Newcastle MotM
Son Heung-Min
Harry Kane
Dejan Kulusevski
Matt Doherty
Tottenham Hotspur
5 – 1
Newcastle United
White Hart Lane
Premier League
3/04/2022 5:30 pm
Referee: Martin Atkinson
| Tottenham Hotspur | Newcastle United | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davies (43), Doherty (48), Son Heung-Min (54), Emerson Royal (63), Bergwijn (83) | Schar (39) | ||||||
| Lloris | Dubravka | ||||||
| Emerson Royal | 81 | Manquillo | 59 | ||||
| Romero | Schar | ||||||
| Dier | Burn | ||||||
| Davies | Targett | ||||||
| Doherty | Willock | ||||||
| Bentancur | 75 | Shelvey | |||||
| Hojbjerg | Joelinton | 59 | |||||
| Kulusevski | 76 | Fraser | |||||
| Son Heung-Min | Wood | 70 | |||||
| Kane | Saint-Maximin | ||||||
Substitutes |
|||||||
| Sanchez | Dummett | ||||||
| Winks | 75 | Lascelles | 70 | ||||
| Rodon | Ritchie | ||||||
| Gollini | Krafth | ||||||
| Bergwijn | 81 | Murphy | 59 | ||||
| Lucas Moura | 76 | Darlow | |||||
| White | Gayle | ||||||
| Scarlett | Longstaff | ||||||
| Bowden | Guimaraes Rodriguez Moura | 59 | |||||
Game Statistics |
||
| 19 | Goal attempts | 8 |
| 6 | On Target | 1 |
| 2 | Corners | 3 |
| 10 | Fouls | 7 |
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 62 | % | 38 |
The belief and confidence is growing in the team, therefore the belief n hope is growing in the fan base, I am very confident also, as hopefully many more are the same. COYS
Hi Jod
In saying that you’ve just confirmed what I was trying to say back in January.
Whilst those two players who came in May not on their own be next level, but if they can impose or instill Contes’ methods surely that then takes us as a team to next level.
We are now a better team with those two in it.
There fore, for me, at a better level our results since Jan have only been bettered by Liverpool.
Hi Arky
I’m with you on Bergs, I’m on the fence, I do feel he can be a decent player, but is an impact player role what he wants.
Re Winks, I’m just not a fan.
BS were back in the front of the car again, Arsenal have “slipped up”.
I agree with LT that Bergs and Lucas are good squad members and I doubt we could do better. There is a huge difference between bringing in first team players and back-up players. Just because some players are not considered good enough for the starting eleven does not mean they are not good enough to be in the squad.
Well done Palace! Our destiny is now in our own hands.
Agree Geof. Both Moura nad Bergwijn are good enough to be in our squad, if not the 11.
Having said that, our squad might be better off overall if we sell a player from an area of strength/depth, and use the funds to address another, more pressing area of need in the squad.
In an ideal world we could afford to keep Bergwijn and Moura and still have the funds to invest at full back, centre back and in central midfield.
But history tells us we will need to sell before we buy, and it would not surprise me to see the club cash in on one of Moura or Bergwijn (probably Stevie, as he is younger and is worth more on the market) to address our other needs.
If we are merely looking for a bit part player who can provide depth and chip in 5 goals a season (roughly Stevie’s contribution to this squad), we might be able to find a cheaper option for that role and reinvest Bergwijn’s transfer fee and salary in a better right wing back, for example.
There’s a number of things that we need to know going into the summer before you can talk about who we could bring in. Talking about players going out is always pointless as just because you want to sell a player it doesn’t mean anyone wants to buy him, plus the player himself always has the option of seeing out his contract.
First thing is are we in the Champions League ? That gives us more cash to spend and makes us a more attractive destination for players. It also means we need a stronger squad, its worth trying to get as far as possible in the Champions League. As far as the Europa goes, if the squad players can’t handle it then forget it.
Second thing is will Conte still be there next season ? I’m hoping that won’t be a problem but given his track record we can’t be certain and a new manager would mean looking at different players.
Third thing is what is our strategy in the transfer market ? Under Pochettino for most of his time here we didn’t sign the finished product, we signed players we could make better players. That worked well for us but we seem to have moved away from it. Obviously it makes a big difference to the kind of players we are looking at.
Without knowing any of it at this stage its hard to say anything meaningful about transfers.
Niall – we’re not quite in the driver’s seat yet.
As things stand, Arsenal have a game in hand. If they win it, they’d go 3 points above us. Even if we beat them at home in our head to head match, we would go level on points but the difference would come down to GD.
Arsenal can still guarantee a top 4 finish if they win all of their games, or even drop points but outscore us. We might win all of our remaining games and still miss out on GD. We still need Arsenal to drop points in their game in hand against Chelsea to truly be in control of our own destiny.
Scoring goals has been one the Gooners biggest problems this season, don’t they still have to play United as well as Chelsea?
BelgianSpur – I’m not sure Arsenal can really get fourth on goal difference. We simply have far more fire power than them. It comes down to how well we play, if we play well then goal difference should be significantly in our favour. If we don’t goal difference won’t matter.
It’s an old adage that good players make others better, and so true in our case. Bents and Kulu with their speed of thought and technical competence have relieved the pressure we were under in possession within our own half. Bingo, the rest have time and space to play in and build attacks. Bentacur will miss games no doubt, so we must find another similarly gifted. Not Winks, maybe Skippy will develop, but why not bring Eriksen back?
I hear you but all of this is personal opinion. Lrt’s hope you’re right.
