Following on from Tottenham Hotspur’s disappointing draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wednesday evening’s Premier League clash sees us welcome Fulham to White Hart Lane.
With manager Jose Mourinho directly blaming the squad for the lack of attacking prowess and insisting that defending the one goal lead for 89 minutes was not his instruction, the only inevitable outcome against Fulham is that we will see a very attacking starting line up, who will play on the front foot and in a more Spurs like way – as the players won’t ignore him for a second time…would they?
On an injury front, Giovani Lo Celso is yet to be given a return date following his injury, but whatever Gareth Bale felt in the Crystal Palace clash that led to his non-appearance after the half time break, it’s expected he’ll be fine for this one, so should return to the substitutes bench.
Update – Bale has been ruled out for the next few weeks with a calf strain, so probably four or so matches.
Let’s hope we get ourselves back on track in this one as whilst Fulham won’t be a walk in the park, there should be an expectation that this is one we comfortably win.
Fulham
Win
Draw
Lose
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Advantage Spurs, Until We Sit Back & Defend – Match Stats
Manu get lucky again, deflected goal at 93 minutes when they didn’t deserve to win.
A safe, happy, and Tottenham new Year to one and all.
Mourinho says the players have forgotten how to play attacking football. But in the last 2 disastrous games we have started with only 2 real forwards, Kane and Son. In the previous games against Man City and Arsenal we started with 3 forwards, Kane, Son and Bergwijn. Surely this indicates in these last 2 games he was being less attacking (or more defensive!) from the start.
Most of us don’t need much convincing Ekkaboy!
There in lies the I issue Ekkaboy you’re preaching to the converted on this point m8.
Against Wolves we had 3 forward thinking players with more or less defensive minded players.
Why.
I get it against the likes of Liverpool.
Surely we’ll be more progressive against Fulham.
The only thing I can think of is that JM was trying to get through the packed Christmas schedule without losing.
I dunno.
I just know we are a poor watch at present and need something to lift our game mentality.
Sorry folks that should have been 3 forward thinking players with 8 defensive players against Wolves.
Apologies.
TK – Let’s always look at the glass half empty then… Sure you can say our attacking stats have gone backwards, but you say nothing bout us having one of the best defensive records in the league. Last year we couldn’t buy a clean sheet. Sure we have gone backwards in some areas, but we have vastly improved in others too.
You say JM wears out his welcome rapidly. I will argue that with the rare exception, ANY PL manager is on borrowed time. Look at how long recognised coaches like Conte, Sarri, Van Gaal got in their last experiences with the PL, Ancellotti with Napoli…
The odds are that, like him or not, you won’t be stuck with JM at the helm for very long. but that has less to do with his aptitude for the job than it has with the very nature of the job.
Accepting that he’ll only be there for a short time either way, I would rather look to what he can teach our players, than MP couldn’t, while he’s there. But to each their own
Ekkaboy – Lo Celso, Vinicius, Moura and Bale were carrying knocks and were not picked for the game. The only 3 “attacking” options on the bench were Lamela (who has just come back from his yearly “mildly serious” injury and probably isn’t fit enough to play a full game yet), Alli (and the issues there are well documented) Bergwijn.
Could it also perhaps possibly be that Jose didn’t exactly have a lot of attacking players v. Wolves who could last 90 minutes? Something about having to play every 3 days for the last 4 months maybe? And having to compose with who is available on the day?
Funnily enough, I was speaking to a Man United fan last night, telling him that United hadn’t really fared much better against Wolves than we had, the only difference being a bit of fortune on a defelcted shot in the 94th minute.
His response “I’ll take games like that any day if it means winning the league”.
I pointed out to him that many United fans (probably himself included) held that against Mourinho a little while ago. He just shrugged his shoulders.
I find it baffling that the same fans would be willing to accept that sort of football from Ole but not Jose.
And therein lies part of the problem for me. It’s gotten to a stage when people are judging the man, not the manager.
What a strange thought, BS, that the man as manager can be separated from the man as man. The problem with José Mourinho as manager is that he’s still José Mourinho. There is no manager named Mourinho who is someone other than Mourinho the man.
Forgive me for a political analogy: Boris Johnson the PM cannot be separated from Boris Johnson the person. Donald Trump the President has the problem of being Donald Trump the person. There is no separating us into neat separate categories. When I am on VS I am the same person that I am when I’m elsewhere. Yes, I tailor my words on VS to speak about what is relevant to the discussion here, and that’s a different topic from what I speak about when I’m with professional colleagues at work, but I bring the same person to both places. Adolf could call himself Schicklgruber, but he’d not be a better person. José Mourinho is still José Mourinho whether on the touchline or sitting on the potty.
