It’s been a different festive fixture crush for Tottenham Hotspur fans and we are all still waiting to see what happens to our potential Europa Conference League appeal, but at least everyone headed into Christmas Day with a smile on their face as manager Antonio Conte’s side backed up a very good point against Liverpool with EFL Cup semi-final progression against West Ham United on Wednesday evening.
Once a jolly fat man breaks into our homes and people recover from their meals, it’s all eyes to Crystal Palace on Boxing Day and then a very rapid turnaround to Southampton two days later – but more on Southampton when we know whether or not it actually goes ahead.
For now, it seems safe to guess the Palace clash will continue as planned but what squad Conte can call on remains to be seen and depends what the test results say between now and then.
But that’s a worry for another day, Sunday, in fact.
Until then, to everyone on Vital Spurs, have a great Christmas with you and yours and once some of us have sobered up (hic), I’ll wish you all a Happy New Year and thank you all for putting up with me for another one as well.
My hopes and dreams for January 2022.
* We have a decent clearout of our benchwarmers/ mistakes.
* We look closely at our youth policy and try to create some exciting youngsters like Chelsea and Arsenal.
* We sign a couple of top exciting players. (No bargain bin buys).
* We play fast, attractive, attacking football.
* We respond to the enthusiasm of the energetic Conte.
* We look closely at the captain position. We need on onfield enforcer such as Kane, Dier or Hojberjb. (Lloris is far too remote and silent).
This particular fixture last year (for me) was the start of our downward spiral, and for better or worse actually spelled the demise of Mourinho.
We battered Palace (to a degree) this time last year and came away with very little, their keeper as I remember played a blinder, we couldn’t break em down and subsequently went from top of the league to 7th in a short space of time.
Now however I feel under AC we are a different animal, and tho’ Palace are no longer “Woys defensive boys” I do think that we will be just too much for them.
In reality all they have is the whinging, cheating Saha who looks for free kicks and sending offs at every nip and turn.
We will beat this dull lot by quite a margin. I can feel it. 😏
This game is going to add to our Christmas cheer with the Cockerels plucking the Eagles feathers, they will be down after the game.
Spurs 4-0 winners.
Have a good un all you merry Yid fans. COYS
Thanks for you threads during the year, Danny.
Wishing one and all a happy and safe festive season.
Wentworth – My hopes and dreams for January 2022.
“* We have a decent clearout of our benchwarmers/ mistakes.” So how do we do that ? give them away ? Pay some of their wages while they play for other clubs ? Because if they aren’t good enough for us why would someone else pay good money for them, especially when every club’s finances have been hit by covid ? Who in any case are these “benchwarmers/mistakes ?” According to you Bergwijn is rubbish, he didn’t look it against West Ham, maybe Conte has a different view to you of what sort of squad he’s got.
“* We look closely at our youth policy and try to create some exciting youngsters like Chelsea and Arsenal.” right no crap players like Skipp then ?
“* We sign a couple of top exciting players. (No bargain bin buys).” Any chance you could tell us where the money comes from and who exactly we would be buying ? I know men with no names are so much cheaper and always available but the club has to sign real players.
“* We play fast, attractive, attacking football.” No thoughts the first priority might be winning football ? Because what Conte is saying is the wins come first and hopefully the style will follow given time.
Always looking for a petty argument Jod. I know I’m right. You are happy to put up with mediocre group of bench warmers.
I would like us to be ambitious and strive for the best. Not so long ago we had Walker, Rose, Vertongen, Alderwereild, Erikson etc.
See my point. We can do it.
Skipp is great but we need top talent coming through in critical positions.
Game has now been scheduled for live broadcast by BT, presumably because their original selection has been postponed. Happy days!
Let’s play winning football that’s worth watching. No winning by boring the opposition to death. I’m not sure what Conte said about the balance between winning and style–my lack of knowledge here–but going back 60 years to the most glorious team in our history, it mattered how we played, not just that we won. Our team needs to play to win, and to do it in style. Style alone has little value–results matter. Resutls alone have little value–it matters how one lives and plays.
I don’t think it’s sanctimonious to call for this. It used to be simply the Spurs way. How we play matters. How we live matters. Don’t bore the world with what we do and how we do it. Live and play with style, play in a way that justifies pride in one’s self. Winning does not trump the way we live.