A huge and hearty thank you to Patrick Vieira for whipping his old team. hip hip… Their on game up on us can disappear if we take the three points when we play them It’s now in our hands.
Looks like we finally have our replacement for Modric. HK. Now that he’s decided to play again. Welcome to THFC, Harry, and to your new role as the midfield creator.
Hi BS
Not in the driver’s seat but at least in the front of the car. 😉
Agreed it’s Arsenals’ball to drop, but if we can keep pushing em I do think they will fade given their run in.
LT god post, I suppose re Skipp, I personally feel he is more a replacement for Hoj and visaversa
But as you say why not Ericksen.
Jod also a good couple of points just now, re transfers.
The Poch strategy didn’t always work, but he come very very close to working miracles.
If Spurs can properly target new recruits for positions needed, then agreed the people we can go for will be of better quality for those positions if we qualify for CL.
Agree Niall,things are looking good. We only have 1 veerty difficult game left against Liverpool, all the other matches are well within our reach.
Arsenal still have to play Chelsea, Man U and West Ham, direct rivals for top 4/6, all in a very difficult period between April 20 and May 1.
We just have to continue trating each game like a cup final and not get complacent.
Love totty – because if you played Eriksen that would double the defensive workload on whoever was playing the second midfield position, Bentacur, Hojbjerg or Skipp. I get the impression a lot of people ignore Conte’s formation even though he hardly ever changes it. The two midfield players have to cover the defence, the two wingbacks must attack. But people keep coming up with ideas that just don’t fit the formation. Yet they never actually criticise the formation itself, very strange.
Big mistake to bring CE back. The man can still pass the ball but he’s likely still a problem on defence.
God bless his seemingly successful comeback from the on the pitch heart attack, but he will cost as many goals against as goals for.
Don’t bring players in for reasons of emotion or nostalgia. If you want a nostalgia signing, bring him is as an assistant coach.
Want a nostaliga signing? Gareth Bale if he’ll take a 65% weekly pay cut.
And remember, all of us are only a moment away from our lives changing dramatically.
100% TK
Our lives are full of 60 second slots which mean so much, a missed train or a moment longer in a shop can mean so much. I remember a friend saying that 60 seconds changed her life forever.
If I could count the cost of 60 seconds lost….
Yes I get that Christian has defensive limitations so I wasn’t suggesting that he replace Bentancur. But we do need a backup and he could play a vital role in that capacity or in games we should win. It could suit him too, not to be overplayed at this stage of his career and health concerns. He has shown he still has the quality to be a match winner.
Love totty – You aren’t making sense. A backup is someone who can come in and do a similar job to the player he is replacing, ideally almost as well. So how is someone who can’t defend a backup in a midfield that is required to defend ?
Maybe we should ask Conte that question, jod.
After all, Conte was the man to take him to Inter 2 years ago. Not only that, but Conte also played him in a deeper midfield role than Pochettino used him in, at Spurs. And he was seen to have coached Christian to be more defensive in his general play.
Eriksen is a very versatile mifielder and is known for his high work-rate. Which he still has it seems, if we lookat how he played against Chelsea for Brentford at the weekend. And his recent games with Denmark also show he hasn’t lost his finishing and playmaking skills that go with his all round hard work ethic.
Eriksen may not be a top tackler, but his skills in defending are all about his fine ability to read a game so well and to make many well timed and cruccial intrerceptions. We saw this at Spurs, and he then improved on this at Inter, and according to Conte’s instructions.
Conte has already hinted that he would be happy to work with Eriksen once more. And so personally, I wouldn’t write off the possibility of Christian rejoining Spurs in the summer.
That is of course also dependent on whether or not Eriksen would want a return to Spurs if he is at all wanted.
As it stood, some Spurs supporters did revert to booing him toward the end of his time with us… Ungrateful fools!
I would gladly have CE back, as a depth option for our front 3.
I’m sure he’d bring more to our team than Bergwijn/Moura.
Seems that you are in the minority Jod, not for the first time methinks. You overlook the fact that controlling possession is the best form of defence and as HT eloquently says, Christian has many qualities in that regard.
My opinion on both Bale (huge pay-cut required) and Eriksen, sign them both if possible, is that I do not think either are week after week 90mins payers anymore but would be huge super-subs coming off the bench for us.
Summer signings, incl the 2 above, must be Quality over Quantity. COYS
I’ve already said what we need to know before looking at signings but bringing back old players who don’t fit the system is hardly the way to build a better squad. More N’Dombele thinking. Start with any obvious weaknesses. Having only one left sided central defender is one, we have got really lucky that Davies hasn’t had a serious injury this year and I wouldn’t want to risk that again next season. Wing backs are crucial so is Emerson up to the job ? If not then adequate backup for Doherty is crucial. Obviously the first transfer activity will be activating the option to buy Kulusevski. Once you’ve filled the gaps you can start looking at who might improve the squad. But finding those players will be a lot harder and more N’Dombele signings are always a possibility.
jod – we agree that bringing Bale and Eriksen back should not be priorities over addressing the other weaknesses in our squad.
Having said that, if opportunities present themselves in the market AND the players in question can fit in Conte’s system (they’re not necessarily as awkward fits as you say they are), why not look at them?
I don’t think anyone is saying Bale n Erik are priority signings, just that they would if signed be great super-subs, and one of them has already played under Conte where he eventually thrived.
Conte is now going to get a Summer of his thoughts n training, can only be a good thing.
Its also agreed other weaknesses in the squad should be addressed.
Quality over Quantity. COYS.