- 12 hours ago
Tottenham have spent a cool £237m so far this summer, and according to Roberto De Zerbi, there's no sign of that spending slowing down. But why exactly have Spurs backed the Italian manager so much financially?Archie Corbett analyses the tactics that De Zerbi will likely set Tottenham up with, as well as how these new signings will elevate Spurs to a better season than their recent relegation threatened ones.
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00:00Right, hello and welcome back to the Archie Corbett football channel.
00:05No, never getting old that, but what do you call a team that's had back-to-back,
00:10relegation-threatened seasons, but has now somehow managed to attract
00:14one of Europe's most elite managers and then just go and spend
00:18230 million smackeroonies this summer?
00:21Well, and in case you couldn't tell, I'm talking about them Tottenham Hotspurs.
00:25Why have they decided to put all of their eggs in a nice little Roberto De Serbi-shaped basket,
00:32but also given him a completely blank checkbook to go out and get whichever player his heart desires?
00:38Well, it's both the tactical acumen of the man, but also the specific profiles of the signings
00:44that should be caused for Spurs fans to get just a teeny, tincy bit optimistic
00:50that this season shouldn't be another relegation battle.
00:53It should actually be pretty good, so let's explore.
01:00So let's take a quick look at how Roberto De Serbi will want his Spurs side to ideally
01:05be set up in that opening day trip away to Brentford, and it'll look a little bit something
01:10like this, on paper at least, a fairly standard 4-2-3-1, with at least three of these four
01:17players here being entirely new, potentially all of them, if Marcos Conesi starts.
01:22But aside from the personnel, which we will be looking at in this video, don't worry if
01:26you've come here expecting a video on why Spurs' new signings will change the way they
01:31play, you won't be disappointed, we're going to get there, but I think it's important to
01:35look at the system that Roberto De Serbi wants to employ, and how it will be quite different
01:39from your Bobby Basic 4-2-3-1.
01:41Now, as some of you may know from Roberto De Serbi's time, particularly at Brighton, he
01:46loves to create this sort of box shape with his two central midfielders and his two centre
01:51backs, and that then allows the full backs to push on slightly, and what it does is it
01:56gives a 2-4 base in this area of the pitch, across from the full backs and the centre backs.
02:03And this pair here, the two centre backs, are set up to invite pressure, to bait a press,
02:09while the midfield, well, they're here to try and receive the ball once that press has been
02:14baited.
02:15And then in keeping the full backs nice and high, you've got all sorts of angles that
02:19you can play with here, all sorts of triangles, all sorts of nice little pretty diamonds that
02:24you can play with, you've got loads of options when trying to play out of a press.
02:27And the next part of progressing the ball in a De Serbi system comes from the forward
02:32line, and this is where normally the number 10 and the striker both drop in to this zone
02:38here.
02:39And the idea of playing this system against a press in particular, is that this area
02:44here now should have been vacated by the midfield of the opposition, because they've naturally
02:49tracked these two here, let's put them in here.
02:51And then what it does, is it gives the centre backs a decision to make, because they either
02:56have to go with the two players, therefore vacating a massive amount of area here, or they
03:02just leave them.
03:03And again, those two players have got a load of space to pick up the ball.
03:06But let's say the centre backs go with them, then where's the space now?
03:10Well, the space is in behind, and what he likes to do with his wingers is they stay very
03:14high and wide, and often they can exploit this space in behind with direct running.
03:19And also what you've got here now, in this central area, if you're Spurs, is you've got
03:25a six versus four overload in that central part of the pitch, and that's really important
03:30for the way De Zerbe likes to play.
03:32Now, with the tactical principles in mind, let's look at how the new signings can change
03:37the way that Tottenham play, because they've gone from this four, this box shape here is
03:42particularly where things are going to change.
03:43You've gone from having Kevin Danso, Mickey van der Ven, Yves Bissouma or Jao Pelinha, sort
03:49of take your pick, and Rodrigo Bentancourt, to now this.
03:53You've got Jan van Hecker, you've got Marcos Sonesi or van der Ven, again, take your pick,
03:58and then crucially, you've got Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali running the midfield.
04:03You've essentially swapped out four players for four entirely new ones, so that's naturally
04:08going to change the way that Tottenham play.
04:10And let's look at how it works with that first group of players in that box shape last season,
04:15because they did try and play that Roberto de Zerbe style football with that personnel.
04:20Now, take this example against Everton.
04:23This is Spurs' last game of the season.
04:25They're fighting for their proverbial light here, and they're still trying to implement
04:29de Zerbe's system in an effective manner, and they're playing between the two players
04:33at the base of that box, centrally, that de Zerbe likes to have.
