Gary Neville admits he has been ‘mesmerised’ by two Spurs players this season
While discussing how the full-back role has evolved over the years, Gary Neville has admitted that he has been stunned by the type of positions that Pedro Porro and Desinty Udogie take up for Tottenham.
While other managers like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp also used inverted full-backs, Postecoglou’s system is unique as he demands both of his full-backs to take up central positions rather than just having one of the two tuck in, which is the norm with other sides.
Additionally, while the likes of City simply use one of their full-backs to create an extra body in the middle of the park, the Tottenham boss gives his full-backs to freedom to take up really advanced positions, with both Porro and Udogie often being as advanced as the number ten.
Neville himself was one of the best right-backs in the Premier League during his playing days but he was more of a traditional full-back, not being blessed with the kind of technical quality on the ball than the Tottenham duo are.
Gary Neville is stunned by Tottenham fullbacks
While chatting with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, the former Man Utd man admitted that he would not have survived in the modern game.
Neville said on The Overlap: “I always think now in some ways, if I could time travel and move forward, I think every team when I watch the full-backs it’s starting to mesmerise me.
“I think how would I have even survived? I say this, how would I have even survived today and forget you, you’re a freak with the way you pass the ball but I watch Porro go into midfield and Udogie and you see what Stones is doing when he goes into midfield and Kyle has to tuck in but go back out again.
“My job was really simple, if my left-back went forward I’m tucking round. If he went forward, he tucked round.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Many fans seem to think that too many people have a recency bias and that the stars of a couple of decades ago were better players than the current generation. That could not be further from the truth.
The game has come on leaps and bounds over the last few decades, tactically, technically and physically, and many of the greats of yesteryear might struggle to even make it to the top level these days.
One only has to watch any Premier League game from the 2000s (which is not a long time ago) to see the difference in the pace of the game, how well-coached all teams are now compared to then and how much more technically gifted and athletic the players are these days.
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