I said in the summer I feared there could be another AVB 2013-14. The poor PL showings to date echo that (getting pts when the performance has been weak) . We have yet to have the equivalent of the Spanner 3-0 at home + Pool 5-0 spanking. On the transfer side, Pochettino has been tetchy over most of the window. AVB had his no Moutinho + Bale gone + seven incomings we don't know whether he wanted any of them. The late arrival of Lo Celso, the ongoing Eriksen saga (not helped by the player being a prat in public) , and WTF is currently going on with super Jan. Certain people need to be showered in ice cold water and electrical wires suitably attached, to get their minds focused on the true task this season.
We have conceded first or gone behind in 11 of our last 12 competitive matches. Man City CL ... lost 4-3 but qualified Man City .... lost 1 nil Brighton ... WON 1 nil Ajax CL... lost 1 nil West Ham ... lost 1 nil Bournemouth ... lost 1 nil Ajax... CL won 3-2 went 2 down Everton ... drew 2 all scored 1st but went behind Liverpool CL .... lost 2 nil Villa ... Won 3-1 ... went 1 down Man City ... drew 2 all went behind twice Newcastle ...lost 1 nil Failed to score in 6 of those games. We won 3 Drew 2 Lost 7 Goals for 14 Goals against 18 Something is clearly wrong... Failing to score in HALF of our last 12 matches, losing 7 and conceding 1.5 gosls per match on average is terrible form.
What's really beginning to worry me is how far back this type of performance is beginning to stretch. PNP places it at Jan/Feb time but I'm struggling to recall the last time we really dominated a PL game and bulldozed the opposition out of the equation from minute 1. I guess the Bmouth thrashing last Xmas would be 'that' game but tbh they are so few and far between and have been for the past 12+ months I find myself with more questions than answers. What hurt most about today's defeat was the inevitability of it. You could just tell, after about 2 minutes, that we were in for another afternoon of vintage AVB footy. And yes, we are desperately missing the likes of Jan and Eriksen but we also cannot escape the fact that these performances were par for course for almost all of last season and the two of them were ever-present. Today for me highlighted individual problems as much as team problems. Kane and Son will rarely play that badly again this year so I'm not overly worried about that. But... - KWP had another shocking performance. Given that he has approximately until Foyth returns from injury to prove himself, he is going about this entirely the wrong way. Positioning all over the place, physically not strong enough, didn't even attempt to take on his man once and his final ball is horrendously poor. Based on today's showing, we're looking at Trippier with less experience and no crossing ability. - Sanchez also had a shocker. He was at fault for Villa's goal here and again completely lost his bearings to lose Joelinton today. - Lamela works so hard but just isn't good enough. The guy has had 4 years to show that he can seriously impact games. In that time he hasn't improved one iota. - Lucas is another player who still has to convince me and in all honesty probably Poch too that he can be trusted to start a PL match. Sure he'll pop up with the odd goal but - like Lamela - what does he actually bring to the table across 90 mins? - Which brings me to a crucial point: too many of our attackers aren't good enough with the final ball. The number assists Son, Lucas and Lamela average per season tells its own story. Kane and Eriksen are the only two who can see and play a keyhole pass. And Alli too. Boy do we need him back to his best pronto. It's early days and we have these results every single season. There is no way we'll challenge City or Pool this year so my hope is that United, Chelsea and Arsenal can once again out-crap us. And hope that the likes of Everton don't close the gap too rapidly. Our hopes for this season are pinned on the 3 new boys settling and contributing sharpish. Something isn't right at the club and I don't think it's just the fact that the transfer window hasn't closed yet. What has happened to Jan, our best defender and (almost) longest serving player? Why does Poch look so deflated during games now, even more so than he did last season? My gut instinct - and i have zilch to base this on - is that (not in a bad way, just the reality of the passage of time) he is 'done' with this group of players. The group who excited us and the league 3/4 years ago are now fading - individually and collectively. I think he recognises that the next chapter may take years to reap fruit from. The transfer window hinted to a totally new-look starting line up which he has in mind to build and develop: Hugo Foyth Dave New CB Sessegnon Goat Tanguy Lo Celso Dybala Son Kane Four players out of that line up were at the club when we went so close to the big prize in 16/17. Three were regular starters. Buy January this year, the above could well be the new chapter of Spurs. Walker, Toby, Jan, Rose, Dier, Lamela, Eriksen, Alli, Wanyama, Dembele, Winks all faded into the background or out of the club entirely. I'd like to say the sooner the window closes the better, but i think this runs far deeper than that. The window closing doesn't solve the apparent problem with Jan. If it closes and Toby & Eriksen are still at the club and still haven't signed new contracts, the uncertainty and doubt will just linger and intensify all the way through to the winter window. When Poch said that we faced a summer of 'painful decisions', I'm not sure if we fully grasped what he meant.
