I think the big difference between a game like that and our early season form is just a lack of ability to control games. Similar against Brentford in midweek. Sarr calmed things down a bit when he came on but the momentum shifted as he, and everyone else, was clearly suffering from a quick turnaround. If we get Bissouma back after the weekend and he can recover his form then it helps us a lot IMO. He can really stamp his authority on a game and control the tempo in a way that Hojbjerg, who was far from our worst performer but has been guilty of tiring and making sloppy decisions recently, and most of our other players at the moment, cannot. That’s really it for me. Yes the ariel defending is an issue and we can talk about referees but we simply have to play our game better. Control is the aim.
I think everyone’s over reacting a bit. We’re not going to win every game. Not a bad week. 4 points out of 6 with a tough away game today. Shame to concede the way we did at the end. 2 great goals by Richarlison. Another definite foul on Vicario for the first goal though. They either say they’ve changed the perception of these and we start seeing the same standard applied to all teams or it’s just spurs getting harshly treated twice in 3 games.
People are just disappointed that even though Spurs were not playing that great, 3 pts were there for the taking, and that not occurring is due to the same perennial issues (no on-pitch leaders, not playing the "percentage game" etc) .
This team badly needs a midfield leader , an old head that can direct play , Son can stay as team captain , the last 15 mins we were all over the place
I also think Ange’s game management has been a bit different recently. Earlier in the season we would see Hojbjerg come on and we’d play a bit more of a double pivot at times, but now we’re seeing Dragusin come on and the back 3 invites too much pressure and makes the phases where we’re in possession too unfamiliar to manufacture anything other than a transitional chance. Maybe he ran out of options a bit with Werner perhaps getting a knock and needing to be taken off as a precaution and Johnson already having come off. Have to say fair play to Everton as well who dug in and deserved the point. We have ****housed enough points against City over the years to have few complaints. Have to look at ourselves first and foremost.
Agreed it’s dissapointing but it happens. Teams concede last minute goals all the time. We were just unlucky the way it came off romeros head. Him and VDV were excellent again today. They had nothing except from set pieces and second half we did so much better with them but just couldn’t quite see it out. We’re going to finish top 4 this season which is pretty special from where we’ve come from. Our best team have only had about 10 games together. It will come and there’ll be plenty of hiccups along the way.
I think it’s also second half of season syndrome. Spurs are a bit more of a known quantity now which means we can’t afford to be off our game as much. Teams are working out that if they can disrupt our rhythm in midfield we look less threatening, and add to that that teams will have taken note of City and Everton’s jobs on Vicario and will continue to take advantage of our lack of dominance in the air to exploit a set piece vulnerability unless we can adapt to fix that. Ange is still working out what profiles in the squad he can use when, and we’re missing a couple of important pieces of the squad. Results like this happen to every team and we just have to adapt and improve. This will be Ange’s real test through the rest of the season, before we can do more work over the summer to plug gaps in the group.
Not that. I saw several sloppy "unforced error" passes throughout the game. Who on-pitch was giving them a b*llocking for doing that ?? I saw Udogie and Gil in the final quarter in the last 10 mins, repeatedly trying to be clever (ie NOT playing the percentage game) and losing possession which then resumes opposition pressure. Likewise.
I thought it was a clear foul on the GK for their first goal, the Everton player obstructs Vicario by backing into him with no eyes on the ball, he has prevented him catching or punching the ball, it was certainly more of a free kick than many of the penalties we see certain clubs gifted. I also thought Godfrey was let off with a second yellow card for a clear dive, these are the fine margins that can alter the dynamic of a game and cost points. We have also been awarded just 1 penalty all season, the same as Forest, Burnley and Bournemouth, in contrast Chelsea have been given 8, Varpool gifted 7, Woolwich 6 etc. I don`t think we`ve had a decision since that Varpool match, (and subsequent fortnight long outpouring of media grief / Pool hard luck stories) it is as if we were the guilty party and are being punished for it.
I saw a few people online suggesting Dragusin should have started in order to better handle the likely Brexit Ball that we'd be facing, and both their goals certainly give that credence ...problem being who do we drop? Mickey Van would be the obvious choice as he's not as good in the air as you think a CB his size would be, yet some of his last ditch blocks and clearances justified his starting, so hindsight is going to be a bugger either way
Dragusin was crap when he came on. He was on the pitch for the equaliser too. Van De Ven is already easily the best CB Spurs have. If Ange wants to start Dragusin then he has to play 3 at the back or drop Romero.
Dragusin came on in the 89th minute after we'd been slacking off for a good 15 minutes and let them back in the game Also dropping the captain for the match is...well it's a take, that's for sure
The same thing would happen without VAR if the benefit of the doubt was given to the attacking team. Currently I think the ref doesn't give the foul or yellow card if there is a late flag in any case. The assistants have been told not to flag when they are not sure...do you want them to flag if they are not sure and spoil an attack?
The problem lies with the assistant ref waiting until the attacking player actually touches the ball and only then raises his flag...at least one player has been needlessly injured like that this season
Well it used to work ok before the experts got involved, ok sometimes the linesman would get it wrong , I would rather have football without VAR and micro management
Werner was completely anonymous, apart from one pass to Udogie which led to the first goal, he added no value, missed a sitter - probably being offside anyway, failed to use his pace going forward and didn't track back well, particularly in the 2nd half. Gils contribution was equally limited, but to his credit we only had to put up with it for 10 minutes!!!
