With Tottenham Hotspur opening up the 2020/21 Premier League campaign with a very disappointing defeat to Everton on Sunday, attentions quickly turn to our Europa League Qualifying Second Round tie against Lokomotiv Plovdiv on Thursday.
Qualifying rounds are never the nicest and you generally tend to meet a few teams who, with the greatest of respect, you’ve never actually heard of before, so whilst the assumption is usually ‘a cricket score’ – the matches themselves can often play out quite differently.
Manager Jose Mourinho will be looking for a comfortable and steady victory here to boost spirits and bed in our new signings but it’s definitely one of those games for fans where it’s an ‘avoid a banana skin’ moment at all costs and if it’s not pretty, just scrape through somehow.
Plovdiv...
Win
Draw
Lose
That’s probably never been more true after our opening day defeat as after last season’s struggles, we need some confidence and momentum as it still hasn’t quite clicked for the manager formerly known as the ‘Special One’.
With that said, it’s never ‘just’ the manager, it might be early doors and some players take a bit longer than others to get up to speed, but there surely can’t be any excuses for this one….can there?
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Can’t wait for the announcement lol!
Did anyone who watched last night, well what you could, notice the difference when N’Dombele, Lamella and Maura came on, N’D with Lo-Celso looked the part, first time on pitch together I think, 1st time passing etc, CoCo had a drive about him, lets get on with it and Maura proved he can pass and cross ala goal.
The 3 did make a huge difference. COYS
I always said that Real Madrid would become our ‘feeder’ club! : – )
Geoff Real our Feeder club lol.
PY I have been trying to make this very point over several posts.
As you said this is the first time that LoCeslo and N’Dom have actually played competitively together.
It shows the issues that were virulent at Spurs last season.
And I say again give em a bit of time.
I thought we dominated last night and also thought we were positive against a team set up to defend.
We did lack that killer instinct but as I said could’ve had 3 to 5 goals.
A win is a win folks enjoy it.
PY and anyone else that paid to view… Are you expecting a refund for not seeing 40 odd minutes of the match?
Especially as all the crucial action (2 red cards and 3 goals) were not seen at all by anyone around the world, with the broadcast down during that time…
I managed to see Tanguy for about 4 minutes after he went on and he looked good in that short time… Thereafter, the next two Spurs subs were made during the blackout and also when all that unseen action happened… Then after the goals etc., is when the live feed came back and Spurs were already winning and just slowly passing the ball around to simply retain possession and kill the match off….. And so no real football was played in the last 5 minutes or so, that we got to see…..
yes PY the 3 subs made a difference against 9 men 🙂
HT…. Im not criticising you, just making my opinion known as well.
123 didn’t Jose win 2 trophies at Man Utd, one was Europa League cup…
So lets hope Bale and the new LB come into the team and with existing defenders will all get organised and MF players do their jobs, FWDs with bale getting his fitness and mojo back be frightening for any opposition team.
I know you wasn’t block. I just think that you misunderstood the point I was trying to make. But it really doesn’t matter… 🙂 I understood what you mean’t.
Yes 123… I’m not sure that there is anything that good to report from the match that we can be proud about or happy with… Just that we were lucky to be handed the chance to win after going a goal down to a team that had “parked the bus”….
Relief is the word I would use.. I’m just relieved that we did manage to just get through by the skin of our teeth and also by avoiding extra time and penalties…… Like I posted last night in my crude fashion… “Thank **** for that”!
HT, refund what does that mean lol!
I am sorry that we won last night against a Sunday league bus parking team, for f***s sake it happens, if the ref had done his job properly we would have had a pen in the first half, Bergs in the Box, and ditto him if the shot had been 3 inches lower and not hit the bar, thus 2nil up, game over and probably a few more goals, I am happy enough, a win is a win is a win. COYS
I am allowed to have my opinion too PY….. I was just expressing myself honestly… I wasn’t having a go at anyone else for their opinion…..
I was only describing what happened… There’s always lots of ifs. Hugo had to make a couple of good saves to also keep them from scoring a couple more. And if their guy had just let the ball go past him into the back of the net., we would have equalised but they would’ve still had 11 players on the pitch and it may not have been so easy for us to get the winner……… But we did, so alls well that ends well, I suppose. 🙂
I’m happy with the result. I don’t have to be happy with how we got it…
Excuse me HT I wasn’t having a go at you, sorry if you mistook my writing.
I cannot see how you took that wrong, oh! nevermind! COYS
yes jose won’t Europe, he was sacked fans and players weren’t happy with him, I cant see him doing that with spurs. Players are to average, weak mentailty, no fight. We need to get le celso and ndombele to have a good run of games, with bale arriving not much game time for lamela, dele, or lucas etc. We are really spoiled for choice with different formations, 433, 343, 352,4231, we just need to have a more if an attacking approach, and must improve from set pieces
Still nothing concrete on Bala/Reguila – though lots of talk of being at the training ground, etc – doubt there was ever any chance of them being ready for Southampton – so all going OK so far I guess – indeed talk of Bala needing at least a month to get back recovered (minor knee injury playing for Wales in NL recently) and fully fit – so pencilled in for Spam game mid October – sounds OK – also glad to hear if all goes well – we’ll keep him next season as well – then his Madrid contract ends in June 2022 and we can take it from there if want to, etc…………..! Also Reguila clauses only valid until summer of 2022 also – hopefully they expire then and he’s still with us but naturally performing all the same – here’s hoping!
Apparently KMJ turned down Lazio as wants to come to us only and read we’ve got a representative out there negotiating on our behalf – apparently I think Lazio’s accepted offer was something like 13m Euros plus around another 2m in incentives – I’d probably be OK with that and take a punt on the guy – only 23 and highly rated – not a proper LCB (and not sure he’s that pacy also) as I would ideally want but still – for that kind of money worth a shot and see how he adapts to the Prem, etc if anything like Sonny – what a bloody bargain! Reckon worst case given only 23 we could probably get most of our money back even if he did not work out for us in the Prem and doubt wages will be a problem also. Nick-named the “Monster” so might well be the all commanding/domineering type TQ wants in the box especially height, strength and aerially wise, etc – let’s wait, see and find out LOL…………!
See Foyth being linked to Fulham now – did metion it this morning, they should buy him and Rose IMHO and then get Sess in on loan also – would be a cracking triple deal for them, again all IMHO of course!
Tracey gone on loan for a year – hopefully does OK and we can then sell on for a small fee like probably CCV in the coming week(s) or so – same goes for Georgiou, Marsh (who actually scored for the U-23s today, White getting a penalty also, etc) and Sterling, etc…………!
Clarke being linked to Birmingham – sounds OK to me – just so long as gets some bloody decent game time there at last LOL………….!
See JM moaning about the squad size so let’s see what happens – made a post regarding this basically already, this morning………!
jota to pool is interesting, how much game time for him, origi for spurs not a bad shout?