Following three defeats on the spin across all competitions, Tottenham Hotspur welcomed Norwich City to White Hart Lane this evening as we welcomed the FA Cup fifth round as a distraction.
Manager Jose Mourinho certainly rang some changes and we saw the return of Michel Vorm, Jan Vertonghen and Oliver Skipp to the line up and although we went into the half time break with less possession and chances overall, we did start the second half with a 1-0 advantage courtesy of Vertonghen’s 13th minute effort.
The second half was again poor, but from both teams in reality. Even without the ball we were largely in control, but as we failed to extend our advantage in our attacks, Norwich kept plugging away and in the 78th minute they got their reward.
Although the visitors initially had a bounce, we dug in and I don’t think you can question the spirit or the commitment, as we then threw everything at them….but Serge Aurier saw his effort (possibly going off target anyway) blocked.
Into extra time we went with the threat of penalties, but our start to the first period was again hardly inspiring. There was some improvement though and it was a chance for Troy Parrott to become a hero as he replaced Dele Alli in the 96th minute. We also had a handball shout in the penalty box, but handball these days is more subjective than VAR and it didn’t go our way – neither did the next shout.
We were still largely on top for me, but again no end product, so penalties it was.
Spurs pens:
Dier scores, Lamela misses, Lo Celso scores, Parrott saved, Fernandes saved.
Norwich pens:
McLean saved, Idah scores, Stiepermann scores, Cantwell scores.
Norwich win 3-2 on penalties. We ended the game on top in terms of chances and we ended penalties buried. So much for keepers having to stay on their lines, but that would be small complaint for some very poor penalties and efforts across the game.
Good night folks.
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3 Defeats On The Spin & Spurs Fans Will Be Asking About Team Selections – Match Stats
White Hart Lane
FA Cup Fifth Round - Penalties
4/03/2020 8:45 pm
Attendance: 58007
Referee: Tierney
| Tottenham Hotspur | Norwich City | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vertonghen (13) | Drmic (78) | ||||||
| Vorm | Krul | ||||||
| Aurier | Aarons | ||||||
| Sanchez | Hanley | ||||||
| Dier | Godfrey | ||||||
| Vertonghen | Lewis | ||||||
| Skipp | Trybull | 89 | |||||
| Winks | 81 | Vrancic | 67 | ||||
| Lucas Moura | 70 | Buendia | 97 | ||||
| Lo Celso | Rupp | 72 | |||||
| Bergwijn | 54 | Cantwell | |||||
| Alli | 96 | Drmic | |||||
Substitutes |
|||||||
| Alderweireld | Stiepermann | 97 | |||||
| Lamela | 70 | Pukki | |||||
| Gazzaniga | McLean | 67 | |||||
| Ndombele | 81 | Duda | |||||
| Gedson Fernandes | 54 | Tettey | 89 | ||||
| Tanganga | McGovern | ||||||
| Parrott | 96 | Idah | 72 | ||||
Game Statistics |
||
| 19 | Goal attempts | 18 |
| 7 | On Target | 6 |
| 9 | Corners | 8 |
| 20 | Fouls | 17 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 50 | % | 50 |
Mourinho out!!! Levy out!!!
Just waiting for arsenal to finish above us and also beating us in the 1st NLD at home.
Only one real positive from the game…..Lo Celso.
I have nothing else constructive to say.
Lo Celso is really growing into his own. Verts did well. I shouldn’t have come back down for a cancer stick as reading these posts have left me more depressed as they aren’t wrong lol
Terrible result. For me it was all down to Vorms’ mistake. It was a lack lustre game but I did think we were the better side. We had more chances and one cleared off the line. We didn’t play like we can until around 70-80 mins. LoCeslo played well, I thought Skippy did OK, I also thought Dier was alright in defence. There were times we had the ball around their 18 yard box but there was no one there to receive it. We seemed to lack imagination. Our Pens were terrible. Why did he pick Vorm. I despair season over.
Vorm’s an easy target for me Niall. It was clearly a mistake, but there were greater ones elsewhere for me.
