Tottenham Hotspur fans were hoping to see the side take our second half RB Leipzig performance into today’s early clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but sadly that wasn’t the case at all and what was another bad day for the side could’ve been significantly worse has Giovani Lo Celso seen red for his challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta.
With plenty of pundits now commenting that we look like a side that is feeling ‘a bit sorry for itself’ given our struggles this year and notably, the injuries we’ve again had to contend with, manager Jose Mourinho needs to lift the boys somehow.
Some fans will be in meltdown, others will have seen positives and have more understanding but Mourinho certainly isn’t shying away from what he felt were the positives and he knows there are excuses.
Speaking to the BBC following the game, he explained.
“I think you are going to be very bored with me, because I think I’m going to be very repetitive. I’m going to say exactly the same words I said against Leipzig. I’m very proud of the players – they gave absolutely everything. We don’t have a striker. Our attacking players are not strikers and are in huge levels of fatigue, so very, very difficult for us. No tactical problems, completely in control of the space, punished by a couple of individual mistakes. A defeat is a defeat, but the good thing is, in the last seconds the players were still fighting for a result and that for me is a very important thing. In the last part of the game when Chelsea was scared of the 2-1 we didn’t have that presence, that power, we didn’t have that to do more than what we did.”
Again, fans will have their own thoughts and given the injuries, even if you allow that wriggle room for Jose and the team, the blame just goes higher in the club I’d have thought.
All eyes to Wolverhampton Wanderers now but our chance to put pressure on Chelsea when it comes to the Champions League places has been missed and it’s now a four point gap.
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7 Shots & 2 Key Passes In Only 44 Touches – Spurs’ Reliable MotM
Stamford Bridge
Premier League
22/02/2020 1:30 pm
Attendance: 40608
Referee: Oliver
| Chelsea | Tottenham Hotspur | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giroud (15), Alonso (48) | Rudiger (og 89) | ||||||
| Caballero | Lloris | ||||||
| Azpilicueta | Tanganga | ||||||
| Christensen | Sanchez | ||||||
| Rudiger | Alderweireld | 78 | |||||
| James | Vertonghen | ||||||
| Jorginho | Davies | ||||||
| Kovacic | Lo Celso | ||||||
| Alonso | Ndombele | 63 | |||||
| Mount | Winks | ||||||
| Barkley | 77 | Lucas Moura | |||||
| Giroud | 71 | Bergwijn | 78 | ||||
Substitutes |
|||||||
| Arrizabalaga | Lamela | 63 | |||||
| Abraham | 71 | Dier | |||||
| Willian | 77 | Alli | 78 | ||||
| Loftus-Cheek | Gazzaniga | ||||||
| Zouma | Aurier | 78 | |||||
| Emerson | Skipp | ||||||
| Gilmour | Gedson Fernandes | ||||||
Game Statistics |
||
| 17 | Goal attempts | 5 |
| 7 | On Target | 3 |
| 3 | Corners | 5 |
| 14 | Fouls | 14 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 49 | % | 51 |
What we seem to have forgotten… Players have been in the poch system for 5.5 years. So like any new player sigining it takes time to adjust to a new manager and tactical shape. (west ham a good example) However the situation was caused by the the players not supporting poch since 3 months before the CL games / final. Also since season start to november.
So to blame Jose for all of the pre-existing problems is not really fair, and the bad injuries K10 sonny davies etc. has compounded the situation into where we are today… which is far better than back in november, 14th place in PL, out of LC by a L2 team… COYS
Jod, lovely how tolerant you are of other people’s views. Vidra and Rodriguez are not out and out strikers. Nor are Moura and Bergwijn but I would say they are better players than the Burnley players.
Obviously it is difficult without Kane and Son but for me the biggest problem is Jose’s negative (it’s not my fault guvnor) mentality. He has said in the last few days that he cannot wait for July 1st, that we cannot cope if the opposition score first, that we cannot press in case the press is beaten, that we cannot attack teams because it is easy to defend against us. These comments undermine the team and are deflecting from the real issue which is that Jose has not got the first clue how to set up a team anymore. His attacking game plan revolves totally around long balls to a centre forward. With this taken away he has no clue. He also said that he could fix the defence but this would be at the cost of the attack. Well he can’t even do that. Despite his defend, defend, defend tactics against the bigger teams we still concede Hatfield of chances.
Jose is being exposed as yesterday’s manager. It’s only a matter of time before it all starts to unravel for him. As far as I am concerned, the sooner the better.
Judging by answers/excuses, it just tells me the same, we don’t really know, all we have is opinions, some maybe right, some maybe wrong, its as simple as that.
So we will just have to wait and see. COYS
My views………As in any team which is losing games defence / DMF is the 1st thing to sort out, which we seem to have done basically, then AMF… then strikers. Now Jose has to show his experience in getting the players sorted, use the younger players fron U23 team if necessary.. Troy Parrott should be given an opportunity.