04:37It's the two centre-backs, and then the press from Everton is triggered once Kevin Danso
04:41gets the ball.
04:42He then fires it into Conor Gallagher, who's dropped deep, again, into that box.
04:46One touch into João Palinha, one touch into Richarlison, back to Conor Gallagher, and Spurs
04:53are in.
04:53And that's a de Zerbe side in full flow, quick one-touch passing, playing out of a press
05:00in a very organised, premeditated manner.
05:03It's 10 out of 10, no notes, just perfect.
05:07So yes, back to the new signings and how they'll help this system.
05:10And let's start with the two midfielders, particularly Mateus Fernandes.
05:14And what Mateus Fernandes offers you is a very progressive midfielder when carrying the
05:18ball from deep, and he really likes to work in these half-spaces here.
05:23And this is, as ever, thanks to player print, but let's compare his actions in these half-space
05:28areas with some of the other Tottenham midfielders.
05:31And this is Mateus Fernandes' here, and you can see there's lots of actions in these
05:35particular zones.
05:36A lot of penetrating passes.
05:38Those green markers are the ones that are going into that zone.
05:41So he's doing a lot of his work there, but then we look at Bentancur and Palinja, who
05:45have been playing this role previously, and it's not quite the same.
05:48There's nowhere near as much penetration into the dangerous areas.
05:52So yeah, he's definitely a more advanced option for Tottenham.
05:55But he also has pretty strong defensive numbers as well.
05:58He's very active off the ball, particularly in tackles and recoveries.
06:02Like, he's the absolute definition of an all-action midfielder.
06:06And it'll be so important for the way that De Zerbi wants these two holding midfielders
06:11to play.
06:11He's really, really good at this.
06:13Now let's take a look at this example of their build-up.
06:16This time it's against Aston Villa.
06:18And one interesting characteristic of De Zerbi ball is that he likes to rotate his central
06:23midfielders and his full-backs quite regularly when trying to build up.
06:27You'll often get one of the central midfielders drop into this full-back area, and it often
06:31leaves the full-back to roam into this number 10 area.
06:35Again, like we said, almost alongside the striker where the striker likes to drop in.
06:39And this gives you a player here who's much more capable of playing out, much more capable
06:43of turning out and playing through the lines rather than having a full-back there.
06:47But it also frees up normally quite an athletic profile in someone like a Pedro Porro or a
06:52Destiny Adoghi to try forwards.
06:54And Spurs have tried this time and time again last season.
06:57This time it's Adoghi and Palinha who have switched on this near side, and this has disjointed
07:02the Aston Villa press.
07:04And it's left this huge space on the other side for Bentancourt to drive into once he's
07:09received the ball.
07:10But, and maybe it's just me, but he looks almost reluctant to exploit this gap that's
07:15been made for him.
07:16And he kind of waits for the defender to engage.
07:18And by the time that happens, just look at the off-ball runners he could have found if
07:23he was a little bit more ambitious with his progression, and the ball's turned around
07:27and Spurs recycle possession.
07:29Now just imagine if it was Mateus Fernandes in that position instead of Rodrigo Bentancourt.
07:34Like I said, he's a much more progressive midfielder.
07:37So let's look at the numbers that back that up.
07:40And let's compare their progressive passing maps from last season.
07:43Again, player print, thank you very much.
07:45You're incredibly helpful.
07:47And Bentancourt has some, this is his map, but they're sort of few and far between.
07:51They're not particularly penetrative, again, into that attacking area.
07:55Now let's look at Mateus Fernandes if we just flip that.
07:59And yeah, it's safe to say that one of those runners in the clip we just showed you would
08:05have been found if this was Mateus Fernandes instead of Rodrigo Bentancourt.
08:09So yeah, big tick on what Mateus Fernandes can offer you.
08:12So let's go to the other midfielder, Sandro Tonali, who they shelled out £100 million for.
08:17What does he offer you?
08:19Well, not to be boring, but it's progression again.
08:23But his comes in a slightly different form.
08:26Tonali's more of a kind of conductor from these deep areas here.
08:30And his progressing is mainly done through line-breaking passes
08:33rather than carries into the opposition area.
08:36Take this assist against Man City.
08:38It's beautiful.
08:39Taking all five of these Man City players out of the game
08:42with one single pass and Harvey Barnes is through and scores.
08:46Or this assist versus Everton, which is a personal favour of mine.
08:49It might be slightly more subtle, but again, the ball is from a deeper area.
