One of the great frustrations for the Spurs crowd is seeing the team have so much possession but struggle to get into the final third. A central midfield two of Sandro/Dembele and Paulinho is physically capable but there is not a great deal of invention. None of the three are known for their passing, and Moussa Dembele has struggled to show his true potential. There is a feeling that the Belgium player strolls through games, operate in a very deep position for a player who has such great balance, strength and tight dribbling skills. With the ball at the feet of the Spurs centre backs, the midfield two often come deep to offer an option and do not create angles for Tottenham to play up the pitch. The passing is slow, backwards or sideways, and contributes to the overall insipid play. This has the further problem of dragging the number 10 either Christian Eriksen or Lewis Holtby deeper to get on the ball, leaving them too far away from the opposition's goal to make the killer ball, and leaving the lone striker very much alone. The solution, especially at home against defensive teams, would be to drop one of the central midfielders for Eriksen/Holtby, facilitating another attacking or creative player into the team. Against a side like West Ham, with no recognised centre forward, do Spurs need two stoic centre midfielders like Dembele and Paulinho? Would the energy and passing of Holtby be more useful in a deeper position, with Eriksen linking up with Soldado, or another striker troubling the ten man defence? What do you think AVB should do to make Tottenham genuine title contenders?
