Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Middlesbrough
- Thread starter PleaseNotPoll
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H
Hoddle is a god
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we got a draw we got a draw we didn't ruin my birthday we got a draw
Mourinho's not going to use Parrott at the moment and we need a striker.
I'd be really tempted to put Alli there and play a 4-3-3 with Son and Moura either side of him.
I'd be really tempted to put Alli there and play a 4-3-3 with Son and Moura either side of him.
Happy Birthday, mate 
Edited for you. Needs to be benched - added nothing again. The inconsistency is worrying.
It's almost as if Eriksen isn't a central midfielder
...not least because central midfielders tackle occasionally
What a great move it was not to re-sign Llorente...
We can't play his brother there. He spends most of the time flicking the ball to nobody in a white shirt and the rest dropping to the floor and mouthing off to the officials when he doesn't get a free Kick.
My main criticism would be about our lack of movement. Too many of our players were relying on their ball skills to beat players instead of moving the ball and getting themselves into a position to receive it. Dele was doing this, as was Aurier it was the other forwards that made them look bad by not looking for space. Push & run is where we were a long time ago and it will always work now as it did then.
I’d have no qualms over selling him in the summer for the right fee. He can be absolutely unplayable on his day but his inconsistency over the last two and a half seasons has been a factor as to why we’ve slowly regressed.
In fact, as I said the other day, I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep if we sold 90% of the squad, only Kane and Son (plus the newbies) are the ones I’d be dead against selling. Too much dross now play for this team and too many former key players are now reaching dross levels.
Agreed Spurf, it’s great to have players who can beat the opposition in a phonebox but it’s not consistent. Fast passing, quick thinking and good movement trumps all. Even Winks looks good for the England team when they play off him and give him options. We need to return to those roots. And for heavens sake sort that defence out, we’re getting undone by simple, simple goals where our defence just can’t track their men.
This lot couldn't pass water at this point.
The first half was another new low in a season packed full of them...and it's the same every match. Every away game, we start slowly, concede and then have to try to get back into it. Is he not capable of putting out a team that doesn't need 45 minutes to sort out the shambles?
Currently, I'd prefer to fail to fulfil our fixture against Liverpool and take a 0-3 loss, as we're going to get seriously hammered.
Sorry DH I just don't agree Dele is a very rare talent that needs to be nutured into maturity. You just can't find players like this. We need to play to HIS strengths which is as I have just said pass & run. We blame the defence when it's the midfield and we blame individuals when it is the team. We are all slate Eriksen, me included but he can't make master passes if there is no one there to play the ball.
We haven’t been bad for two and a half years though. 2019 we were off key, aside from that the football has been generally good but for two and a half years he’s been extremely inconsistent as an individual. His diving and moaning has been consistent though.
To be a top four team you need consistent players and he’s not shown that since his first two seasons. Flashes of brilliance here and there isn’t good enough. There are many I’d sell before him don’t get me wrong, but if a good offer came in, I’d absolutely take it.
Actually DH in many ways we have been relying on flashes of brilliance from out star players for some time. Whether that be Kane, Son, Lucas, or Dele. I don't think we have seen many solid team performances in those recent years and for me that is the big factor in why we don't get over the line. Since the Dembele hole appeared we have never been the same.
Lamela was excellent, Gazza was good and so was Lo Celso. That's the positives out of the way.
As @C. Kane said at the start, it looked unbalanced and that's exactly how it played.
The decision to play both Dele and Eriksen deeper so that Winks wasn't completely alone reminded me of the Stoke game in Pochettino's first season. We had our fullbacks injured so moved our, at the time, first choice cbs to fullback(Dier and Jan) and put in our 4th and 5th choice centrebacks(Chiriches and Fazio). The result was that we significantly weakened 4 positions rather than 2 and got hammered. Today Dele's influence was muted and any slim chance of Eriksen having a good game went out of the window.
Further forward, Son had a solid first half and then disappeared, which is odd as he's one of the few that shouldn't be tired. Lucas, much like Darren Bent, spends most of the game on the periphery unless he's scoring, even his best games are ones where he disappears for long stretches. Sessegnon is similar to Lucas in that regard but he's a young so it's expected.
The defence is just a basket case, Boro offered very little today but we were still pulled to pieces by set pieces and the slightest bit of movement by the forwards. Credit to Aurier for a perfect cross to set up our goal but he still looks as likely to cost us goals as he does get us them.
As @C. Kane said at the start, it looked unbalanced and that's exactly how it played.
The decision to play both Dele and Eriksen deeper so that Winks wasn't completely alone reminded me of the Stoke game in Pochettino's first season. We had our fullbacks injured so moved our, at the time, first choice cbs to fullback(Dier and Jan) and put in our 4th and 5th choice centrebacks(Chiriches and Fazio). The result was that we significantly weakened 4 positions rather than 2 and got hammered. Today Dele's influence was muted and any slim chance of Eriksen having a good game went out of the window.
Further forward, Son had a solid first half and then disappeared, which is odd as he's one of the few that shouldn't be tired. Lucas, much like Darren Bent, spends most of the game on the periphery unless he's scoring, even his best games are ones where he disappears for long stretches. Sessegnon is similar to Lucas in that regard but he's a young so it's expected.
The defence is just a basket case, Boro offered very little today but we were still pulled to pieces by set pieces and the slightest bit of movement by the forwards. Credit to Aurier for a perfect cross to set up our goal but he still looks as likely to cost us goals as he does get us them.