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.
Previous Article:
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 |
I wouldn’t deny however that further investment is needed, we still need to sort out our defence and find a decent backup centre forward.
TQSpurs, It’s a frequent problem with Levy not been able to acquire the players the manager wanted, the tight fisted git couldn’t get a championship player deal over the line Jack Grealish utter incompetence or should I say scroogeness. Your correct in saying Ndombele was a record transfer but what did Levy give his manager the previous 2 seasons sweet f all, Clarke signing seriously where is he???? Lo Celso, and Sessengnon signed on the last day of transfer window. Sessengnon injured Poch must have loved it. Gedson FERNANDES loan and going on his performances he won’t be around much longer. We need a completely new defence and central holding midfielder so what’s the chances of Levy supplying the goods??? One obvious way Kane leaves.
Pauric….you are just guessing at what happened with the attempt (or should we say supposed attempt) to buy Grealish based on heresay I expect. You shouldn’t believe everything you read. Trying to prise someone away from a club isn’t always about money.
TQ2Spurs -I struggle to see how last night’s bad result is down to poor tactics, when said tactics would likely have delivered a win in normal time if it wasn’t for a keeper howler.
Criticise the selection of Vorm if you want, but criticising the tactics is nonsensical to me.
I’ m with Allan and others when it comes to the stadium. Saying the profits from non football events could be reinvested in the squad is true. But could and will are different words. Levy has already claimed publicly that the new stadium wouldn’t change the way he runs the club. He built a shiny cash machine which will ultimately net him more money when Enic finally sell up. The day can’t come soon enough for me.
BS…..a keeper howler is just a part of the game, it can happen in any game and shouldn’t be used as an excuse. As far as tactics go, regardless of the way it came about, we were knocked out of the only competition we still had a realistic chance of winning this season, by a team that is languishing at the bottom of the league and away from home, that surely suggests the overall tactics were wrong whether that be starting eleven, formation, choice and timing of subs, or choice and order of penalty takers.
You will note I did type ‘could’ in capitals to emphasise there is no guarantee the extra income will be used to invest in the core activity, as I said, we’ll have to wait and see.
TQ….your last 2 posts pretty spot on, they are your opinions and pretty factual, that’s what I like, not enforcing an opinion on others, just giving your own ideas if you like, the problem I have is with those who believe some of us are minions/no eff all because they are so right.
Though I do believe in defense of the enforcer opinionated types, I think the situation Spurs find themselves in, whether it be self inflicted or just plain bloody hard luck, is leading to mass frustration from all and sundry fans, thus grievances unfolding. COYS
There is certainly a lot of frustration expressed in many of the posts PY, it’s no surprise everything considered.
I’m quite happy to debate subjects with those who are prepared to accept that there might be an alternative view to their own as I would, some people can’t be convinced of anything other than what they believe themselves and that’s fine, but there is no point in having a debate with them if their mind is closed to any other possibilities.
And looking at the spend over 2 seasons doesn’t give a fair picture of what investment has been like under Enic. Look at the last 5, 10, 20 seasons. Zero net spend.
I’m not interested in what happened 10 or 20 seasons ago BS, we can’t change history, I’m only interested in the future and whether or not the boards strategy of developing the infrastructure that will increase income is going to translate into increased investment on the pitch. I believe we are already beginning to witness this and hope to see it continuing so that we can compete at the very top level of club football.
Having watched the game on BBC Sport…. Not much has changed in last 4 games…. We .. Lost all of them ! I am glad I did not go to WHL in the rain and wind… That is something I have not said in 30 yrs….
Why didn’t lucas pass to dele who was in 6 yd box unmarked with an open goal… Vorm error cost us, this is down to inactivity of playing. Penalty taking … pathetic, Troy should not have taken a penalty… Gedson a 12 yr girl could hit the ball harder, Lamela row z. Cantwell should have had a yellow card at least for violent conduct arm into Lucas, face. Our players did not get stuck in to / press Norwich, and they subsequently made us look a championship team, must have watched us beaten by Chelsea / Wolves.
Levy will not change Jose for another manager now, too much compo. So we can expect spurs to finish in 7th place or worse, if this shabby form and negativity outbursts of Jose continues.
