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 |
HT – do you not think the sitting back and looking to hit on the break is to conserve energy because the players cannot manage alternatively for 90 minutes? They were even struggling to do just that on Wednesday night from what I saw indeed Bergs and Moura were taken off relatively early in the 2nd half which said it all for me.
Sorry Pauric but I don’t understand what your last two sentence mean…
I don’t think Levy hired him for those reasons. Besides which, it’s all just opinion. There are those that like Jose. And are more than happy that he is our boss.
It can save energy EJ, yes. But it’s not working is it? Because even If it is all about saving energy, then why are all off our players apparently so knackered because of it? Or in spite of it?
What I really don’t get is that no one is denying that the current Spurs situation is a tough one. We can all see that. And we certainly aren’t forgetting that Kane and Son are injured. And I have been saying for a long time now that I think the players look tired. (And sInce before Jose) All the way to the CL final and eventually the top four last May, we looked tired…And also, even those that are still backing Jose and accepting his negativity are not denying that he has indeed been negative. Or very defensive, at least… But somehow his tactics are being excused even though we have just lost 4 matches on the trot, whilst not looking likely to win any of them. MP used to often get slated for his football, even when we were mostly winning! So why not Jose when losing?
It was Jose that first came up with the ‘parking the bus’ cliche when at Chelsea and playing a match against Spurs. He criticised Spurs for not trying to play football but just doing their utmost not to lose, by packing the defence… He then of course went on to develop his own ‘parking the bus’ routines. And, with some success. But he can’t even do that anymore. Spurs are neither parking the bus nor driving the damn thing. We are stuck somewhere in the unproductive middle. Whereby we seem to be stuck in traffic, whilst the opposition drive through us in wide open lanes, unobstructed…
When Spurs have played in the past against so called bus parkers, supporters would complain at how tough it always seemed to get past them. But when we did (which was actually quite often with MP) it would be through wearing them down and tiring them out through some relentless attacking football or patient possession football. Or a blend of both. As sitting back and having to defend like crazy for 90 minutes is bloody tiring.
With Spurs at the moment it is the opposition that are given the impetus to just play through us from the off. It’s made easy for them… Our bus is an invisible bus!
Now if we were winning I would understand the defence of Jose’s defensive tact. But we’re not! I still wouldn’t like the negativity but I could at least see it working, if we are winning.
And I think Jose is responsible for this more so than any inability of our players to perform well. Regardless of who is or isn’t available or if they are tired or not.
Being negative with mostly ordinary players used to being at the bottom end of the PL can work well some of the time. Telling skilful full internationals that have recently played in WC semis, a WC final and a CL final will not take kindly to this. It’s why both United and Chelsea players stopped playing for JM. And in spite of having won stuff. Players just want to play football. Good players want to play good football and very good players like to play very good, attractive and winning football… All I will say is; Jose, let them bloody well play!
Like I said I will continue to support him as our manager… I even think we can improve once again this season. But even Jose himself has just apologised for his own negativity… He even knows it himself! LOL!
Hi HT, thanks for the reply. I agree performances have been pretty poor and I would much prefer to see free flowing attacking football as you aswell but I FEAR that in doing so we could be trounced several times over and it would expend a whole lot of energy in 1 single game that we simply do not have – at the moment by sitting back and defending and looking to play on the counter it’s asking a lot of Lucas and Berg and Dele and Lo Celso for example but it’s helping others to get through matches better and keeping us atleast competitive enough not to get trounced every match and to put out a fighting 11 in each match – remember our defending has been poor for 15 months now irrespective of tactics and even of injuries.
EJ….but what you describe is creating a bigger problem, if you’re asking more from the front 4 when we have little cover for them we’re buggered when you’ve worn them out. At the momemt we have Aurier, Tanganga, Sanchez, Toby, Verts, Davies, Sessegnon and, if needed, Dier to cover the 4 defensive positions so why would we be looking to reduce the load on them when it’s the attackers we are unable to rest?
Hi TQ – the way I see it is to get the best out of them for about 60 minutes or so and then rotate as he did on Wednesday night whilst conserving as much energy as possible the whole match by relying on only counter-attacks. Siege mentality as per the 300 – sit and wait and then only attack on counters – it does conserve energy over the long run and multiple games and at the same time should keep you defensively tight – we have only lost the 4 games by 1 goal – we have not been trounced and if our defending had been better and even some of our counters we could actually have done much better. 1 example was Moura not squaring to Dele on Wednesday night which would have put us 2-0 up and out of sight. Against Wolves we were leading 1-0 and 2-1 – defending not good enough which is a MASSIVE problem considering we are deploying defensive tactics – big improvements needed in the summer in defence for sure and am sure JM will be looking to do as such! There’s only so much 1 can do with Aurier’s and Dier’s playing as defenders unfortunately – we need much better but unfortunately can only be addressed in the summer and that’s hoping that Levy will back JM in doing so – so HERE’S hoping!
