Tottenham Hotspur’s midweek defeat to Liverpool certainly sparked plenty of discussion in our last Match Thread and it’s time for us to do it all again as on Sunday evening we make the trip up to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton and Hove Albion.
With this season’s results experiencing a more recent dip under manager Jose Mourinho, the age old discussion of using the squad wrong vs natural fatigue now beginning to bite given the plethora of matches we’ve seen so far in 2020/21 will do doubt continue…but there’s absolutely no way this game can end in anything but victory as we look to get back on track in the Premier League.
Our problem is injuries are mounting again – Giovani Lo Celso continues to be sidelined, and both Dele Alli and Sergio Reguilon are now doubts – as is Harry Kane who may now be out for at least a fortnight after the ankle injury he sustained on Thursday evening.
The game is an opportunity for us to crash back into the top five and there is still our game in hand to think about, and given Brighton are yet to win on home soil this year, you wouldn’t bet against us…would you?
I’m watching the Toffee/Toon match and it demonstrates much of what some have been saying about our play. You might have expected Newcastle to set up defensively as the away side and considering their form relative to Evertons, but no, 70 minutes in and they have been well on top over the game so far because they have shown greater attacking intent whas has in turn limited Everton’s own threat.
And right on cue the Toons take the lead on 72 minutes!
2-0 to the Toons and they reap the rewards for taking the game to Everton. Jose – please take note! :- )
PY
Yes there is much anger amongst those on here and understandably so .
However I think posters are objective and some realise that the present crop of players are not good enough .
Is it simply because Levy has often bought cheap or got past it loanees so the manager has to make the most of it ?
Is Mourinho the right man for the job ? Is he expecting players to embrace his style even though they do not have tha ability to do it ?
Perhaps we have just enough ( minus Kane ) to lift a trophy but if not JM will be gone with a huge handshake and we will have to start over again once he has gone ?
As to the match if Vinnie is not picked then why borrow him ?
Perhaps Jose will play a back 9 with hoofing long balls up to Son ? Makes no difference if we can’t pass the ball to our players because we llow so called lesser sides play the football while we chase the ball and create little .
PY I am not angry but just disappointed and getting tired of watching our style of play .
Danny thanks for yet another interesting thought provoking thread.
I suppose the issue now is that squad rotation has now been foisted on us to a degree.
I suppose we could say that at least we now have Vinny to come in, for good or ill.
We may actually see Bale stand up and be counted.
Why couldn’t he have done LB, WB duties against Lpool, isn’t that what he started out as a foraging forward left back.
Re our defence, perhaps we did get our line up wrong against Liverpool and should’ve may be had Sissoko along with Hoj, we played this against Fulham when we didn’t need to and perhaps when we did need it against Liverpool we didn’t use that option.
Sissoko for all his faults is a great cover for the wayward Aurier and is often covering up his mistakes.
All in all we were up against the current champions, who showed against Man U that they could still be dangerous in front of goal.
My worry is that without this “extra” back 6 cover our defence looks a bit fragile.
Another concern is that in reality we didn’t do enough going forward with arguably a balanced team.
There wasn’t enough creativity from the likes of Bergs or Lamella.
Then with HK injured we couldn’t adapt.
I do think we will get a decent result tomorrow.
Points wise we are now at the lower end of our average for the last 5 or so years.
With 20 games played we have had as high as 45 points as low as 30 but averaged around 35.
Given this we could still be in and around top 4 at the end of the season unique as it is.
Yup I’m by no means a Mourinho fan – I can see his effect defensively more often than not but can’t shake that’s at the cost of our more natural offensive abilities – yet we are still basically up there. But we seem hot and cold. I can’t work out if that’s natural fatigue, player selection, manager instruction, strange season, normal football or what.
Other results are still generally going our way, if only we were able to take advantage! 🙁
True TQ results always goes our way exacpt our own
123 …. Well put. That is often, unfortunately, so true.
Hot Tottingham – “not winning anything with Jose will feel a lot worse than not winning anything with Pochettino”, for you maybe but not for me. Not winning feels bad, every year that goes by without winning anything makes it feel worse. Who the manager is makes no difference to me.
jod …. I think the difference HT was alluding too was the standard of football played under most of MPs time at Spurs which at least made football enjoyable and entertaining. Surely that is pretty obvious.