Man is as Man does.
TK …. If we don’t win today the touchline and the potty will be the same place! : – )
Geof, “Man is as Man does.”
And Man does as Man Dares. Sitting back to absorb and bore is not very daring and thus not very doing. This manager reflects the man, and what he does reflects what he dares or doesn’t dare to do. Bullying players, as Mourinho has done everywhere, isn’t very daring. It reflect insecurity and a need to dominate those he perceives as a threat to his manhood. We should dare to demand better, and a better man who can dare to do better. What we have now is a man who imitates a soap opera. It’s all about him and it always has been and always will be. This man–this manager–dares not be a man, but a character in some morality play that plays out in his inner insecurities. What other kind of man could insist that only he is “the special one”? The root of the problem of Mourinho the manager is Mourinho the insecure man who plays at being something special. Quite pathetic, really. He’s made the money. Let him retire to a beach in the Azores. Or perhaps St. Helena.
DoncasterHotspur – “that is not a sustainable way to play.” really ? Because that’s exactly how Jose won titles with Chelsea. So clearly it is sustainable, its no good pretending history never happened. The fact we don’t seem to be good enough is a completely different issue.
jod…..I don’t remember Chelsea’s performances being as mind numbingly boring as we are currently seeing, especially in Jose’s first stint there.
I’m surprised we haven’t had a decision yet on whether the match is going ahead. Perhaps they are testing all of the Fulham players this morning to see how many are clear and if this is sufficient to put a squad out?
Morning HT….Your post yesterday, thanks, at 3.56pm somebody has to lol! cos it certainly aint on here.
Having read the latest posts, I have to say politics n football do not mix and never should be even tried.
I am a fence sitter again! regards JM, but the one thing that is correct, peops are judging JM as the man, his persona, not as a coach, of which he is a proven success, basically as BS said earlier.
Of course we are all a wee bit pissed the way things have gone lately, though there are a few “I told you so’s” gleefully sitting all smug, come on peops the shit year is coming to an end, so lets all try to be a bit more up beat for the coming new year/season Spurs wise.
Thus if I do not write again…. A Very Happy Spursy New Year to all the YId family out there. COYMFS
I don’t think there is any glee or smugness going on here PY. I see a lot of frustration and disappointment.
Personally, I am fully and completely judging JM as a coach and a manager. It’s the football that I have been talking about… I haven’t once personally insulted him in any way. Never have done. His persona is not my problem even if it is for others… Which is fair enough anyway…
We all know he is a proven success. But then he becomes all too soon a failure. A failure to stay put. His players quickly lose their motivation. And the supporters get bored and angry…….
When Chelsea last won the title with him, the following season they were nowhere near as good. They were awful. And Hazard for example was not the great player he was in the previous title winning season…. Is that because he forgot how to play? Along with the rest of his team mates. They fired JM after losing 9 from 16 PL matches…
I’ll remind everyone that he was fired from his last to PL jobs after winning suff. And when I have asked why sack a winner before on VS, no one has answered. But the reasons why are clear and it’s because of what is being said on here by so many now… I won’t repeat….
But today, I predict a Spurs win… And, the players will suddenly remember how to attack… Or maybe Fulham will forget how to defend! 🙂
Come ON!
HT…my glee and smugness remark wasn’t aimed at you, there are some that feel that way with there “I told you so”, sorry if you got the wrong end of the stick. COYS
I didn’t think it was aimed at me PY…. It was just a general response and I then went on to giving my own opinion…..
Alls good!
Thumbs up HT, Happy New Year to yourself and family, not forgetting the people you care for. COYS
I’m much with PY here splinters on my arse from sitting on the fence.
I also agree with HT re calling out JM on his performance rather than the person.
I still have to take in beating both Manchester clubs and the other”top “London clubs got very little change from us. It says it all when we’re looking at a draw like a defeat.
Re team selection I didn’t take into account the injuries and niggles outlined by BS.
But let’s be honest in particular the last month we have been a very poor watch.
I don’t want crowds starting to sing “Boring, Boring, Tottenham.
Ohhhnoo.
Losing to fulham has to be the end of jose.
Ppl say we have one of best defensive recored, just look at the league table. Jose tactics are negative and to defensive, last 4 games proved that, with the attacking talent we have, we have become found out and easy to play against.
Let’s face it guys, a few lucky breaks can make all the difference. Latest example Man U who are now sitting second in the league, just 2 points behind the leaders. So here’s wishing the lads many more lucky breaks in the new year or at least fewer slices of sheer bad luck. And the same goes for everyone else here.