Whereas, the Ajax fans going into 'always look on the bright side of life' was spontaneous and very funny.
I’m only messing mate. We all are guilty of being reactionary when players are going through a bad patch. I think Hugo is now back to his best form and I’m glad we kept faith with him. When you have a good win suddenly all the players look a lot better. A loss on Saturday and that will all change again!
My takeaway is that not commenting on our prospects or performance while posting a lineup in the match thread has a perfect record, so I'll keep doing that as long as it keeps working. There are those who say being superstitious is bad luck, but I'm clearly not one of them.
I was wearing my lucky underwear LadyC is starting to get annoyed at me borrowing them for every Champions League game since the second PSV match...
I still think the jury's out on him. Last night he was magnificent and looked like the Hugo of old but against Chelsea he got beat at his near post again, conceded a terrible own goal (though that was Trippier's fault) and played a silly pass right into a Chelsea player that allowed them to have a shot at goal. His form has been so inconsistent since the start of the 17/18 season that it's more than just a bad patch. I'd love for him to go on a great run of form but I just feel at 32, maybe he's just on a natural decline, keepers can play for many years but it doesn't mean they're as good as they once were, unless their names are Gigi Buffon or Brad Friedel.
If Hugo loses half a yard of pace that's going to be the end for him, because he won't be anywhere near as effective as a sweeper keeper if there's a far greater chance of opposition players getting to the ball first We saw this when Friedel was deputising for Hugo and was clearly so much slower off the mark that we'd have been better off waiting for the grass on the pitch to grow
I tend to agree with this. We've gone from a rock solid midfield pivot of Prime Dembele/Prime Wanyama to Decline Dembele or Stagnant Dier/Raw Winks or Crap Sissoko to Winks/Sissoko. Neither of them are holding midfielders by trade and as a result the defence overall is put under a lot more strain than perhaps ever before under MP. We're still good enough to make do in most games but what we've often seen this season is the odd decent move by the opposition leads to a goal, simply because that protection isnt there. I think it has also led to several 'wobbly' moments at the back - especially from the youngsters like Foyth and Dave. Nothing to do with them "not being good enough" or "not developing well" as some fans drone on about; it's simply a matter of fact that a young player exposed to more pressure more often will inevitably make more mistakes. And both of them will emerge from this season all the better for it. I also think the lack of real presence in the middle is directly feeding the policy to patiently (i.e. nerve-wrackingly) play out from the back. Fact is if we hoof it upfield Kane is the only attacking player capable of winning an aerial dual and if he loses the first ball it ends up right back in our faces with no one in the middle mopping up the second or third ball. Wanyama sadly seems done as a player at the highest level and as my right honourable friend with the player's username can attest I am not Dier's biggest fan, so it will be interesting to see what our strategy regarding DM is come the summer.
Plus Gazza has much better distribution and is five years younger - if we're looking for transfer funds I'm sure we could find a buyer for Lloris for a tidy sum and not significantly weaken ourselves in the process, which is pretty much the justification as to why DH, myself and others have advocated for the sale of Lloris in the summer, or at least suggested it as a viable option. Not to mention the captaincy issue, but I won't get into all of it because its been debated quite thoroughly on other threads over the last year or so. Nice to see you back CK!
Dembele and Dier was a great partnership before Dembele and Wanyama. The latter edged it on solidity as it was a double brick wall reinforced with the metal that's in Wolverine's blades, the former edged it on more expansive play as Dier isn't just a traditional DM that can't pass for ****, he's got some decent pings in his locker, not forgetting that when he has the rare opportunity he's also a great crosser of the ball. Good to see you back, shame you bottled another prediction league against me though.
Cheers Hudd. Hopefully I can stick around for squeaky bum time of the run-in. Although the true reason for my return is part of a social services intervention hoping to slowly wean @Dier Hard off his Jack 'Hoddle's mk II' Grealish addiction. Won't be easy. The lad farts and DH composes a sonnet.
I admit that I have compounded his Grealish problem by posting videos of his volley against Derby at the weekend and even engaging with the idea we should sign him I believe that's what the social scientists call 'enabling'. Sorry gang!
It's a regular issue with us that a centre back gets slated even though the real issue is the lack of cover in midfield: Kaboul's first stint was a complete disaster because he was exposed by this (not helped by the fact he was supposed to be a long-term prospect, but was chucked in at the deep end due to injuries elsewhere) and Dawson was regularly slated for similar reasons when our midfield didn't contain one of Carrick, Davids, Palacios, Sandro or Parker Say what you will about AVB, but nobody can argue that the Sandro/Dembele pivot from his first season would have been the perfect base to build a team off of, because not only did it work well for AVB but it would've been superb under Poch if injuries hadn't blunted Sandro in his mid-20s
I think the expansive play in 2015/16 was achieved largely through Alli and his late runs being a complete unknown to the league. And yes, Dier was sometimes good at picking them out. I still maintain that the 2016/17 team is the best i have ever seen as a spurs fan. Superb balance throughout the team. All it lacked was a bit of nous and experience but sadly Kyle left and Dembele/Wanyama regressed long before those qualities could be picked up by the younger players. The run of games when Kane was out, as well as how we have navigated our way through the CL prove to an extent that the nous and experience are now there and in place. Sadly it's that little bit of quality that is missing, most notably through the middle and down the flanks.
I never said he did - He scored the goal that won last nights match and took the wind out of their sails and it was a good finish too