Danny I just can’t see why he (Vorm) was picked tonight this was our best chance of salvaging something this season. I agree there were other mistakes tonight. I found the whole team selection in general somewhat confusing. Why didn’t we press in the early stages the way we did at 75 minutes. Danny I’m trying to grasp at some positives, it seems almost all our goals conceded this season are through silly mistakes. We let teams come on to us and defend too deep as was seen tonight we stood off their defence and let them play up to half way before engaging them. This left us in the position of having to run 3/4 of the pitch on the break in an effort to score with no back up from mid field who seemed afraid to cross the 1/2way line until 70 mins or so.
Then we started to play a bit. Dele huffed and stumped around the pitch and was totally anonymous. But I did think we tried to win the gam within 90 min where as I thought they were playing for pens.
Right I’m now going to bed but…
I can understand the choice Niall. Lloris sidelined again, Gazz has games, Vorm is 3rd choice so give him proper minutes. If Vorm suddenly becomes second choice if Lloris is out for longer, he needs to be sharp.
And again, I can’t blame him for tonight.
Our failure was in approach, in attack, in intent. Once they levelled we sort of saw the Spurs of old as we had the bit between our teeth – if I make sense? We ended the game on top and lost on pens.
Other than that, I can’t disagree, my positives are the reaction and spirit but if they aren’t shown from minute one in the next game – they are pointless to little old me.
The whole Dier thing is now a different kettle of fish.
I’m going back to bed.
I thought Vertonghen had his best game in a while, and overall, the performance over 90 minutes should have resulted in a win, until Vorm threw it away.
In extra time, fatigue caught up with us and the penalties we either poor (Lamela – at least work the keeper) or worse, lacking in effort (Gedson – what were you doing?).
I’d be tempted to say that Jose can hardly be blamed for keeper howlers, but ultimately, he chose to pick Vorm so the buck stops with him. I never understood why Vorm had been brought back, and if he hadn’t, we wouldn’t have had to worry about giving him minutes. Paulo should have been in there anyways. Vorm’s Spurs career is finished (it already was last year), so picking him is baffling. 3rd choice keepers are there for emergencies; this wasn’t one.
Harsh for Mourinho but he has to take some blame for team selection there.
I agree BS, as I said on the match thread, Verts plays some of his best games at left back.
I want to know how Krul was allowed to get away with the gamesmanship before each of our penalties, even if there are no rules against it it is at best unsportsmanlike behaviour and disrespectful to his fellow professionals. That said, surely we shouldn’t have asked a 17 year old to face the pressure in such a cauldron of an environment, shouldn’t some of the senior pro’s stepped up and taken responsibility?
It was a huge mistake to select Vorm in goal, I believe it is around 14 months since he last played in a top level game. JM indicated in his pre-match presser that Hugo is likely to be fit for Saturday at Burnley so why did he need to rest Gazza?
I apologise to all those that believe Jose to be the Messiah but I can’t accept the toxicity he is bringing to our club (as he eventually does to every club he manages) in the hope he might win us a tin pot, it is clear his outdated tactics no longer work.
4 defeats on bounce and I say it could roll on to 5 or 6 defeats in a row. But we have the best stadium and are making great profits for Enic, so three cheers to Daniel Levy what legend.
That’s a very naive view of things Pauric, yes the buck ultimately stops at the top man but they didn’t spend all of the money building a fantastic stadium just to neglect the squad and end up playing in it half empty in the championship or below, that doesn’t make for any kind of logic in anyone’s eyes.
Levy took the decision to pay a huge salary to a guy regarded by some to be one of the best three managers in world football, the squad he has at his disposal, including the recent purchases that have arrived under his watch, is a good blend of experience and youth and has some great individual talent. Blaming our current poor run entirely on the absence of Kane and Son is naive at best, yes of course players of this calibre will be missed when injured for long periods but every manager has to cope with this at some point by managing his squad, after all, that’s what he is paid handsomely for!
