Yeah, a lot of fans aren't happy with him, which is bonkers when you look at the cards he's been dealt. I think he's a little over-cautious, but he's nobodies fool, that's for sure. It's an odd one - our pitch is usually up there with the very best, so not sure what's going on there. Forster has been a bit cack for a while now, so it's not the pitch where he's concerned.
Why are people unhappy with him? The Europa League thing was a little unfortunate, but you've done pretty well. Lost your manager, got a new one with no Premier League experience and you're 8th nearly halfway through the season. That's a respectable start, especially considering your injuries and losing Mane and Wanyama in the summer. Semi-final of the League Cup, too. Can't knock that.
Shades of our away win from last season at Selhurst Park about tonight. We went behind and came back to score a few against a team with a good defensive record prior to the game. That win was a big result for us and this could be the same but we've got to come out with a bit more fight about us. I fully acknowledge that we're a second half team but tonight was awful for the first 10 minutes or so. It's not the first time and it's going to cost us at some point. Signs of encouragement from Sissoko and it was good to see Dele and Harry put the ball away cleanly. The penalty was just bad luck and I can't see it affecting his confidence. Hugo has spent the Christmas break celebrating his new contract on LSD and Coke by the performance he put in during the second half. Mousa looked more like himself and Danny Rose is just fabulous at the moment. Toby, we miss you. A lot. Still, well done lads. Great result.
Was a really good 70 mins of football. Less said about the first 20 the better. By the way...hopefully some of the fickle twatty types on here will lay off Sissoko now
Soton were pretty poor tbh. Didn't seem to have a contingency plan for us equalising against the run of play as it seemed to knock the stuffing out of them and we went on to control the game with relative ease. 'Relative' of course to the usual buffet of suicidal passing at the back and Hugo's finest Geronimo impressions. Unless Everton get their act together sharpish, a gulf in quality is slowly opening up between the top 6 and everyone else between 7th and the relgation zone. It's telling and an interesting mirror statistic that the gap between United and Everton (7pts, 6 goals) is almost identical to the gap between Everton and Boro on 15th spot (8pts, 6 goals).
Props to Sissoko btw. He's stepped up to the challenge and started to be that player driving through the middle we saw for France. On his game he brings energy to our game. 3 assists too.
As a Saints fan, I could only look at Spur's performance last night with jealousy. For me, this match very much marked the point at which are Top Six ambitions and pretensions of being a "big club" were firmly laid to rest as well as a timely reminder of the tactical genius of Pochettino. Puel have it his best shot and his substitutions were inspired yet still Spurs were rampant. During the first twenty minutes we pummelled Spurs and had Redmond's effort gone the other side of the post, it would have been interesting to see how the match might have progressed. As it was, once the equaliser went in the Southampton fans were privileged to watch a performance by Spurs that was a abject lesson in how football should be played. The sublime passing and ability to change pace was nothing short of staggering and other than the dodgy Lloris whose woeful clearances nearly gifted us two chances, the whole Tottenham team produced a performance which marked them out as easily the best team to have visited St Mary's since Chelsea. To be honest, their style of play was even more attractive to watch. On Radio Solent, David Merrington commented about the bravery of Saints when reduced to ten men but really was disingenuous in not mentioning that Wanyama missed a great opportunity in the first half and Kane's penalty miss could have made the scoreline 6-1. As it was, this penalty I destined to feature in a future Danny Baker compilation as it was the worst spot kick I have ever seen. All in all, Spurs outclassed Southampton for 70 minutes in this match. It was not only men versus boys but also a lesson in how football should be played.
That's very honest of you Ian, but I think the scoreline did flatter us a bit. I have nothing but respect for Southampton, given that you have to continually look forward to your best players being picked off (surely you have the most ex- players in other Premier teams?) and yet you still do far more than survive. Your club has achieved at least as much as the mega-budget clubs who can afford to discard £30 million players should they not meet the standard! I will however defend Kane's miss - as his left foot was planted it disturbed the turf which somehow caused the ball to lift into the air. The penalty was then effectively hit on the volley. Sounds bizarre but it happened - don't think I've ever seen a pen like it. Come to think of it, it should probably have been retaken as the ball was moving when he hit it!
I read through all 11 pages of your comments about the Southampton match etc and come to the conclusion that Spurs fans are nuts. Glad I'm one of you!!!!!
First time in a long time that I have been able to watch a Spurs game in its entirety - due mainly to the time difference. It topped off a great day in which I celebrated a milestone wedding anniversary with Mrs PL - great woman, when i'm watching a game she doesn't disturb me! Very enjoyable performance especially the 2nd half good to see Harry and Dele on the scoresheet.
Not taking away from his excellent performance but it was only the 1 assist SL. The other 3 were Eriksen x 2 and Rose. However, that threaded ball to set Alli off and earn us a penalty plus a red card was inch perfect from a man who I'd previously assumed had the deftness of a blunt axe with splinters sticking out the handle. Had that pass been from Eriksen or Lamela we all would've been wetting ourselves with excitement. I noticed that the fans started chanting his name for the first time - his recent efforts have earned him the accolade. I'm quite a fan of the Sissoko-start-Son-sub approach at least until Lamela is back. More evidence last night for your 'Son is an impact sub' theory. Much-needed win but Watford will be tough without Walker and Jan. Although iirc Trippier got the goal against them last season so who knows?
Interesting. The last five seasons after 18 games... Lost Points 2012/13 18 9 3 6 30 2013/14 18 9 4 5 31 2014/15 18 9 3 6 30 2015/16 18 8 8 2 32 2016/17 18 10 6 2 36
No I meant 3 assists in his last 3 games. I could be wrong. It won't be the first time I've made something up. Son....he's good with his cameos....some players can't handle more, he's one of them. We have to beat Watford. We want to go into the Chelsea match with our arses on fire. Summer and Trippier should be enough for that game or we need to look in that mirror again. COYS.
No you're quite right. I realised what you meant as soon as the first sip of morning coffee hit the spot. I honestly make Mario Balotelli look like Einstein first thing in the morning
That's an interesting comparison. The biggest shift seems to be that a number of narrow defeats have now become draws. Over the past 2 seasons those are the two columns with the greatest fluctuation. The art of drawing even when you're not playing well is a level that eluded us for years until Poch instilled within us a defensive toughness. But the art of winning even when you're not playing well is what separates champions from everyone else. United did it regularly under Fergie, Leicester did it last season and Chelsea have done it multiple times already this season (although if you just listen to the pundits drooling all over the couch, you'd assume that they're winning every game 8-0 and have enjoyed an average of 92% possession over the season).
