The Kraken

When you think about it; Lallana has barely had much need in his career with Saints to overly concentrate on the defensive aspect of his game. 2 years in League 1 where he was much more attacking than defensive; even last season in the championship he was given great license to push forwards. And during the summer he was being played in the number 10 position, so the club clearly didn't do coaching with him into how best to cover Fox. Unsurprising really that he looks so defensively naive, I suppose.

If he is, he knows how to score with his right....

To answer that; no. We're doing badly for a number of reasons and most of them are not his fault. But I do think he needs to get his act together. For West Ham; we had options in Ben Reeves and Ryan Dickson. Reeves has looked decent when he's played, Dickson is a very average left back but I still maintain he couldn't have fared any worse than Yoshida who looked like a fish up a tree playing at right back. Playing a right footed centre back at left back is plain daft IMO and an inexcusable error of judgement.

Some. For instance, moving Yoshida to right back after Richardson's injury was enforced. But to then after that put Yoshida at left back was an exceptionally poor decision IMO and Yoshida was very much a guilty party of us giving away at least 2 goals. And there were other options available too; Yoshida was patently not a good option as a left back. Similarly for the subs against Man United; it made little sense IMO to change the entire "front 3". As I say NA has been dealt a sh*tty hand with the transfer balls-up and with injuries; but I absolutely do not believe he has been error-free himself and had made too many needless errors himself.

Sadly I think its both. The manager has been let down by individual errors. He's also been let down by a lop-sided transfer summer. But in addition, I also think he's made far too many mistakes of his own; take your pick from buying and playing Rodriguez wide left, letting Jos Hooiveld anywhere near a football pitch, dropping Rickie Lambert, the poor substitutions against Man United, not having an adequate replacement for Fox at LB, playing Yoshida at right back and left back, persisting with Puncheon instead of Mayuka, binning off Gazzaniga for an obviously overweight and out of sorts Boruc etc etc etc.

7 defeats from 9, 26 goals against and 4 points on the board would suggest it really isn't. Stuary Gray got sacked with more points on the board than we've got, and he was considered an unmitigated disaster of a manager. If we're not good at playing defensively we need to bloody well learn, and quickly. Attacking teams with such cavalier abandon as we are showing is simply not working.

Seeing Lallana sprinting back into the left-back spot a few times highlighted that we don't seem to defend well as a team. Fox was obviously off marking Lennon, leaving Lallana to the marauding Kyle Walker. I'd argue we need to be clever than that; passing on players to cut that out, to minimise the need for Lallana to be sprinting all the way back from teh halfway line. That either comes from Lallana and Fox working better together, or Fox having the option to pass Lennon on to another DM if he cuts inside and track the run of Walker. Spurs exposed huge gaping holes behind our full backs (who as you say have a starting position too high up the pitch). we're succeptible to individual errors, but we do ourselves no favours with our whole tactics of defending.

Barry Venison CDAJFU.

It wasn't a comparison, was it? Simply pointing out that they have diminutive midfielders, none of them famed for tackling, yet they are one of the best teams in Europe at getting the ball back. And they do it by pressurinsing the ball carrier, and actually putting in a challenge (even if that is just trying to nick the ball away). We didn't get close enough to Spurs to do that; hence why they ran through us time and again.

Do they? I'd have thought times have moved on from that. Take a look at the best club side in Europe, Barcelona. They are one of the hardest working teams out there, and brilliant at winning the ball back, but they don't really have an enforcer. They have players like Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, none of whom are a nutter. Mascherano is the closest you get to that I suppose. What they do have is players who will do all they can to make a tackle, they will snap around ankles trying to nick the ball away, and they often hunt in packs making the ball-carrier make a mistake. We didn't do that; at all. We stood off a yard or two and let them get their heads up whenever they wanted. Having one enforcer in there isn't going to fix the fact that all of our players stood off far too much and seemed frightened to commit to a challenge. It needs a change of mentality to put that right.

Its what's needed; but I'm not really sure if that's entirely Jack Cork's role.

There's a U21 game today; maybe its been decided that Boruc is definitely number one come what may, and rather than benchwarming they'll give Gazza a full run out and time off to prepare. Plus it keeps Kelvin involved. As I say though; after some half-decent performances (and certainly not doing anything wrong) I found it very surprising that he'd been binned out altogether. Not sure how that will work as a motivational incentive; seems rather harsh to me.

Hansen's analysis of "non-contact" on MOTD2 was spot on. We sat off them and gave them as much space as they wanted to pick a pass. The second goal was pathetic, we didn't get anywhere near their players and it was in the back of the net. Again. There didn't seem to be any bite in midfield; they look decent enough in posession but I never sensed an overwhelming desire to get the ball back and make it difficult for Spurs to play. Its a common theme this season; we making it all too easy for the opposition and not making them earn their goals enough. I also think that in Puncheon, Rodriguez, Fonte, Fox and perhaps even Clyne and Yoshida that we have too many players who aren't yet ready for the demands of Premier League football.

Disagree. Personally I think he'd get more from being involved with the matchday squad than playing in kids games. Binning him off in this manner, especially after some half-decent displays, was a surprise.

That doesn't really explain why Gazza was dropped from the entire squad and didn't even make the bench.

Made up assumptions

I ordered that in my local Chinese restaurant on Friday night.

So the entire notion that a fan was "assaulted" and Boruc threw a bottle at the crowd were, predictably enough, completely wrong. OK then. As for the treatment of Boruc; complete bellendery of the highest order. I despair of our fans at times.

That's what moving abroad for some time does In any case; Puncheon at top level doesn't do it for me. And Mayuka isn't even a right winger, but does a much better job there.

Sadly, with our sh*thouse defence, we're usually behind and chasing the game when Mayuka makes an appearance. Get him on from the start and see what happens (can't be any worse than our current predicament). And I don't know why we're relying on Puncheon, who didn't play for us last season and instead played a bit part role for relegated team.

Oh Christ. Reeves is the only genuine option if that's true.

Gazza's not even on the bench; its Kelvin. Agree about the Copper Bullet.

What would you have chosen instead?

Lambert shouldn't play anywhere but the main striking role IMO. Wasted anywhere else. We played pretty much this formation against Fulham as a 442; wouldn't be surprised to see it again. Rodriguez simply isn't a winger.

4-4-2 maybe?