With a comfortable and professional Tottenham Hotspur showing dispatching Marine in our FA Cup tie at the weekend, our Premier League match with Aston Villa has been officially postponed following their Covid outbreak, so on Wednesday evening, we will now welcome Fulham To White Hart Lane.
As fans will know, the Fulham clash (originally scheduled for December 30) had itself been postponed following their own outbreak of Covid, but I think most would accept this is a sensible reshuffle at this stage as I don’t believe Villa are even back in training yet as their positive players continue to self isolate.
Fulham should be reasonably well rested after their own break but they will have sharpness issues and some players may well be leggy after their Cup clash with QPR required Extra Time, so what we can expect from them in what will only be their second game of 2021 is anyone’s guess.
As for us, Gareth Bale has minutes under his belt once again after Marine but I wouldn’t expect to see Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg back just yet after his nasty shin collision. Giovani Lo Celso remains out.
We should be confident of all three points here as we look to keep the pressure on at the top of the table.
Fulham
Win
Draw
Lose
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Professional Spurs Swim To Victory Over Marine – Match Stats
I thought it was very much a game of two halves.
Two great saves from their keeper +a post width away from a win.
However we should really have bossed that team tonight, we should’ve been two or 3 clear by half time.
We let em into it in the 2nd half.
That’s yet another lead lost along with, Wolves, Palace, Newcastle, Wet spam.
All games we should’ve put to bed.
Team selection, for midfield poor, either Winks or Sissoko not both.
Aurier was found wanting several times “again”.
As I thought we won’t get the league, top 4 and a trophy will have to do.
We weren’t terrible just not good, we need to close off these games, against these sides.
Get 2 or even 3 up before they score between 70 and 80 minutes.
Then it’s the wacky races.
Have to disagree with you, TQ. JM picked the team and, in my view, it was far too conservative for a home game against a club at the other end of the table. Jose seems to be far more focused on not losing games than he is on winning games.
…. And there is no ‘daring’ or ‘doing’ in that philosophy.
Last night we should have been 2 or 3 up at half time, but fulham goalie did good saves and sonny hk10 hoj all missed chances. This gave fulham belief from their fouling / physical methods worked and in 2nd half spurs did not respond to their increase in tempo, gave away too many corners and freekicks, aurier was targeted down the right side I thought. Dele could have been playing in 2nd half, we had no creative play, and sloppy passing again. Their covid time out showed in that they looked fresh and full of running and up for the game.
So looks like a cup trophy for us this year and top 4 if lucky, as 7 teams in the chase for these 4 places.
In all honesty, I haven’t seen the game so I can only comment on the selection and the result.
The result is poor, and Jose has to take some blame for that. However, reading through the comments here, I suspect certain players again failed to turn up.
I too was surprised to see Sissoko start in the attacking 3. His end product lets him down and I don’t think he has much added value there.
Either it was a tactical choice by Jose which backfired (possible), or Jose had no other choice (players on the bench lacking match fitness, carrying knocks etc). I quite sure that Jose is the first to know about Sissoko’s limitations.
If Jose thinks we’re good enough to see out clean sheets and protect 1 goal leads, he’s obviously mistaken. But I still find it hard to believe that he would need about 7 reminders before doing something about it. Jose is many things, but stupid isn’t one of them. Something doesn’t add up.
Poch couldn’t get these guys over the line, doesn’t look like Jose can either. Jose has to accept some of the blame for being too conservative, as BS says (and I mentioned earlier) Sissoko doesn’t have an end product in front of goal and should never have been in a front 3. I don’t like to say it but Fulham played better football than us on the night.
We started with Sissoko as a right-sided attacking mid. With Dele, Lamela, Moura and Bale on the bench.
What does this say to us as spectators or to those players on the bench? What does it say when Sissoko has been playing the past few seasons as a defensive midfielder? Especially when he takes off a creative player like Tanguy but moves Sissoko back into a similar position that Tanguy vacated.
We most definitely sat back a bit in the 2nd half for them to come on to us. And once again Jose suggests that it was down to the players that we didn’t finish them off.Despite this now hap[penning on several occasions once we had taken the lead. It’s a clear pattern in. our play. We played well in the 1st half when looking to attack them.
In the end, Fulham had 15 efforts on our goal. 15! We had the same and yes their keeper played well. But we were still guilty of letting Fulham play football whilst we seemed to forget how to.
I can’t say that any individual Spurs player had a particularly bad game . And once again we defended well. But being defensively strong shouldn’t always be down to the fact that we have played in a way that means we have to defend so much, for so much of the time. We gave up 15 goalscoring opportunities to Fulham, a team at the bottom end of the PL… Should this be happening?
I can’t fathom it myself. But if we played like that under Poch as much as we have seen recently from Spurs. There would be cries for Poch Out!
We may still only be 6 points from the top of the PL but with all the points we have dropped from winning positions this season, we could be 6 points ahead and at the top ourselves.