I have to finally agree with JOD in that without Sissoko, Sonny, HK10 and having Dele on the bench what were we to expect?! Our 2 best and world class players missing – who score most of our goals/help create others so we had/have a massive problem. Even JOD himself has acknowledged from what I’ve read that we need a back-up striker for HK10 but have to agree who is good enough and willing to do it?! Lloro was here last season but criticised by many so it’s very difficult. Don’t get me wrong I’m not happy with the club that they choose to go it with only HK10 as a recognised striker this season but I can accept it’s very difficult to resolve for all sorts of plausible reasons – hopefully we can address it this summer because I seriously doubt Parrott will be ready for atleast another season or 2 minimum. HK10 when thrown in he had already had several loan spells first – something that Parrott will surely have to go through first also.
Also Levy needs to get the cheque book out in the summer and back JM especially in defence – we need atleast a RB and a LCB – Aurier is decent but needs competition and Vert’s appears to be on his last legs and probably on the way out (something I’m reluctantly starting to accept). Toby has no pace, Davy seems to be always error prone and Davies is solid but not spectacular.
LOZ I take your point on N’Dombele – it is worrying but hopefully he comes good for next season because technically he looks superb. Sessegnon is another worry because he’s nowhere near ready either – dare I say it – maybe a loan spell would benefit him like it would others namely Skipp, Parrott and again even Tanganga.
I really don’t understand you lot. We expect miracles to get through this situation and then get really upset when the miracles don’t happen. But I suppose it’s much more satisfying to scapegoat in this situation than to take account of those special factors I keep trying to draw your attention to.
As the Lo Celso incident is being called as a red card… I have seen it live on tv yesterday, and various slowmo. The simple fact is… Chelsea player tried to tackle and slid his leg under Gio foot, watch the eyes of gio he is looking at the ball and was going to play it. So not intentional as VAR and ref. said.
Stan, we don’t need you to tell us about the special factors. We have had Jose doing it all week. Moan moan moan #itsnotmyfaultguvnor.
My complaint is a simple one. And it is just from the last 2 matches since Son’s injury.
My complaint is exactly what DH is referring to. And that is Jose making excuses. Not just that he is moaning but that he is basically saying there is nothing he can do with what he’s got. To me that doesn’t help the team approach the matches in a more needed positive fashion. It gives the players an excuse to fail and no good reason to win.
If we are not going to score goals because of Son and Kane missing then we may as well give up right now. This is what Jose’s message is giving to me… This, coupled with his overly defensive tactics in the past two matches, has also got my goat…
We have a lot of creative, attack minded players at the club. So Jose, let them create and attack…
I’m not writing off our season though and I am still positive that we can finish in the top 4 and get the result we need in the CL. I’m not writing off Jose either. But I want to hear fighting talk from him. And some positivity. Not the words of a defeatist… A defeatist on the defensive!
Winners talk of winning!
U don’t expect miracles, what I do want is improvements and progression on the defence side. We can’t defend, yet we supposed have the special one as a defensive minded, simply we ain’t improving.
Levy panicked in appointing Mourinho.Daniel Levy has for years said that his vision for the club was young players coming from the academy or signing young players.well if that’s his vision how the hell does Jose Mourinho fit in with that vision,he’s the polar opposite to everything Enic has spouted out to us for years and they where not going to be spending big on transfers and wages and they have lived up two there tightarse mentality hence not supporting the best manager we had in decades .So for Mourinho to be appointed manager must mean Enic are going to start splashing the cash?????? it’s the only way Mourinho operates and if that’s the case is Levy vision dead in the water????
I’m in with Stan and JM here – I watched the Villa game and it was a tough match – I thought in the end we deserved to win but not by much – the actual point is though that we did not need the Wednesday game midweek and then yesterday lunchtime was the ultimate killer. JM already said our attacking players were “dead” on Wednesday night and with only about 60 hour’s recovery/preparation yesterday was always going to be a monumental ask!
2 massive matches coming up against Wolves and Utd in early/mid March – hopefully we put up some kind of fight but won’t be easy as there will be mid-week games with Norwich in the FA Cup and the return leg in the CL with RB.
Hi all
A very difficult situation and not sure what the answer is . A pity some of the members on the site are critcal of others which doesn’t help as we are all disappointed and want the side to play well .
Even with Harry and Son fit we were shipping goals but out scoring the opposition .
Now we don’t have them and can’t out score the opposition !!
It takes time to form a group and all Prem managers have either established a team pattern or have not been hampered by losing possibly two of the best forwards in the Prem !!
I feel that if Sissoko and the French lump could stay fit then we would have a chance to compete in mid field which would help the fprward players and might give us a chance of competing !!
