BBC Chief football writer Phil McNulty pieces through the carnage.

Coys! Starting a match thread here cause I don't use Reddit anymore.

Fuck Chelsea!

[WhoScored] Maddison starring for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham but Dejan Kulusevski is under the radar key man

https://talksport.com/football/1630841/heung-min-son-james-maddison-ange-postecoglou-tottenham-dejan-kulusevski/

Some interesting Deki stats here confirming what we all probably know: goals and assists aren't the whole story when it comes to our wingers.

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[The Standard] Ange Postecoglou explains how he picks perfect signings for Spurs
https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/tottenham-postecoglou-transfers-maddison-van-de-ven-b1118251.html

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Unbeaten.

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[Sky Sports] Fan Q and A with Micky van de Ven 👇

https://youtu.be/KB_q-WeXSd0

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Recuperación: Rodrigo Bentancur's recovery story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw4wA3AJ8vo

A beautifully shot film of our man's remarkable fight back to fitness.

On his relationship with his teammates: “The truth is that we're not just friends, we're more like brothers”

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From hero to villain? A Spurs fan's view of Pochettino's return

https://www.premierleague.com/news/3764894?sf270085428=1

> How will Chelsea head coach be received back at his old club? Read a supporter's perspective and history lesson

(That supporter being Windy of The Extra Inch)

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U21s goal difference almost twice our nearest rivals. These kids are cooking.

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"Is this a little bit going back to see an ex-girlfriend, going back to Spurs?" 👇

Pochettino's response after being asked about return to 'ex' Spurs - BBC Sport

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/67314484

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Dele to return?

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Summary:

• Tottenham have overhauled their recruitment department, hiring Johan Lange as technical director and bringing back Rob Mackenzie as chief scout.

• Mackenzie previously worked at Spurs in 2015-16 before moving to Derby County. He has an analytical background and worked with Lange at Aston Villa.

• The new recruitment team will aim to use data and analysis to unearth undiscovered gems in the transfer market, as well as identify players who fit Postecoglou's system.

• Mackenzie is known for his thorough scouting and for advising against players who won't fit a manager's tactics. Postecoglou is expected to have a big influence on transfers.

• The new setup aims to improve on recent recruitment issues at Spurs. Paratici's role may be diminished with his ban, while Postecoglou drove transfers in his first window.

• The hope is the new team brings efficiency and minimizes risk in signings, avoiding past mistakes like Ndombele. Providing tailor-made players for Postecoglou's system is the priority.

"Well, they [Spurs] are right now up there and they're merited to be where they are, so, yes," said Arteta when asked if he considers Spurs title rivals.

https://theathletic.com/live-blogs/premier-league-news-live-updates-injury-press-conferences/sJAiLIN3caHh/RuPZxgN5XqLn/

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Quote of the day:

Did you go to the team meal, it looked fun?

The reason it was fun was because I wasn't there.

Summary

• Team news: Davies still has ankle issue and is touch and go for Chelsea game. Udogie also 50/50 with injury. Everyone else available apart from long-term absentees.

• Focused on the present and next challenge of Chelsea game, not dreaming about anything further ahead.

• Next few games against Chelsea, Villa, Man City, Newcastle will be defining but only focused on Chelsea now.

• Gave players couple of days off after Palace game then intensive training this week to make up for lack of midweek games. Used it to work on things physically, tactically and keep squad fit.

• Not focused on league table position, just on tackling each challenge and focusing on improving.

• Pochettino had huge impact at Spurs and his work is unquestioned. Will only be respect from club for him but won't get guard of honour as we want to win.

• Styles have similarities in wanting to play progressive, attacking football but more nuance than just saying two managers/teams are alike.

• Players equally culpable for last season, had to take responsibility and embrace new direction. Changed environment, training, way we do things.

• Son seemed right choice for captain at the time with Kane leaving. Knew he would embrace it and fill leadership void. Helped rejuvenate him.

• Lange now in building interacting with people. Important he and Mackenzie joined early before January window. Aims to get business done early in window.

• Sarr's versatility to play 6/8/10 a strength currently. Will refine game but provides enormous energy now.

• Romero been rock in defense, guides others with winner mentality. Van de Ven partnership working well but down to individual quality.

