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Match Thread – Spurs Looking For Three On The Spin Under Mason With Leeds Up Next

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Having replaced former manager Jose Mourinho, Tottenham Hotspur’s caretaker gaffer, Ryan Mason, now heads into his fourth game in charge as we travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United in Saturday’s early Premier League kick off.

Mason’s plan against Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final didn’t quite work, but he does have victories over Southampton, and more recently, a heavy defeat of Sheffield United under his belt, so as we return to a bit more of an attacking intent, we know we will get chances against Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Another good result puts us on the edge of being back in the battle for the top four/five places in the division and plenty of us had given up hope of that, and although their form over the last five games has tailed off, they are plucky and energetic battlers who keep running, so we’ll have to match the ugly stuff so our quality can show through.

Unless there are issues closer to the game, the only player listed as out currently continues to be Ben Davies, so all eyes to an on form Sonny, Harry and Garry.

Leeds

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Draw

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  • Niall D says:

    Well we can beat Leeds, and have done this season, bear in mind we have changed our manager and our tactics, is this in Leeds’favour. They are a difficult athletic front footed team where there is almost no shape and every shape to them, by this I mean almost anyone can score.
    Sometimes they have a front 3 sometimes a front two on occasions there’s 5 running at you.
    But I feel now we are on an upwards trajectory.
    Just seen PSG well beaten by Man C does that mean Poch will be sacked in the morning.
    Job going in North London.

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Niall…..funnily enough they were speculating on a return for Poch at some stage in the future on the CL coverage on BT last night.

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Trouble is…how would that be seen? He has now been beaten in both a CL semi and a final, maybe he just ‘aint lucky enough! :- )

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Lots of speculation that United will bid for HK10 this summer to help appease their fans. Non-starter for me, can’t see him going to another PL club if he did leave, would only be for Spain or Italy for me or more likely Stateside later in his career due to his love of American football.

    • BelgianSpur says:

      It will all come down to the number offered. Levy has principles, until the number quoted will blow them out of the water.

      I think it would have been a non starter for Kane if he’d won something with Spurs, but at this stage he may just choose to go to the team giving him the best shot at trophies. If, of the interested teams, United is the one that gives him the most opportunities, I could unfortunately, certainly see it.

      • TQ2Spurs says:

        Morning BS………….figure of £90m being banded about as what United might offer, can’t see DL being that tempted unless he has a verbal agreement with Harry to let him go if decent offer is made by a club he would be interested in joining. I wouldn’t rule out a bid from City as a replacement for Aguero, I think Spurs supporters would be more accepting of this rather than a move to United.

        Personally, I don’t see Harry wanting to face the club which is his first love on a regular basis in the PL.

        • BelgianSpur says:

          Neither would I, nor do I think 90 million would do it, but if United offered say 150 million and they were the only club bidding anywhere near that, it would be interesting to see how that went.

          To be honest, as a Spurs fan, if HK eventually decides to go, I will only have gratitude for him and his time at the club.

  • block 108 spurs says:

    As the saying goes.. never go back it doesnt work out… but could it with poch? Remember the players stopped playing for him, it was mentioned… they were poss. tired of the intensive training he used for the pressing game plan, so he would need to remove some players and bring in new ones. Also his one tactical plan for all match occasions which we all complained about was frustrating…

    Leeds game we will need to be on the front foot as well, and be more astute in defending than they are. A win for spurs 2–0 or 2-1. Coys

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Morning block………….maybe after their experience with Jose the players might see Poch in a different light! 🙂

  • BelgianSpur says:

    It may be an unpopular opinion but I would not want MP back.

    If he’d gone off somewhere, shown he could win things, and come back with that experience in hand, why not. But as things currently stand, he was handed the keys to one of the best teams in Europe, and it isn’t exactly going great.

    Sure, winning the CL is hard and it’s tough to beat a team like City. But it’s the manner in which they folded mentally in both games which is worrying. You could call those performances the dreaded S word.

    Also, as much as one can forgive him in the CL, PSG are currently only second in the league and there really aren’t any excuses for that when you’re PSG.

    When he took over, PSG were second and 3 points off Lyon. He got PSG top after a few weeks, then had a bad wobble and it’s looking like an uphill battle with 3 games to go.

    Not exactly a testament to his ability to get a team over the line…

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    I think it’s more about the players than the manager, you can get away with being an average manager if you have talented players at your disposal, Solskjaer being a good example for me. I will admit I sit on the fence regarding going back but to be fair it isn’t working out too bad with Moyes going back to Wet Spam, the difference is they have invested in some good players in his second stint.

    I think Poch was unlucky in not having his best player (Mbappe) available for the game last night which highlights my point that it is more down to the availability of quality players than it is the the manager who in my view just needs to be a good motivator more than anything else.

    • BelgianSpur says:

      I think there was more than enough talent in that PSG team last night, even without Mbappe, and I certainly didn’t see a gulf in quality between the 2 teams. Neymar, Di Maria, Marquinhos, Verratti are arguably all world class players.

      I think many fans were quick to blame the manager when certain players weren’t playing well for Spurs this season. By that same logic, if some of PSG’s players didn’t show up or perform, then MP has to take some blame for it too.

  • Geofspurs says:

    It could be argued that it is testament to MP’s ability to get a team up to the line. City are a tough team to beat …. and there can only be one winner.