08:53And this pass is just so perfectly weighted, but it leaves Adrisa Gay running after the ball
08:58like a kid running after a flying balloon.
09:00He was never going to get there.
09:02And it's his sheer accuracy and weight of pass that was a real difference maker for Newcastle
09:07in certain games when they needed to gain a little bit of territory in the midfield.
09:12He's just second to none when it comes to this bit of his skill set.
09:16Now, you might be thinking, why is this needed for Tottenham?
09:19And I'm going to show you because there are countless examples
09:22of when both Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali's skill sets
09:26would have been perfect for Tottenham last season.
09:28These first two are literally just from one game that I pulled out against Wolves.
09:32And it's Yves Bissouma in this position.
09:35The first time you can see Solanke's making this peeling run off of the centre-back.
09:39But Yves Bissouma, maybe seeing him, maybe not, just decides to play it short.
09:44The ball ends up going nowhere and they turn over possession.
09:47And this one's literally three minutes later, right?
09:50And Solanke's making an almost identical peeling run off the centre-back
09:54to try and stretch this Wolves-low block even further back.
09:57And Yves Bissouma once again plays it short into Xabi Simons
10:01and possession's recycled and they go nowhere with it.
10:04And lastly, this time it's against Brighton
10:06and it's Conor Gallagher who's dropped deep into this zone.
10:09They get a quick rotation on this far side.
10:11Again, the exact scenario that Roberto de Zerbe is trying to create.
10:15And if Gallagher had the awareness to either leave it for Pedro Porro
10:19or turn out into this space,
10:21then Spurs would have been in a really good position.
10:23But instead, I mean, just look at the reactions of Porro and Bentonke.
10:27He turns backwards and the ball goes back to the goalkeeper
10:30who once again plays a long ball and Spurs lose it.
10:34Now just imagine if that was Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes
10:37instead of the midfielders it was in those positions.
10:40And sure, they might have lost the ball
10:42trying to play one of those ambitious passes into Dominic Solanke.
10:46And sure, Mateus Fernandes might have lost the ball
10:48driving into the space that Rodrigo Bantancur outright refused to.
10:53But Spurs never had the opportunity to try those things out
10:56because of the limited skill set on the ball
10:59that their midfielders had last season.
11:01They can't play that proper Roberto de Zerbe way
11:04with their current midfielders.
11:06So they've gone out and spent £180 million
11:09on two new players that, in an ideal world,
11:13will completely fix that.
11:14And just quickly, because I realise I've spent a hell of a lot of time
11:18talking about that midfield pair,
11:19but let's have a look at the centre-back signings
11:22like I promised you I would.
11:23And let's have a look at them both together
11:25rather than in isolation
11:26because they're both signed with one very clear directive.
11:30And again, it's that word progression.
11:33They're both elite at progressing the ball quickly
11:36but also accurately.
11:37Marcos Cinesi was by every imaginable metric
11:40the Premier League's most progressive passer of the ball
11:43bar absolutely nobody last season.
11:46The numbers are eye-watering.
11:48Partly that was due to the role that Iriola wanted him to play for Bournemouth.
11:52He was often the trigger to play balls in behind.
11:54He was injecting a lot of energy into the midfield
11:56but it's also down to his elite passing
11:59and his ability to be direct when needed.
12:02So yeah, I mean, on a free especially,
12:05that signing completely checks out
12:06for what Roberto de Zerbe wants from his centre-backs.
12:10And Jan van Hecker from Brighton as well.
12:12He fits this system perfectly
12:14but more as a kind of quarterback figure.
12:16He's often at his best
12:18when he's the last man in defence.
12:20And again, this will allow either Cinesi or Van de Ven
12:23to drive with the ball
12:25or progress the ball forwards with again
12:27either passing or dribbling.
12:29You've got Cinesi who's an elite passer
12:30and Van de Ven who loves to dribble into those areas.
12:33So he's the perfect centre-back
12:35to complement either of them.
12:37And Van Hecker will play these long raking balls
12:40for on-rushing wingers
12:41who, like I said at the start of the video,
12:43are the exact kind of wide players
12:45that Roberto de Zerbe loves to get
12:47into the areas that Van Hecker loves to find.
12:52In fact, both Cinesi and Van Hecker
12:54rank in the 98th and 100th percentile
12:57respectively for progressive passes.
13:00In fact, this is both of their passing profiles
13:03and yeah, what are you getting out of them?
13:05It's progression, it's progression.
13:07That's Spurs' whole identity going into this season.
13:11This is sending me insane.
13:12But I know I'm banging on about progression
13:14like it's going out of a fashion
13:16and I'm not just making up
13:17that Spurs need to do this
13:19despite all of the examples I've shown you.