I think that on this occasion Jose’s team selection played a big part in the defeat. I had my doubts about the outcome as soon as I saw it. Bringing in a third choice goalkeeper who hasn’t played in the first team for yonks and in the packed new stadium was asking for trouble. So was leaving out Toby and having two boys in central midfield. Yes Skippy did oK but he was hardly the chap to drive us on to a second goal and It was him losing the ball in a dangerous position that resulted in the shot that led to their goal. The less said about Dele the better but sadly Parrott wasn’t much of an improvement. Playing without a goal scoring forward of any stature for much of the second half and into extra time was probably unprecedented and at at a time when we were desperate for a second goal. Jose cannot be blamed for this though.
Another factor that’s not talked about is the fear factor. I think this is partly responsible for our defensive approach in games like this after leaking so many goals. But I also think there is a fear of letting the fans down in our fantastic stadium. And the vitriolic responses of some of these “fans” doesn’t help. On the other hand I think the stadium inspires our opponents.
A change in our fortunes will only come when we can put out our best team in present circumstances and when confidence returns. Getting some luck at vital moments might also make a difference.
SR….your 2nd para in your 4.35pm post is spot on, I was only thinking that myself esp’ “the Stadium inspires our opponents” even a commentator said the same..basically “who wouldn’t want to play in this fine Stadium”, so our new shiny Stadium is also working against us I think, ah well onto the next bebarcle sorry game lol! COYS
block 108…..the misery could yet get worse, Burnley will go above us if we lose to them on Saturday, possibly others as well!
Well well well, how Spurs have fallen.
Lets gets straight and honest here. Our performances since Jose arrival have been average, poor and some odd moments of good. Has he improved things, point wise may be but a lot of them have been gained by luck. Apart from the initial few three games when players had the ‘new manager’ boom and in awe of him there has been nothing to get excited about.
Jose, Levy believed Jose could do better with these players and win things than Poch could, even saying he was so happy with his squad. Really, since then in 3 months 3 players have gone, 2 starters. Its looking like Vertonghen will go as well, that’s 3 starters, just under a third of the first team starters that Jose was surprisingly happy with and believed in. Summer that might increase.
So lets look at who he has dropped. Toby us his latest victim, Vertonghen and Dier and Dele not as much have also had time on the bench. Hmm thats more first team starters, yet he was happy with the players.
My point is Poch knew for some time the squad needed refreshing and players were no longer good enough, that is why we won nothing, along with lack of investment for a season and leaving whl dealing with wembley. So this idea Jose could do better with this squad and him saying he is happy with them isnt looking likely to be true. So what now, spend to give Jose what he wants, and see if he can deliver. If next season he starts badly, levy going to sack him and we see another transitional season.
Next, is Jose improving players, well i cant see it. Is he bringing anything on the pitch that we can see progress, nope. Oh thats right we got injuries. So he saying we are a two man team. Ok, its harder without Kane and Son but what has that hot to do with some of the tactics and performances. Are we saying we cant pass a ball, create some good performances without these players. Does Son and Kane mean we cant make a pass forward, or Aurier cant defend, or we cant stop leaking goals, or Dele cant stop doing stupid unproductive flicks, that Moura cant take a shot, or …. come on losing Son and Kane doesnt make even some of the basics of football apply. The point is Jose needs to take blame.
Last night game, he plays Vorm, no one understands that. Plus he continues to utilise Aurier as a offensive fb, wing back and lets him get away with murder when it comes to defending, time and time again Aurier gets caught out. What has this to do with Son and Kane not playing.
Under Poch Ndombele was playing, now he isnt fit enough, well i agree its an issue but he was playing well under Poch even though he was still trying to find his fitness. Whats happened to Sess, no confidence, whats Jose doing about that. What about Dele looks miserable. But the biggest problem is his tactics. He wants us to defend deep, hold on to a one nil lead and try and catch teams on the counter, yet time and time again its not working. Its frustrating, draining, boring to watch and i expect to play.
Then there is his press conferences, hardly making players feel good, so negative, no apportioning blame from himself onto injuries or anything else but him.
