Following on from Wednesday’s barnstorming FA Cup classic with Everton, Tottenham Hotspur will be holding some small hope of getting back to winning ways on Saturday as we make the trip up to in form table toppers, Manchester City.
Having played so often on a Sunday this season, many fans will be questioning why we didn’t at least get an extra 24 hours off this time, as with extra time on top, it was hardly the best preparation for this one, but we’ll just have to get on with it.
Pep Guardiola has a few injury concerns of his own, with the main one for us being Gareth Bale again but whether we get a slice of luck with either Sergio Reguilon or Serge Aurier and an earlier than expected return for them, well, manager Jose Mourinho’s press conference today will answer those questions.
Despite our 2-0 victory back at the end of November, City are a changed side now, so I imagine I’m not alone in hoping we at least take a point here.
May 23? I think
We played some decent football in the brief moments they let us have the ball.
Craziness that we gave Davies an extended 5 year contract and Dier an extension. They’re simply not good. When you need a keeper to be strong in big games Hugo often lets you down. Sanchez for a big guys is so weak , he got out muscled by the mighty big Ilkay Gudagan. These players have proven year in year out they are not good enough yet we gave them extensions or want to. The board and manager have the power to change personal, they need to take a long hard look at things in the summer if the board aspire to achieve top 4 anytime soon.
I didn’t think Sanchez was out muscled, just totally confused and stumbling.
Pathetic yet again.
DL and the board should make many player changes and one manager change.
So Citeh took the invitation to score that I referred to in my earlier comment. But I didn’t ’I think we would make it so easy for them.
Sanchez was nudged by Gundogan which threw him off balance.
We’re not good enough to beat City so I never thought we would win this, but the midweek game did take its effect. Can’t blame to much, we was outclassed but the selection wasn’t right for this game.
nudged is what I saw too, not muscled, but thrown off balance. but it made him look terribly awkward.
by the way, that three seconds of ball control by Bale made me want to see him have a go and a bit more time on the pitch. I can’t be worse than anyone he’d be replacing except Son and Harry Kandy Kane. I’d trade the front side of Gareth for the backside of Lucas.
If it had been the other way round and Gundogan had nudged Sanchez I’ve no doubt the referee would have given another soft penalty.
Doh…..if Sanchez had nudged Gundogan.
This season looked so promising for a couple of weeks earlier in the season, but looks so dreary now.
Dele and Bale showed a lot more application than in previous games, maybe the message has got through and we’ll see a bit more of them on Thursday evening.
What has the team got to lose in the misery of this season? I’d like to see much more of Dele and Gareth. At the very least, the two, if in form, have a lot to see that’s worth seeing.
Soft Pen I thought Gundouan as much kicked Hoj as the other way round, he tried a step over which actually kicked Hoj. But pen given.
New keeper please, seen enough these last couple of seasons, has too many mistakes.
Said enough about our central defence enough said when stand in Tananga was probably our best in the back 4.
Actually saw today what Bale can and can’t do. The hit of magic everybody saw and there was, a, time he got it just beyond our 18 yrd box, years ago he’d be away but I noted he couldn’t do it.
But as some have said a bit of improvement from him and Dele, but we are still a bit away from where we need to be.. 6 player defo needed.
I felt the decisions didn’t go our way today, the pen was very soft and seemed to be more of a six and two threes coming together. That said, the outcome was as expected considering the current form of both sides.
I thought the penalty was soft too. It would not have mattered which team we selected, City are just too good. We used to play like that 5/6 years ago. That’s progress for you!
I thought Sanchez had a fairly good game but was off balance for the goal. Lloris got his hand to two of their goals and his foot to the other; any other day ….
Now JM knows exactly what to expect in the League Cup final.
Lamela …. Many players are, or have been, hard but fair over the years when they tackle, but Lamela is plain stupid, dangerous and nasty when he tackles. It’s too late in his life to benefit from anger management therapy so it won’t change. I said on a recent thread that he should be told never to tackle, but to just stay between the ball and the goal.
I had a mate Burnsy, best keeper I ever saw, he had two issues which kept him from professional football.
1 A very DODGEY knee ( work injury)
2. A panchant for Merrydown dry vintage cider and magic mushrooms.
If Burnsy was on the” Magics”on a Friday nite we lost, if not we won.
I wonder, if Hugo has discovered magic mushrooms, at times it looks like it, he was accused by J amie O’Hara of having chocolate wrists.
At present he couldn’t stop a bus.
City were much too good.
However, when we get the ball and set up an attack we do everything in slow motion. Every team know how we play and have plenty of time to set their defence against us. I just don’t see how playing this way is ever going to bring us success. I could be wrong but it seems to me that this way of playing has to be down to Mourinho.
Ekkaboy 100% re your synopsis, When we’re in attack it does seem to slow down, there were one or two occasions last night where a quicker ball would’ve could’ve seen us through.
AVBs teams played a very similar way, for me too slow. Wasn’t he JM’s understudy, looks like we learned nothing then.
I wasn’t expecting much from this game anyways, but we are again undone by individual errors.
The penalty is soft but anytime you lunge at a player in the box, it’s dangerous. Did PEH have to do that there?
The back 4 made Sterling look like Messi for the 2nd. I do wonder whether Lloris should be doing better there too. He’s obviously suffering from a loss of form, and there have been several occasions recently when I have wondered whether he should have done better. Every player will go through a more difficult patch but the timing isn’t great.
The 3rd is just inexcusable. Route 1. Shambolic defending from Sanchez. I’m sure someone will try to blame it on the manager, the kit man, the weather… But if this is the standard of CB play we have to compose with, I’m not even sure a magician can help us, let alone a new manager.
The only good news is that we now have a run of very winnable games on the horizon.