In my view, and that of many it seems, the problem lies in the tactics/playing style being employed by Jose, you could see for yourself last night that we looked like an away team sitting so deep, he got his team selection and tactics all wrong. The FA cup was realistically the best chance of winning anything this season yet Jose chose not to start our strongest 11 and also played Dele in a position he clearly wasn’t comfortable or effective in and stubbornly refused to change things until the 80th minute when he brought on a proper centre forward.
BS….regarding the selection of Vorm, this is just typical of the kind of thing Jose does, he drops players just to put them in their place and satisfy his own need to demonstrate his power over them. I guess Gazza didn’t meet his expectations or maybe didn’t show the right attitude in his eyes in the previous game and this is what he does, it’s his way of sending messages to players.
I think if we be honest, Norwich deserved to win, it was our approach that lost the game, we will always invite pressure on, allow the other team to play and create chance after chance.
Jose dropped Gaz because he is a shocking GK. Hands down the worst GK we have ever had in the Premier League era.
If people want to pretend he is good or great then carry on. But it’s obvious to every man and his dog why Gaz was dropped.
Vorm is approaching 37, he shouldn’t even be here and still played over him says it all.
RD….you must have a very short or selective memory if you believe Gazza is the worst goalkeeper we’ve had in the PL era! lol
Never mind everyone. We have a rubbish team (few exceptions), rubbish manager ( definitely), rubbish chairman ( always has been a tight fisted ****), rubbish owners, no exciting young players. BUT ….a wonderful state of the art stadium for American Football, Pop Concerts and Boxing. One day when we get rid of all the dross, we will build a football team to match the surroundings. We need some massive changes but it wont happen as long as we have Jose and Levy. Last night, the vibrant, young Norwich team wanted to win; they were desperate for a positive result. Loo at the celebrations at the end …you would think they had won the cup and avoided relegation. ( Neither will happen but they were so positive ). Our recent signings ( Lo Celso excluded) are nothing and totally out of place. Yet again, (5 years now) we failed to get support for Harry Kane. Last night, we had Dele moping around wondering where to play….a player with massive potential who is being ruined by Jose. Vorm’s career has been ended…he hadn’t played for two years and is 37. Dier’s frustration at the end summed up the whole evening…( would it have been different if he was black, I wonder… the abuse would have been stopped!). Knowing our season is over is so depressing, when Jose was going to be the new messiah who wins trophies.He must go now. We will avoid relegation and enjoy mid table scraps. Come back Poch and bring some style to our dismal club. Levy must resign soon surely. How long can this disaster be allowed to continue?
Press the red button said the BBC to watch Spurs, mmmm, wish I hadn’t lol! It just seems same ole same ole, nothing changes, the damage was done, many reasons, and now hard to rectify.
The impression I got is the same as I mentioned a time ago…
Opponents play in our faces, we become “rabbits in headlamps” err! what shall we do now, no leadership on the park.
Opponents decide to “park the bus” err! what shall we do now, have no idea, no leadership on the park.
For me the rot set in with the 2 above thoughts, a couple of seasons ago when all oppositions sussed us out, and as has been mentioned before absolutely no plan B’s or C’s to combat the thoughts above.
So, firstly down to Poch for allowing this to happen, and now JM not having the where with all to work it out and install a new line of thinking, maybe that will take time, the CL final plastered over the quite visible cracks, thus this season we are paying for it.
For me the season is over, think we will scrape in at 10th place, and now cannot wait to see changes, player wise. attitude and plans, so maybe wishing my life away. But still COYS
I have attempted to be supportive and charitable about the team and Jose .
However after watching that poor performance esp Ali being played totally out of position I am coming to the conclusion that jose has lost it !!
I will not blame the players for the performance as they were omly obeying the negative methods of the coach .
Surely the players must realise the atmosphere being generated so much so Dier’s rush into the crowd .
While I condemn the verbal ( swearing ) abuse the players get ( refuse at present to take my middle daughter to watch any match ) I can understand the frustration created by that performance .
Watching fans are paying huge sums of money to witness that is robbery .
Just as long as Levy gets money from Rugby , American Football and now Boxing all appears well !!