Put me in that camp too. This entire calendar year, I have been pretty disinterested in watching us play. If this style of football is the philosophy Poch talks about, then sorry but I'm not onboard. He's been at the club since 2013. I make that 6 years, injuries not included. But he's Argentinian, so he gets a free pass. This excuse is utter nonsense and we all know it!
It was the Burnley game in February when Kane was rushed back into a starting line-up that was grinding out results. Our results nose-dived from that moment on. The weekend before we were 5 points behind Liverpool and Man City and 9 points ahead of Man Utd in 4th. It was only our progress to the CL Final that masked our league shortcomings.
Nah it was much earlier mate. The 6-2 over Everton followed by the 5-0 over B'mouth were a joy to watch and brought back memories of our finest football under Poch and indeed in the PL era. Then we lost 1-3 to Wolves after an absymal 2nd half, followed by a 3-0 win over an appallingly bad Cardiff side, then a really poor 0-1 reverse at OT, followed by four thoroughly unconvincing wins: 2-1 Fulham, 2-1 Watford, 1-0 Newcastle, 3-1 Leicester, coinciding with Kane's injury. And then as your rightly say the loss to Burnley followed and the wheels totally came off for the remainder of the season. We won just 3 of our final 12 games of the season. The CL masked the fact that our form was relegation worthy. But I stand by what PNP has said - you'd have to go back to xmas of last year to watch us play PL football worth 90 minutes of your life. And that is a major cause for concern. In fact, the whole of last season was a concern, but the Wembley factor and lack of new faces were blamed by and large for the turgid, tepid football served up most weeks. You can count the number of brilliant performances on one hand: 3-1 v Chelsea 6-2 v Everton 5-0 v Bmouth 3-0 v United We were very good in the 2-0 win at Leicester and 3-1 at Soton but not brilliant. Even the 4-0 over Huddersfield we were second best for large periods of the game. It's a major, major worry.
I saw no one able to grab that game by the scruff of the next today. Kane, Son and Moura effectively went missing. Their movement was bordering on non existent so when ever a midfielder looked up nothing was on...this, coupled with our cowardly passing (safe to feet rather in front of the player) and staying still to get it back meant we created very little. Our crossing was poor and we seemed to think moaning about fouls made up for the lack of anything resembling a top 4 football performance. Our defenders do not win the ball back and then push forward and our full backs add next to nothing to our attack. The last very good performance over 90 mins was city in the CL where we won 1 nil. Prior to that I remember a good performance against Bournemouth and Everton last xmas, against Arsenal in thd cup last December and against Chelsea at Wembley last November...that's 5 good 90 minute performances. We have played well in halves but we can not continue to give away goal head starts and expect to compete. I do not mind losing but I do object to watching ****e week in week out which is what is happening at the moment. We have played 45 minutes of good football this season (the second half v villa)...that is not ok. It's easy to be knee jerk but it is also easy to paper over the cracks. No one connected with the match today comes out looking good and they need to stop whining about transfer windows, where they want to play, wanting to win trophies, not getting penalties and get back to playing football and managing the team. For NO ONE to change things in thd second half players or manager is unacceptable...it is this that has disappointed me rather than the result. Just glad for my daughter's sake that she has more resilience, pride and bottle than the team displayed today...at least v city they fought til the end. Rant over.... Actually it aint...today cost for the 2 of us £80 in tickets, £15 in fares, £30 for lunch and dinner and drinks...that comes out of my £1300 per month take home pay...maybe these "I want a new challenge" and "I should be paid the going rate" players could turn up to the NLD next week and put in a performance that comes from being a top four team rather than putting in some half arsed effort (while taking no responsibility) which would get most of us the sack. Now ... my rant is over
Schoolboy errors and a total lack of creativity. Winks, KWP, Lamela & Rose are not up to it. Eriksen is on his way out, possibly Toby too. The season could be over for us before Xmas if we're not careful. Think I'll watch the Ashes highlights for the 20th time to keep my spirits up!
I now feel great deal of empathy with you lot after the misery of yesterday. Spurs and Utd lost in identical fashion - lots of possession, created loads of half chances but few real threats on the opposition goal. Lacking any speed of thought, incisive movement and accuracy of passing in the final third. Spurs are usually able to rely on a few moments of quality or inspiration from game changing players, but not today. It already looks like Liverpool and City will be the only realistic challengers this season.
I’ve pretty much said everything I need to say on Winks over the last 18-24 months. Useless player, academy version of Lewis Holtby, seemingly loved by the fan base despite being awful. KWP I think I’ll have to hold my hands up. Thought he’d kick-on this season but early signs suggests he’s so out of his depth. I blame the club/ manager though because at 22, he’s still massively inexperienced and should in hindsight have been loaned out last season. Lamela just isn’t a first XI player. I like the guy but his inconsistency along with injuries means we should never be relying on him as first choice. Especially when our best player is still at the club. Rose has been shocking these first three games. Hopefully Davies is fit to start the NLD because I’d rather have defensive solidity than a headless chicken running up the wing. Sanchez and Toby also don’t work as a pairing. It shouldn’t have too either but Poch’s stubbornness and stupidity is persevering with it.