• All managers have unique challenges outsiders can't understand. Pochettino will get Chelsea right, has great track record.

• Success not about unlimited spending. Needs right chemistry and players committed to cause. Wouldn't want £1bn and 24 best players.

• Didn't worry about inheriting Pochettino's legacy. Focused on what environment needed. Once managers become exes, they're exes.

• Attack clicking through players understanding roles more, becoming clearer in approach. More upside but takes time. Goals vs Palace came from training work.

I was digging around in Son's data on FBref recently, exploring his phenomenal xG overperformane (see here) and thought I'd dig out his goals that are both low xG (harder to score) and high PSxG (post-shot xG - quality of shot, difficulty to save).

The link here is a list of those goals. The closer to 0 the xG, the more difficult the shot. The closer to 1 the PSxG (also sometimes called xGOT), the more perfect the shot and more difficult to save.

https://rentry.org/sonny-goals

Interesting that both recent goals against Arsenal feature 6th and 1st.

What do you think? How many of these do you rank among your favourite Son goals?

It's interesting his first against Arsenal in the recent NLD is number 1. Maddison's assist was stellar, but the way in which Son made use of so little space, squashed between two world-class defenders, and struck it with absolute perfection... It's so unlike other Son goals, and shows what a versatile and lethal strikers he is. A fantastic goal and hopefully a foreshadowing of many more to come.

It'll be interesting to see where his xG, PSxG, and overperformance goes now that he's scoring all his goals from inside the box.

Vote for Vicario's save of the month 🙌

✅ https://www.premierleague.com/news/3762166

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Ange team news ahead of Chelsea clash

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tl;dr summary:

• Leonardo Gabbanini was Tottenham's chief scout who became interim sporting director after Fabio Paratici's departure due to a 30-month ban for illegal transfer practices at Juventus

• Gabbanini faced many challenges during his 14 months at Spurs, including Paratici's ban, Pochettino's departure, and uncertainty over Harry Kane's future

• With Paratici gone, Gabbanini worked directly with Levy and Postecoglou over the summer transfer window to sign players like Maddison, Porro, Van de Ven, Vicario, and Udogie

• Levy wanted "fresh air" after the toxicity of Conte's tenure and controversy around Paratici, so he hired Postecoglou based on Gabbanini's recommendation

• Gabbanini and Postecoglou bonded over their focus on understanding players as people, not just athletes

• After the summer transfers, Tottenham decided to hire more directors above Gabbanini, so he left feeling he took Spurs as far as he could in the interim sporting director role

• Gabbanini is proud of the club's current pathway and success after the challenging times during his tenure

Thanks to @[email protected] for the link to this.

In this series of articles for Sky Sports, from 2017 Mackenzie outlines the challenges facing the modern football scout and the insights that can help to overcome them.

A list of some players Rob Mackenzie has had a role in scouting:

• Jamie Vardy
• N'Golo Kanté
• Riyad Mahrez
• Heung-min Son
• Toby Alderweireld
• Ollie Watkins
• Emi Martínez
• Matty Cash
• Bertrand Traoré

Pretty good CV.

This article from 2014 is worth a read: https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11662/9484649/the-science-of-scouting-changes

Thanks to @[email protected] for the heads-up.

In a nutshell Rob Mackenzie is responsible for bringing in both Mahrez and Kanté during his time as a head scout at Leicester. At Spurs Mackenzie was responsible for bringing in Son. Sounds like a great re-hire for Spurs.

Dan Kilpatrick: "So, really, the big question is not whether Levy deserves credit for hiring Postecoglou but whether he has learnt lessons from Pochettino’s tenure and can ensure that history does not repeat itself."

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/tottenham-levy-pochettino-postecoglou-chelsea-fc-b1117410.html

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Interesting stat. Look how much time Spurs have spent in a losing game state this season. A testament to our league topping, A+ Rolls Royce defence.

More interesting is how the narrative around Angeball was that we'd be porous, open to counters, and generally janky at the back. Yet it's the *precise* opposite. Our defence is pure quality.

This came from the Tifo IRL video "Are Arsenal worse this season?" if you're curious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU4IaZcJwJU

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