Dele is a bench warmer at least put him into clueless catagory
For me I’m on a conundrum here, ss I said earlier, those I wanted away have suddenly stepped up to the plate, Dele, Winks, Doh.Bergs, but one swallow doesn’t make a summer and all that.
However we do need to freshen the squad I feel one central defender, a Midfield play maker and Centre forward could do that for now.
Currently who could go, for me, Dave, Rodon, Lo Ceslo, Clarke are now my top picks to leave.
I’m sure there are different players on other people’s list, currently for me, they are the ones not improving, by not forcing themselves on to the team.
Are Dele, Winks etc too late in their come back, I don’t know, but would give them until summer to see how it pans out.
We all have differing opinions on who needs to go and why.
TK, whilst I loved the way we played, I feel going back to that type of free flowing play is a long way off, I think that we need to stabilise become hard to beat,, get fitter, then the flair will come.
But we currently need to dig in and work out results, sometimes win ugly maybe most times this season win ugly, until we establish a winning mentality.
It pleases me no more than you to have seen our past 18/24 months of dross, but I do think AC is the way forward though at times it may not be pretty.
Danny thanks for this and other threads this year, Merry Christmas folks 😂🎅🎄
Merry Christmas to all!
Merry Christmas to all VS posters and staff.
Spurs to ground eagles / palace by 2-0 tomorrow. Jan transfer window will be interesting….
We need to see what Conte thinks and does as our ideas are just speculation and may differ from realty… COYS
Niall,
I didn’t call for free-flowing play. Somewhere between free-flowing play and boring the opponent (and supporters) to death provides a lot of space for acceptable styles. If we are to err, I’d much rather see us err in the direction of free-flowing play than playing like we don’t know how to go forward.
Other than Mourinho my greatest disappointment with the appointment of a manager was George Graham, and not because of his previous employer. Playing to induce the linesman to raise the off side flag is playing to bore us all to death. Might as well watch paint drying as my grand dad liked to say.
Our team–our glories Spurs–has a tradition. The tradition is to play to provide pleasure to those watching. Watching a team play with no flow is, for me, a no go. Watching a team play that clearly is afraid to flow is torture. If a team isn’t willing to play, but hides in its own defensive end, I’d as soon watch someone picking their nose. If they pick their nose and then put it in their mouth? That’s more thrilling than playing football to get a linesman’s flag raised in an off side.
There is not an effing reason in the cosmos that a team cannot win and thrill us all at the same time. Winning while boring us has all the value of a bucket of phlegm.
Feliz Natal to all.
And some January presents from Paratici et al, please. One solid center back, one attacking wing back, and the next Modder Focker in the midfield. Oh, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Forget the partridge. Make that one banty rooster.
Forget the pear tree. Make that with a pair of gonads.
Good cheer, mates. Let January bring some free flowing thrills.
Health and happiness to all.
FFS…..the game is reportedly off due to covid in the Palace squad. 🙁
TK
Only saying that it “may be” a long painful road back to the type of football many of us want to see.
For me that was free flowing, cavalier, front foot football.
That is what I meant and for me the description” free flowing “was how we played.
However your wishes may be different on how you describe it.
What ever it is, many of us, want away from the pedestrian, lacklustre, reactive play of the last few, seasons.
Call it what you will, for me what we used to play was” free flowing” and what I was trying to get across is that it will take time to get the confidence into our current players and /or get the standard of players to do this.
But I’m sure you have you own name for what it is you want.
Without putting words in your mouth, it’s to do with entertaining satisfying football at the end of a game, for me AC is a step in the right direction, not sure yet if he’s the answer, time will tell.
But it is amazing how “entertaining” being in and around top 4 can be. 😏😉
No mention it on sky sports, eriksen was never replaced, as he made the clock tick
Postponement hasn’t been confirmed so I guess it’s still on unless there is another late call. Happy days if it’s still on but it appears there is still some uncertainty.
Starting XI: Lloris (c), Royal, Tanganga, Dier, Sanchez, Reguilon, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Lucas, Son, Kane.
Substitutes: Gollini, Doherty, Rodon, Davies, Winks, Dele, Ndombele, Bergwijn, Bryan.
Spurs 5-1 Palace!
Son 2, Kane 2, Dele 1
Come On You Spurs!
Our back 3 doesn’t fill me with confidence. Don’t know what Rodon has or hasn’t done to be overlooked again.