Pochettino's Spurs

[jc577]

I am aware there's already a thread on Pochettino's 3-4-2-1, however this is more concerned with the 4-2-3-1 that he employed in the majority of games this season, and the application of his playing style and philosophy in fm17. Pochettino is a known 'disciple' of Bielsa, and this excellent article from spieleverlagerung provides an insight into spurs' pressing strategy and build-up play: http://spielverlagerung.com/2016/02/19/tottenham-positional-play-and-pressing-analysis/. The key features which I took from this article were firstly, the importance the 'pivots' in Dembele and Dier creating triangles with the defence making it easy to pass around the opposition's press. The article also talks in depth about the concept of Positional Play or 'Juego de Posición' and how it is a prominent feature in Spurs' attempts to build up play, with Dier often taking up a right-back position which in turn allows Walker to advance higher up the field. This also has the added bonus of dragging the opposition's front players away from the centre-backs, allowing Alderweireld time on the ball to fizz a pass through the lines into midfield, or over the top searching for the run(s) of Kane, Son or Dele Alli. It is also important to mention that Spurs' full-backs often take up positions high enough to threaten the opposition's wide-midfielders, but are also deep enough to provide viable passing options. Tottenham's rotation of positions is also a prominent feature of their attacking play, often creating overloads in wide positions leaving a man free in the centre, in order to unlock 'Zone 14' on the pitch.

There are many different forms of counter-pressing, and Spurs' employ a ball-orientated press, aimed at preventing the opposition from moving the ball vertically up the field, and also attempt to isolate the opposition on the flanks. Below is an example of how spurs have trapped their opponents on the flanks, blocking off a pass down the touchline and also options in midfield. Finally, the article talks about how vertically compact Spurs are between the lines when defending, making it easy for either Vertonghen or Alderweireld to step into midfield and win the ball back. 

The difficulty for me lies in replicating this in the fm17 match engine, due to the complex nature of some of the build-up and pressing features I have talked about. 'Positional Play' is a very structured concept thus it could be argued that the structured end of the spectrum would be the way to go, however moving toward the fluid end would give the players the kind of creative freedom they most definitely have, and also aids pressing which is a key feature of this spurs side and makes the team more vertically compact. Roles and duties are also a bit contentious. For example, in my opinion Eriksen is the only playmaker in the team, however in a 4231 without a playmaker the ball often by-passes midfield, and spurs' build-up play is very measured and getting the ball into Eriksen too early could lead to a break down in attacks. This is my first time attempting a longer post so be gentle , thanks in advance. 

[Cap'nRad]

So what have you got so far, what needs tweaking?

[jc577]

Haven't got the game loaded up right now so can't post screen shots, but the issues i've found is that the tactic i've created just isn't very creative. Despite winning 2 and drawing 1 of the first three games, I wasn't impressed with the way we played. Also, through balls were definitely an issue, so much so that  Vertonghen was MOTM in two out of the three games.