With an unexpected rest in midweek and on the back of Thursday evening’s comfortable, but nervy, Qualifying Third Round tie against Shkendija, Tottenham Hotspur are quickly back in action on Sunday as we face Newcastle United at White Hart Lane.
With the club learning that we have been handed a bye through to the fourth round of the EFL Cup today, it means we face Chelsea in the next game but gain the advantage of having played one match fewer in this bizarre cramped run of fixtures.
As for Newcastle, manager Jose Mourinho will undoubtedly rotate the pack once again to help keep everyone fresh so we can expect returns for the likes of Matt Doherty and Hugo Lloris and we continue to be without Gareth Bale, but if fellow newbie Sergio Reguilon misses this one, I’d imagine he’ll be in contention for the Cup clash on Tuesday evening.
Form wise at this very early stage of the season, we are level pegging with the Geordies in the table but now we seem to have found our goalscoring boots, we should have every confidence of dispatching them and taking ourselves onto six points.
Always easier said than done though isn’t it.
Newcastle...
Win
Draw
Lose
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It Was More Comfortable For Spurs Than It Felt At Points, Onto The Next Round – Match Stats
A big thank you Danny for the match thread.
Fourth win on the trot coming up. COYS
Cheers Danny
They’re coming in thick N fast. That’s sounds like me and PY’s new band.
Hopefully Another win on the bounce and Newcastle don’t get away with last year’s rugby tackles another bad ref decision against us. And we got the least VAR decisions last season.
So if we get a bit of fair play and Man U don’t get another 20 odd pens we might just be up there.
Espically if these 2 new signings come.
And if they do I cannot complain about Mr Levy or JM’s commitment to improving our squad.
In fact I see us as having the strongest squad I can remember. And better than many of our rivals.
No predictions a win any score will do COYS.
Morning ND, which one of us is thick or fast in the new band? lol! OK! take the 5th lol! good to see a sense of humour in these gloomy times, hope you and yours are keeping well.
I hope all that you pointed out comes true regards MU, and as for Mr Levy or JM’s commitment I am with you there. COYS
Over the last 3 games… I noticed that the criticism of Jose tactical games has diminished 🙂
We are going in the right direction in the three games 10 goals for and 4 against. When Bale and young sergio available to play, the squad defense and MF will have improved their understanding of jose tactical plays and their individual roles within the structure jose and coaches set out.
Again we urgently need the 3 PL points, and should beat newcastle 2-1.
I concur the various points mentioned about last season in that Man Utd had way more penalties than any other team in PL. (penalties in about 57% of the 38 games) Surely the referee management will have told the refs. / VAR to be doubly sure on Man Utd players going down in the penalty box.. Fernandes Pogba etc. With VAR turning over refs. decisions when clear video shows decisions are wrong. With the refs going to the pitch side monitors to see. COYS
Jose out – tactically clueless!
3 – 0!
And today’s trivia question …. Who has the best scoring percentage in terms of games played and goals scored, Greaves or Kane?
I hope Block’s optimism about our defence is right. I thought we could have easily been 3-0 down at half time against Soton last week.
Geofspurs…. Jimmy Greaves – 375 games – 266 goals = 71% approx
Harry Kane – 269 games – 175 goals = 65% approx
Come On You Spurs
PY …. That was my point. My mate, Mr Google, informed me that they are BOTH currently sitting on the same percentage …. and that is amazing!
Geofspurs, I can’t believe that, my post on the two of our great scorers is fact, goals scored for Spurs.
Now for England
Jimmy Greaves – 57 games – 44 goals = 70% approx
Harry Kane – 47 games – 32 goals = 68% approx
With time Our Arry will beat The Greatest Jimmy.
Come On You Spurs
Ekk…As more games are played and squad rotation more frequent… it follows that most players will have the ability to understand jose’s tactical instructions and how fellow players in their team units (defense mf fwd) follow / play on the instructions. Lucky we have got sonny & Hk10 already understanding each other.
On thursday game.. I noticed dele making runs fwd when toby had the ball, looking for the long pass, which toby usually does, sonny also made runs when winks had the ball.. but these long passes did not happen much.
I have to say Jose did what was needed at half time and the 3 subs worked in winning the game. Which IMO showed jose still has some awareness and tactical ability, in this game and also against Southampton 🙂
To be brutally honest, I still think that Jose’s tactics have been very questionable in the last 3 matches. I have seen improvement in some of our players actions, but not because of any tactical genius on the part of our manager.
The last 3 matches were played against really poor opposition and we didn’t exactly shine against them for more than just brief periods in those games…
It’s like I have suggested these past few months and just recently highlighted… We do have many very good players to shine and perform well. Players with flair and good energy. Mostly International’s with a fair amount of experience at a high level…… And I feel it has been our better attacking players that has seen us winning, more so than anything to write home about, with what could be seen as anywhere near to being a well organised and strong team unit……. We still look (tactically) all over the place at times…..
But, it’s churlish to complain when we have just won 3 on the trot and by scoring 10 goals to 4. (Even though I have just complained)…
Many of our players have looked to be tired and unfit at the start of this season… But as their match fitness levels are slowly improving, so should the football being played by them…… But that has nothing to do with tactics or formations etc….. Ironically, it could be that our stupidly busy September schedule is more a help than a hindrance in this. Less training, less talk and more competitive football for them to play…
Jose, it seems to me, needs to get match-fit too…….
Meanwhile, let’s keep winning. And by the time we play a team that is half decent (as Everton were), we might well be better equipped and more than decent ourselves, for just the odd half an hour or so. And that means by next week! Because I can’t imagine that Chelsea, Maccabi Haifa and United will be as poor as the last three have been and, as I expect the Magpies to be…
I’m not unhappy with winning of course but I am just a little worried about our general play up to now……But I’m sure it can and will get better. After all we have some top players to be top contenders with, don’t we? And a manager that has won lots of stuff…hasn’t he… 🙂
Come on You Spurs!