It's difficult to pick out poor individual performances when the entire team played so badly. Yesterday did expose Winks as ineffective when playing head up against a stacked defence, but it also exposed every other non-defender in the line-up and their general lack of finesse in the final third. Lucas, Son and Lamela are generally poor in this regard. We've seen SO many of these performances over the past year that there is almost nothing new to add from them. They teach us now exactly what they taught us back in the winter period: we are prone to individual defensive errors which cost us goals, and rely far too heavily on good fortune (e.g. a penalty given) or a moment of brilliance (e.g. a last gasp Son or Eriksen howitzer) to rescue us. 6 to 7 times out of 10, we get that. 3 to 4 times we don't, and we lose. Winks isn't the answer because frankly he isn't the question. Neither is Eriksen. Poch emphasised this in his post match comments and I fully agree with him. We lost over a dozen matches last season playing like we did yesterday and Eriksen was present in all of them. The solution lies elsewhere. The more I think about it, the more I believe that Poch wanted Eriksen and Toby out as soon as the window opened so that we could move for a new CB and get Dybala or Bruno over the line earlier. And I suspect he still wants that, only with January in mind. He wants a rebuild. The signs are all there. I said it last season and nothing since then has changed my mind - this group of players is done with Poch, and he with them. Kane, Son and Alli could be the only outfield players from 16/17 still starting regularly 12 months from now.
I think at that point we were putting it down to World Cup fatigue but there does now appear to be a feeling that maybe this team has gone as far as it can. It would have been great if it could have capped it with the CL last season (but due to some poor team selection and a very dodgy penalty it wasn't to be). I think the players we've recently bought have to be the start of a major overhaul to breathe life into a very jaded team. Jaded, because they've come very close on numerous occasions without winning anything at all. That then affects even new players coming in so I would be expecting, by the end of the next 2 transfer windows, to have a very different looking 1st team to the one that played in the CL final. Sir Alex and other great managers (even our own Bill Nicholson) dismantled great sides when the time was right. Poch and Levy have to take the same view.
For me, since we lost the pace we used to have down both wings we don’t look anywhere near as potent going forward. When we had Walker and a fit, motivated Rose bombing down the flanks we could always create a threat. Losing Walker was, in retrospect, a bigger blow than it seemed at the time, Now, we huff and puff and try to thread it through packed defences that read our predictable build up all too easily, There is an old saying that if you can’t get through em, go around them. I hope Sessegnon will provide that on one side, at least.
They’re not solely from yesterday to be fair. I was generalising the fact that we’re persisting with players who aren’t good enough/ good enough to be in the XI. KWP aside who has had little time, Winks I’ve called out for ages for being out of his depth, most of us generally agree that Lamela is a solid squad player but not a starter, Rose did in fairness pick up form last season (still not to the heights of pre-dickhead comments) but he’s since gone to pot again... I don’t get why the manager is persisting with mediocrity. To make things worse, he’s also been benching some of our best players so far this season. This is the lowest I’ve felt about Poch since he joined the club, something is really wrong at the moment and whilst he keeps talking about disruption, I think he himself has been the biggest one by being so stubborn and set in his ways that’s he’s refusing rectify mistakes.
Pochettino is confusing things imho. He stated before the CL that he could leave but appears pissed that Vertonghen, Toby and Eriksen will not commit their futures to the club and is refusing to play one and is limiting the impact of another. This, coupled with the fact that Rose was not part of this seasòns plans yet has started all three games makes no sense. Rose is only here cos he refused a pay cut at Newcastle. Rose is a shadow (albeit a larger mars bar shaped one) of his previous self, has disrespected the team, the club and the fans ... was left out of a pre season tour to find another club, failed and is welcomed back with open arms despite not adding much defensively or attacking wise yet Vertonghen is nowhere to be seen while his replacement is making costly mistakes. We did not need to play both winks and Sissoko in midfield yesterday...neither are attackers. We needed one and either Eriksen or Lo Celso or both (leave Lamela out). We needed width...if the full backs can not provide then Vertonghen could on one side (as he proved in the CL) and put Son or Moura out wide on the other. Pochettino sent out a team into a gun fight with a feather...and he alone takes responsibility for that. The players who played embarrassed themselves by being out fought. Pochettino embarrassed himself by being out thought...by Steve Bruce.
Always felt KWP was a lightweight...men against boys...has zero venom. I wouldnt be sure whether to go in for a crunching tackle against him or to give him a cuddle and say 'itll be ok mate, life isn't that bad' We seem devoid of attacking ideas...same old turgid methods week in week out... personally I think Poch seems unhappy at Spurs and the whole set up has lost its sparkle. I think the finer details of our on field runnings are a shambles but I've said it before...list is too long. Eriksen needs to go...I don't care how good people think he is. We don't achieve **** all in his presence in the grand scheme anyway as is apparent so just **** off.