Sorry if I’ve got that wrong, HT.
Yes you’re right Geof.
Jod, It’s all about the football with me. I want to enjoy watching the football. That is all.
And, I’ll never understand why it’s not the same for every other supporter.
Im with you on that one
If anyone else is interested in watching a good game of football today …. watch Chelsea v Spurs in the WSL!
I’ll be watching of course but it could be a bit one-sided. Chelsea do have a very good team and, despite our recent improvement under our new manager, we still have quite a gap to bridge to the top 4 sides, but we are getting there!
TQ …. To my shame I expect to enjoy this match much more than you. It’s hard for me to accept I follow a Chelsea team!! The reason of course is Sam Kerr. She’s Australian, she’s Aboriginal, she’s a very good footballer and athlete and, like most Aussie sport fans, I’ve followed her career for a few years and watched all the Chelsea games since she joined them. It is what it is.
Obviously Kennedy and Kerr know each other’s game very well. That should make it interesting. : – )
I will enjoy the game whatever the outcome Geof, I find it quite refreshing watching the women’s game as it is is still largely untainted by commercialism to the extent the men’s game is.
TQ …. Sorry, mate, I meant the result, not the game. I know you’ll enjoy the game. Spurs were the better team for the first 25 minutes or so, really pressured Chelsea, and could have scored twice with a bit of luck. Hope Spurs keep their heads up for the second half because they can take some positives from the game so far..
It’s no disgrace to lose to Chelsea Geof, they haven’t been beaten in the WSL for two years which illustrates the task of trying to beat them especially at their home. As you say, we looked really good up until them scoring their first goal which you have to say was something special. I tend to look at the progression we are making since being promoted, this had stagnated a bit under the previous management but is now making great strides under the new regime.
It’s not a disgrace to lose to Chelsea. Having watched all of Chelsea’s games I think Spurs did as well, or better, than many other teams who’ve played them. 33 games without defeat tells its own story. It’s only the second season for Spurs (I think?) so it’s just about gaining experience and focusing on incremental progress for another season or two. At least I’ll be shouting for Spurs in their next match. Do you think that might help? lol
Villa up next Geof so very winnable with your help! :- )
Re HT’s comments
“not winning with JM” totally get it.
What annoys me is that JM’s teams by and large were, if not entertaining, always efficient, hungry, athletic, hard teams.
There were games where we looked second best on many occasions and lethargic.
It just seems to me every time we seem to turn a corner and a player progresses, another regresses.
I look at Dier against Liverpool, I thought he was doing well,I also thought Lloris was having a fairly solid season.
Aurier what can I say.
It was our lack of forward inventiveness against Liverpool, did we even have a decent attempt on goal by a forward player after Hojs inspiring goal.
On the other hand I look at our result against Sheffield and their subsequent performances against both Manchester clubs,
Confused dot com or what.
Still puzzled why some Spurs fans condone boring, defensive football just to win a tin pot trophy. Jose’s tactics are awful and he is lucky that there are no crowds watching. Many ( not me ) would be booing him and the players off the pitch and groaning at our inept play. I have mostly turned off in disgust and left the room disgruntled and disappointed. Statistically we may be doing OK but this has been one of the most depressing on record. A sad, grumpy coach leading a group of disillusioned, underperforming and confused players. We deserve so much better than this.
Another result goes in our favour with Leeds winning at Leicester, if Wham can hold Liverpool to a draw it puts us a a good position with our games in hand. Getting a win tonight is vital to stop Chelsea from having an opportunity and the incentive to go above us with a win on Thursday.
Sorry TQ2 but this is another game in which our opponents are due to break a bad run- this time not winning a single home match this season. So unless this proves to be the exception to that Sods Law I have been referring to I’m afraid we’re in for a disappointment again, particularly as Brighton have been playing some very decent football this season which belies their league position. Is there a witch doctor in the house to counter this Spurs jinx?
loris (C), Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rodon, Davies, Hojbjerg, Sissoko, Ndombele, Bergwijn, Bale, Son
Subs:
Hart Doherty Dier Tanganga Winks Devine Lamele Lucas Vinicius
Cod someone please explain to me why we need 3 across the back against Brighton?