And as dear old Bruce Forsyth himself might have said to the lads, if he were our manager… “What do points make?” And they all shout back to him; “Prizes!”
“Give us twirl, Tanguy. Give us a twirl!”
Very well put HT, it’s easy to believe we have turned a corner having won 3 on the trot but the reality is we are still defensively naive at times and, more worryingly, very easy to play through much of the time. As you rightly say, we don’t have too much of a problem at the top end of the pitch but do rely too much on counter attacks for goals, we still have little creativity to break down packed defences.
We do have the makings of a very good squad, the addition of a new CB with good defensive heading ability plus the elusive HK10 back up would see us in a very good position in my opinion. The onus will then be on the coaches to motivated them and get them use their abilities to best effect in a co-ordinated and tactically astute fashion.
TQ …. I agree, we do rely too much on counter attacks at the moment. That would be fine if our defense was tighter and more consistent. Hopefully that will improve rapidly. We still lack that creative link-up player between the defense and attack. Hopefully that will improve rapidly, too. I’m just a bit concerned that I’ve had to use the word ‘hopefully’ twice! As has previously been mentioned, the next few days should tell us a lot more …. hopefully (lol).
You’re clearly feeling very hopeful today Geof. lol
It’s maybe a bit late for you but I will be watching the ladies NLD in the FA cup later today, despite the addition of Alex Morgan and others to our squad we are still a way off the quality the gooners have so it’s going to take a special performance for us to get anything from the game.
It has been pointed out that we have the makings of a very good point, now that brings the old saying problem for JM and of course us fans.
You cannot keep all of the people happy all of the time! JM has to try and succeed doing it with his squad, us fans! well it will not happen! because there is always negative and positive opinions that we agree or disagree with, thus the fun begins Lol! COYS to all.
Urgh! do-nut…very good squad not bloody point lol! COYS
Some good points. Well put HT and TQ.
We have been defensively nieve. And a couple of new recruits would be an improvement.
For me the mid-field needs, settling and the elusive creative player needs to step up.
Where I will disagree is that definately we changed tactics in both 2nd half’s of the last games and subs changed the game for us. So there is life in the old dog yet.
Just look at how we put Soton to the sword 2nd half last week.
It was a definate tactical change.
PY/Geof – morning first of all (and sorry to butt-in as such but this is what I found) :
Jimmy Greaves – 266 goals in 379 games – 0.702 avg.
HK10 – 191 goals in 291 games – 0.656 avg.
Looking forward to seeing HK10 get his 150th (currently 144) Premiership goal and 200th overall (currently 191) for us very soon indeed – very best of luck to the big man ………..!
All round great points already on this thread from the looks of things – defo could do with a top class CB like Skriniar coming in and helping to sure up the defence and help us finally start getting some clean sheets on board to build up results with thus greater ease, goes without saying the need for that 2nd elusive STR/CF and hence with these 2 hopefully signed up, we should indeed have a very tasty squad for JM, etc to work with going forwards!
Then it’s for JM and his staff to work their magic in training (not at all easy ATM with so many games in quick succession – ridiculous schedule so far but so be it especially if we want to compete on all 4 fronts) and get them all ship-shape (fitness and form wise – this is where as HT said above – that ridiculous schedule could have a silver-lining perhaps) for every match-day, not to mention clever tactics, etc as well on top – that’s why he alone already is paid the princely sum of £15m a season after all!
Counter-attacking goals are great, indeed every goal is, but yes would be good to see us dominate the large majority of sides as we did under Poch and win the majority if not all of these games – especially as we now have a bigger and better squad on top given recent/current spending already (especially if the 2 position’s mentioned above are sorted in the next 10 days or so as well on top)!
Creativity wise leading on – will be interesting to see what the likes of Doherty and Reguilon can bring when bombing forwards as is their natural game (if we could get anywhere near the likes of creativity that Arnold and Robertson produce for Liverpool – that would be bloody incredible for sure already) and also if as likely (at least eventually) the pairing of N’Dombele and Lo Celso can also take up the reins and also bring such centrally from midfield as well (with obviously Hojbjerg primarily offering the protective role in there in a CM of 3 covering these 2 attacking wise) – then that’s a lot of talent already!
Not to mention we’ve also already recently seen all the creative talent of the likes of HK10 further forwards indeed (4 assists last Sunday afternoon), Sonny (2 assists on Thursday night) and we know just how devastating Bale can be also so bodes very/even incredibly well on paper at least for sure (not to mention all the others in the squad like Dele, Moura, Bergs, Lamela, etc)!
Looking forward to a win at least (hopefully a performance also although not as vital currently) against Newcastle tomorrow especially as we are at home and need to get momentum going in the Prem, then as suggested by HT above we have 3 very tough games in 6 days from Tuesday with Chelski and Haifa (even if both at the THS) and finally Man You away on top! Will be extremely interesting to see how JM juggles his squad over the next 8 days indeed shame the 2 position’s mentioned above have not been sorted as of yet (if indeed they do end up being at all come 11pm 5th October – hope so – you’re only as strong as your weakest link after all)!
Hi, TQ …. I don’t think I can get this game. But I can watch the Tottenham and Chelsea WSL games on Optus Sport next week. Let me know how the game went today, mate.
Hi Geof, I’m surprised you can’t the match as it’s free to air on BBC2 here. Will report back post match but as I say, we’ll need a special performance to overcome a very good gooners side.