    • TQ2Spurs says:

      I agree with your sentiment Geof but some believe it’s failing if you can’t get the team over the line and actually win the cup or title.

    • BelgianSpur says:

      Well, the thing is, PSG were already winning things before MP, so merely getting them up to the line is seen as regression, for them.

      A manager is always going to be judged against his predecessors. Tuchel won plenty of things at PSG, in fact the only thing that evaded him is the CL (but he got them to a final).

      MP failing to do the same would be seen as a step backwards.

  • 123spurs says:

    Leeds beat City with 10 men for 45 min away

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Hi Geof….are you watching the match tonight? I guess it’s just into the early hours your time so maybe you’ll catch up tomorrow. I’ll be watching prior to the CL second semi final.

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Leeds can play some very good footie on their day, their problem is their days come in fits and starts. I think we have too much for them as long as we start with the right attitude and play as near to our best as possible.

  • Hot Tottingham says:

    PSG are 2nd in Ligue 1 and just 1 point behind Lille.

    That is hardly much of an “uphill battle” for PSG to still become L1 champs, BS. LOL! ………………

    I think MP will likely return to Spurs one day. But I don ‘t think it’ll be this year. But I look forward to the day it happens.

    Meanwhile, it’s RG Mason (not JM Beelzebub) v El Loco Bielsa. Another one of my favourite football coaches, and a big influence on Pochettino as well as the likes of Pep… I love the old eccentric. I love his football!

    But we have Ryan Mason right now. Who is currently the Spurs manager with the highest THFC win percentage of all time. Beat that Sherwood! Beat that anyone!

    So, it could be one hell of a game in store. Attack v Attack! ……. For a change…

    But if we see the likes of Bale and Dele again. And if Kane can get back his form, and the Son can shine, I’m certain that we can win this and win it well……..

    AND….. I’d like to see our players smiling once again…….. It makes me happy!

    LU 2-4 THFC!

    • BelgianSpur says:

      HT – no matter how you look at it, PSG don’t have their own fate in their hands. Lille has 3 very winnable games to close out the season, and if they do, there’s nothing PSG can do about it.

      If you don’t control your fate and need others to drop points, wouldn’t you call that an uphill battle?

      • Hot Tottingham says:

        No BS! I wouldn’t call it an uphill battle! 😉

        Not when PSG are just 1 point behind with 9 points for both teams to play for. And with PSG having a far superior Goal Difference……

        • BelgianSpur says:

          Let’s settle this at the end of the season then, and see who saw it right ;-).

          • Hot Tottingham says:

            Ah, but I haven’t said PSG will win it… Just pointing to how close it is and may well be, up until the end….

            All I can say is that I’ll never be a PSG fan but I will be one for a day at least, if Poch can get them over the line…. I’ll be happy for him… If not for entirely the Gay Parisians….

          • BelgianSpur says:

            I think Lille have it wrapped up, but I have been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again.

            At the very least, Lille is in the driver’s seat and looking comfortable, to me. It’s theirs to lose.

            But even if PSG narrowly win in the end, should it have ever been that close in the first place?

  • Geofspurs says:

    Hi TQ …. If I can stay awake I’ll watch it live … if not, I’ll watch it early in the morning. I’d rather watch this one live, so, I might read for a while or watch a movie and see what happens! : – )

    • TQ2Spurs says:

      I’m hoping Chelsea rest a few in readiness for their CL final but that’s probably just wishful thinking as they need a win to go ahead of City in the league. The result isn’t that important as I believe our league place is safe now but would be nice to see some progress under our new manager.

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Abramovich must be wetting himself, his women’s side already in their CL final with the prospect of their men doing the same tonight.

  • BelgianSpur says:

    As for the game against Leeds, again a very winnable game. If we want to play European football next year, it’s a must win.

    Chelsea and Leicester have difficult run-ins, and West Ham play Everton this weekend. The table might yet open up for us. But if we want to take advantage of that, we have to win games like this.

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    We have 3 games (2 at home) against mid table opposition with little to play for other than pride before our final game away at Leicester. We should be aiming for 10 points from those games could make the final positions very interesting. I don’t believe we can make 4th now but 5th should be our minimum aim.

    • BelgianSpur says:

      I actually think 4th is still possible, given the torri run ins of both Leicester and Chelsea.

      West Ham are the biggest threat, for me.

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Whichever way you view the prospects of Poch coming back one day I enjoyed the 5 year ride with him much more than I did the 18 month ride with Jose!

    • BelgianSpur says:

      Agreed. But I am still hoping someone out there can take the club much farther than both.

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Just been looking at the remaining fixtures, Chelsea have a tough task with City, Arseanal, and Leicester before Villa in their final PL game before the CL final if they get there. On the other hand, the Spammers have a very comfortable run in with just Everton a bit tougher this weekend followed by Brighton, West Brom, and Southampton.

  • Geofspurs says:

    TQ …. I agree. The result has little meaning for Spurs and there’s certainly no shame in losing. Anything under 3 – 0 would be a good result, plus the experience. But there’s a lot riding on the result for Chelsea. I think they will start with their best eleven – although it’s more like a best eighteen – to ensure a win. They want the quadruple and it’s very possible from here on in.

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