The truth as i see it was Poch knew 18 months before things got bad that he saw Toby and Vertonghen where on the decline, he wanted them out especially Toby, then this season Vertonghen. He knew Eriksen was going and we needed a Bruno. He knew Aurier was crap and with Tripps going a rb. He knew Moura was no getter than a sub or more suited to CL than PL and wanted a striker, Dybala. He knew he needed a rebuild long before he got sacked and it didnt happen. He had taken these players has far has they could go. Jose or any one else want do better. In fact Jose is doing worse, non of them look happy. If it wasn’t for Winks love for the club, Celso attitude and quality, Lamelas determination when on the pitch and Mouras work ethic i think things would be worse. Things are bad.
Fans want trophies and bringing Jose in may deliver that but expect it to be at a cost to how we play. Personally i bugs me this obsession about trophies and imo it contributed to Poch sacking which i was fuming about and still am. I prefer to watch good football, have stability, have a philosophy to work towards and some smiling faces, happy faces and get CL every year than win a silky domestic trophy. I still think Poch would have delivered anyway.
This negative football, these negative press conferences, are draining me and i have no desire to watch spurs, but i endure it because i l9ve the club.
For me there was no need to stop playing attacking attractive football to such a extreme. If Jose wanted to shut up shop at back why not play Foyth or Tanganga at rb and even Vertonghen or Davies at lb and let the offensive play continue making the middle has strong has he could. Anyway there was no need to suffocate our play by as soon as we get a goal we stop playing offensive football.
Liverpool dont have a target man. They play good football. Lets be honest before Kane and Son got injured we were not playing great football. It was starting to get negative.
We have lost our soul, been sold, no identity, no nothing. Its a shambles and now its a shambles off the pitch. Press conferences are negative. Now Parrot has been dissed. Dele facing a charge, now Dier. Ndombele has been ridiculed, Sess has been put down not encourage enough. Players need encouragement, they need to know they are valued, they need a bit of love, rightly or wrongly. No one wants to be dissed in public.
Time for Levy to have a rethink. Personally i wouldn’t trust Jose next season, but my gut says Levy will have little choice. I felt for a long time Poch needs to come back but i think that isnt likely now as Poch will have mentally moved on and so have the players. May be when this squad changes and new players arrive in the future then Poch coming back might work but its likely to be too late, he will be applying his trade elsewhere. So i dont know where we g from here other than grit our teeth and grim and bare it for next few months and see if anything changes next season.
I dont think we will get top 4 unless those around us cock up more than us and thats asking something. I dont see us going any further in CL but you never know and if we do and get Kane and Sin and Sissoko back that might bring about change but tbh under Jose it feels and looks bleak to me.
BS, Vorm mistake or no Vorm mistake, you are in a tiny minority (I would wager), of anyone that watched last nights match that didn’t see Jose’s tactics as good reason for our eventual loss. Quite apart from it being poor football as a spectacle…
Spurs fan or neutral. Pundits, ex-players and journalists alike. All and sundry are perplexed at JM’s approach to this match. As well as a few matches before it.
And it doesn’t matter who was on the pitch or who couldn’t even be on the pitch. The play was poor, from start to finish. To the point where I suspect that when the players were seeing extra time approaching, they pretty much gave up on the game-plan and thought right, we’ve got 10 minutes to win this bloody match, let’s bloody go for it!
I got to the point myself where was thinking; Please Norwich, put us out of our misery. You deservre to win this match more than Spurs. And the last thing that the Canaries needed, just as with Spurs, was extra-time.
Jesus, what a shambles! And Jose’s post-match bull has me all angry with him yet again………
Over and Out!
I don’t think it’s just the fact we’re missing HK10 and Sonny’s goals, we are missing their creativity and also the ability to have rotation up front, culminating in Bergs and Moura coming off early knackered and only having Lamela as an alternative winger/forward on the bench (how fit is he?!) and Fernandes (again how fit is he?!) having to cover as such aswell meaning less cover for centre mid and Skipp having to play the whole game at such a tender age (no Sissoko, Dier at CB, Fernandes on the wing etc).
