Hopefully all Tottenham Hotspur fans had a good New Year’s celebration, but manager Jose Mourinho’s first team squad had the chance to make it a great start to 2021 as we welcome Marcelo Bielsa’s newly promoted Leeds United back to White Hart Lane.
Leeds don’t appear to do draws, they either win comfortably or lose comfortably and as we know, our own form is hardly predictable when it comes to what type of attacking display we might put in.
Whilst we still contend with a few knocks and niggles, having the Fulham clash postponed (at such late notice) has at least given the team a bit of an extra break and that should at least benefit us given the mental fixture list we’ve faced in the opening half of the campaign.
I don’t imagine there will be many surprises with the line up, but if you can call the first half of the season a frustrating success, let’s hope this game is a marker for how we approach the remainder of our league campaign.
So, it’s Beelzebub versus Bielsa…
Leeds were in the Championship just last season. And, they leak goals like sieve. But that’s because they play out and out attacking football. Always on the front foot and always positive….. Idiots! Should be easy for a team like Spurs to pick them off, right?
So, no doubt we will sit ultra deep, park up the big ugly Lily-white bus and then just try to get up the pitch occasionally ourselves in the hope of getting somewhere near their goal if at all possible. That’s if our forwards are fit enough, alert enough and on their game… And if we haven’t forgotten how to pass, move, play… If not?
I’m not optimistic for this. But at least we can perhaps look forward to some exciting football for a change. Even if it does only come from the opposition.
Up the Spurs!
It’s really sad see spurs fans so negative and against their own team hope they are happier today probably no Because semms they enjoy to watch their team losing just to be able to talk against Jose it’s really sad, as i been saying lets wait and see what’s happening in the end of the season
It’s all very well waiting to see what happens. But I can only comment with a judgement on what I’ve been witnessing of late. And I haven’t enjoyed what I’ve been watching…… But I have also been saying that I think we will win a trophy this season when looking toward the end…. But I’ll celebrate when that happens, not before. LOL!
I wasn’t confident for this match and that was just me expressing it. Albeit it was also partly tongue in cheek…….
Today I’m happy with a win……
LOL!
It’s because I don’t enjoy watching the team playing poor and boring football. And I certainly don’t enjoy watching Spurs lose!
Not sad, just honest.
My full answer to this didn’t post yet. It’ll probably appear sometime later…
It’s funny, I’ve had many many years on here whereby I’ve been so often called out for being an over optimistic fantasist! Now I’m a pessimistic fantasist!
I agree with that wholeheartedly Carlos Mota. We’re 4 points off the lead half way through the season, ahead of all the London clubs and in the top 4, yet some fans are distraught.
I don’t really understand the sentiment, even if the football hasn’t been great in every game.
BS, his response was aimed at me. That was not the response of a distraught man…
Football doesn’t ever have that effect on me…. Not even Covid makes me distraught!
I’m just bored with our football! But if we win I’m happy with a win….. But, it doesn’t make me any less bored.
That should have been; that is not the words of a distraught man….
Blimey! My first post on this thread opened with what was supposed to be a slice of humour……. Just a play on the two managers names….. The rest was a bit of sarcasm…. Not that serious really…..
I was just using Carlos Mota’s post to pass a general comment about a section of Spurs fans, not talking about you specifically.
Testing…
My posts have not posted today!
Has now….. Just a short delay…
Happy New Year to all .
Not sure why I am contiuously optimistic about every game however I have little confidence that our wonderful attacking style coupled with our small amount of defending every game will overcome an attacking Leeds .
I just hope that we can defend for at least 70% of the game and hit them on the break which will make rivetting watching .
I just hope the season of good will and kindness towards Spurs supporters will encourage our wonderful coach to give us a victory ( New Years resolution Jose ??)
Do we defend at The Lane against a team sitting below us on the table? WTF is that? I know we can win this game easily. I know we can lose this game easily. But I have absolutely no idea which way it will go. I will, however, be relatively happy if it’s an entertaining game. It depends on the team that is selected and the strategy they are asked to play. It’s all up to JM. It’s a worry. COYS!
If Vinicius is never allowed enough game time to reach his potential one has to wonder why we keep trying to find a back-up striker for Kane in the first place. How many have failed so far because they have not shown the ability or have not been given an opportunity to shine. Just wondering ….
Well for me
We actually have more strings to our bow.
Leeds has only one, much as, we had under Poch, that being attack, attack, attack which can lead to a drubbing by the likes of ManU.
We however can play several different ways, we have shown it this season, just not lately,
Every one is saying how poor and negative we have been of late, let’s hope the penny has dropped with JM and we go out on the front foot.
