Evening Spurcat........what do you think cost us today? i got the feeling that Ade was in a bit of a stroppy mood...do you think the late withdrawal of Bale threw us a bit?
You were playing with Dempsey on the wings though which showed your lack of depth in the wing department. If you take out Hazard/Mata we still have Moses/Sturridge/Marin to come in.
He said best away support he'd been in. You can't argue with that. I didn't notice anything distasteful towards Ginola apart from the odd "who are ya?" Which was just a bit of banter, the norm at a football match. All in all it seemed like a good game played in good spirit where there was no controversy
Completely agree Dona. Against nearly any other team at home we may have got away with half our first team missing including our 2 best players ,however we were playing the unbeaten league leaders and European champions who were full of confidence. And in the end we could have at least for a draw.Long way to go and I'm more than happy for other fans to write us off.
They wouldn't admit that. When your in your own end it's partisan (especially in a game like today). There will be many Spurs fans who believe they out sang us. Our away support was good but I'd expect it to be. Rivals aren't going to give us a pat on the back for it no offence mate
When Kaboul, Bale and Dembele come in you'll be a lot better. All today confirmed was what I've said all along. Defoe is your best striker. I thought the displays of Defoe and Lennon were very encouraging but you were way too open today which surprised me. For me, Chelsea were worthy winners though and I agree with Junctions assessment of the game
Spurs rivals may not but i've had arsenal. west ham and man united fans saying how loud we were! Anyway... 3 points. Ta muchly!
This year is the same as last year: Arsenal and Spurs the favorites for fourth, maybe Newcastle and maybe Everton have a chance. None of them have the strength to challenge the big money boys this year, though one of them may implode. Arsenal are a slight favorite for fourth based on history; otherwise it would be a tossup. Very disappointing to turn on the big game and find out 2/3 of your best players aren't playing. Chelsea deserved the win, and did, though Spurs were impressive at times, and in general offered a lot going forward, but too little defending.. Other than that it was a mixed bag. I said before the season we needed Moutinho, and Gylfi and Dempsey weren't a good substitute, and they made that argument today. I actually think Gylfi could fill the gap, just maybe, if he's given a run of starts, but right now he's in a funk. Dempsey should be a supersub. It was great to see how threatening our team can be without Bale. Defoe especially. I wouldn't dream of trading Vertonghen for any defender in the Prem. I'm wondering what forward I'd trade him for. I'm a Beni fan. I think he's a very good lb. The problem is it seems a little crazy not to set Vertonghen loose down the left. He's that good. I wonder if in retrospect he shouldn't have tried Bale's spot. He seems to be able to do anything. Huddlestone performed very creditably, especially on free kicks, and it's good to know he's a viable option, even if he's slow. Sandro had a good game. Gallas has been superb so far this year, but looked like he ran out of gas in this one. Walker, I agree, was better than he's been. We missed Dembele more than Bale because we have a lot of attacking threats, but desperately need his skills, strength and speed against a midfield like Chelsea. Lennon was good, again. The biggest problem the team has is a tendency to collapse the moment they get the lead. It's happened in all three of our biggest games (Newcastle, Man U and Chelsea) If we can't figure out how to defend better, and I'm not sure we can, let's keep pressing and attacking. Does anyone know what's up with Dembele?
Arsenal fans were saying this aswell... Have you ever thought that Chelsea stopped you playing your normal game?
Pleased to hear that rivals are acknowledging that. In fairness to Spurs, when they got the 2nd that was as loud as I'd heard any ground. The place erupted. Love em or hate em they have proper football fans, much like Man City. You don't get that at Man Utd or Arsenal
yes you have bodies to come in but no way as good..i.e strength in depth that the person i was replying to questioned. im not arguing about wether we(Spurs) have it..im saying it would effect anyone bar city...the 3 you mentioned do not replace Hazard or Mata for quality...that was the point the strength in depth.
Defensively we were poor and there for the taking (2nd half anyway) I wholly agree with Junction there. Going forward however we were very good, not at our best but we still could have scored 6 or 7 on another day. Even though they took the lead against run of play, Spurs fans will naturally feel disappointed that at 2-1 they couldn't see the game out. I'm amazed they continued to play so open. At 2-1 I thought that was it for us.
Despite not replacing two of our creative players adequately, I think we're just a bit stronger this year. Dembele is an upgrade over Rat Boy. There. I've said it. Rat Boy at his best was at the center of a team that played more spectacularly. But Rat Boy was at his best against weakest opposition. Dembele is just the opposite, which is why I prefer him, even if he's lower profile. We need to get CAM sorted, that's for sure. I really think the only option is to keep playing Gylfi. I know he's been piss poor, but I think he's the sort of player who will shine if he gets a run of starts. And who else is there? Dempsey just doesn't have the ability.
Avb is a one trick pony in terms of tactics and style - ive started to warm to the guy a wee bit as i can see he loves to attack but his tactics leave us exposed and open. Yes chelsea were there for the taking and yes we should have got the 3rd goal to make it 3-1 but chelsea have many talented individuals so even when they are disjointed as a team, they will take advanatge of weak defending and flawed tactics. Avb has to realise this high tempo, high pressing tactic has major flaws and if thats his only method then we rneed real quality on the bench. Also gallas has to step down now and he has had some great moments but too much of a liability
in one trick pony you mean he tries to play his favoured style and formation? i think most managers do this..rarely do you see teams starting with diffrent formations week in week out...however i have enjoyed watching spurs come out in the 2nd half this season..after AVB's teamtalk and turn games on more than one occasion. we have scored 16 goals this year of which 13 have come in the 2nd half...id say AVB's words hold some value to the team if implemented correctly.
He played 4231 with a disjointed team that didnt suit the formation and left us exposed. Playing your favoured formation with your best team is what all managers do. No denying that. Yet all avb knows is 4231 or 433 and it looks great when players in form and we have our first team yet today we looked exposed and allowed chelsea aches of space. Dont get me wrong. Im starting to warm to the guy a wee bit but he isnt a tactical genuis as many made out.
