coming back when you are under pressure. That was a fundamental part of the coaching courses I have been on.
There is a fundamental problem at Tottenham, which I believe is being overlooked because I don't see many changes. Statistics tell us we shoot from too far away, the closer you shoot from the more likely you are to score, that is not an opinion, but a statistically proven fact.
In the previous post I highlighted how our wide attacking midfield players, I'm loath to call the wingers because they aren't in the traditional sense, all shoot from outside the box, the don't attack the box at an angle in the way Mahrez did for Leicester City to score and hit the post.
Shooting from distance though is our problem and has been since Andre Villas-Boas deployed s similar system. That is not a fault with the system, but a fault with how we implement the system and that comes from the mentality of the players. You have to ask why are they shooting from distance and the answer is because they don't think they can create anything.
That is a negative mindset, even though it looks as if we are being positive. The mindset is the root cause, the shooting from distance is how it manifests itself in the game. If you coach out the shooting from distance you are not dealing with the underlying root cause. The team and the individuals need a mindset shift from negative to positive.
I'm not saying we shouldn't shoot from distance, it is a skill to be worked at, we hit and hope at the moment rather than hoot with the conviction we are going to score. That is one mental shift to make, the players needs to have great faith in his own ability and almost expect to score when he shoots, that will improve his shooting success instead of the I'll hit it and see what happens approach we have now.
That is one change we can make without changing what we do. It would involve the player working with a sports psychologist to instill that mindset. Ryan Mason is a prime candidate, watch him when he shoots, it's simply hit it as hard as I can and hope, there is no control and the result is it goes everywhere but where it should.
He also misses more one-on-ones with the keeper than he scores, but that is another mental issue to address, you can't ell me he doesn't have the ability, his body shape is all wrong when he gets through, every time he is almost failing over when he shoots. Man City last season, Stoke City this season, go and look at his shots from the same area, both saved.
Anyway back to the point, It is the lack of genuine belief in our creative ability that causes the distance shooting, there is nothing on so I'll shoot. I coach will tell you to be patient, keep the ball and look for the opening, but if you don't see an opening then you are not going to create. The wide men don't cut in and score so that avenue is out, that leaves central and threading the ball through the eye of a needle.
Until you change how a player thinks you won't change the decisions he makes and the mental issue is not simply create more attacking belief. We have to change the mentality of the wide attacking men to attack the right areas to create the central opportunities. We need to work with the central guys mentality.
If you can't see something, you can't see it, but if someone has faith in you and keeps assuring you can see it then you will actively look for it and eventually see it, when you have seen it once you'll keep seeing it.
Now 'it' could be anything, it could be a point someone is making, it could be something not immediately obvious in a picture like spot the difference, it could be an impression you see within a picture or a shape the clouds make, it could be anything. First though you have to open up the mind to the possibility there is more than they are seeing.
A coach can take a video and assess the options a player has in an attacking area and point out there was this opportunity here, that opportunity there etc and tell the player to look out for hm in future. The player won't generally see them, simply telling him to do something isn't enough, he has to genuinely believe and that comes from within, he has to genuinely believe he'll see the opportunities he couldn't see before and that is a mentality shift.
Don't change the root cause and you won't change the outcome. You can't tell a player to see 5 more creative passes per game, but if you give him the tools to do so then he'll see them himself and probably more than the 5 you asked for.
Football is played in the head and it is the head we need to become world leaders in training. We have a young squad who would be far more receptive to something new in football training than the old guard and the learn by doing over and over again approach, it takes too long to achieve.
We have the answer, we just need to see it.
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Further OFFICIALLY LICENSED Products
41 Items of Signed Memorabilia - Maradona, Pele, Gascoigne, Charlton, Ronaldo and more
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tie & Cufflink Set
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Sunglasses Adult Sport Wrap
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Socks 1 Pack Junior 4-6.5
Previous Articles
Porto have 250 scouts, how many do Spurs have?
The key lesson from the Leicester game
Berahino mentally not right
3 comments
There is a huge atitude/approach that the club should be thankfull just to be top half of the table, we don't have a burning desire to do anything of any note.
What are the priorities/goals set for this season? And whats been done to ensure we achieve them?
3 games in still only 1 viable striker, no settled midfield, a defence still leaking cheap goals, a 1 dimensional system that doesn't work due to not having the caliber of manager or players to execute it, its the usual Daniel Levy Circus playing out before us where spread sheets are the be all and end all of success.