Having somewhat narrowly booked our place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a late and tight 3-1 victory over Morecambe last Sunday, it’s back to Premier League action this coming weekend as we welcome North London rivals, Arsenal, to White Hart Lane.
Everyone knows what this game stands for, and means, to both sets of colours, but after the disruption we’ve seen, we have two games in hand on the Gooners and although they sit two places and two points ahead of us, another victory for Antonio Conte boosts us ahead of them, decides the bragging rights, and we’d still have two games in hand on them and West Ham United, who are currently a point ahead.
We might not have the squad most seem to want, and we might not be getting the performances (I guess all of us) want, but as we head into the second half of the season, we continue to be well placed for a decent finish in the league and can more than secure Champions League football again and if we win both of our games in hand, we are breathing down the top three.
Fans know this is a long term rebuild again after Mauricio Pochettino’s peak, and further slow and steady improvement in the next few months should convince Conte his foreseeable future is here – and help Daniel Levy to loosen the purse strings so we can take that next step.
And to top it off, if we play like this on Sunday we will lose.
Can we get the ANC ref and blow up for FT now.
Sess should hang up his boots , cant cross and keeps giving the ball away
Surely the LB for the u23s couldn’t be any worse then DOH.
Outplayed but not slaughtered. Poor quality again on show but a committed performance at least. A semi final is an over achievement for this group. Can only get better….. can’t it?
Sobering fact….the whole of the Chelsea bench would have made our eleven tonight. Only two of our players (Kane and Moura) would have made their squad.
I really cannot understand why we play the falling over Lo Celso and the hapless Doherty. It is embarrassing for them to be on the pitch and hauled off every game.
This was another impotent performance whilst Chelsea strolled around as in a practice match.
Conte is losing his drive and looking disillusioned. Did anyone spot Levy in the crowd looking bored and disinterested?
No signings yet or movements out. As I have said we need to ship out at least 6 to pay for 3 decent transfers in. Other clubs are making moves in the transfer market. Why do we always procrastinate and leave things to the last minute.
Very worrying times. What a shambles we currently are!
Scores on the doors:-
Gollini 5
Tanganga 4
Sanchez 4
Davies 4
Emerson 3
Doherty 1
Hojberj 4
Winks 4
Lo Celso 2
Moura 5
Kane 5
Sessignon 3
Skipp 3
Gil 3
Conte 6
Levy 0
Why was kane given offside when a Chelsea defender between him and the goal
Good question, basically I have no Idea, maybe an out field player cannot be classed as the last man as a GK is. COYS
Conte’s system requires CB’s who are comfortable on the ball and who can pass from the back along with quality wingbacks who can deliver quality into the box, both are currently lacking which is effecting the whole team. I thought Kane was good but the service to him was absolutely dreadful. Also, what is the point of Lo Celso?
I thought we were marginally the better side tonite, I did think the actual foul on Hoj was on the line and there fore a pen, the keeper one, wasn’t, but I don’t understand the disallowed Kane goal.
However we lost and even the Kane goal would’ve made little difference.
But we were (for me) the better team on the night and certainly deserved something.
Adama Traore on a loan/purchase.
Just thought I’d break the misery of going down 3 goals on aggregate.
Traore great speed and dribbling, but some questions about finishing. But he at least can get the ball up in the offensive zone.
that was a hope not a news story by the way
Manu being linked to Lamptey and Zakaria, Villa being linked to Bissouma to add to their already astute signings, the Gooners FFS being linked to Tielemans and Vlahovic while our top target appears to beTraore, if this is the height of our ambition we are fu**ed.
Hands up if you don’t know the offside rule. Two defenders must be between the striker and goal.
Well that is one competition less to worry about. We are now almost half way through the window and predictably no activity from THFC. It doesn’t matter who the coach is, they all get equal backing from Levy and the board, in short zero. The majority of the also ran teams in the PL, a category that now includes us, are making moves to improve, which means that by the end of this window we will probably be less rather than more competitive, than we were before. How long will Conte stay now that he sees the reality of life at tight arsed THFC. We will never change whilst the current ownership retains control. Our only hope would a Newcastle style takeover, but while the match day receipts remain as they are, this is unlikely Our only hope is that things may change once Lewis eventually expires, and ENIC may decide to sell up.
I believe Levy has recently spent over £ 150 mill on new players !
Who has been a success ? Answers on a stamp please .
RM were ecstatic to get rid of Emerson for £ 26 mill ! Ndombele has always had an attitude and that is why his previous club sold him to us so quickly
How many other recent recruits have been transferred happily from their clubs ?
Levy buys cheap or loanees and now surely he can see the error of his and ENIC’s ways ?
We were once a great club but in the time of ENIC we have become a lesser and middle of the road club when comparing trophy wins with teams such as Leicester
Levy must be held accountable for the footballing shambles we are witnessing ?
Hi Allan
Just echoed what I said about these and other players in the last thread, for me it’s just lazy scouting. If they play for Barca, PSG, RM then they must be good, it looks like our scouts looked at the team rather than the player, as, I said big teams get bad players too, only thing is that they get rid of to us. 🙄😕
I see Spurs have got permission for 72 flats and a cinema. Levy says that all the money the club makes is invested back into the team. Actually not true Mr Levy. The money the club makes gets invested into the next property project in order to enhance the eventual sale price. In the meantime the fans pay the highest ticket prices in Europe to watch the absolute dross being served up. Conte already looks like a beaten man already looking for a way out.
As usual Doncaster you are spot on, you and I share similar views about our ownership regime, their indifference to the fortunes of the team is more than matched by their ambitions as property magnates. Every window we are fed rubbish about incoming players, and improvement to the squad, when in reality we are getting left behind in the quest for trophies, but never mind we have our vanity stadium where we can host world title fights, NFL games and now Sarries home games. All designed to make a few quid for ENIC while doing zero, zilch for THFC. Contrast our ownership with that of Leicester City whose owners have genuine ambition and desire to finance a competitive football club from a very limited base. I am just grateful that I was around to enjoy the achievements of THFC when we were setting the standards to which the rest of the top teams aspired and creating history. Those days will never return unless we are taken over by a new ambitious and football motivated ownership as Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd have been, and now the future looks bright for Leicester City and Newcastle and West Ham. Conte will go the same way as Ramos, JM, Poch and the rest of the many coaches since the ENIC takeover, zero financial backing.
Is anyone else concerned at Conte’s negativity – “we know we can’t compete with Chelsea” – “we know we are a middle team”. It’s really a bit pathetic and is undermining the squad. He is supposed to be an elite coach – if that is the case, then just get on with it and coach the players. What a contrast with David Moyes who is constantly talking his team up. And look at them – fourth in the League and going well in the cups. They have beaten Chelsea, Liverpool, Man U and Man City this season.
I get your point about negativity but how would it help by lying to everyone about how good our squad is?
The players are a joke, has to be called out, a loss to arsenal would be a big blow but I can’t see any fight in the team right now.
Wet slam and the pLyers had back the statement up, spurs players can’t
West ham players backed up the statement, spurs players cant
The fact is, that our problem is the ROT Clicks in our dressing room, no matter how good a coach/manager you are you cannot make a “Silk Purse out of a Sows Ear” simple as that.
Player power is here to stay! football is fcuked.
The dross/deadwood we need to sell! simple question…who will/would want that load of ****?