Another deconstruction of the 1-5

( Originally posted in the comments over at WhoFramedRuelFox here: http://bit.ly/ngBYVv )

I can’t help myself. I’m like a child with a scab.

I’ve just been looking at the Guardian chalkboards…

4 of City’s goals came from inside the box, where they made 11 attempts (6 on target, 5 off target) – 55% on target in the box (compared with 41% overall).
Our single goal came from inside the box, where we made 10 attempts (2 on target, 4 off target, 4 blocked) – 20% on target in the box (compared with 24% overall).

They made 10 blocks (spread across Kompany with 5, and one each for Barry, Dzeko, Lescott, Richards and Savic).
We made 3 blocks – all Dawson.

Their 85% pass completion also saw them attempt to pass 181 times more (648) than our 79% (467 total), or 186 more accurate passes than we managed.

They managed 77% successful clearances, to our 50%.

Looking at the midfield battle:

We achieved more interceptions with 21 to their 13, and tackled with 69% success (47 won, 21 lost) to their 41% (23 won, 33 lost).

45% of their passes took place in our half. 50% of our passes took place in their half.

Looking at our four central midfielders individually:

Kranjcar – 88% pass completion, 63% of successful passes in their half, four tackles all won
Modric – 78% pass completion, 64% of successful passes in their half, four tackles out of seven won
Huddlestone – 81% pass completion, 59% of successful passes in their half, one tackle won
Livermore – 75% pass completion, 63% of successful passes in their half, one tackle won

You could argue that the tackles numbers aren’t very good, but given that Barry and Toure managed four successful tackles between them, we did quite well.

Ok, we all know there are lies, damned lies, and statistics, but I think all this gives lie to is Harry’s complaint about the central midfield ‘crisis’. Modric didn’t play his best for whatever reason you care to name, Huddlestone wasn’t fully fit, Kranjcar isn’t really a central midfielder, and Livermore really isn’t all that great, just a useful squad player for the time being. But they all put in a shift and did relatively well.

Our real problem was the fact our defenders gave City’s forwards too much time and space (partly because we didn’t have a man covering the defence and closing the forwards down, and partly because the back four looked horribly off the pace), and that City defended as a unit and Kompany was (and is) an exceptional defender who didn’t allow any of our forwards space/time to breathe. The former problem could’ve been easily addressed early on by bringing Livermore or Huddlestone on for someone (anyone) and telling them to sit deep and pick off Nasri, Silva or Aguero; the latter problem isn’t so easy due to our well-known lack of forward options, but could’ve been solved either by setting VdV on Kompany – briefed to act as a decoy – and Defoe on Lescott. Even if neither got the better of the marker, they ought to have been able to create space for our attacking midfielders to run into. What exactly Crouch was supposed to achieve is a mystery.

Sorry to be such a statto bore, but I’m quietly hoping Harry learns some lessons, and my fellow Spurs fans don’t continue to follow his narrative that we’re somehow lacking in midfield. Falque *ought* to address Lennon’s lack of competition (that’s why we got him, right?), and Parker (if he comes) will replace Livermore as more experienced combative CM option. Neither will solve our current problems, because midfield really isn’t that much of an issue, as far as I’m concerned. Our midfield held their own against the United team that just bitchslapped Arsenal – it was the defence that capitulated.

Ok, I think I’ve wasted enough of my bank holiday picking at this particular wound, time to leave it to heal. COYS.