TQ/HT – I didn’t explain myself well/properly earlier (it’s my 40th today lol) but in my last post tried to get across what I meant. I realise the load on our attacker’s is great at the moment but playing fast, expansive football expecting them to go forwards and BACK as you normally would and with a high press game would be IMHO asking for trouble especially with so many games in such a short space of time and a lack of decent rotation on top due to mass injuries.
We still need to put out attackers though especially if we want to try and get SOMETHING from the games and also even the worst teams as described by HT put out attacking players in their line-ups so baring all this in mind hats off to JM for trying to put atleast 4 attackers out every game even though he’s only got 5 to play with including Lamela at the moment!
I think JM’s tactics at the moment and lack of great football stems from necessity and also the limitation of the forward players being asked to play differently and out of position all adds upto the same thing. If performances are the same next season when we have all our players most probably back and also any new additions etc and we’re still putting in similar performances (good performances lead to good results, bad performances bad results especially over the long run) then I’ll start questioning JM aswell but at the moment I think it’s too early to judge and am more than willing to give another 15 months or so to see what he can and will do.
In terms of defence I think we’re limited there aswell and we need all the help we can get as we are constantly shipping goals – at RB we only really have Aurier – Foyth is injured I believe. Davies should have been eased back in after 3 months out but had to play 4 games on the trot, full 90 minutes in a short space of time. Vert’s was not really there for a while and TQ you are probably right that some of his best performances lately have actually come when played at LB. In central defence we only truly have Toby and Davy, Tanganga is very young and in-experienced and has been shown up as such in most of his games irrespective of all the praise heaped at the beginning, Sessegnon poor but is again is young and in-experienced so have to factor this in also and Dier has done OK but his most recent position of any length of time was DCM so playing at CB shows how desperate we are.
In this respect I think we are down to bare bones in attack and defence and for this reason I have to offer my deepest sympathies to JM for having to battle with this on top of what he took over in November. We’re still in the CL and in with a shot of CL footy next season via the Prem – I doubt we’ll get past next week or into next year’s CL but it’s still testimony to JM’s work since he took over that we are still in with a shot after all that has gone wrong this season and even last season also.
The bloody stadium has really been a drag but it was needed and if you’re going to do something especially something big then do it properly so I have to commend Levy for getting the infra-structure spot on – now it will be time to concentrate on the pitch and the squad and get us back up there challenging even Poch acknowledged this. Yes we should not have gone a season and a half without making a signing but Poch was supposedly offered players but did not want them, 1 apparently being Ross Barkley who I actually think is pretty decent and for £15m would have been worth it but so be it – I see Chelski did not turn their noses up at him which says it all. Grealish was quoted at £40m when Maddison went for £20m – it was not reasonable and Levy was right at the time to turn his nose – we did the same with Sessegnon at £50m and then got him for £25m – hopefully 1 for the future (I know you don’t rate him TQ but let’s wait and see long term – even Bale took a year or 2 to settle in but nobody remembers that)!
Best returns El Jefe, hope you’ve had a good day! It goes downhill after this chap (lol), I’m 12 months ahead of you to the day it seems!
I remember the Bale situation very well EJ……but I’m sorry, Sessegnon is still not PL standard and don’t think he ever will be. Just my opinion.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/premier-league/jose-mourinho-calls-on-tottenham-to-balance-squad-with-transfers-to-avoid-repeat-of-injury-crisis/ar-BB10QZtQ?ocid=spartanntp
Just read this and it’s making some of the points I made in my last 2 posts – hopefully Levy provides the bullets for next season namely some defenders and a 2nd striker.
JM also talks about 70 mins and getting the most out of attacking players in such and tiredness, etc – like I said earlier if only matches lasted 60 minutes or so.
Same to you Danny, thanks for the thought’s – time flys when you’re getting old lol!
Appreciated El Jefe! And yes agree, not sure if it’s the age and getting old or just this season, but things certainly seem to go faster and maybe not in a good way! Let’s go with becoming more mature and experienced, it sounds better lol
EJ….I admire your patriotism in terms of a fellow countryman but I’m sorry my friend, and happy birthday by the way, Jose is now just an example of the old ‘kings new clothes’ story where we are supposed to believe he the Messiah or we must be thick, when in fact he really hasn’t got a clue!
