With three Premier League defeats on the spin, Tottenham Hotspur fans are again asking serious questions about our style of play and the spirit in the dressing room under marmite manager Jose Mourinho. No doubt for some, one big question is will this simply get worse on Sunday afternoon as we welcome Sam Allardyce’s struggling West Bromwich Albion to White Hart Lane.
Our style wasn’t too bad at the beginning of the season but whether or not it’s Mourinho’s instructions, the sheer number of games that we have played or something else, it long hasn’t clicked now and our attempts at grinding out 1-0 victories is completely undone by our failure to remain tight at the back.
We go into Sunday’s clash sat in eighth place in the PL table and irrespective of the fact we are again missing Harry Kane through injury, there can be no doubts that we have regressed as an attacking force.
It’s been a strange old season when you look at results across the division, but we look half the side we were even a month ago. On paper, West Brom sat almost bottom of the table should be the perfect boost we need to get ourselves up and running again, but after the Brighton showing, few will be confident of that.
Ho hum, I’ll be hiding behind the settee with a stiff drink.
Lawro’s prediction is for a 1-1 draw after ET with Spurs winning on pens so someone has faith in us! :- )
But these pundits are generally rubbish with their predictions…
HT…..let’s hope he’s got it right this time then. 🙂
Niall….the failure to break down stubborn defences was why I highlighted Hojbjerg’s performance against WBA earlier in the thread, his vision allowed him to pick out a few defence splitting passes, one of which gave HK10 his goal. This is an area where we have been lacking at least since Eriksen’s drop in form towards the end of his time with us, Dele has been our only other player who has offered this as a regular part of his game but if he isn’t playing……….
Even when he has played recently, it’s not as if Dele has been playing many (any) defense-splitting passes in the last months.
Everybody seems to be somehow expecting the Dele Alli of old to instproduce magic if he is played. The reality is that even when he has played in the last 2 seasons, under 2 different managers, he has been nohere near his best level.
I find it hugely optimistic/a bit naïve to just expect Dele to be a difference maker straight away, in his next game.
I don’t think it’s as simple as playing him vs. not playing him.
With City to play on Sunday TQ, I hope that he’s got it wrong, and that we can win it in the 90 minutes.
Well, that would be the preferred option HT, it would be nice to think we could rest at least two or three players but I suspect Everton will go strong so we will have to do the same if we want to progress in the cup. If you look at it logically our top 4 challenge won’t hinge on the result at the Etihad where we wouldn’t be expected to win so maybe we should prioritise tomorrows game?
Hojbjerg could only do that because we played with such a high defensive line v WBA. With our centre halves sat on, or just ahead of the halfway line.
Hojbjerg is more often than not sitting so deep that he can barely get the ball out from our bottom 3rd of the pitch. He is all too often an extra back-line defender.
Hojbjerg is Jose’s henchman, and he is the main man when it comes to dictating our defence, as to when and how it sits so deep, so much of the time. And he follows his orders from above, just like a good soldier should.
Obviously it all depends on JM’s strategy. My prediction …
0 – 3 if Kane and Son are playing.
3 – 0 If Kane and Son are not picked because they’re not defenders!
TQ, HT
100 % re Hoj, as a few have said, on many occasions we were sitting in with a back 6, then when we gained possession we had no where to go except lump it up the pitch and hope someone can hold it up.
I also think having that more forward thinking midfielder, which we had in Lamella, to a degree, was also a big help. But we (I think) need an Ericsson type midfielder.
Geof you predictions could be right either way.
I’m waiting for a HT prediction to latch on to, cos I don’t do em, cos we usually lose when I do. Lol.
I think we may win this 2 – 0. I have no idea why I think that, I have absolutely no basis for my prediction. Predicting us to score twice away from home is absolute madness considering the 6 -4- 0 formation we will be playing.
Hey everyone, regards Hoj, I read an article today in the Times, not my paper, an oppo dropped it off, by Tony Casgarino, relating to how he see’s that Hoj’s strong point is his reading of the game/his opponents next move, thus able to stop moves, which he does very well.
A lot of us are asking why the fast n furious attacking football in 10 to 15 min sections, then slowing down, well it appears from what I have read/been informed it is the way to keep the players bodies strong and themselves fit over a long, many games season, because continuous non-stop pressing/attacking will take it out of them eventually, thinking about it, simple really, esp for the older players.
Being an ex-amateur Power Lifter I should have realised it myself, dogh!
As for tomorrow’s game, HT you could easily be right there, in going back to JM’s bus parking routine, old dog new tricks comes to mind here. COYS
Well I think we could play 10 attackers in the Everton game so we have 10 fresh defenders for the City game. 🙂
TQ …. That’s a master stroke, mate!
I think I missed my calling Geof! :- )
Managers job going for grabs TQ. 🙂
If I were 10 years younger Niall……….:-(
What if the opposition plays 10 keepers????
Depends on how they set up BS, I presume they would have to nominate which one could handle the ball and face penalties? :- )
Looking forward to this game tonight, no doubt they will give our defense a work out and depends on Jose sets the team up.
2 easy gifts on a plate.
Are these players so stupid, u don’t touch body arm in the box they will just fall to ground = peno, jose ain’t to blame for this.