13:22The numbers also back up the fact
13:24that this was a real weak spot
13:25for Tottenham last season.
13:27They were the lowest team in the Premier League
13:30for through balls last season
13:32and they were also the lowest in the Premier League
13:34for fast breaks
13:36and sure, this could be a stylistic thing
13:38but Spurs were bang average for possession
13:40and they didn't really excel
13:42in any other attacking category either
13:44so it's simply another indicator
13:47of their inability to progress the ball
13:50quickly up the pitch.
13:52So what have they done?
13:52They signed four players
13:54that just do that so, so well.
13:57So all of this I've shown you
13:58as well as a full pre-season
14:00for Roberto De Zerbe to get his ideas
14:03across to this squad
14:04and there should be, like I say,
14:05some real optimism for Tottenham
14:08going into this season.
14:09It shouldn't be a relegation battle.
14:11It shouldn't be.
14:12And I'm aware we said the exact same thing
14:15this time last season
14:16about Thomas the Frank Engine
14:18and you could certainly say that that
14:21derailed a little bit.
14:24But with Savino looking like
14:26he might be coming through the door
14:27at some point this summer
14:29along with potentially
14:30what could have been
14:31the maddest signing of the summer
14:32if they'd have been able
14:33to get Junior Kruppi in
14:35and that's not going to happen
14:35because he broke his foot.
14:37But there's a clear, clear directive
14:39from the Tottenham board
14:40that they're going to be spending
14:41more money this summer.
14:43De Zerbe, even in a press conference,
14:45said that they've got another bomber coming,
14:47whatever that means.
14:48He says they're about 60% done
14:50so expect more money to be spent
14:52on a squad that already
14:53looks far superior
14:55to what they turned out
14:56last season with.
14:57So yes, do I think Tottenham
14:59will be in a relegation fight
15:01next season?
15:02No.
15:02Almost certainly not.
15:04But again, I probably thought that
15:05about the two seasons prior
15:06so who knows.
15:07But do I think Roberto De Zerbe
15:09will be a quote-unquote success
15:11at Tottenham?
15:12I think with the money
15:13they're throwing at him
15:14with the tactical acumen of the man
15:16I think he kind of has to be.
15:18But I'm also aware
15:19there's been
15:21some news.
15:23Look, Adam's off.
15:25Like I've said,
15:25he's on holiday.
15:26He's absolutely fine.
15:27But when the news dropped
15:28I sent him a message
15:29and his exact quote was
15:31tomorrow I'm going for
15:32bottomless oysters.
15:34Newcastle aren't ruining that for you.
15:35So let the man enjoy his oysters.
15:37Let the man enjoy his holiday.
15:38You'll get a video at some point
15:39whether it's next week,
15:40whether it's in two weeks,
15:41whether it's in a month.
15:41He will do a video on it.
15:43I'm sure of that.
15:44I'm not going to try
15:45and do a video on it
15:46because that would be disingenuous.
15:48I know it's the Adam Cleary football channel
15:49and I'm taking the piss a little bit
15:51but if I was to start covering Newcastle
15:54then I fear you'd all hate me
15:55and be baying for my blood.
15:57Anyway,
15:58before you bay for my blood
15:59please subscribe to the channel.
16:01We're going to keep doing transfer videos.
16:03We're going to keep doing
16:04little tactical previews of managers.
16:06So like I've said before,
16:07please do keep giving me ideas
16:08of what you want to see on the channel.
16:10I'm not entirely sure what to do
16:11going into next week.
16:12I'm hoping that Vinicius Junior
16:14signs for Arsenal
16:15because that would be a lovely video
16:16to do for several reasons.
16:18You can get me across all the socials
16:20at Arch Corbett,
16:21TikTok,
16:22I'm Instagram,
16:23I'm Twitter,
16:24all of those fun stuff.
16:25And yeah,
16:26Tottenham,
16:26I think there's some really interesting,
16:28really interesting things in there.
16:30I think there's some fascinating signings
16:31that you can still make
16:32on top of the ones you've already made
16:34but hey,
16:35£230 million
16:36and we're not out of July yet.
16:38That's pretty good going.
16:39That's very un-Daniel Levy.
16:40So congratulations on that.
16:43I'm sure this season
16:44will be much better for you.
16:46But if it's not,
16:47it'd be quite funny,
16:48wouldn't it?
16:48Anyway,
16:49I'm going to go.
16:49Goodbye.
16:50Please subscribe to the channel,
16:51like, comment,
16:52all that stuff.
16:53And yeah,
16:54bye.
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