Hi, EJ…
Sitting back but not actually defending very well isn’t working right now. And the point I’m making is from the opposite viewpoint to that theory anyway. I just don’t believe that having our players sitting deep and inviting wave after wave of attack against us is ever going to conserve our players energy. And then if the object is to counter at pace as our main attacking ploy then that also won’t help players to take it more easy either…
Norwich City are joint 2nd lowest scorers in the PL and have conceded the 2nd highest goals. It’s why they are rock bottom of the PL. Do you seriously believe that Spurs playing at home to them should be worried about them trouncing us? The ironic thing being is that we still managed to let them have 18 goal attempts anyway. It’s a food thing that they are poor finishers…
EJ.. I hope you had a good birthday !
In a nutshell a reality summary…..Not a glass half empty / pessimist view….. Yes spurs players were very tired this week, not just physically but mentally… This has as we all know been going on for over a year. All the dressing room negativity of contract / leaving of Erksen, Rose Toby, etc. plus Poch verbal mixed messages, plus media, TV pundits (ex gooners players) gleefully having a dig at us. This added to the CL Final loss, no real holiday for players, (2 years as most of them played in the World Cup) injuries. Sacking of poch. no replacement of players with new ones in positions needed…..Jose’s different tactical system, has amounted to where we are now. His attitude reverting from a “humble one” to his 2nd Chelsea / Man Utd tenure .
So what can we expect rest of this season… more of the same already seen this year….. A mid table position
IF Harry, Moussa, Sonny return in couple of weeks we may pull out of the position we are in now. If not then no CL, no Europa League next season. This is the real price of the new stadium build on the football playing side of THFC.
As ever… I say.. COYS.
All the best EJ…
My main point about Jose’s tactics is that they are currently not working. We have just lost 4 on the bounce for the first time in 16 years. So I just don’t get why he is being defended for such tactics. It’s odd!
Even if the lads are actually conserving energy what difference does it make if they are losing? But I can’t see how they are going to be less tired… Negativity is tiring. It drains you mentally and physically. Positivity is energising… Defeatism sucks the energy out. A more positive outlook invigorates an athlete. Gets the blood moving… Enjoying your football is a high. Feeling sorry for oneself will take you down. And whatever way we look at it, scoring goals is what players and supporters go wild about, not sitting back and praying for a clean sheet.
It’s not just one thing or the other. And I don’t have to be a top coach to know this. A team doesn’t have to either play all out of their skin for a win, or not. Keeping the ball as opposed to continually giving it up is what conserves energy. Sitting back deep actually means more work for the forward players including the defensive midfielders, especially when we go a goal behind and if we are actually attempting to win the match.
My guess is that the players want action on the pitch. They want to play football. They know that it will make them tired. They are young athletes playing at the top end of the sport. They are thoroughbreds not knackered old donkeys! They are PL. players not 40 year old beer-gutted builders on the park still pissed from the night before! Just let them play some football!
Happy players score goals. Miserable players just look miserable and then they lose!
Block:
I would rather that Sissoko, Kane and Son were not rushed back. I would prefer that they are fully recovered and properly fighting fit before they return. Especially Harry and Moussa. As they have had surgery that needs a good time to heal. Son broke his arm and so it’s not as crucial to his fitness in the same way.
However, after such long lay-offs for all 3 of them, it may not be quite the boost we might expect when they do return. That is if they are not fully healed, and obviously not match-fit. But unfortunately they probably will be rushed back.
Meanwhile, we could see other players suffering injury that will in turn mean more hard work for others and possibly Harry and Son. Which could see them less than ready for next season. Especially if Harry then plays in the Euros…
So, whilst it may be a bitter tasting dose of realism that Jose is serving up to us, it is now that counts too. He is being paid to work with what he has now. Not what he may or may not have to work with in the summer. Not easy is it? Not unless you’re the “Special One” I suppose. 😉
Cheers for all the b-day messages gents (DW/TQ/B108/HT) – much appreciated.
DW – like a fine wine we get better with age LOL!
Let’s hope we can get something extra from this season but right now looking at it just glad we’ll avoid relegation and we were never really in a battle to avoid such in the first place – as soon as it looked as if we would be we pulled away nicely and safely so anything more will be a massive bonus given how the season has transpired.
Naturally after securing a top 4 spot last season and having reached the CL final also and having made what looked to be some good signings in the summer expectation was high for this season I think but so be it – atleast we live to fight another day in the Prem – hope we can get CL footy for next season but not looking that likely anymore.