It’s not just about our football being negative now is it? It’s about dropping far too many points as well. Against teams that somehow look much better against us than we should ever expect…
If that was Villa last night, Grealish would’ve destroyed us all by himself!
We didn’t lose though, did we…. lol!
Is there anyone left that still thinks Jose is the answer. I simply could not believe that starting line up – three defensive minded midfield players at home to a team in the bottom three. Unless he is parking the bus he has not got the first clue how to set a team up, there is no structure to our play, unless Kane or Son produce some magic or N’dombele does something amazing in the 20 minutes of the game that he is actually able to run then we are clueless. Once again we were out passed by a supposedly inferior team. In recent games Son and Kane (our two best players) touch the ball less than anyone on the pitch. Our passing stats and touches in the opposition penalty area are right down there at the bottom of the league. In fact other than Steve Bruce and Big Sam I would honestly choose to have any manager in the premier league over Jose. He has become a cowardly manager forever frightened of what the opposition may do to us rather than what we may do to them. Unlike the old Jose his substitutions are too late and increasingly baffling.
The worst of it all is that we are so boring and unbearable to watch. What is the point of the game if that is how you choose to play the game (not to mention the fact that it doesn’t work).
It is only a matter of time before he is gone – I just hope that Levy has an acceptable pay off clause in the contract and does it sooner rather than later.
I’m not even angry about the result, just feeling totally deflated. We should be sitting 3rd in the table this morning with the second best goal difference and a game against the bottom side at the weekend, instead we are 6th with the prospect of being overtaken by Villa who have 2 games in hand which will become 3 as they have just anounced their game at the weekend has been postponed.
At the start of the 2nd half, I thought to myself “here we go again” and I was right that is 5 times we have lost 2 pts from winning positions in the final 15 minutes of a game, plus losing 1pt at Anfield, total 11pts thrown away. We have a problem somewhere!
When Poch was in charge, a number of fans, that’s including me if I remember correctly, made comments of no plan B, I think we are seeing the same with JM.
Last nights game showed one thing regards our play, we can play! not fast, but it is there esp in the 1st half, as it seems in many of our games, but add the almost normal 2nd half type play, stop playing and invite the opposition on, making them look good, thus all this makes it very easy for the opposition coach in his half time chat. We have a problem.
To be honest we seem to be playing in general! as if we have “no will to live” “no ambition” etc I would love to know what “body language” experts think, these thoughts are as Team on the whole, every game 1 or 2 or 3 look keen/eager/willing but not all.
Did anyone notice in the 2nd half when Hoj carried the ball from our pen area, evading a number of attempted tackles, to just inside their half, on looking up their was nobody to pass to because nobody came looking for the ball, so he turned and passed it back, “if looks could kill” was the look on his face, even the commentator noticed it, for me that encapsulates Spurs at the mo.
We have a problem so…
Some questions to be asked…
1 Do the players like playing this way?
2 Does playing this way suit who we have on the field?
3 Do we get the best out of the players selected?
4 Do the team/squad really want to play for JM?
5 Is the publicity of “we are a happy bunch/squad” just bullshit?
6 Is JM a has-been! who is living on his past rep?
There are so many more questions to be asked, but I will leave it there.
I end living in hope that lessons will finally be learnt, but I am not counting my Chickens just yet! COYS
Pompey Yid – great post. I do think it is a good point about the players enjoyment of this style. The Hoj incident was very telling and helps to explain why our passing stats are so bad – there is so often no one to pass to.
I would also add that in my opinion, there are only five players that Jose trusts – Lloris, Holjberg, Regulion, Kane and Son.(maybe Dier) I suspect that the others know that they are not trusted as well which doesn’t help.
When we fail to qualify for The Champions League I wonder how many of the five players above will be looking to leave.
Thanks for that Donny, I am not quite 100% with you but if this shenanigans keeps on I most certainly will be. COYS
Just look what we had on our bench and only 2 subs used, come on jose seriously, this has happened against, Newcastle, West ham, Palace, wolves, Fulham. As i said before these tactics won’t work with this squad, and yes the players have a weak mentality. Asking spurs to defend a 1 goal lead is like telling a drunk going to pub not to drink.
Again, having read 123spurs, DH and HT’s posts, all 3 assume that Jose decided to leave flair players on the bench and pick a negative 11. It could be true, or it could be that Jose had no other option.
Lamela and Bale have been ravaged by injuries, are/were either of them ready to start a PL game? Dele has played about 3 minutes of senior football in 6 months. Is he match fit? That leaves Moura, who may have been carrying a knock and/or is being saved for this weekend. Yet we just assume that Jose willingly wants to play Sissoko at AM, when he hasn’t done it all season.
DH – “you ask “is there anyone left that still thinks Jose is the answer”. I’m not sure. But I am also not 100% sure that JM is the problem.
Our players were throwing away results under MP too.
Let’s say we sack JM now. If the problem, at least partly, lies with the players (and I think it’s fair to assume that they deserve at least some of the blame), wouldn’t a new manager encounter exactly the same issues?