Page 2 test – Allan’s last post has appeared perfectly in Opera for me and tallies with admin. Does this appear 8.27pm
Agree again with DH and HT. For Jose to say he cannot wait for July, implying there is nothing more he can do with this squad of full internationals over the next 3 months, is the definition of defeatism. The excuses appear to be mounting and are more self serving than anything. Jose simply protecting his increasingly fragile reputation. No doubt our situation is not ideal, but we are not Norwich, we have a squad of very good players who under the right guidance, should be producing more than we are currently seeing.
To be fair, block 108 spurs makes a valid point. An entire system change, from offensive high press, to our current defensive low block, takes time, but is this what we really want to watch week in, week out? Football is constantly evolving. So for an aspiring top level team, are these tactics even viable anymore? Even promoted clubs are generally abandoning the 4-5-1, park the bus tactics, in favor of a more progressive, expansive style of play. Where are the modern day Stoke City’s? (Rhetorical question, 19th in the championship).
All seems a bit rudderless at the moment and I can’t say im looking forward to watching us play.
Just to say……losing players to injury and suspension is part of the reason why we have a squad of 25 players!
Hmmm… after a disastrous week and results going against us today, we could be in for a nasty shock next weekend. Going from potentially 4th if we had turned up to 8th in the table. We then have to face Norwich in the cup which will destroy our season if we lose. We are suffering two massive problems…Jose and Daniel Levy. Jose is boring and defensive…we still lose. Levy has had no interest in investing in the team. We have needed a decent back up for Kane (not lead boots Llorente) for 5 seasons. Kane is knackered every season. If his head is turned in July and we are mid table and out of the cup, he will be off. Who would blame him. He has worked his socks off for Spurs and got nothing. I blame Levy…we should have stuck with Poch. And not appointed Jose who is getting twic Poch’s annual salary. £15 million. We could have kept Poch and signed some decent players. Time for Winks and Dier and Davies to go. They are mediocre. Jan is tired and past it. Toby has become slow. Aurier is a liability. We are not a top 4 side or top 6 and with Jose faffing around watch out for next weekend.
Looks good thanks Danny !!
Ha, there’s still a lag on Opera but it’s definitely not as long as previously….so baby steps? My reply appeared, then disappeared on next refresh for a bit and I’ve just seen yours in admin but not on Opera as of yet.
But at least on my timings so far…subtle improvement and I’ll take that!
A further test – I now see Allan’s post and my reply on Opera at 11.07.
What happens when I refresh….blimey still there!
Okay Opera post specific – before or after this, given I posted it before?
Opera reply reply
For those that said building the stadium was a vehicle to increase revenue that would allow us to compete with the more ambitious clubs, the way I see it, Levy has one more transfer window to prove you right. The blame game is in full flow and Jose has copped his fair share on here but we have to remember we’ve been poor for about 18 months (12 if generous).
Like it or not Jose walked into an absolute shitshow so I’m not going to say a single word about his coaching this season. Some of the players he’s having to coach are so bang average it’s criminal. Winks is just Josh Onomah with the right ‘look’, Aurier, Dier, Dele, and Davies are a few I wouldn’t mind saying goodbye to either. That is unquestionably the fault of Daniel Levy. He failed to support the best manager I’ve ever seen at Spurs and then sacked him for his trouble. This team needed to be refreshed 2 and a half years ago, God knows what Levy and his cronies were up to back then. Don’t get me started on the embarrassing 5 year pursuit of another number 9 for the first team squad. No, not a cheap over the hill “back up”, a capable professional striker to occasionally start and add competition to keep the attackers sharp. Kane has gone down injured in each of the last 3/4 seasons and still Levy and the cronies took no action, no doubt using the failure of Janssen as an excuse to scare them away from the market. Fast forward to 2019, and going into a league season with just 1 recognised striker is a feat only Enic are capable of. It’s truly laughable.
Enic don’t respect the game, and lack the basic understanding of what it takes to be number 1. That’s what happens when profit is the only concern. No one can convince me the football bears any significance to them. They don’t behave like football people in lockstep with the head coach, ruthlessly committed to building competitive football teams. Poch’s comments about just being the ‘head coach’ illustrate the distance he had from any important squad decisions perfectly. Enic shit on their head coaches from a great height and then expect them to turn that shit into a michelin star meal!
I thought Poch lost too many big matches and lost the team so probably should have been sacked. But Levy can’t hide from Poch’s failure, they share it. Levy is actually primarily responsible for the losses of those matches and the horrid product we’re seeing this season. He’s the only constant.
It’s as much Levy’s responsibility to justify Jose’s appointment as it is Jose’s himself and this summer’s transfer window will provide him ample opportunity to do just that, as well as provide the final word on why the stadium was built. I can’t wait to see the 11 that is named for that 1st league game next season.
I wonder how long this one will take in Firefox?