Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool

We have won 2 trophies in 25 years. We have also lost 3 finals in that time...all in the League Cup.
I am very disappointed that we put out such a weak team last night. Giving younger players and subs a start is one thing but they need to be put in with the first team players to give us a chance of winning the match.
This is the 2nd year running we have done this and imho it is the wrong thing to do.
It's one thing if a team regularly wins trophies does this but 2 trophies in 25 yrs doesn't put us in that bracket.

 

I totally agree with you. Poch just doesn't have that winning mentality. Do you think Alex Ferguson would have been okay with last nights display ? Of course not. We were well beat and Poch should man up and admit it and to accept fielding a weakened side just does not work for us.

 

When a team came out of the hat with Spurs,they used to crap a brick.Now,they rub their hands with glee. What happened to us?

 

Would that be the same Alex Ferguson who didn't win a major trophy in his first 3 years at United?

 

Then he was given an open chequebook to buy everyone.

 

Nothing happened to us, it's the cups that have de-valued. Premier league and champions league is all that matters now. Eventually I think teams in Europe will be allowed to withdraw from the mickey mouse EFL cup.

 

There is an enormous amount of negativity here about losing in what was without question the least important of the 4 trophies we are competing for this season. Liverpool deserved to win the match and yes some of our players didn't play as well as we would have hoped. I am hopeful that the likes of Winks, CCV and Onomah will have learnt some more about what it takes to play at this level.

I wonder if the first team had played and we had won but lost a couple of players to injuries for the next 2 matches, which the big picture suggests are more important would people be saying why were 1st choice players picked! Damned if you do- damned if you dont.

 

All we really learnt is that the C team MF is not up to the job required for
a senior squad place. As others have said, perhaps some of those kids will be
better served by being on the loan trail.

So no surprise the game went as it did.

Pochettino is honest in saying that the squad does not have the breadth/depth
he desires, but as one of the player management personnel what are he and
the others doing about it ??

 

I've no doubt poch and klopp had a private conversation about what strength team to put out. No reason for klopp to rest his players so why go so weak. I don't think poch will lose any sleep about getting knocked out and neither should we

 

Squad rotation in the early rounds of the EFL Trophy is a necessary evil. Yes we all would love to win a cup including that but the competition is the least prestigious of all those we're involved in. It's the least prioritised by all Prem sides who are already in European competition as well as those chasing European places and so those with big squads like ours, we need to use it as a platform to allow our squad players and youngsters to build match fitness and hopefully impress in order to keep the squad as fit as possible should players need to jump in in higher profile matches.

Think back to last season, Kev was kept match fit through domestic cups and Europa, so when he came in for Jan against Palace, it was an easy transition for him. If he came in to the Prem line up right now, you'd have to admit you'd be worried that he won't be at last season's level immediately due to his lack of minutes so far. That's why games like the EFL are pivotal for him, let him get his mistakes and rustiness out in those sort of games so that when Prem/ CL ones come about he'll be fully ready.

EDIT:

Just to add, I was as disappointed about the performance as much as anyone but I predicted/ picked that exact same line up as what Poch did and I'd do so again in a similar game. Even despite playing **** we had chances to level late on with Harrison and another Lamela penalty claim. It'll also serve as valuable lessons for Winks, Onomah and CCV that things aren't always going to be as rosy like they were against Gillingham, it's now a test of their characters to bounce back and to try push for places in the squad for Prem/ CL/ FA Cup games.

 

I would theoretically prefer that we changed the team by 3 or 4 players every match rather than what we did on Tuesday, with the best five or six players in the team for the biggest matches but rested for the smaller ones in all competitions. I think that would make the squad better in the medium term as playing time makes players better but it would reduce the risk of top 4 in any given season so may not be the best balance of risk and reward.

 

Good point, but now we're out he's gonna get no games, along with a bunch of others.

 

We went out against the scum in the round before last season!

But I see what you mean, with CL football we can't rotate like the Europa so it's going be tough to keep everyone happy now. There's a possibility that the young lads may go on loan in January, while the congested fixture list over the next couple of months should provide opportunities for the likes of Kev, Tripps, Vorm and co.

 

Personally, if i was Poch i'd have had a word with Klopp about playing reserve teams and then announced 6 first teamers and 5 others that he feels might be getting time on the pitch in the prem in the next few months.

 

Only one more League Cup game in 2016.
So is one game that is a good month away that much of a difference ??

 

Rotation can also be done on the subs bench too (who is sub, how much 2nd half
game time they get etc) . Pochettino understands that he needs a bigger/better squad
but micro-managing the squad game time (when will Wimmer get some proper top-level
game time etc - more so given the Toby injury etc) still seems to be beyond him for now.

 

I was reading Chrissy Waddle's comments about the EFL last night and got a wondering: UEFA would never allow it, but what if the FA Cup was rewarded with a CL spot instead of whoever finishes 4th? This would accomplish two things: teams would take the competition much more seriously, and Arsenal wouldn't qualify for the CL. I don't think there's scope to do it with the EFL, but the FA Cup is rapidly heading the same way.

 

What if UEFA had the :

- Domestic league champions in something called the "Champions Cup"
- Domestic cup winners in something called the "Cup winners Cup"
- League placings 2-4 in something called the "UEFA Cup"

Nah, cannot see how that could ever work.

 

It was mooted a few years ago and then scrapped. I think it is a great idea.

 

I sort of like that idea. Especially that last one where teams 2-4 go into a separate cup. Seems so fair maybe call it the Fairs cup.