Skipp was another who looked knackered after putting in a decent shift, Winks withdrawn before game end, Dele withdrawn just after extra-time started (how we miss Sissoko also – especially driving the ball forwards with lung busting runs from deep/centre mid). The players looked fatigued most of the 2nd half but came on strong for the final 10 minutes once changes had been made indeed the introduction of Lamela, N’Dombele and Fernandes explains for me the surge in the last 10 minutes and the fact Norwich wained after owning most of the 2nd half from the 45th minute to about the 80th minute by dominating in centre mid especially – suddenly we had fresh quality legs and it showed.
We are not just missing HK10, Sonny, Sissoko and Lloris now we have also missed Davies and Lloris for big periods and N’Dombele and Sessegnon also. The injuries are ridiculous, the fatigue is an obvious consequence of such and JM is suffering heavily because of it and his tactics resemble this – let’s not forget we have Burnley on Saturday evening and Leipzig Tuesday night and technically there’s still everything to play for in the CL and Prem for us. Then there’s the small matter of Man U visiting us on Sunday the 15th. Massive rotation needed to stay competitive in all comp’s as we were still in and up front we don’t even have that option meaning our attacking players have to play every game, full 90 minutes or best part of and to take them off other parts have to suffer such as centre mid (Fernandes playing on the wing for example).
I’m not happy with results or performances but am more than willing to give JM a pre-season and a full season to see what can achieve. He needs to be backed, we need some defenders (minimum a RB to challenge Aurier and a LCB to take over from Vert’s) and also at a minimum a back-up striker to challenge HK10.
On last night’s performance I would give Vert’s another 12 month contract – he can cover at LCB and LB and that is crucial with us having so many youngster’s in defence like Sanchez, Sessegnon, Foyth and Tanganga. Bring in the RB, LCB and STR and get everyone fit and firing for next season and I think we’ll be right back up there but it is crucial to get the 3 signings in and also to get everyone fit and gelled.
On Vorm, JM was probably right to play him – save Gazza for Burnley and Leipzig as Lloris currently out and what happens if Gazza plays and gets injured – we have to go with Vorm most probably against better opponents in Burnley away, Leipzig away and even Utd at home quite possibly depending on when Lloris comes back if he does in this small time-frame.
JM is doing the best he can IMHO with what he has available in terms of injury/form and what he is facing in terms of fixture pile-up with what was challenging on 3 fronts still – ridiculous circumstances – cannot be emphasized enough especially by us fans. It would have been hard, even near impossible to have to play these fixtures with a fully fit squad but to have to do it depleted is RIDICULOUS and our performance’s and result’s are clearly demonstrating this – my sympathies JM sincerely!
THE CORONA VIRUS MIGHT BRING THIS MISERABLE SEASON TO A EARLY END
WHY ARE YU BEING SO OPTIMISTIC, PAURIC? This site is for pessimists.
I might add as a share-holder I’m greatful for small mercies such as JM coming in and DOING enough to save us from a relegation battle which we may well have dropped into and not gotten out of! I didn’t think we would be relegated or be around there for long to be honest but then again who knows – fact is he came in and we are now on the magic 40 points and only 2 points technically off CL if 5th is good enough which it should be as City should and I expect will be punished for what they’ve got upto.
If HK10, Sonny, Lloris and Sissoko had not gotten injured as seriously as they did and Davies also I reckon we would have probably been able to force a CL spot again this season under JM but as it is I’m expecting us to go out of the CL next week and probably miss out on Europe for next season by finishing lower down in the Prem. Sometimes you just have to be a realist or even a pessimist to get through. Optimism was last season, this season realism at best.
That’s what I call a balanced response El Jefe taking account of all the factors involved. Won’t go down well though with those who prefer to have a good moan about everything.
Cheers SR – you’ve always got my back on here – just calling it as I see it with my Portuguese spectacles on LOL – got to back JM to the hilt – us Portuguese have got to stick together – there’s not many of us!
The injuries are ridiculous, the fatigue incredible – you can see it in watching the matches – we’re really struggling – if only matches lasted around 60 minutes or so.