We should be well rested and drilled for tomorrow’s game given the cancellation mid week.
Fingers crossed for a good one.
Coys
Geof. I get the feeling that Vinicius doesn’t know how to defend. I mean, what kind of a centre forward is he, if he can’t defend?
Then again Hugo gets regular starts. And we don’t see him banging any goals in at the other end do we. That’s how ultra-defensive we’ve become!
Niall. I’m gonna dispute what you say about MP only playing attack attack attack, as if that was a bad thing. For a while we had one of the best defences in the PL. We didn’t leak a lot of goals and we knew how to score a good few too.
That changed of course and Poch was fired. So be it.
I don ‘t expect Leeds United to win the PL title this year whilst conceding goals the way they have been. But scoring plenty of them to, sees them doing as well as some long established PL clubs at this time. And whilst Spurs haven’t conceded many goals themselves. Half as many as LU, just 15 to their 30. It still sees them just 3 points below us today…
If LU want to improve, they definitely need to get stronger defensively. For Spurs to improve, they need to create and score more goals. As we have already shown we can do this season. That is all…
But the bottom line for me right now, is that Leeds are are joy to watch, Spurs are not!
HT …. I guess that’s true. I haven’t really seen Vinicius do much wrong …. apart from not saving any penalties. If Son doesn’t start heading a few opposition corners away to safety he could find himself on the bench soon. But Kane is safe! : – )
A win today will keep us right in the mix. What a funny season. The first goal is always crucial, so an early one would be handy. Then again if we score first we’ll need to back it up very quickly with a second, given our track record so far. Or, maybe LU should score first so that we can get some attacking practice. Who knows!
The next two games will be very interesting. Leeds and Brentford are both better than us at passing and pressing but are more suspect defensively . Will Jose have the courage to go at Leeds from the start or will he sit back in the hope of soaking up Leeds pressure and hitting them on the counter attack.- We are really poor against teams who press us partly because our players seem to have so few options when they have the ball.
If we play a more offensive game and don’t win, I can see Jose coming out with “I told you so – that’s why I don’t play more offensive” after the game.
I suspect Jose will revert to type and it will be a cautious set up in the hope of scoring on the counter attack.
With the talent we have in the squad we should of course take the game to Leeds – unfortunately we have a cowardly manager who only concerns himself with what the opposition might do to us rather than what we are capable of doing to them.
We’re close to kick-off now. So I will put my fantasy football hat on and get all optimistic on you…
Team?
Hugo Lloris
Aurier Toby Dier Reguilon
Sissoko Hojbjerg
Son Ndombele Bergwijn
Harry Kane
Spurs 4-2 Leeds!
Why not?!
For good measure this is the line-up I would like to see:
Same back 4. But with Hojbjerg and Ndombele ahead of them
In attack:
Son Dele Bergwjin
Kane
Are we allowed to play two goalkeepers? If so we could play a 254 formation. :- )
I see Manu got another soft penalty after Pogba kicked his own leg!
Thank you Danny for the first Match thread of this year, lets hope its more successful than the end of last year, Spurs games that is.
Here we go again, the first game of the 2nd half of a soon to be successful, thought I would put that in, season and we are up against the “all out attack” Leeds United, yes a joy to watch, but according to some of their fans I know…frustrating lol! think I read that on here about us, no plan B or C etc, a couple of seasons ago.
A prediction, as always a for me, one way or the other, a WIN! COYS
My plans, if I were the Spurs boss today.
Plan A. Keep it strong at the back lads but don ‘t be afraid to attack them. They are defensively weak.
Plan B: Let’s go for the early goal.
Plan C: Let’s swiftly follow it up with another goal.
Plan D. If they do get a goal or two themselves, still don’t fear them.
Plan E: Just score a couple more!
HT… thats a decent team in 4231 shape, and I agree Jose will go with that or..433. We need a win ere and my worry is every time we score within 10 mins players get to defending / complacent. I know jose has said a few times go for 2nd goal or more, so defending a 1-0 score is by players actions. However I know oppositions react and attack so all the more reason for spurs to counter by passing the ball faster forwards… not sideways and back. In the 4231 shape Dele to replace Tanguy at 60mins. Lucas replace Bergwijin
A score 2-1 spurs HK10 & Sonny score and assist again. COYS
Hi block, hope you are good and well.
You know what is interesting to me? The team that plays by far the most sideways and backwards passing game in the PL is? Liverpool!
It doesn’t surprise when their game is so much about keeping possession of the ball and regaining it as quickly as possible. I mean you can’t attack teams without the damn ball, can you? But it’s impossible to keep passing forward all the time without running out of pitch space. 😉 Unless it always ends with a goal…