The team appears to have a deep malaise and is , as happened many times before , slipping into mediocrity .
I now see that there is a Summer Ball and a pop concert scheduled !!
I am sure that all the non football events scheduled for the stadium will be more enjoyable to watch than last nights performance !!
As a season ticket holder I can say I have witnessed very few acceptable league performances in the last 12 months. The sides I have been watching seem more like a patchwork of individuals rather than a well drilled unit. Worryingly they remind me of the dark days of the mid/late 70s. Like last season we lost a European final in 1974 then for the remainder of the decade only manage one top ten finish in the old first division. Surely history can’t be repeated, fingers crossed.
I won’t name individuals but then, like now, there were players whose abilities were below the level of a club that supposedly wants to challenge for honours. In each instance I don’t blame the player. I believe that generally players go out do the best they can with whatever talent they have. The blame has to lie with the management of the club for not having a more effective option in the squad. The reasons for this are numerous.
Yes, eventually Burkinshaw (our most successful manager since Bill Nick) did bring back glory days. I just hope we don’t have to wait six or seven years this time round. I can’t hold my breath that long.
Allan et al……all of the extra income that the stadium hosting other events will provide COULD be used to improve the core activity i.e. football (not just the mens squad but the womens too where huge growth is happening) but we will have to wait and see if this is what happens.
Probably the most worrying thing was the attitude. We started well but as soon as we scored we dropped the pace and invited Norwich to attack. Then in the last 10 minutes of normal time we suddenly found some energy. In fairness this isn’t a new problem, it happened periodically under Pochettino too. But if we want to improve we need to find a way to cure it. At the moment picking a team seems a pretty futile exercise, Jose’s comment about going to a gunfight without bullets looks more and more accurate. If you can’t score you can’t win. In that respect I saw nothing from Parrot when he came on to suggest he’s ready for the first team.
TQSpurs, what a lot of fans on this site could not see or should i say did not want to see. 1. This problem started almost two seasons back when our esteemed chairman Daniel Levy most certainly neglected the football side of this club and failed to back the best manager under his rein, Poch worked wonders to drag our club from Europe league perennials to champions league season after season and even getting this club into title contention ultimately coming up short. Now you would think that our esteemed chairman would back his manager??? Nope Zero spend. Com was Levy response to Poch achievements, so this continued for almost 2 seasons ZERO SPEND. In the end Poch came out in media conference to tell the media not to call him the manager he’s only the coach that was the beginning of the end. in my opinion Poch’s biggest failure was been to much of yes man and company man towing the Levy line. 2. Mourinho did not sack Poch and hire himself step up our esteemed chairman so I don’t go with this Mourinho is to blame for this mess Daniel Levy 100% at fault. Let’s get one thing straight I don’t want Mourinho as our manager because his glory days are long gone, what I am amused about is certain fans only realising now what Mourinho is like and what life under Mourinho lookslike, 3.A marriage made in hell was my immediate reaction to Mourinho becoming the manager and I stand by that comment because you have a tight fisted git and control freak in bed with a man who needs endless amount of cash to succeed and also cause ructions in the dressing room along the way. It’s complete opposite to what Daniel Levy has spouted out to the fans for years, now does this mean Levy has dropped his vision for the club???????
Pauric, at least we agree about one thing, tht is not wanting Mourinho from the outset. That said, having got him I was prepared to go with it to see if he change his ways and helped us win something but my faith in seeing that happen has already gone.
I would still take issue with you over Levy failing to back Poch, it was widely reported that money was available to him but he refused to spend unless he could get exact targets which we know can always be difficult. I don’t know what you regard as a decent amount to spend that is affordable but we did break our transfer record for Ndombele as well as buying Sessegnon in the summer which was around £80m, plus whatever it was for Clarke. This was all in Poch’s last transfer window and since then we have made Lo Celso’s move permanent and bought Bergwijn, we have also paid a loan fee for Gedson with a view to making this permanent eventually as well.
That’s a fairly decent investment over two windows from someone who is supposedly tight fisted.