Is a club better served picking a manager, and giving that manager time to build a squad of his choosing, or is the club better served sacking said manager for failing to get results with players bought before him? Honest question. And what message would that send to any potential candidates? “You have 12 months to win something with players you didn’t choose, and if you don’t you’re getting sacked”. Which top manager is going to sign that contract?
It took Klopp almost 3 years, and almost unlimited funds, to start winning things. Jose has been there for 14 months. Just a bit of perspective.
The club has made a choice to appoint JM. It may not have been the right choice to some, and it’s fair to think that. But now that the choice has been made, let’s at least give the manager enough time and backing to implement his ideas. Chopping and changing so frequently has never done any club any justice.
BS…not a bad post there, but there is still unanswered questions, to many I think, if its not JM himself then it is the players, or as you say maybe its 50/50….so what is it? something isn’t right, thus we have a problem somewhere. COYS
Thank goodness I am not paying to go to WHL…always will be White Hart Lane. I never boo at players or coaches but I would have been so angry to see our team selection. Jose is the one to blame..he sent a message to our team that we are going to play with 3 defensive midfielders who have little creativity (Winks is the best example of being busy but boring). We were playing a relegation team who did not want to be there after two days notice. What does Jose do? “We will sneak a goal with either Son or Kane then defend and send the opposition to sleep with our sideways and backwards shuffling.”
This boring, grumpy”hasbeen” is making a mockery of our club and I will be so glad when he collects his usual huge payoff and disappears for another couple of years. Good to see Scott Parker willing his players on and applauding their efforts whilst Jose slinks off down the tunnel to blame the players.
Whatever people think that was a shocking second half performance condoned by a coach that defends. Has he not realised that this tactic has failed on numerous occasions. For the last ten minutes, he realised that we had thrown away yet another lead at home. Too late Jose. Too negative Jose. Too boring Jose. Tactically naive Jose. Admit it for once. You MESSED up. You are the problem. The players look bored and scared. There is so little enjoyment in our play.
Yet again , I switched off in disgust.
We have the joint second best defensive record in the PL, alongside Villa. But Villa have played two games less. So, this is impressive enough. (Second to Man City).
IMO, we have potentially, in Ndombele, one of the most talented and exciting, young, creative attacking midfielders in the PL and Europe.
We have what a lot of pundits and supporters are saying is the most impressive, bargain-buy player from the summer TW, in our defensive mid, Hojbjerg.
We have the most impressive attacking paring in the PL in Son and Kane. If not in the whole of Europe. (I haven’t checked). And yet here we are, almost unanimously, complaining about our form, our tactics, our manager and our players…
We are in a cup final, still in contention for two more cups and even the PL title. We also have one of the most successful managers of all time…
So why, given all that? Why are we not happy today? What is so wrong?
We din’t lose!
HT, very good post there, cannot argue with those facts because they are true, but it still tells me something is very wrong somewhere, whether it be style of play, tactics, team selection, players themselves or even JM himself etc, basically I have no idea, but it still leaves me saying as I said in an earlier post….we have a problem somewhere. COYS
If they are on the bench, they are fit to play. If they are on the bench and fit to play …. use them!
Football is a sudden death game for managers. Beware Jose, the Grim Reaper has his eye on you.
BS, you say you didn’t watch the match but still have the nerve to question the thoughts of those that did see it… That is cheeky. 😉
Even if you are right in your guesswork about all of our attacking subs not being fit enough to start, that still doesn’t say anything about our 2nd half tactics from a winning position vs a poorly placed Fulham team that in the end looked like they were playing for 3rd place and Spurs were the team in the relegation zone.
I think many of us have said similar about our performances, several times this season, no matter who started or who did or didn’t come off the bench.
And if MP was fired for similar poor play, you can’t then use that thought as some kind of positive that is still somehow in Jose’s favour and then be expected to be taken seriously…
Okay, so I’m in a dark place. You know, the place that is far removed from excitement and entertainment. I can take losing, but only if we’re playing to win.
The game slipped away from us in the second half because we lost the mid-field battle. The defensive mid-fielders became too defensive and the attacking midfielders joined them. N’Dombele our one creative mid-fielder ran out of steam (as usual) and at the very least he should have been joined by another creative player (Dele being a reasonable choice after the Cup game or even Lamela much sooner) to lay on passes for our dynamic duo and another fresh front runner as the half progressed.
As it was, there was too few changes, too late and the manager must take the blame for this, particularly after so many other games where we had surrendered the initiative.
Our only hope now lies in Jose changing his mindset and in players like Bale and Lo Celso recovering from their injuries and along with Dele hitting something like their true form.
Stan….am with you there on mindset change, but I am afraid I cannot here the chickens coming to roost, get that chickens lol, I will get my coat lol!
Jose tactics should not be used if you are 1 nil up, maybe 2 or 3, why hasnt the serial winner in jose learn from this. Its 2021 time for jose to make up some new tactics as this is clearly not working with these group of players. A little biased here but this was a great chance to win the league and jose is slowly messing it up.