I’m with you and Belgian in this and a few others and now despite not expecting much for the rest of this season, looking forward to next to see what JM can really do. If next season is a damp squid without very, very good reason then we can start addressing matters differently but until then he deserves to be cut a lot of slack for the situation he took over and what has transpired – irrespective of his knowledge of the matter in November (technically job done here – we’re clear of relegation zone by a long way) and also what salary he is being paid.
I’m also in with TQ as regards Levy – we needed the stadium – it’s now built and financed so now hopefully like TQ will be looking forward to further investment into the squad like there has been in the last 2 windows. I’m looking forward to it on and off the pitch – both as a massive fan but also as a small share-holder.
Guys, I honestly don’t understand what all of those factors mentioned have got to do with sitting back and just letting teams have attack after attack. How will this help the situation? (It isn’t helping!) Jose was known for often doing the same at both Chelsea and United. What were his excuses with them? And, he did have excuses… He did still moan.
I have and still do fully accept his tough situation right now with THFC. But it’s his tactics that I’m pissed off with. Norwich do not have the squad we have as far as talent and experience is concerned and yet they somehow played like they were the top 6 team, playing at home. But they are the bottom PL club, playing away! They were positive and were rewarded with the positive result. And they deserved the win…
Jose was negative and lost! Being negative on and off the pitch doesn’t have anything to do with our injuries etc, making it okay to be so poor tactically. The situation doesn’t get better because of being overly defensive. At home, vs Norwich. Obviously!
Defeatism is not something I can defend and make excuses for. And I’ll not make the mistake of confusing realism with defeatism. Defeatists will get defeated more often than not. And will make us all damn miserable witnessing it.
I’d rather we go down fighting than surrender our season to this continued mediocrity…
To be defending the managers poor and negative ‘back-foot’ tactics is one thing. But to still defend them when the tactics are failing and the team is performing badly and losing, doesn’t really work for me.
I spend 95% of my time on here being positive about my club of choice. My default position when things are bad with Spurs is to support the players and managers through thick and thin. I was mocked for this for years on here. Happy clappy wind up merchant etc… So now when I feel the need to moan maybe its because for once in a long time I have no good reason to be so happy clappy, right now…
If we win the next two important games, I won’t moan. If we go down fighting, I still won’t moan. If we enter the field behaving like losers before we have kicked off and we then lose… I’ll be bloody angry but I won’t at all be surprised.
And , I’m still not calling for Jose’s head. That is not my style . But I definitely feel justified just now, for having a moan… Sorry!
O meu deus, el jefe. Você quer ser simpático ao José só porque ele é um português? José é uma vergonha para todo o mundo lusofônico. José Bobinho não merece suas simpatias.
By the way all… This is the first time since 2004 that Spurs have lost 4 straight matches in all competitions.
Can we really throw the blame at Levy for this? Personally, I can’t see what Levy has to do with Jose’s defeatist attitude and poor, backward thinking tactics. And if you happen to be a Jose fan, then surely you should now be praising Levy for hiring the guy in the first place. If you are not either a Levy or Jose fan and you also think we have a rubbish squad. Then you will be forever gloomy anyway… LOL!
And, call me happy-clappy or happy-foolish or a moaning but strangely positive minnie … I still think we can finish in the top 4 and get past Leipzig next week…….. Hilarious eh?! Maybe not!
I get this funny feeling “We aint happy then” lol!
Blame JM, yes for me his game plan is to negative as is his vitriol, but a lot has happened, mainly injuries thus problems with team selection.
Blame Poch, who for me is largely part of the blame, talked in riddles, mostly negatives, didn’t want to up set his family atmosphere or his faves, and as far as I can see, he could see he had taken us as far as he could, so worked his ticket, thus Levy getting ALL! the blame, and I am not a total Levy backer, somewhere in the middle is the reason we are where we are. COYS
Tk, funny guy, that last comment must be Portuguese mumbo-jumbo I take it? No sorry Mourinho game plan😂. No wonder the team hasn’t a notion what there doing
HT, you don’t see how Levy should get the blame for this, mourinho deafitist tactics and anti football and moaning. HE HIRED THE BLOODY MANAGER. It seems to be the case if you don’t follow the herd and become delusional optimist your gloomy?? Sometimes the truth hurts.